A world first: the University of Nantes wins a prestigious Emmy Award!

The excellence of the research conducted in the University of Nantes has just been recognized with one of the most prestigious prizes in the world: an Emmy Award for technology and engineering, by the American National Academy of Arts and of Television Sciences (NATAS). 

This recognition, which is unique in the world of French universities, proves once again the talented ability of the innovation players from Atlantic France to work together. This is because this award-winning project is the result of an exemplary collaboration between industrial players and academic institutions*.

The result: a major contribution in the field of audiovisual sciences!

An unprecedented – and philanthropic – collaboration with Netflix

The Laboratory of Digital Sciences of Nantes (LS2N) is internationally recognized for its expertise in the field of visual perception for multimedia applications. Its researchers, accompanied by teams from Capacites (the innovation subsidiary of the University of Nantes), began an unprecedented collaboration with Netflix, the American video-on-demand giant, in 2016.

The ambition? Preserve the quality of a video, even when it is viewed with a low speed connection on a smartphone (1 in 4 views for Netflix). The goal has been achieved since the Nantes algorithm, VMAF for Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion, makes broadcasting optimized (HD) videos to its users possible.

Despite the global scale of this innovation and the benefits it offers to Netflix and its users, LS2N and the University of Nantes Foundation insisted that the results of this research fall directly into the public sector and benefit everyone. An Emmy Award devoted to philanthropy therefore!

In Atlantic France, the power of research to support all industries

As exceptional as it may be, this award shows above all to what extent academic research can contribute to the success of companies in Atlantic France and in the world. A major competitive advantage, a unique differentiator for all companies that are located or setting up in the region!