Pixel Bender™ Coding Contest

NVIDIA, in conjunction with Adobe Labs, invites you to create a GPU-based image-processing kernel using the Adobe® Pixel Bender™ Toolkit and enter your program into our Pixel Bender Coding Contest (hereinafter “Contest”), and winners of this Contest will receive exciting NVIDIA® prizes, subject to the following Official Rules.

Official Rules

By entering this Contest, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER THIS CONTEST. THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE RESTRICTED OR PROHIBITED BY LAW. OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (EXCLUDING PUERTO RICO AND ITS OTHER TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS) AND CANADA (EXCLUDING QUEBEC).

1. Sponsors
This Contest is sponsored by NVIDIA Corporation, with an address at 2701 San Tomas Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95050, U.S.A. (hereinafter “NVIDIA”), in association with Adobe Systems Incorporated, with an address at 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110, U.S.A. (hereinafter “Adobe”). NVIDIA and Adobe may be referred to hereinafter collectively as “Sponsors” and individually as a “Sponsor.”

2. Eligibility
You must have attained the age of majority in the state of province where you reside to be eligible to participate in this Contest. This Contest is open to individuals only. No team entries and no corporate or institutional entries are permitted in this Contest. Employees of each Sponsor, its affiliates, and their respective contractors, service providers and professional advisors connected with this Contest, as well as members of their immediate families and/or households, are NOT eligible to enter.

3. The Challenge
This Contest involves the following challenge: create a unique and compelling pixel bender kernel for one or more of the following three categories: Artistic; Technically Compelling; and Photoshop® Usefulness (hereinafter collectively the “Entry Categories” and individually an “Entry Category”). Each Entry Category is further described below in the “Judging” section.

4. Tools; Use of Third-Party Software
To create your entry(ies) for this Contest, you will need to download and install the Pixel Bender™ Plug-in for Photoshop® CS4 (http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/pixelbender.html). Prior to download, please review the Pixel Bender™ release notes, including system requirements, supported graphic cards, and installation and setup instructions, at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/pixelbender/releasenotes.html.

Your download and use of the Pixel Bender™ Plug-in for Photoshop® CS4 are subject to the Adobe Labs Terms of Use, Adobe Online Privacy Policy, and the Pixel Bender Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS4 End User License Agreement (hereinafter collectively “Adobe License Terms”). Accordingly, by downloading the Pixel Bender™ Plug-in for Photoshop® CS4, you agree to accept and abide by any and all Adobe License Terms.

To the extent you download and/or use any other software tools designated by Sponsors in connection with this Contest, you agree to accept and abide by any and all license terms associated with such tools.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL ENTRANTS: Your entry(ies) may NOT contain, use or require the use of any third-party software, UNLESS such software: (a) is specifically provided or designated by Sponsors for this Contest; or (b) is in the public domain. NO OPEN SOURCE OR SIMILAR-TYPE SOFTWARE MAY BE USED FOR THIS CONTEST. To the extent your entry(ies) utilize(s) any third-party software other than those specifically identified above, you must identify all such third-party software in your entry(ies), including exact version information and download URLs. An entry that violates any of the foregoing will be deemed VOID and automatically be disqualified.

5. Prizes; Odds of Winning
The prizes of this Contest consist of the following:

(1) Category Winner: One (1) winner in each Entry Category will receive an “NVIDIA® Quadro® CX” video card with an estimated retail value of US$1799; and

(2) Best Overall Winner: One (1) overall winner for all Entry Categories will receive an ”Alienware® Area-51® “ desktop computer with an estimated retail value of US$2899.

Odds of winning will depend entirely on each entry’s quality and performance as determined in accordance with Section 8 (Judging) of these Official Rules. The prizes are not assignable or transferable. THIS CONTEST HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN OFFERED.

6. Entry Period
The entry period for this Contest begins at 12:01 a.m. PST (Pacific Standard Time) on January 1st, 2009 and ends at 11:59 p.m. PST (Pacific Standard Time) on February 28th, 2009 (hereinafter the “Entry Period”). “Pacific Standard Time” refers to that observed in the United States of America. It is entirely each entrant’s responsibility to observe time zone differences.

