Oh, I’ve been so remiss in blogging this. Fortunately the submission date just got extended (not a great idea to a media technology due date so close to NAB…).

As my long-time readers my remember, I joined the board of the DVD Association a while back. Since then, we’ve been expanding our mission to encompass all forms of interactive digital media, not just optical disc, and are now the International Digital Media Alliance. We’re trying to fight the good fight in bringing the best parts of DVD and Blu-ray, particularly the high bar for interactivity, to the exploding breadth of media delivery technologies. I’ve got a particular passion for bringing high quality menus, multi-language audio and captions, and interactive extras to the web. I did my first DVD authoring back in 1997 in a very prerelease version of Scenarist running on an SGI O2, at the world’s first DVD training class (this is where we were a year later). Let me tell you, Blend is a whole lot easier to use than that.

If that sounds interesting, we’re always looking for new corporate and personal members. Being being an important and fun organization to be involved in, there’s also a swath of benefits available to members.

The DVDA’s has been running Excellence Awards for many years to recognize our peers in making great DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray titles. This has been quite a big deal among those who make these titles. Here’s some galleries of winners of past years: 2008, 2007, 2006.

The DVD and Blu-ray categories are in full swing. But new this year is new swath of Online/Interactive Excellence Awards for non-disc content. While we’ve seen plenty of PR and advertising touting various services and sites. But I think this are the first major awards focusing on technical excellence for online media.

I’d love to see some submissions for the many great sites and experiences out there.

Here’s the full category list. And, yes, as you could guess, I came up with the 960 wide threshold…

ONLINE/INTERACTIVE EXCELLENCE AWARDS (non-disc awards)

This award division, new for 2009, is for web user experiences, video content produced for Online Streaming or Download, and Audio or Video podcasts. Any online video or audio site, or audio or video podcast is eligible to enter any appropriate category.

The Excellence Award will be presented to the website or podcast whose name appears in the URL,  and/or to the primary producer who can prove they have created the work. Final award recipients will be determined at IDMA judges' sole discretion.

1. Excellence in an Online User Experience

Recognizes excellence in an online service or product, including
design, functionality, ease of use, delivery quality (i.e. stalling, buffering, etc) and overall impact. 

2. Excellence in Advertising Integration

Recognizes excellence in the integration of commercial messages into an online service or product,
including ad implementation, functionality, ease of dismissal, impingement on video content
(i.e. masking, impairment, etc.) and overall impact of the advertising integration.

3. Excellence in Streaming Video quality

Recognizes excellence in the quality of the video in a streaming service or product,
including video quality, video artifacts, audio quality and overall impact of the streaming video.

4. Excellence in Download Video quality

Recognizes excellence in the quality of the video in a downloading service or product,
including video quality, video artifacts, audio quality and overall impact of the downloaded video.

5. Excellence in Audio Podcasting

Recognizes excellence in the quality of an audio podcast experience,  including audio quality,
quality of narration, music score and interstitials, edit and assembly, and overall impact of the podcast.

6. Excellence in SD Video Podcasting (under 960 pixels wide)

Recognizes excellence in the quality of a Standard Definition video podcast experience,  including
quality of video and audio,  narration, music score and interstitials, edit and assembly, and overall impact of the podcast.

7. Excellence in HD Video Podcasting (960 pixels wide and over)

Recognizes excellence in the quality of a High-Definition video podcast experience,  including
quality of video and audio,  narration, music score and interstitials, edit and assembly, and overall impact of the podcast.

So, if you’re working on some great stuff you want to nominate, submit it here.

And there’s one last award that could be of interest:

FACILITY/INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE AWARD

This is a “craft” award recognizing excellence in a body of work from a production facility or an individual. Discs, Documents, testimonials and representative titles or other works must be submitted.

Note: The Facility or Individual must be nominated by a third party, not an employee of the facility.

So if you’ve got a facility or go-to person for digital media work, you can nominate them as well. It’s an even better thank you than that holiday cheese-and-sausage basket.