The awards, which were first handed out in 2001 on “The Tera Show,” celebrate all aspects of the DVD segment of adult entertainment, from talent to the technical aspects of the format, including bonus features and video and audio quality.
“Once again the studios really outdid themselves on some of their titles,” Adult DVD Empire editorial director Shannon Nutt said. “The adult feature seemed to make a huge comeback in 2006, while we also saw the gonzo studios step things up and provide releases shot with high-definition cameras, enhanced for widescreen TVs and with the kind of extras previously seen on only adult feature releases. Unlike previous years, there’s no clear-cut winner this time around. It’s going to be a real horse race in some of these categories.”
Categories include Best Overall DVD, Best DVD Menu Designs and Best Overall Studio.
According to Nutt, Digital Playground’s “Island Fever 4” and Wicked Pictures’ “The Visitors” garnered the most nominations, with eight a piece.
“Manhunters,” also from Wicked Pictures, and “Sacred Sin” each received seven nominations.
Other titles that received multiple nominations were Vivid’s “Emperor” and “Jenna Haze Dark Side” from Jules Jordan Video. Each film received four nominations.
As a studio, Wicked Pictures racked up 23 total nominations, including two for Marc Dorcel for foreign titles. Vivid Entertainment Group and Digital Playground each had 12 studio nominations, with Zero Tolerance rounding out the top four, with eight nods.
Voting runs through midnight Feb. 23. Users can see the full list of nominees and cast their votes for the Viewer’s Choice Award at EmpireAwards.com.
The winners will be announced March 2.