DALLAS, TX -- The winners of the 9th Annual IDMA Awards were announced Saturday evening, October 23, in a gala award ceremony and dinner at the IDMA-DVDA Annual Summit, produced by the Interactive Digital Media Association. Held at the Harvey Hotel near Dallas/Fort Worth airport, the Summit was attended by over 100 conference attendees, press, and invited guests. Twenty-four awards were presented in ten categories during the two-hour awards dinner and ceremony.

Sponsored by Spruce Technologies, Polywell Computers, Panasonic, Philips, Astarte, and Pioneer New Media, the 1999 IDMA Awards were hosted by Paul Holmes, Chief Executive of the IDMA/DVDA. John Barker, editor at large for Inside Multimedia, was the featured speaker for the awards dinner, providing a European perspective on DVD. This year's awards ceremony was the first for the newly formed DVDA (DVD Association).

"Our membership comprises some of the most creative and technically savvy producers in the world. While some think of technical constraints as limitations, others view them as creative opportunities. By the looks of this years award winners our membership leans towards the latter," said Richard French, Executive Vice President and Principal of RISE Int'l. "We are grateful to our sponsors for their commitment to excellence in the industry and expanding the use of DVD into new market segments by supporting our membership."

Recognizing outstanding achievement in interactive digital media titles, the 1999 competition drew entries in seven categories of Education, Home Entertainment, Kiosk, Sales, Training, Web Connected, Most Unusual, plus the category of Best New Products for 1999, including Best Overall, Best Player or Peripheral, and Best Software.

For more information on the 10th Annual IDMA-DVDA Awards, scheduled for October 2000, or for further information regarding the IDMA-DVDA Summit and the IDMA-DVDA organization, contact Paul Holmes, Chief Executive Officer at paul_holmes@dvda.org or visit the DVDA website at http://www.dvda.org.