7. How to Enter
To enter this Contest, you must register and submit your entry(ies) at http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_pixelbender_contest.html (hereinafter the “Contest Website”), within the Entry Period. Specifically, you will need to (1) complete an online entry form and (2) submit your entry(ies) in source code form in a .ZIP or .TAR.GZ file with a description of the kernel and the image and settings used for each entry to the following FTP site:

FTP: ftp://PixelBenderContest@nvidia.com
USER: PixelBenderContest
PASSWORD: Nvidia

The parameters for the Pixel Bender variables should be described in plain English as to what they affect and what the optimal setting is for best results.

On the entry form, you will be asked to provide the following information:

• Your full name
• Your birth date
• Your email address
• Your phone number
• Your mailing address, including city, country, state/province, and postal code
• Filename
• Which Entry Category(ies) you are entering
• Description of the kernel and the image and settings used

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL ENTRANTS:

(a) Your entry(IES) must be SUBMITTED within the Entry Period, or it will be deemed VOID.

(b) You may enter for any one, two or all Entry Categories and may submit more than one entry in each Entry Category, provided that all entries must be submitted within the Entry Period and in the manner described in this Section 7. If you submit more than entry in a particular Entry Category, the quality and performance evaluation described in Section 8 (Judging) below will be based on your LAST submitted qualified entry in that Entry Category.

(c) To compete for the “Best Overall Winner,” an entry must be submitted in ALL Entry Categories. An entry submitted for less than all Entry Categories will only be eligible for winning in the submitted Entry Category(ies).

(d) All entries (EXCEPT FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION DISCLOSED oN THE ENTRY FORM) will be deemed public and non-confidential. Any entry (except for personal information disclosed on the entry form) made on a confidential basis will be deemed VOID and will automatically be disqualified.

(e) Entries, once submitted, are NOT returnable by Sponsors.

It is recommended that you keep a complete copy of your submission for your own record.

8. Judging
The winning entries for each prize category will be selected by a panel of judges consisting of the following individuals from NVIDIA: David Aronson, Frank Jargstorff, Eric Young, Ryan Prescott, Jim Black, and Cam De Leon (hereinafter collectively the “Judges” and individually "Judge"), using the following judging criteria and scoring system:

"Artistic" Category:

• Initial impression (0 – 10): The coolness impression that a Judge gets when playing with the filter. The stronger the emotional effect on a Judge, the higher the score will be.
• Difficulty/Complexity (0 – 10): The difficulty and complexity of the algorithm that is used to generate the effect. The higher the degree of difficulty and complexity, the higher the score will be.
• Uniqueness (0 – 10): How unique is the effect of the kernel? The more unique the effect is, the higher the score will be.

"Technically Compelling" Category:

• Initial impression (0 – 10): The coolness impression that a Judge gets when playing with the filter. The higher the emotional effect on a Judge, the higher the score will be.
• Difficulty/Complexity (0 – 10): The difficulty and complexity of the algorithm that is used to generate the effect. The higher the degree of difficulty and complexity, the higher the score will be.
• GPU Usage (0 – 10): The more the algorithm makes use of the GPU as measured in relation to the CPU, the higher the score will be.
• Algorithm Elegance (0 – 10): The cleaner the implementation of an algorithm as compared to a simple brute force approach, the higher the score will be.

"Photoshop Usefulness" Category:

• Initial Impression (0 – 10): The utilitarian impression that a Judge gets when playing with the filter. The higher the level of feedback about how the filter can help Photoshop® users, the higher the score will be.
• Usefulness in Everyday Workflow (0 – 10): The more useful the kernel is to helping Photoshop® users get work done, the higher the score will be.
• Uniqueness (0 – 10): How unique is the effect of the kernel? The more unique the effect is, the higher the score will be.

The scoring in each Entry Category will be as follows: each Judge will score an entry on an element-by-element basis, with "0" being the lowest score" and "10" being the highest score. The entry with the highest total score in an Entry Category will be the winner for that Entry Category (i.e., a "Category Winner"). The "Best Overall Winner" will be selected from those entries that have been submitted in ALL Entry Categories. The entry with the highest overall score by adding up its total score in each Entry Category will be the "Best Overall Winner."

In the event of a tie between two or more entries, the Judges will determine the winner as follows:

(1) “Artistic” Category: If the total scores are tied, the higher Difficulty/Complexity score will be the first tie breaker. If it remains a tie, the higher Uniqueness score will be the second tie breaker. If it is still a tie, the higher Initial Impression score will be the third tie breaker. In the event the entries are still tied, then the entry that was submitted first will be the winner.

