EISA Awards 2017: Who won - and who can win?
2.10.2017
Translation: machine translated
The EISA Awards are to consumer electronics what the Oscars are to the film industry. Every year, the best products are nominated and the winners are chosen. But how do the awards come about? A little background information.
The coveted EISA Awards have been presented for 35 years now (you've probably noticed the little label in our shop from time to time). A great honour for the winners. After all, the jury that honours the best products is made up of experts from over 50 trade magazines from more than 20 European countries. It is not surprising that such an award usually goes hand in hand with a surge in sales figures. After all, the experts will know what they are talking about. Right?
The whole thing started in 1982, when the editors-in-chief of five European photography magazines got together and voted for "Camera of the Year" for the first time. The founding members did not realise at the time that a quarter of a century later there would be such a big fuss about this award. Little did they know, so to speak.
EISA - What it's about and how it works:
The European Imaging and Sand Association consists of an association of the most renowned trade magazines in Europe. You can find a detailed list here. One small point of criticism on my part is the print fixation: only printed magazines can become members. The EISA is mainly known for the EISA Awards, which are the equivalent of the Oscars for the consumer electronics industry.
The authors and journalists of the member magazines provide a huge amount of data via magazines, websites and forums, which is collected by EISA's so-called expert groups and utilised to determine the winners. There are currently six such groups, including photography, video & TV and mobile telephony. Each group independently presents EISA awards for pre-defined categories (e.g. "best OLED TV of the year").
What exactly are the EISA Awards?
The aim of EISA is to be a driving force for continuous innovation and further development across the entire industry. This is because manufacturers who are allowed to decorate their devices with the EISA Award Winner label usually experience a massive increase in their sales figures. And because an entire association of trade magazines has to be convinced of the quality of the goods (in addition to the customers, of course), this provides an incentive to actually develop high-quality products.
To ensure that product innovations do not necessarily correlate with higher prices, there are awards in all categories for appliances with particularly good value for money. Award categories are not fixed, but can be adapted to current trends every year. In 2005, for example, the Green Awards were presented for the first time, recognising products with a high level of environmental awareness. As I said, the focus is on customer interest.
How the products are nominated
Based on their own product tests, each member magazine draws up a short list of their "winners". A committee analyses all the shortlists submitted and creates the master list. A kind of consolidation; the best of the best. At the general meeting, the nominated products from the master list are discussed late into the night. This is followed by a vote, where the winners are determined but not yet officially named. This only happens a few weeks later, traditionally at or shortly before the IFA in Berlin. In terms of timing, it looks something like this:
- By May: The shortlists are drawn up and submitted to the respective expert group
- June: A single master list is created from the numerous short lists. This is discussed at the EISA General Meeting (AGM). This is followed by a strictly secret vote, but the winners are not yet chosen.
- September: The EISA Award Ceremony traditionally takes place at the IFA in Berlin. The proud winners receive their awards and are honoured in public.
at the IFA in Berlin.
More and more categories - does that make sense?
I remain sceptical. The number of categories for which products can be nominated is growing every year. This pleases the manufacturers because, as with the Oscars, the main thing is to have one. And you can use it to drum up marketing publicity. Even the critically savaged DC comic adaptation Suicide Squad was able to dust off an Oscar (for best make-up...) - one more Oscar than all the comic adaptations of the competition Marvel put together. Well, who's looking down the tube now?
Sticking with the EISA Awards: I, for one, have not found anywhere a coherent explanation as to why there needs to be a "Home Theatre TV" category in addition to the two "OLED TV" and "LCD TV" categories. Or what distinguishes it from the other two categories. A response to my request for clarification (I contacted the contact address listed on the EISA website) is still pending. I am now asking a provocative question: do some categories exist simply to ensure that all the important interest groups are taken into account and to be certain of the collaboration of all manufacturers? I don't doubt the quality of the products - I know most of them and I know myself that they are top devices - but we can at least discuss the sense and nonsense of some categories. Feel free to do so on this page, in the comments section below.
This year's winners
It's worth taking a look at the winners. Regardless of my doubts about some categories raised above - the products are top and have been rated by umpteen different independent specialist magazines. Here again is the overview of the various expert groups and the winners per group:
And where do you get your product info from?
The EISA critiques and reviews are one way to get information and reviews of various products. Another is, of course, digitec. But I'm sure that you use other excellent sources as well. Why don't you tell us in the comments below what criteria you use to set your priorities and where you prefer to get information before you buy something new. I - but also the Community - am curious!
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
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