<![CDATA[ Latest from Tv Technology in Consumer-electronics ]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/tag/consumer-electronics Mon, 02 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000 en <![CDATA[ Productivity Hacks From ‘The Other Side’ ]]> As set forth in our first column in this space, our mission is to bridge the gap between the broadcast/professional/production world of hardware, software and technology services and the larger group of solutions in the consumer world. Unlike back in what some of us might refer to as “the good old days,” the lines between those two worlds have blurred, and consumers and enthusiasts are now using gear that was once the sole province of pros.

On our side of the fence, many are increasingly saving time and money by using consumer products without losing quality.

Here, it is not just about the quality of the work, but the time it takes to plan and do it, when considering some consumer-side products that once would have been shunned by pros, but which today could be daily assists.

Can You Hear Me?
Let’s start with a small consumer product that can make a big difference in the pro media world. With smartphones serving multiple tasks, many have come to depend on earbuds for IFB, anchor Q&As and general off-air monitoring instead of traditional earpieces. That’s a great idea and often a cost-cutter, but the extra path often leads to latency and other issues.

An interesting solution is Questyle’s $99.99 Dongle Pro 2. It’s a small BT adapter designed primarily for iPhones that delivers significantly better audio than directly pairing earbuds or a TWS device of the reporter’s choice. Bypassing the codec limitations of iPhones as a plug-in transmitter interface, it uses the latest Bluetooth 6.1 spec and is MFi certified to support aptX HD, aptX Lossless, LADC, LHDC-v5, LC3 and other high-resolution codecs, many of which the iPhone does not enable.

Along with higher-quality audio, the real benefit here is increased stability and significantly reduced latency—as low as 20 milliseconds with LE Audio. This makes on-air back-and-forth with field reporters a much more natural experience without the hassle of wired connections. An additional benefit is Auracast, which lets multiple compatible headsets connect to a single device. And on the drive home from the remote, you get the same low latency and high-res audio for editing on a laptop or gaming on a Switch!

Meeting Minders
If you’re like me, you often spend a lot of time in seemingly endless meetings, where you need to remember what was said, what needs to be done and, most importantly, what you are responsible for. Sure, you can record the meeting on your phone. But afterwards you still have to play it back to find the important items and the discussion timeline, and then write a summary and to-do list.

Thankfully, we now have easier ways to get a recording, a summary and a transcript at the same time. Combining digital recording, far-field mics, wireless connectivity and compact form factors, there is a new category of voice and call recorders that makes memorializing meetings easier than ever. Thanks to AI, they can transcribe, translate if needed and then summarize things that would otherwise be consigned to paper or memory.

Voice recorders that are paired with AI are a great productivity tool. From l.: Viaim RecDot, HiDock and Plaud.

Voice recorders that are paired with AI are a great productivity tool. From l.: Viaim RecDot, HiDock and Plaud. (Image credit: Michael Heiss)

Having tried them, I can attest to the benefits while noting the different approaches. The likes of Plaud, Pocket, Comu and others are as thin as a credit card and record locally from built-in mics. Viaim’s RecDot is a bit different as the mics are in a pair of proprietary earbuds for recording both the room or from phone and video calls.

RecDot also lets you keep the buds in their case and can record when they are not in your ear. HiDock goes one step further with a form factor somewhat like a small handheld recorder. It records directly for meetings or on-the-fly notes, but you can also pair it with any Bluetooth earbuds or headphones or connect to your computer to record.

One more thing of note: Each product has different plans for the AI transcription and summarization. All have at least some free minutes while some, such as HiDock, have no time limit. They all also have add-on plans for more minutes and other features. Alternatively, as long as the device lets you download a compatible audio file, you can simply run it through your favorite AI system. Along with the basic features, consider battery life, charging connector type and form factor.

Notable Hardware
Not having to rely on memory or take notes during a long meeting or relying on memory is a productivity advancement, but sometimes you need to take hard-copy notes concurrently with voice recording. Fortunately, there is another class of consumer-esque products for that. They look like standard tablets such as the iPad and its competitors, but at close glance they are quite different. Generically, and sometimes in the model name, they are called “Notes.”

A good example is TCL’s NXTPAPER Note A1, which was supplied to me for this article by the manufacturer. There are a few obvious differences from standard tablets. Unlike the iPad, there is no “selfie” camera, no 3.5-mm audio jack, and, aside from the TCL’s access to the Android Play Store, the “notes” can rarely load popular apps directly. Hmm. Doesn’t that limit the usability?

TCL’s NXTPAPER Note A1 is a good example of devices that look like tablets but which are optimized for note taking, creating and AI-driven productivity.

TCL’s NXTPAPER Note A1 is a good example of devices that look like tablets but which are optimized for note taking, creating and AI-driven productivity. (Image credit: Michael Heiss)

Yes, it does, but that’s the point. Limiting the feature set forces you to concentrate on the task at hand: the meeting, lecture, speech or conversation. Even better, these “notes” don’t just record the conversation, they let you simultaneously take notes on the screen and place “markers” in the live transcript as you go along, to highlight items for follow-up. That gives you a recording and notes as a backup.

Depending on the device, these can also handle email and some apps, even though that is not their primary purpose. The same holds for watching movies and content—but presumably not during the meeting. The TCL NXTPAPER was even able to work as a backup when my laptop had a tantrum and the screen wouldn’t come up.

Note that many of these devices have e-ink screens. That’s great for battery life, but they might have too much lag and they are typically not great for full-motion color video. Standard tablets go in the other direction: good color but not focused on note-taking.

