The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and NHK Science and Technical Research Laboratories received the NAB Technology Innovation Awards during the NAB Show Technology Luncheon on Wednesday. This new award recognizes organizations that bring exhibits and demonstrations of significant merit to the NAB Show, presenting advanced research and development projects in communications technologies.

National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)
NICT is a national telecommunications research organization in Japan. The NAB Show will be the first venue outside of Japan where NICT will demonstrate some of the advanced imaging and sound technologies being developed in their labs. Working with their partners in the industry, NICT demonstrations include holographic television, 3D displays without special glasses, 3D television programming being transmitted via broadband from Japan and a multi-sensory interaction system that explores human interface to communications media.

NHK Science and Technical Research Laboratories
NHK Science & Technical Research Laboratories (STRL) is the research and development arm of NHK, Japan's public broadcaster. Since its establishment in 1930, NHK Labs has been creating new broadcasting systems and devices in pursuit of its mission to research and develop next-generation broadcasting systems. NHK STRL demonstrations at the 2009 NAB Show will include an ultra-HDTV theater, with picture resolution 16 times that of HDTV and 22.2 channels of surround sound, new technologies that reproduce 3D in HDTV and mobile DTV services based on Japan's digital broadcasting system, ISDB-T.

The Technology Luncheon also included a keynote presentation by digital media research scientist Mimi Ito, and featured the presentation of the prestigious NAB Engineering Achievement Awards.