(2) "Technically Compelling" Category: If the total scores are tied, the higher GPU Usage score will be the first tie breaker. If it remains a tie, the higher Difficulty/Complexity score will be the second tie breaker. If it is still a tie, the higher Algorithm Elegance score will be the third tie breaker. If it is still a tie, the higher Initial Impression score will be the fourth tie breaker. In the event the entries are still tied, then the entry that was submitted first will be the winner.

(3) "Photoshop Usefulness" Category: If the total scores are tied, the higher Usefulness in Everyday Workflow score will be the first tie breaker. If it remains a tie, the higher Uniqueness score will be the second tie breaker. If it is still a tie, the higher Initial Impression score will be the third tie breaker. In the event the entries are still tied, then the entry that was submitted first will be the winner.

(4) “Best Overall Winner”: If the overall scores are tied, the higher total score in the “Technically Compelling” Category will be the first tie breaker. If it remains a tie, the higher total score in the “Artistic” Category will be the second tie breaker. If it is still a tie, the higher total score in the “Photoshop® Usefulness” Category will be the third tie breaker. In the event the entries are still tied, then the entry that was submitted first will be the winner.

The Judges shall have the sole authority and discretion to select the winning entries in each prize categories, and all decisions of the Judges shall be FINAL. By entering this Contest, you agree to be bound by the decisions of the Judges.

REMINDER: If you submit more than one entry in a particular Entry Category, the evaluation will be based on your LAST submitted qualified entry in that Entry Category. To compete for the “Best Overall Winner,” an entry must be submitted in ALL Entry Categories.

9. Winner Announcement; Claiming and Awarding of Prize
The winners of this Contest will be announced on the Contest Website on or about 2/13/2009. Within 7 days following such announcement, each winner will be notified by NVIDIA via an e-mail sent to the email address designated in such winner’s entry. To claim the prize, a winner must do the following within 30 days from the date of NVIDIA’s email notification:

(a) confirm receipt of the notice by return email (which confirmation must be sent from the same email address to which the notice was sent); and

(b) complete, sign and return a winner release form (as provided by NVIDIA along with its email notice), an IRS Form 1099-Misc (which NVIDIA will provide along with its email notice), and such other requisite documentation (if any) listed in NVIDIA’s email notice (hereinafter collectively the “Required Winner Documents”), to NVIDIA Corporation, Attn.: Pixel Bender Coding Contest, 2701 San Tomas Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95050, U.S.A.

Within 14 days following its receipt of the Required Winner Documents from a winner, NVIDIA will ship the prize via FedEx or similar courier service, at NVIDIA’s expense, to the winner’s mailing address specified in his/her winning entry. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if NVIDIA determines that the Required Winner Documents as returned by a winner are incomplete, erroneous, or otherwise not in order, NVIDIA may require the winner to provide complete or replacement documentation prior to shipment of prize.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL ENTRANTS: If a winner cannot be contacted or fails to claim the prize or to return the Required Winner Documents within the specified time period, or if the prize is returned as undeliverable, or if a winner fails to comply with any of the provisions of these Official Rules, such winner will be considered to have forfeited the prize. In such case, the prize will be awarded to the individual who submitted the next best performing entry as previously determined by the Judges in accordance with Section 8 of these Official Rules.

10. Taxes
The winner of each prize is solely responsible for any and all applicable taxes and government charges that result from his/her/its receipt and/or use of the prize. Sponsors reserve the right to withhold and deduct such taxes and charges from the prize if and to the extent required by law.

11. Representations, Warranties and Indemnity by Entrant
(a) By entering this Contest, each entrant represents and warrants, with respect to each entry submitted by him/her in this Contest (either alone or jointly with others), that: (i) all information provided on the Entry Form is truthful and accurate; (ii) the entry submitted is the result of his/her own independent creation and does not contain any third-party works of authorship that have been used or copied without authorization or permission of their respective authors; (iii) the entry submitted complies with the requirements set forth in Section 4 of these Official Rules regarding use of third-party software; (iv) the entry submitted does not contain any known computer virus, worm, Trojan horse, Easter egg, time bomb, cancelbot, spyware, malware or other similar programming code or data, malicious or benign, that may damage, interfere with, intercept, lock out, or expropriate any hardware, system, program, content, data, or personal information; and (v) his/her participation in this Contest does not violate any applicable laws or regulations or any rights of third parties.