There, the TCL is reasonably unique in its class with a matte-finish, 120-Hz refresh LCD as opposed to the 30-Hz refresh of many e-ink screens. That said, “note-centric” tablet products including Boox, reMarkable, Supernote, Kindle Scribe, iFLYTEK, the TCL and others may be just the things to help you get more productivity out of any meeting.

Cameras That Do Windows
Another interesting consumer-market device that might help when you are out on location is an interesting new category of products generically described as “windows cameras.”

No, not the cameras in or on your Windows OS laptop. These are small cameras specifically designed to look through windows. Sure, you can plop down a small residential security camera in the office, in a vehicle or remote unit, or at a temporary location. However, when looking through glass, you’ll probably see reflections that work against a clear image.

Wyze’s Window Cam, seen here from the outside, shows how mounting the camera directly against a specially designed matte, rather than looking through the window, eliminates reflections.

Wyze’s Window Cam, seen here from the outside, shows how mounting the camera directly against a specially designed matte, rather than looking through the window, eliminates reflections. (Image credit: Wyze)

That’s where products such as Sonoff’s CAM Glass View “Smart Window Camera” or Wyze’s Window Cam come into play. Their secret is custom-tailored, black-colored mounting brackets that give you a 2K resolution, night-vision image view that all but eliminates reflections.

It sounds simple, but it works. A camera I had looking out a window previously had no usable image at night. However, with the simple installation of one of these devices, there was a clear view. Isn’t that what cameras are supposed to deliver? Both connect to apps, have motion detection and local storage to an SD card so that no subscription is required. Here’s where the consumer side origin of these really comes in handy: both are priced under $35!

There you have it. Sometimes the consumer products can fit the bill for you and cut costs where “pro” products can’t do the trick. Always be on the lookout on “The Other Side.” You never know when you’ll find the right thing to solve a problem.

Author’s Note: Some of the products mentioned were provided by the manufacturers. This in no way influenced the review of those products.

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/insights/opinion/productivity-hacks-from-the-other-side 28qzxuE6K7JPCe9APQXFtL Mon, 02 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000 false false false

As set forth in our first column in this space, our mission is to bridge the gap between the broadcast/professional/production world of hardware, software and technology services and the larger group of solutions in the consumer world. Unlike back in what some of us might refer to as “the good old days,” the lines between those two worlds have blurred, and consumers and enthusiasts are now using gear that was once the sole province of pros.

On our side of the fence, many are increasingly saving time and money by using consumer products without losing quality.

Here, it is not just about the quality of the work, but the time it takes to plan and do it, when considering some consumer-side products that once would have been shunned by pros, but which today could be daily assists.

Can You Hear Me?
Let’s start with a small consumer product that can make a big difference in the pro media world. With smartphones serving multiple tasks, many have come to depend on earbuds for IFB, anchor Q&As and general off-air monitoring instead of traditional earpieces. That’s a great idea and often a cost-cutter, but the extra path often leads to latency and other issues.

An interesting solution is Questyle’s $99.99 Dongle Pro 2. It’s a small BT adapter designed primarily for iPhones that delivers significantly better audio than directly pairing earbuds or a TWS device of the reporter’s choice. Bypassing the codec limitations of iPhones as a plug-in transmitter interface, it uses the latest Bluetooth 6.1 spec and is MFi certified to support aptX HD, aptX Lossless, LADC, LHDC-v5, LC3 and other high-resolution codecs, many of which the iPhone does not enable.

Along with higher-quality audio, the real benefit here is increased stability and significantly reduced latency—as low as 20 milliseconds with LE Audio. This makes on-air back-and-forth with field reporters a much more natural experience without the hassle of wired connections. An additional benefit is Auracast, which lets multiple compatible headsets connect to a single device. And on the drive home from the remote, you get the same low latency and high-res audio for editing on a laptop or gaming on a Switch!

Meeting Minders
If you’re like me, you often spend a lot of time in seemingly endless meetings, where you need to remember what was said, what needs to be done and, most importantly, what you are responsible for. Sure, you can record the meeting on your phone. But afterwards you still have to play it back to find the important items and the discussion timeline, and then write a summary and to-do list.

Thankfully, we now have easier ways to get a recording, a summary and a transcript at the same time. Combining digital recording, far-field mics, wireless connectivity and compact form factors, there is a new category of voice and call recorders that makes memorializing meetings easier than ever. Thanks to AI, they can transcribe, translate if needed and then summarize things that would otherwise be consigned to paper or memory.

Voice recorders that are paired with AI are a great productivity tool. From l.: Viaim RecDot, HiDock and Plaud.

Voice recorders that are paired with AI are a great productivity tool. From l.: Viaim RecDot, HiDock and Plaud. (Image credit: Michael Heiss)

Having tried them, I can attest to the benefits while noting the different approaches. The likes of Plaud, Pocket, Comu and others are as thin as a credit card and record locally from built-in mics. Viaim’s RecDot is a bit different as the mics are in a pair of proprietary earbuds for recording both the room or from phone and video calls.

RecDot also lets you keep the buds in their case and can record when they are not in your ear. HiDock goes one step further with a form factor somewhat like a small handheld recorder. It records directly for meetings or on-the-fly notes, but you can also pair it with any Bluetooth earbuds or headphones or connect to your computer to record.

One more thing of note: Each product has different plans for the AI transcription and summarization. All have at least some free minutes while some, such as HiDock, have no time limit. They all also have add-on plans for more minutes and other features. Alternatively, as long as the device lets you download a compatible audio file, you can simply run it through your favorite AI system. Along with the basic features, consider battery life, charging connector type and form factor.

