Big Bang Theory stars Helberg, Nayyar to Host Engineering Emmys

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced the recipients of the 62nd Primetime Emmy® Engineering Awards, who will receive their statuettes during a special Engineering Awards ceremony, hosted by Big Bang Theory stars Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar on Saturday, August 14, at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles.

Desilu will be honored with the the Philo T. Farnsworth Award — which recognizes an agency, company or institution whose contributions over a long period of time have significantly affected the state of television technology and engineering—for their innovation of using a multi-camera film setup before a live studio audience. Desilu also used conventional film studio materials, production and processing techniques which made “I Love Lucy” immediately available for production and distribution of prints when the series went into syndication at local stations around the country.

In addition, the honor is bestowed to commemorate the upcoming 60th anniversary of "I Love Lucy’s" debut.

A second Philo T. Farnsworth Award goes to Digidesign, a pioneering digital design technology company founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks that later became a part of Avid Technology. This Farnsworth award memorializes and commemorates Digidesign's historic role while recognizing its ongoing industry importance.

Separate Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Awards will be given to Robert Seidenglanz and Ron Estes. The Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual whose contributions over a long period of time have significantly affected the state of television technology and engineering.

Seidenglanz will be recognized for his invention and development of the early version of the news gathering local station production truck which drastically improved local news gathering. Estes will be recognized posthumously as a pioneer in television audio. A long-time sound mixer for "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," Estes is widely regarded as the first mixer to transition television broadcast sound from mono to stereo and later to surround and 5.1.

The Engineering Emmy Award is presented to an individual, a company, or an organization for developments in engineering that are either so extensive an improvement on existing methods or so innovative in nature that they materially affect the transmission, recording or reception of television. This year, one Engineering Emmy is being given to NEXUS Digital Audio Routing:

NEXUS Digital Audio Routing - The Salzbrenner Stagetec NEXUS Distributed Digital Audio Routing and Interconnect System with the patented True Match™ Analog to Digital Converter is the finest, most versatile audio routing system available today.

The Engineering Plaque is presented to those achievements that exhibit a high level of engineering and are important to the progress of the industry. This year, four Engineering Plaques are being given to Showtime Sports Interactive, pCAM application, Apple Final Cut Studio and Avid Media Access.

Showtime Sports Interactive -Showtime Sports® Interactive is an interactive TV project that enhances SHOWTIME Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts events with program synchronous on-screen interactivity. Using the technology EBIF, Showtime Sports Interactive offers viewers live polling, fighter stats and bios, ring records, a trivia game and fight calendar.

pCAM application – A Cinematography, Television Production and Still Photography calculator in the form of an application for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Palm device that takes complex calculations and puts them in a user friendly environment with graphical displays.
Apple Final Cut Studio - Apple's Final Cut Studio is a powerful and intuitive software program enhancing the postproduction process for video and film television projects.

Avid Media Access - Unlike any other non linear editor of the market today, AMA has advanced the state of the art by providing users with a faster, more reliable and cost-efficient way to work with media and get productions to air.

The 62nd Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards are overseen by Stephen A. Jones, Engineering Awards committee chair; John O’Brien and Geoff Katz, vice-chairs; and members Philip Angerhofer, Stuart Bass, Eileen Horta, Geoff Mark, Don McCuaig, Frank Morrone, John Nachreiner, Michael Olman, Lowell Peterson, Jason Rosenfield, Lori Schwartz, Brian Sheesley, Cristy Trembly and Steve Venezia.