Hollywood’s The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) bestowed retail honors upon Best Buy, Target and Amazon at its annual CES awards reception last night at The Encore.
The studio-driven trade association also recognized LG, Yamaha, Sony and Vizio for their home entertainment hardware.
The DEG said it established the retailer awards “to recognize excellence in merchandising and promoting Blu-ray Disc and Digital HD titles, in addition to merchandising sell-through and/or rental content online.”
The awards ceremony began with a short clip, filmed at L.A. retailer Video & Audio Center, which showed customers’ delighted reactions when viewing 4K HDR content.
Here’s a rundown of last night’s winners:
Hardware Retailer of the Year 2015: Best Buy
The DEG’s hardware members agreed that Best Buy has continued to lead the industry in consumer education of new entertainment technologies through demonstration of products, promotions and key advertising. In casting their votes, members noted that Best Buy “has highly trained sales professionals that lead with content experiences on device demonstrations.”
Digital Retailer of the Year 2015: Amazon
“Amazon is a key partner in the digital marketplace [and] was honored for its stellar execution into the electronic sell-through market and for innovating among its peer group,” DEG said.
Software Retailer of the Year 2015: Target
Target received its second DEG award in the past three years for its “longstanding commitment to both physical and digital content,” the trade group said.
The DEG Emiel N. Petrone Innovation Awards (named after DEG’s founding chairman):
Best 4K Ultra HD TV: LG 4K OLED TV – EF9500 or EG9600 Series
Best Sound Bar: Yamaha YSP-5600 with Dolby Atmos
Best Connected Blu-ray Disc Player: Sony 4K Upscale Blu-ray Disc Player with Super Wi-Fi – BDP-S6500
Most Innovative Home Entertainment Product: VIZIO Reference Series – 120 inch
In addition, the DEG doled out seven awards for Creative Excellence in Blu-ray Disc and Digital HD titles released in calendar 2015. The judging panel consisted of reviewers and industry reporters from trade, entertainment and daily consumer news organizations. In addition to overall sound and picture quality, all titles were considered that “best demonstrated the value-added nature of the formats,” the group said.
The DEG Creative Excellence Award Winners for 2015 are:
Best New Release on Blu-ray: “Mad Max: Fury Road” (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
Best Classic Reissue on Blu-ray: “Lost in Space: The Complete Adventures” (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment)
Best New Release on Digital HD: “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” (Paramount Home Media Distribution)
Best Classic Reissue on Digital HD: “Star Wars Digital Movie Collection” (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment & Walt Disney Studios)
Best TV on Blu-ray: “Game of Thrones: The Complete 4th Season” (HBO Home Entertainment)
Best Hi-Res Audio Download: “David Bowie – Five Years” (Warner Music Group)
Best Concert Video on Blu-ray: “Rammstein – Live in Amerika” (Universal Music Group)
