The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE ( /ˈsɪmptiː/, rarely /ˈsʌmptiː/), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is an international professional association, based in the United States of America, of engineers working in the motion imaging industries. An internationally recognized standards organizations, SMPTE has over 400 standards, Recommended Practices and Engineering Guidelines for television production, filmmaking, digital cinema, audio recording and medical imaging. In addition to development and publication of technical standard documents, SMPTE publishes a journal, provides networking opportunities for its members, produces academic conferences and exhibitions, and performs other industry-related functions.
Membership is open to any individual or organization with interest in the subject matter.
SMPTE standards documents are copyrighted and may be purchased from the SMPTE website, or other distributors of technical standards. Standard documents may be purchased by the general public. Significant standards promulgated by SMPTE include:
- All film and television transmission formats and media, including digital.
- Physical interfaces for transmission of television signals and related data (such as SMPTE time code and the Serial Digital Interface) (SDI)
- SMPTE color bars
- Test card patterns and other diagnostic tools
- The Material eXchange Format, or MXF
SMPTE's educational and professional development activities include technical presentations at regular meetings of its local Sections, annual and biennial conferences in the US and Australia and the SMPTE Journal. SMPTE also has a number of student Sections and sponsors scholarships for college students in the motion imaging disciplines.
Related organizations include
- National Television System Committee (NTSC)
- Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)
- Pro-MPEG
- The ITU Radiocommunication Sector (formerly known as the CCIR)
- BBC Research Department
- European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Read more about Society Of Motion Picture And Television Engineers: 3D Television, Awards Program
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