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Digital video recorder pioneer wins Whittle Medal

A Royal Academy of Engineering product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 30, 2006

The sixth winner of The Royal Academy of Engineering's Sir Frank Whittle Medal has been named as Michael Ramsay, cofounder of TiVo, the creator of and leader in digital video recorder technology.

The sixth winner of The Royal Academy of Engineering's Sir Frank Whittle Medal has been named as Michael Ramsay, cofounder of TiVo, the creator of and leader in digital video recorder technology, for his outstanding achievement in the field of "engineering innovations in games, entertainment and the media".

The medal reflects the spirit of the late Sir Frank Whittle OM KBE CB FEng FRS, one of the most creative engineers of all time.

This medal is "awarded to an engineer, with strong connections with the United Kingdom, for outstanding and sustained achievement which has contributed to the well-being of the nation".

The field of activity changes annually.

Michael Ramsay pioneered the TiVo technology that is changing the world of home entertainment - the culmination of a lifetime of innovation in computer graphics, workstations and consumer software technologies.

In 1997 he cofounded Teleworld, which became TiVo, the company that invented, developed and delivered the very first digital video recorder (DVR), a device that allows television viewers to automatically find and record their favourite shows every time they're on, enabling them to watch what they want, when they want.

Television on-demand enabled by DVRs, is regarded as one of the most important inventions in the history of television and is rapidly becoming a 'must have' item for TV viewers throughout the world.

With DVRs, TV viewers can pause live TV, fast-forward through advertisements and set up TiVo Season Pass recordings for their favourite series and never miss an episode.

Under Ramsay's steer, these innovations have sparked a revolution in home entertainment where viewers are taking control of their home entertainment away from the major broadcast networks.

While the technology was pioneered by TiVo in the USA, DVRs are now available and popular in Europe and Asia.

In the USA alone, ten million DVRs are now installed in homes; of these over 4.4 million subscribe to the TiVo service.

Using a complex technology that has never been duplicated by its competitors, over the last 8 years the company has amassed a large portfolio of patents and proprietary technology that is a testament to its innovation and market leadership.

Prior to TiVo, Ramsay was a senior executive at Silicon Graphics (SGI) from 1986-1997.

In 1994 he became President of Silicon Studio, a subsidiary of SGI that he founded to pioneer the development of 3D graphics technology that revolutionised the movie and game industries.

Ramsay's products were used to create the special effects and 3D animations for movies such as Jurassic Park, Terminator 2 and other blockbusters.

The technology has enabled animators and special effects artists to create realistic and compelling experiences, impossible to duplicate in any other way - to the delight of movie audiences worldwide.

Michael Ramsay is a native of Edinburgh who moved to California's Silicon Valley in 1975 to pursue a career opportunity with Hewlett-Packard.

He received a BSc (First Class Honours) in electrical engineering from the University of Edinburgh in 1972.

Michael Ramsay will be presented with the Sir Frank Whittle Medal at the Royal Academy of Engineering Awards Dinner on 5th June 2006 in London.