Notable Hardware
Not having to rely on memory or take notes during a long meeting or relying on memory is a productivity advancement, but sometimes you need to take hard-copy notes concurrently with voice recording. Fortunately, there is another class of consumer-esque products for that. They look like standard tablets such as the iPad and its competitors, but at close glance they are quite different. Generically, and sometimes in the model name, they are called “Notes.”

A good example is TCL’s NXTPAPER Note A1, which was supplied to me for this article by the manufacturer. There are a few obvious differences from standard tablets. Unlike the iPad, there is no “selfie” camera, no 3.5-mm audio jack, and, aside from the TCL’s access to the Android Play Store, the “notes” can rarely load popular apps directly. Hmm. Doesn’t that limit the usability?

TCL’s NXTPAPER Note A1 is a good example of devices that look like tablets but which are optimized for note taking, creating and AI-driven productivity.

TCL’s NXTPAPER Note A1 is a good example of devices that look like tablets but which are optimized for note taking, creating and AI-driven productivity. (Image credit: Michael Heiss)

Yes, it does, but that’s the point. Limiting the feature set forces you to concentrate on the task at hand: the meeting, lecture, speech or conversation. Even better, these “notes” don’t just record the conversation, they let you simultaneously take notes on the screen and place “markers” in the live transcript as you go along, to highlight items for follow-up. That gives you a recording and notes as a backup.

Depending on the device, these can also handle email and some apps, even though that is not their primary purpose. The same holds for watching movies and content—but presumably not during the meeting. The TCL NXTPAPER was even able to work as a backup when my laptop had a tantrum and the screen wouldn’t come up.

Note that many of these devices have e-ink screens. That’s great for battery life, but they might have too much lag and they are typically not great for full-motion color video. Standard tablets go in the other direction: good color but not focused on note-taking.

There, the TCL is reasonably unique in its class with a matte-finish, 120-Hz refresh LCD as opposed to the 30-Hz refresh of many e-ink screens. That said, “note-centric” tablet products including Boox, reMarkable, Supernote, Kindle Scribe, iFLYTEK, the TCL and others may be just the things to help you get more productivity out of any meeting.

Cameras That Do Windows
Another interesting consumer-market device that might help when you are out on location is an interesting new category of products generically described as “windows cameras.”

No, not the cameras in or on your Windows OS laptop. These are small cameras specifically designed to look through windows. Sure, you can plop down a small residential security camera in the office, in a vehicle or remote unit, or at a temporary location. However, when looking through glass, you’ll probably see reflections that work against a clear image.

Wyze’s Window Cam, seen here from the outside, shows how mounting the camera directly against a specially designed matte, rather than looking through the window, eliminates reflections.

Wyze’s Window Cam, seen here from the outside, shows how mounting the camera directly against a specially designed matte, rather than looking through the window, eliminates reflections. (Image credit: Wyze)

That’s where products such as Sonoff’s CAM Glass View “Smart Window Camera” or Wyze’s Window Cam come into play. Their secret is custom-tailored, black-colored mounting brackets that give you a 2K resolution, night-vision image view that all but eliminates reflections.

It sounds simple, but it works. A camera I had looking out a window previously had no usable image at night. However, with the simple installation of one of these devices, there was a clear view. Isn’t that what cameras are supposed to deliver? Both connect to apps, have motion detection and local storage to an SD card so that no subscription is required. Here’s where the consumer side origin of these really comes in handy: both are priced under $35!

There you have it. Sometimes the consumer products can fit the bill for you and cut costs where “pro” products can’t do the trick. Always be on the lookout on “The Other Side.” You never know when you’ll find the right thing to solve a problem.

Author’s Note: Some of the products mentioned were provided by the manufacturers. This in no way influenced the review of those products.

]]> <![CDATA[ Apple Finally Gives its Home Devices Some Deserved Attention ]]> When I saw that Apple was having a new product reveal centered on my beat, home and video products, rather than another big whizz-bang event on phones, tablets and Macs, my reaction was “Finally! AT LAST!” It reminded me of Etta James’s great 1960 rendition of the 1941 classic by Mack Gordon of the same name.

At Last, indeed. Those of us in the video streaming and home technology worlds have long been waiting for new versions of the Apple TV 4K streaming box and Apple’s HomePod products. While streamers such as Roku, Fire TV, Google TV and others have brought out new products while the Amazon and Google Home product universes have seen multiple new products and upgrades.

Yes, Apple has dutifully upgraded their TV OS and fixed some bugs in the products but that only goes so far as new software and stream presentation features eventually require newer, more powerful platforms. The current Apple home products were just getting too long in the tooth with the last Apple TV 4K almost four years old, the HomePod Gen2 dates back to 2023 and the HomePod mini to 2024.

Now, finally, AT LAST. Was it worth the wait? Where does the new Apple HomeView fit into the picture and what are the benefits of the new Apple TV 4K and HomePods? Are they worth the update and what does the new hardware foretell for the future?

NOT THE SAME AS IT EVER WAS
Let’s start with the most anxiously awaited product, the new Apple TV 4K Gen 4. One the hardware side it has a new Apple A19 chip that is said to be 50% faster as a CPU and twice as fast for GPU performance. That gets you through menus faster and with hardware-accelerated ray tracing video performance is improved.

The form factor and dimensions are virtually the same along with the addition of three far-field mics so that you can issue voice commands directly to the unit without having to pick up the remote. The HDR formats are the same although the Dolby Vision profile has been updated to 8.1 and AV1 codec compatibility is added to check and view content using that codec. Wi-FI is updated to 802.11be/Wi-Fi 7 with Bluetooth 6. The new remote is almost that same, but it is also upgraded to Bluetooth 6 and adds “Find My” and Precision Finding for when you lose it under the couch cushions.

