Imagine Communications’ John Mailhot was awarded the prestigious 2024 David Sarnoff Medal during SMPTE’s annual Awards Gala, held on October 24 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom within the Ovation Hollywood. This accolade honors Mailhot for his exceptional contributions to the development and promotion of the SMPTE ST 2110 standard for media transport over IP networks.
The David Sarnoff Medal, established in 1950 and sponsored by SRI International, recognizes outstanding contributions to the development of new techniques or equipment that have improved the engineering phases of television technology. This year’s honor goes to Mailhot for his significant role in promoting the adoption of the ST 2110 standard, not just through SMPTE, but also through industry organizations such as the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), and the Video Services Forum (VSF).
Since graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1988, Mailhot has been a transformative force in the broadcast and media industry. Career highlights include his work in the development of the Grand Alliance system for over-the-air HDTV distribution, which evolved to become the Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) 1.0 standard still in use today. He also played a role in standardization of JPEG-2000 video transport (VSF TR-01) and development of the SMPTE ST 2022-2 and 2022-6 standards and has served as editor of the SMPTE ST 2110 standard for video transport over IP since 2013.
“John’s remarkable achievements throughout his career stem from his relentless dedication and vision,” said Steve Reynolds, president of Imagine Communications. “He is an invaluable asset to our business and to our clients around the world, and we are proud to see his unique contributions and commitment to the television industry celebrated on such a prestigious platform. The entire Imagine Communications team extends a heartfelt congratulations to John for this richly deserved award.”
Mailhot has worked in the field of digital high-definition (HD) television systems since its North American inception in 1990. He began as part of the AT&T-Zenith team, responsible for system architecture and integration of the digital spectrum compatible high-definition television (DSC-HDTV) system prototype. Mailhot later served as the technical lead for the Grand Alliance encoder at Lucent Technologies and held various technical leadership roles across subsequent organizations, including Lucent Digital Video, Aastra Digital Video and Harris Broadcast.
Today, as senior vice president of product management at Imagine Communications, Mailhot continues to shape the future of broadcasting and media technology. In addition to his “day job,” Mailhot serves as a board member of the VSF and the AMWA and chairs the Technical Working Group of AIMS. Widely respected as an authority figure driving the deployment of innovative change across the industry, he is a sought-after presence at technical conferences around the world, a frequent publisher of insightful articles and white papers and was previously recognized as an SMPTE Fellow.