(b) By entering this Contest, each entrant agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Sponsors, their affiliates, and their respective employees, agents, representatives, contractors, service providers and professional advisors connected with this Contest (hereinafter collectively “Sponsor Related Parties”) from and against any third-party claims arising from or as a result of (i a breach of any of the foregoing representations and warranties by such entrant, or (ii) a breach or violation of any of the other provisions of these Official Rules by such entrant.

(c) ANY ENTRY THAT IS IN BREACH OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OR IS OTHERWISE IN VIOLATION OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES, WILL BE DEEMED VOID AND AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THIS CONTEST.

12. ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS by Entrant
(a) By entering this Contest, each entrant hereby irrevocably and unconditionally grants to each Sponsor, on a royalty-free and non-exclusive basis, a perpetual, irrevocable, freely transferable, freely assignable, freely sublicensable, worldwide license to run, use, copy, reproduce, publish, distribute, perform, display, exhibit, demonstrate, edit, modify, adapt, and create derivative works from, each of his/her entries in this Contest, whether for purposes related to this Contest or otherwise, and whether via the Internet, electronic, digital, broadcast, theatrical, print, or any other communications media now known or hereafter developed, and in each case free of any and all restrictions and limitations whatsoever (except as imposed by law).

(b) By entering this Contest, each entrant agrees and acknowledges that Sponsors and Sponsor Related Parties shall not be responsible or liable for: (i) any late, lost, stolen, forged, mutilated, corrupted, incomplete, illegible or misdirected entries; (ii) any errors, omissions, misinformation, or misidentification in an entry; (iii) any dispute or claim arising from an entrant’s participation in this Contest or his/her entry, or his/her receipt, ownership or use of the prize; (iv) any computer hardware, software, Internet, network, cable, phone, or other communication or technical errors, failures, malfunctions, interruptions, or delays; or (v) any damage to an entrant’s or any other person’s computer hardware, software or data that results from participation in this Contest or accessing, downloading or using any tools, files, data, software, or other articles or materials in connection with this Contest.

(c) By entering this Contest, each entrant agrees and consents to Sponsors’ collection, use and retention of his/her personal information disclosed on the Entry Form for all purposes related to this Contest (including, without limitation, processing and administering entries, sharing an entrant’s personal information with Sponsor Related Parties as necessary to conduct and operate this Contest, communicating with and awarding prizes to winners, making public announcements about winners, and advertising, promoting and publicizing this Contest). In addition, it is optional for an entrant to consent on the Entry Form to Sponsors’ direct marketing use of his/her personal information in accordance with their respective privacy policies.
NVIDIA’s privacy policy: http://www.nvidia.com/object/privacy_policy.html.
Adobe’s privacy policy: http://www.adobe.com/misc/privacy.html.


13. Reservation of Rights by SPONSORS
Sponsors reserve the right, to the extent permitted by applicable law, to terminate, cancel, modify or suspend this Contest, in whole or in part, if fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsors’ reasonable control impairs the integrity of this Contest as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion. If this Contest or any web site associated therewith (or any portion thereof) becomes corrupted or otherwise does not permit entry, or if infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, actions by entrants, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes, in Sponsors’ sole opinion, corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper operation of this Contest, Sponsors reserve the right, at its sole discretion and to the extent permitted by applicable law, to disqualify any individual implicated in such action, and/or to cancel, terminate, cancel, modify or suspend this Contest, in whole or in part. Any attempt by an entrant or any other individual to deliberately damage any online service or web site or undermine the legitimate operation of this Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws, and should such an attempt be made Sponsors reserve the right to seek damages and/or other remedies from any such person to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

14. Governing Law; Jurisdiction
These Official Rules are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, U.S.A., without giving effect to its conflicts of law rules. Each entrant hereby submits himself or herself to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in Santa Clara, California, U.S.A.

15. Contest Information
You may request a copy of these Official Rules via email to daronson@nvidia.com. To learn the actual number of entries received and the winners selected in this Contest, please visit the Contest Website on or after 2/13/2009, or email your request to daronson@nvidia.com after 2/28/2009.