Finally, there is only one model, priced at $299 with availability on Nov. 13. Some have noted that this is a $100 increase from the previous model, but with 128GB storage, Gigabit Ethernet and Thread capability as standard the price comparison should really be made to the former model with those features at $249.

For installers, content evaluators and consumers in general, there are some omissions to be noted to somewhat temper the excitement of a long-awaited product. First, the HDMI remains at 2.1, but that is no surprise even though HDMI 2.2 has been finalized chips to support it might not yet be available.

Someone else will be the first out of the gate with that format. Also still missing is 4K/120Hz video, VRR and ALLM. Not dealbreakers but somewhat of a downer for gamers. Somewhat of a shame as the Latency Indication Protocol (LIP) would be nice to have.

On the audio side still missing is DTS:X support. Also, as with earlier models, there is no Dolby Atmos or Dolby True HD passthrough. Instead, the Apple TV 4K decodes it internally to LPCM 5.1 or 7.1 and the height channels are lost. You still get surround sound, but it is channel-, not object- based.

'THE LOVE CHILD' OF AN OLD IMAC WITH AN APPLE WATCH
That’s the new Apple TV 4K, but there were other product introductions that, when this is alL put together, form a refreshed Apple home products suite. Let’s summarize them before seeing where all this takes us.

Apple

Apple HomeView (Image credit: Apple)

The “first of its kind for Apple” is the Apple HomeView. Some might call it Apple’s response to the well-established Amazon Echo Show line and similar products it the Google Nest universe, but it is more than that. There is a wall-mounted model and a tabletop version that conjures up a what the love child of an old iMac and an Apple Watch might look like. There is a 7-inch, 1088x1088 Liquid Retina, backlit LCD, touch panel, display with up to 500 nits brightness. The camera is 12MP with Apple’s Center Stage technology.

For audio, in the base of the tabletop model there is a pair of full range drivers in the display’s frame and both a downward firing woofer and dual force-cancelling passive radiators in the base. The wall-mounted version has a pair of full-range drivers but no low frequency driver.

On the hardware side it is powered by the Apple A18 chip, has Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6.0, Matter and Thread border router support there is a four-mic array for noise suppression and Siri, and USB-C for both power connection and accessories. The camera is 12-megapixels with zoom for chatting if needed.

Both versions list at $299 with availability on Friday, Nov. 13, albeit that the wall-mount model does not include either a mount or power adaptor. There are no VESA mounting holes on the wall-mount version, so you must spend $59.95 for the Standard mount or $129.95 for the AC powered Premium mount that requires installation by an electrician or $179.95 for the PoE Wired version. Both come from Schneider Electric.

At the top-level view, Apple HomeView is the natural integration of the disparate devices in the Apple eco-system into a single device that keeps everyone in the house informed as to what is going on, enables spatial audio listening, video calls via FaceTime, locating family members with Apple devices using Find My, and viewing video content streamed from an iPhone or iPad.

That last item is key, as there are few embedded apps and there is no access to the Apple App store. This isn’t a phone or tablet where you can ask it to play something directly from your favorite streaming service. You do that via AirPlay.

So what is it for? Apple presumably sees this as your home dashboard with face recognition figuring out who is asking what. Yes, you can query it for sports scores, recipes or similar as you can with an Echo or Google device. However, as you will see when the three new products are wrapped together there is much more with the goal of all working together with Siri AI and the inclusion of Matter and Thread in the devices.

The third new Apple product is the HomePod mini 2 with a note that the current, larger, HomePod Gen2 remains in the line $349. As its name implies, the $149 HomePod mini 2 is smaller, but with new features it is quite powerful in a number of ways.

Apple

Homepod mini 2 (Image credit: Apple)

Designed to be both a standalone smart speaker and part of the larger Apple home products system, it, too, is designed to use Apple Intelligence to not only do the obvious music playback, it is part of the Apple home management system taking voice commands for smart home device control, using Sound Recognition to alert you if it hears smoke or carbon monoxide detectors and even sending a notification of that to your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.

The hardware side includes significant updates from the original HomePod mini thanks to a Apple S10 chip driving the system, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6. The speaker is a single full-range driver, and the mic array has three far-field capsules. They will feed Siri and Siri AI when the latter is available down the road as a software upgrade.

New is the color-morphing Sound Glow surface at the top of the unit with a capacitive touch surface for control. There are now clickable, mechanical buttons. Colors include white, pink, green, blue and midnight.

A UNIFIED HOME SYSTEM
With those three new products joining the lineup along with the HomePod and the Apple Home Collection from LG starting in December with a Video Wired Doorbell, an Outdoor Camera, a Floodlight Camera. A Smart Thermostat and a Temperature Sensor and a smart thermostat that will become available in December and then a Smart Deadbolt lock and Indoor Camera in January, 2027, the goal is a true, unified system with multiple control points.

Apple

Along with the new products from Apple, LG is launching the Home Collection of smart home products custom designed to work in the Apple ecosystem. (Image credit: Apple)

One key aspect of these devices and some of their earlier and present cousins is the ability of the new Apple TV 4K to work with a combination of four HomePod mini2 or HomePod Gen 2 products create a full immersive home theater surround system. Even better, with mics now embedded in the Apple TV 4K you can not only talk to it without picking up the remote, the mics and the processor do all the configuration for the multi-speaker system.

Position mapping, delay timing, level setting, room sensing and dynamic EQ are all taken care of automatically. Thanks to the power of the A19 chip a phantom center channel is derived and the software distributes the LFE/bass channel across the speakers wothj the heaviest bass routed to full-sized HomePods if they are at the front to keep deep rumble away from the smaller HomePod mini 2 when used as the rear speakers.

One presumes that other smart home products that already work with Apple devices will continue to work with the new models. The key thing to remember is that it doesn’t work the other way around as the Apple-centric LG products will only work with the Apple devices. Yes, HomeView will respond on its own to anyone, but to set it up a compatible iPhone or iPad is required and the Home Collection products require an iPhone for initial NFC pairing. Similarly, certain personal context requests also require a paired Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad running the latest software and having Siri AI turned on.

Siri AI is at the heart of all of this, and it is clearly new. Will it have growing pains? We’ll see. What will the daily limits for usage, if any be? We don’t know yet. The fine print on all of this says that in the future there will be a fee for “expanded access” but the “when” and “how much” is still to be determined.

If the family is all-Apple with reasonably recent devices everyone should be happy. If it is a “mixed marriage” with a variety of Apple, Android, Amazon and Google Nest devices things should work, but to what extent is something that we won’t know until everyone gets their hands on them.

Put all together, this is a full-on effort to, at least for Apple families, deliver a complete home system including music and content, scheduling, queries on all subjects, view and control of smart home devices, locks, HVAC and cameras. With the HomeView providing the missing piece of the puzzle with an dedicated Apple display device, Siri SI, Apple Intelligence and a new array of smart home products specially tailored to Apple, as our introductory song says, AT LAST. After all, rest of the first lines are “My love has come along, And my lonely days are over, And life is like a song.”

To be certain, Amazon’s Echo and Echo Show devices, third-party Alexa-compatible devices, Google Next Home products and their first and third-party products have quite a lead in this space for smart home devices and smart speakers. The same goes for the increasingly agentic AI functionality of Alexa and Google as the AI and software OS that drives their ecosystems.

Will the alLure of Apple’s industrial design, new product features, Siri AI combined with their tremendous market penetration for phones and tables push these new products to the top? That will be fun to watch and at the very least the competition will undoubtedly lead to better systems for all.

Michael Heiss is a columnist for TV Tech.

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/business/apple-finally-gives-its-home-devices-some-deserved-attention kaeGxWvev25V66qFQ3XFW6 Mon, 19 Oct 2026 13:00:48 +0000 Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:13:38 +0000 false false false

When I saw that Apple was having a new product reveal centered on my beat, home and video products, rather than another big whizz-bang event on phones, tablets and Macs, my reaction was “Finally! AT LAST!” It reminded me of Etta James’s great 1960 rendition of the 1941 classic by Mack Gordon of the same name.

At Last, indeed. Those of us in the video streaming and home technology worlds have long been waiting for new versions of the Apple TV 4K streaming box and Apple’s HomePod products. While streamers such as Roku, Fire TV, Google TV and others have brought out new products while the Amazon and Google Home product universes have seen multiple new products and upgrades.

Yes, Apple has dutifully upgraded their TV OS and fixed some bugs in the products but that only goes so far as new software and stream presentation features eventually require newer, more powerful platforms. The current Apple home products were just getting too long in the tooth with the last Apple TV 4K almost four years old, the HomePod Gen2 dates back to 2023 and the HomePod mini to 2024.

Now, finally, AT LAST. Was it worth the wait? Where does the new Apple HomeView fit into the picture and what are the benefits of the new Apple TV 4K and HomePods? Are they worth the update and what does the new hardware foretell for the future?

NOT THE SAME AS IT EVER WAS
Let’s start with the most anxiously awaited product, the new Apple TV 4K Gen 4. One the hardware side it has a new Apple A19 chip that is said to be 50% faster as a CPU and twice as fast for GPU performance. That gets you through menus faster and with hardware-accelerated ray tracing video performance is improved.

The form factor and dimensions are virtually the same along with the addition of three far-field mics so that you can issue voice commands directly to the unit without having to pick up the remote. The HDR formats are the same although the Dolby Vision profile has been updated to 8.1 and AV1 codec compatibility is added to check and view content using that codec. Wi-FI is updated to 802.11be/Wi-Fi 7 with Bluetooth 6. The new remote is almost that same, but it is also upgraded to Bluetooth 6 and adds “Find My” and Precision Finding for when you lose it under the couch cushions.

Finally, there is only one model, priced at $299 with availability on Nov. 13. Some have noted that this is a $100 increase from the previous model, but with 128GB storage, Gigabit Ethernet and Thread capability as standard the price comparison should really be made to the former model with those features at $249.

For installers, content evaluators and consumers in general, there are some omissions to be noted to somewhat temper the excitement of a long-awaited product. First, the HDMI remains at 2.1, but that is no surprise even though HDMI 2.2 has been finalized chips to support it might not yet be available.

Someone else will be the first out of the gate with that format. Also still missing is 4K/120Hz video, VRR and ALLM. Not dealbreakers but somewhat of a downer for gamers. Somewhat of a shame as the Latency Indication Protocol (LIP) would be nice to have.

On the audio side still missing is DTS:X support. Also, as with earlier models, there is no Dolby Atmos or Dolby True HD passthrough. Instead, the Apple TV 4K decodes it internally to LPCM 5.1 or 7.1 and the height channels are lost. You still get surround sound, but it is channel-, not object- based.

'THE LOVE CHILD' OF AN OLD IMAC WITH AN APPLE WATCH
That’s the new Apple TV 4K, but there were other product introductions that, when this is alL put together, form a refreshed Apple home products suite. Let’s summarize them before seeing where all this takes us.

Apple

Apple HomeView (Image credit: Apple)

The “first of its kind for Apple” is the Apple HomeView. Some might call it Apple’s response to the well-established Amazon Echo Show line and similar products it the Google Nest universe, but it is more than that. There is a wall-mounted model and a tabletop version that conjures up a what the love child of an old iMac and an Apple Watch might look like. There is a 7-inch, 1088x1088 Liquid Retina, backlit LCD, touch panel, display with up to 500 nits brightness. The camera is 12MP with Apple’s Center Stage technology.

For audio, in the base of the tabletop model there is a pair of full range drivers in the display’s frame and both a downward firing woofer and dual force-cancelling passive radiators in the base. The wall-mounted version has a pair of full-range drivers but no low frequency driver.

On the hardware side it is powered by the Apple A18 chip, has Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6.0, Matter and Thread border router support there is a four-mic array for noise suppression and Siri, and USB-C for both power connection and accessories. The camera is 12-megapixels with zoom for chatting if needed.

Both versions list at $299 with availability on Friday, Nov. 13, albeit that the wall-mount model does not include either a mount or power adaptor. There are no VESA mounting holes on the wall-mount version, so you must spend $59.95 for the Standard mount or $129.95 for the AC powered Premium mount that requires installation by an electrician or $179.95 for the PoE Wired version. Both come from Schneider Electric.

At the top-level view, Apple HomeView is the natural integration of the disparate devices in the Apple eco-system into a single device that keeps everyone in the house informed as to what is going on, enables spatial audio listening, video calls via FaceTime, locating family members with Apple devices using Find My, and viewing video content streamed from an iPhone or iPad.

That last item is key, as there are few embedded apps and there is no access to the Apple App store. This isn’t a phone or tablet where you can ask it to play something directly from your favorite streaming service. You do that via AirPlay.

So what is it for? Apple presumably sees this as your home dashboard with face recognition figuring out who is asking what. Yes, you can query it for sports scores, recipes or similar as you can with an Echo or Google device. However, as you will see when the three new products are wrapped together there is much more with the goal of all working together with Siri AI and the inclusion of Matter and Thread in the devices.

The third new Apple product is the HomePod mini 2 with a note that the current, larger, HomePod Gen2 remains in the line $349. As its name implies, the $149 HomePod mini 2 is smaller, but with new features it is quite powerful in a number of ways.

Apple

Homepod mini 2 (Image credit: Apple)

Designed to be both a standalone smart speaker and part of the larger Apple home products system, it, too, is designed to use Apple Intelligence to not only do the obvious music playback, it is part of the Apple home management system taking voice commands for smart home device control, using Sound Recognition to alert you if it hears smoke or carbon monoxide detectors and even sending a notification of that to your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.

The hardware side includes significant updates from the original HomePod mini thanks to a Apple S10 chip driving the system, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6. The speaker is a single full-range driver, and the mic array has three far-field capsules. They will feed Siri and Siri AI when the latter is available down the road as a software upgrade.

New is the color-morphing Sound Glow surface at the top of the unit with a capacitive touch surface for control. There are now clickable, mechanical buttons. Colors include white, pink, green, blue and midnight.

A UNIFIED HOME SYSTEM
With those three new products joining the lineup along with the HomePod and the Apple Home Collection from LG starting in December with a Video Wired Doorbell, an Outdoor Camera, a Floodlight Camera. A Smart Thermostat and a Temperature Sensor and a smart thermostat that will become available in December and then a Smart Deadbolt lock and Indoor Camera in January, 2027, the goal is a true, unified system with multiple control points.

Apple

Along with the new products from Apple, LG is launching the Home Collection of smart home products custom designed to work in the Apple ecosystem. (Image credit: Apple)

One key aspect of these devices and some of their earlier and present cousins is the ability of the new Apple TV 4K to work with a combination of four HomePod mini2 or HomePod Gen 2 products create a full immersive home theater surround system. Even better, with mics now embedded in the Apple TV 4K you can not only talk to it without picking up the remote, the mics and the processor do all the configuration for the multi-speaker system.

Position mapping, delay timing, level setting, room sensing and dynamic EQ are all taken care of automatically. Thanks to the power of the A19 chip a phantom center channel is derived and the software distributes the LFE/bass channel across the speakers wothj the heaviest bass routed to full-sized HomePods if they are at the front to keep deep rumble away from the smaller HomePod mini 2 when used as the rear speakers.

One presumes that other smart home products that already work with Apple devices will continue to work with the new models. The key thing to remember is that it doesn’t work the other way around as the Apple-centric LG products will only work with the Apple devices. Yes, HomeView will respond on its own to anyone, but to set it up a compatible iPhone or iPad is required and the Home Collection products require an iPhone for initial NFC pairing. Similarly, certain personal context requests also require a paired Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad running the latest software and having Siri AI turned on.

Siri AI is at the heart of all of this, and it is clearly new. Will it have growing pains? We’ll see. What will the daily limits for usage, if any be? We don’t know yet. The fine print on all of this says that in the future there will be a fee for “expanded access” but the “when” and “how much” is still to be determined.

If the family is all-Apple with reasonably recent devices everyone should be happy. If it is a “mixed marriage” with a variety of Apple, Android, Amazon and Google Nest devices things should work, but to what extent is something that we won’t know until everyone gets their hands on them.

Put all together, this is a full-on effort to, at least for Apple families, deliver a complete home system including music and content, scheduling, queries on all subjects, view and control of smart home devices, locks, HVAC and cameras. With the HomeView providing the missing piece of the puzzle with an dedicated Apple display device, Siri SI, Apple Intelligence and a new array of smart home products specially tailored to Apple, as our introductory song says, AT LAST. After all, rest of the first lines are “My love has come along, And my lonely days are over, And life is like a song.”

To be certain, Amazon’s Echo and Echo Show devices, third-party Alexa-compatible devices, Google Next Home products and their first and third-party products have quite a lead in this space for smart home devices and smart speakers. The same goes for the increasingly agentic AI functionality of Alexa and Google as the AI and software OS that drives their ecosystems.

Will the alLure of Apple’s industrial design, new product features, Siri AI combined with their tremendous market penetration for phones and tables push these new products to the top? That will be fun to watch and at the very least the competition will undoubtedly lead to better systems for all.

Michael Heiss is a columnist for TV Tech.

]]> <![CDATA[ Welcome to The Other Side ]]> Have you ever heard the old movie cliché, “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” Those of you who might recognize my name or byline from consumer and residential technology publications over the years might reasonably paraphrase that to ask, “What’s a consumer-centric journalist doing in TV Tech?” That’s a good question, but as an introduction to my new column, “The Other Side,” allow me to explain.

Over the years, I have been involved in exactly what the name of this publication is: TV technology. I’ve worked at post and duplication facilities, helping to initiate and market new technologies; spent more late nights supervising film-to-tape transfers back in the days of 3V film chains and quad recorders; and helped install and bring up and run massive RF distribution networks for early in-room hotel pay TV systems.

On the other side of the technology fence, I led teams that developed and marketed one of the first digitally converged three-tube video projectors; spearheaded one of the first complete home theater systems (including processors, amplifiers and speakers); and, more recently, helped lead product teams for immersive home audio products that play back the content TV Tech readers capture, edit and distribute.

‘Trickle-Up’ Electronics
That has given me a unique view of how both broadcast/professional and consumer electronics products are used and, often, misused for both their intended market applications but also as a physician might say when a drug is used for something other than its main intended use, for “off-label use.” As a good example, one need look no further than the use of DSLRs and even iPhones as production-level cameras for everything from local news to major sporting events and feature films. Let’s call that “trickle up,” as it is the use of consumer market products “off-label” in professional applications.

It would be astounding if each of you hasn’t been asked more than once by relatives or friends: ‘Hey, you’re in the TV business. Can you recommend a good display, camera, speaker or amplifier?’”

On the other hand, there has always been the opposite: “trickle down.” By that, I mean the use of professional products in a consumer environment. Back in the day, I recall more than a few high-end consumer installations where one might find those old Tektronix video monitors or “professional” video projectors in home theaters. Perhaps the ultimate trickle-down was the frequent use of the original Altec “Voice of the Theater” speakers in the home, or perhaps JBL and other studio speakers in home theaters. The same for high-end, high-power audio amplifiers or Ampex 300-series reel-to-reel tape machines. The best way to picture that is to do an online search for the classic image of Frank Sinatra’s home listening system.

The digitization of everything has meant that things are clearly blending together from both sides, and my goal here is to have you meet the technology in the middle. On one hand, you get maximum efficiency both in terms of time and costs by using things originally not meant for “pros,” while on the other hand consumers get to reap the benefits of “pro/commercial” products. I’m certain that most of you know nonindustry friends who use Resolve or similar video or audio production software tools for their vlogs, or what now passes for “home movies.”

Both Sides of the Fence
Last bit of my introduction to this space: As an industry professional, it would be astounding if each of you hasn’t been asked more than once by relatives or friends: “Hey, you’re in the TV business. Can you recommend a good display, camera, speaker or amplifier?” By jumping across both sides of the fence in this column, we’ll give you some answers to those questions.

Let’s start with something everyone has and needs, and which you use every day: video displays. For last-mile, precision applications there is still no substitute for a Sony BVM series or monitors from Eizo, Flanders, TV Logic, the Dolby PRM-4220 (as a successor to the now-discontinued Dolby Pulsar) and other brands. However, for noncritical use such as viewing rooms, offices and stages where image quality and price are key, but so is cost, there are new products from consumer brands that may fit the requirements.

You may not be as familiar with TCL and Hisense as you’ve been with the legacy brands such as LG, Samsung and Sony. However, keep in mind that from a global sales perspective, those two brands are right up at the top of the sales charts with LG and Samsung. In particular, the new TCL models with their SQD panel structure and the RGB MiniLED models from Hisense have an excellent price/value benefit. Similarly, the LG and Samsung Micro RGB models will also give higher-priced, “professional” models a run for their money. Just as I’ve seen high-end LG and Panasonic OLED models used as the main and “client” monitors for color grading, expect to see these in non-consumer use sooner than later.

TCL’s SQD technology delivers precise, high-brightness color that shows your content the way you intended it in most any viewing situation.

TCL’s SQD technology delivers precise, high-brightness color that shows your content the way you intended it in most any viewing situation. (Image credit: TCL)

As an aside, the Mini and Micro RGB backlit products—not to be confused with true direct-view LED display technology (dvLED) that is common for video walls, virtual production and staging—may just be the thing to recommend when your nonindustry friends ask you, “What should I buy?” Along with the standard set by OLED, these and the (non-RGB) TCL SQD won’t steer them wrong.

Crossover in Action
As one other example of where From the Other Side will take you going forward, let’s look at one other “trickle up” product drawn from the consumer/home office space that you might benefit from on the job and on the go.

TV technology professionals are often on the go, both traveling to and from gigs, at a remote event, or in recent times possibly even at home doing remote production. Particularly since the pandemic, we’ve all gotten used to multiple screens but what do you do when you have to finish an edit on the go at an airport lounge or coffee shop?

