Hollywood Bestows Emmy Award On UN Telecommunications Agency
New York, Aug 25 2008 5:10PM
The United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has received a coveted Emmy Award for its part in coming
up with a means to allow high-quality video to reach devices ranging from mobile phones to High Definition Televisions.
The honour recognized the Joint Video Team – comprising the <"http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2008/23.html">ITU, the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) – for its highly efficient video compression method to
significantly reduce both the bandwidth needed to deliver high-quality video and the space to store it.
The technology “is a jewel in the crown of international standards collaboration,” Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU’s
standardization bureau, said in his acceptance speech at a ceremony in Hollywood on Saturday.
“Its widespread adoption is testament to the flexibility and efficiency that has been engineered by a group of people
that have dedicated themselves to achieving this goal,” he added.
Called H.264 | MPEG-4 AVC, the technology is used in products for companies such as Adobe, Apple, BBC, France Telecom,
Motorola, Sony and Toshiba to send high-definition video images over broadcast television, cable television, satellite
television services, Blu-Ray, mobile phones and Internet Protocol television.
ENDS