John Ross To Receive SMPTE Presidential Proclamation

John Ross, the founder of Ross Video, will receive a Presidential Proclamation Award from SMPTE — The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers — later this year.

The Awards Gala will be held in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 25, during which Ross will be recognized for his pioneering work in the development of production switchers, signal processing, chroma keying, and analog and digital systems design.

As well as building the world’s first entirely solid-state production switcher, Ross was also granted a fundamental patent for the first chroma keyer to enable remote selection of any background color, rather than just blue. This invention directly led to the use of the green screen.

Commenting on the award with typical modesty, Ross praised the many other engineers and broadcast professionals he has worked with over the years. “Awards like these are never achieved by oneself alone. I’ve been very fortunate that some extremely kind people have opened doors for me throughout my career, and I have been blessed to have worked with many fine engineers along the way.”

David Ross, Ross Video’s current CEO and John’s son, is more than happy to emphasize John’s achievements. “Anyone who knows my Dad or has been part of his career understands what a profound impact his work has had on the broadcast industry internationally. I’m delighted that this body of work is being recognized by SMPTE and he’s a very worthy recipient. Congratulations, Dad!”

John Ross founded Ross Video in 1974 and retired from the company in 2006. As well as this award, John has also received the Order of Canada at the Officer level and is an honorary member of The International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers.