CES 2008: Tech Emmys Awarded in Las Vegas

NATAS/ATAS Legal Dispute Casts Shadow on 59th Annual Awards Ceremony

By B&C Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/8/2008 10:24:00 AM

Las Vegas -- The 59^th Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards were presented Monday night at the Venetian Hotel and Casino here. But the ongoing legal dispute between the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the New York-based organization that administers the awards, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, its West Coast counterpart, cast a shadow on the proceedings.

As a result of an arbitration ruling handed down last month, which prevents NATAS from any new-media Emmys in a separate broadband category, Tech Emmys were awarded in six categories, while an additional 13 “special awards” were presented for advanced media and gaming.

NATAS president Peter Price explained that the special awards were provisional while the organization continues its fight and that Emmys would be awarded retroactively should they prevail.

Consumer Electronics Association president Gary Shapiro and astronaut Buzz Aldren were among the presenters.

The winners of the 59^th Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards are:

• Advanced Television Systems Committee broadcast-transmission-system RF filters: Electronics Research, Dielectric Communications, Harris Broadcast, Micro Communications

• Development, productization and commercialization of interactive video-on-demand two-way infrastructure and signaling, leading to large-scale VOD implementations: Time Warner Cable, Scientific Atlanta, N2 Broadband (Tandberg Television)

• Coaxial cable technology: AT&T

• Pioneering development of a fully monitored fiber-optic-based digital network for occasional use and full-time video services with fully provisioned local video access at shared-use sports venues: Vyvx Services

• Development and implementation of an integrated and portable Internet-protocol-based live, edit and store-and-forward digital-newsgathering system: CNN

• Monitoring for compliance standards for ATSC and Digital Video Broadcast transport streams: Rohde & Schwarz, Tektronix, Thomson, Pixelmetrix

The winners in the advanced media, broadband and gaming categories were:

• Outstanding achievement in advanced media technology for best use of commercial advertising on stand-alone broadband devices (PCs): The L Word in Second Life, Showtime Networks/Electric Sheep

• Outstanding achievement in advanced media technology for best use for creation and distribution of interactive commercial advertising delivered through multichannel broadband devices (digital set-top boxes): Axe Boost Your E.S.P. Interactive Channel Experience, Brightline iTV/Unilever

• Outstanding achievement in advanced media technology for synchronous enhancement of original television content for interactive use: March Madness on Demand, CBSSportsLine.com/CBS Sports

• Outstanding achievement in advanced media technology for creation of nontraditional programs or platforms: MTV's Virtual Laguna Beach, MTV Networks

• Outstanding achievement in advanced media technology for best use of personal media display and presentation technology (PlayStation Portable, cell phone, personal media player, mobile devices): Bravo To Go, Bravo

• Outstanding achievement in advanced media technology for best use of “on-demand” (consumer-scheduled or programmed) technology over broadband networks for active “lean-forward” viewing (PC): MLB Mosaic, Ensequence/MLB.TV

• Outstanding achievement in advanced media technology for best use of “on-demand” (consumer-scheduled or programmed) technology over broadband networks for passive “lean-backward” viewing (TV): switched digital video, Time Warner Cable/BigBand Networks

• Game controller innovation: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii

• Hand-held game-device display-screen innovation: Football & Auto Race, Mattel; Atari Lynx; Nintendo DS

• User-generated content, game modification: Pinball Construction, Electronic Arts; Quake, id Software; Second Life, Linden Lab

• Physics engines: Havok

• Development of massively multiplayer online graphical role-playing games: Neverwinter Nights, AOL Time Warner/Stormfront/Ubisoft/TSR-Wizards of the Coast; Everquest, Sony Online Entertainment; World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment

• Visual digital content-creation tools and their impact: Autodesk Maya; Autodesk 3ds Max