NAB Seeking 2014 Technology Innovation Award Nominees

NAB is currently accepting nominations for the 2014 NAB Technology Innovation Awards. First presented at the 2009 NAB Show, NAB presents the award to organizations that bring advanced technology exhibits and demonstrations of significant merit to the NAB Show. The nominated exhibit should present advanced research and development projects in communications technologies that have not yet been commercialized.

Candidates for the Technology Innovation Awards must be organizations who are currently exhibiting at the NAB Show. The size of the organization is not a determining factor. Nominated projects may not be commercial products that have been offered for sale prior to or at the NAB Show. The merit of the technology exhibit is the sole factor to be taken into account. The entry deadline is February 21, 2014. The awards will be presented at the NAB Technology Luncheon on April 9, 2014 at the NAB Show in Las Vegas.

Here is a summary of the award winners from the past two NAB Shows:

2013 Award Recipient:

Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco Systems received the 2013 NAB Technology Innovation Award for its Future of Video concept. Future of Video (formerly called Project Fresco) presents a future of television that breaks out of the "box in the corner of the room," showing how television will harness new display technology and an immersive layout engine to become unobtrusive, frameless, ultra high definition and ambient. Future of Video demonstrates that television's future is both collective and personal, and exemplifies a new relationship between large screens and companion devices. Simon Parnall, Director, New Initiatives in Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group, who was instrumental in designing and building the "Future of Video" demo, accepted the award.

2012 Award Recipients:

Fraunhofer IIS
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS performs contract research and development for industry and public authorities. Fraunhofer IIS researchers develop microelectronic systems and devices along with the required integrated circuits and software.

Fraunhofer IIS received a 2012 NAB Technology Innovation Award for its Dialog Enhancement Technology which allows a user to adjust the volume of a program's dialog relative to other soundtrack elements. For example, individual users can adjust to their preference how loud the announcer's voice is over the background ambience in a sporting event broadcast, or how loud actors' voices are compared to the music or sound effects in a movie. The technology was successfully demonstrated in experimental broadcasts of the 2011 Wimbledon Tennis Tournament.

RadioTAG Application Working Group
The second 2012 NAB Technology Innovation Award went to the RadioTAG Application Working Group, a team that has taken the RadioDNS Project's RadioTAG specification and developed an implementation of an open radio tagging protocol. It enables the radio listener to "bookmark" an over-the-air program for later online listening, to flag a song for download or addition to a subscription list, or to sign up for special deals with advertisers – all by simply pushing a button on the radio when the content is heard. The RadioTAG Application Working Group includes participants from Global Radio, Frontier Silicon, and BBC Research & Development.

Additional information and a nomination form are available on NAB’s website. The deadline for nominations is February 21, 2014.

NAB Show @ Mobile World Congress – Capturing the Moment Through Mobile and Broadcast – NAB Show will present a two-day symposium as part of the 2014 Mobile World Congress’ mPowered Industries media conference. The symposium, sponsored by Ericsson, will be held 25 and 26 February 2014 in Barcelona. Leaders in mobile communications, digital and mainstream media will explore how content and advanced delivery options are driving entertainment experiences on mobile devices. Click here for more details.

NAB Show @ CABSAT – The Changing Landscape of Broadcasting – NAB Shows has partnered with the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC) to produce the 2014 CABSAT Conference. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, CABSAT is the region’s leading annual event focusing on the broadcast, satellite and media industry. The two-day conference (11 & 12 March 2014) will attract attendees from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia who are actively engaged in the creation, management and delivery of entertainment and news content.

The Janaury 6, 2014 TV TechCheck is also available in an Adobe Acrobat file. Please click here to read the Adobe Acrobat version of TV TechCheck.