After all, taking a wall of monitors with you just doesn’t work in an era where, to paraphrase another now-obsolete advertising slogan, “bags don’t fly free” unless you have elite-level loyalty status. TSA wouldn’t like that too much, either.

Xebec’s TriScreen is a consumer/hybrid workplace product that lets you fit multiple screens in your backpack to work almost anywhere, from an airport to a co-worker’s kitchen table.

Xebec’s TriScreen is a consumer/hybrid workplace product that lets you fit multiple screens in your backpack to work almost anywhere, from an airport to a co-worker’s kitchen table, coffee shop or even on the plane! (Image credit: Michael Heiss)

One solution I have tested and used, courtesy of a sample provided by the manufacturer, is the Tri-Screen 3 from a company with the unique name of Xebec. It lists for $699 and consists of two 13.3-inch, 1080p/60Hz screens that fold up against one another to a compact form that isn’t much thicker than some larger laptops. It fits snugly to the laptop’s screen, has one USB-C connection and, after folding out the aluminum kickstand, you fold out the monitors. You then have three screens, counting the laptop or two screens facing you and one facing behind the laptop so others can see what you are working on.

Best example: sitting in a cold Boston airport this winter, having people wonder what I was doing with an edit on three screens. That’s nowhere near as interesting as continuing it with three screens on the plane and then uploading the job as soon as I landed.

These two examples are just a hint of the crossover potential between “work and play” or “home and office/studio/remote shoot” that this column will be bringing you as we all move forward into a future that is not only mixed in terms of media, but with respect to the tools and products we all use to navigate the ever-changing media landscape.

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/business/welcome-to-the-other-side nkpkrooercGvjieEcPRXG8 Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000 false false false

Have you ever heard the old movie cliché, “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” Those of you who might recognize my name or byline from consumer and residential technology publications over the years might reasonably paraphrase that to ask, “What’s a consumer-centric journalist doing in TV Tech?” That’s a good question, but as an introduction to my new column, “The Other Side,” allow me to explain.

Over the years, I have been involved in exactly what the name of this publication is: TV technology. I’ve worked at post and duplication facilities, helping to initiate and market new technologies; spent more late nights supervising film-to-tape transfers back in the days of 3V film chains and quad recorders; and helped install and bring up and run massive RF distribution networks for early in-room hotel pay TV systems.

On the other side of the technology fence, I led teams that developed and marketed one of the first digitally converged three-tube video projectors; spearheaded one of the first complete home theater systems (including processors, amplifiers and speakers); and, more recently, helped lead product teams for immersive home audio products that play back the content TV Tech readers capture, edit and distribute.

‘Trickle-Up’ Electronics
That has given me a unique view of how both broadcast/professional and consumer electronics products are used and, often, misused for both their intended market applications but also as a physician might say when a drug is used for something other than its main intended use, for “off-label use.” As a good example, one need look no further than the use of DSLRs and even iPhones as production-level cameras for everything from local news to major sporting events and feature films. Let’s call that “trickle up,” as it is the use of consumer market products “off-label” in professional applications.

It would be astounding if each of you hasn’t been asked more than once by relatives or friends: ‘Hey, you’re in the TV business. Can you recommend a good display, camera, speaker or amplifier?’”

On the other hand, there has always been the opposite: “trickle down.” By that, I mean the use of professional products in a consumer environment. Back in the day, I recall more than a few high-end consumer installations where one might find those old Tektronix video monitors or “professional” video projectors in home theaters. Perhaps the ultimate trickle-down was the frequent use of the original Altec “Voice of the Theater” speakers in the home, or perhaps JBL and other studio speakers in home theaters. The same for high-end, high-power audio amplifiers or Ampex 300-series reel-to-reel tape machines. The best way to picture that is to do an online search for the classic image of Frank Sinatra’s home listening system.

The digitization of everything has meant that things are clearly blending together from both sides, and my goal here is to have you meet the technology in the middle. On one hand, you get maximum efficiency both in terms of time and costs by using things originally not meant for “pros,” while on the other hand consumers get to reap the benefits of “pro/commercial” products. I’m certain that most of you know nonindustry friends who use Resolve or similar video or audio production software tools for their vlogs, or what now passes for “home movies.”

Both Sides of the Fence
Last bit of my introduction to this space: As an industry professional, it would be astounding if each of you hasn’t been asked more than once by relatives or friends: “Hey, you’re in the TV business. Can you recommend a good display, camera, speaker or amplifier?” By jumping across both sides of the fence in this column, we’ll give you some answers to those questions.

Let’s start with something everyone has and needs, and which you use every day: video displays. For last-mile, precision applications there is still no substitute for a Sony BVM series or monitors from Eizo, Flanders, TV Logic, the Dolby PRM-4220 (as a successor to the now-discontinued Dolby Pulsar) and other brands. However, for noncritical use such as viewing rooms, offices and stages where image quality and price are key, but so is cost, there are new products from consumer brands that may fit the requirements.

You may not be as familiar with TCL and Hisense as you’ve been with the legacy brands such as LG, Samsung and Sony. However, keep in mind that from a global sales perspective, those two brands are right up at the top of the sales charts with LG and Samsung. In particular, the new TCL models with their SQD panel structure and the RGB MiniLED models from Hisense have an excellent price/value benefit. Similarly, the LG and Samsung Micro RGB models will also give higher-priced, “professional” models a run for their money. Just as I’ve seen high-end LG and Panasonic OLED models used as the main and “client” monitors for color grading, expect to see these in non-consumer use sooner than later.

TCL’s SQD technology delivers precise, high-brightness color that shows your content the way you intended it in most any viewing situation.

TCL’s SQD technology delivers precise, high-brightness color that shows your content the way you intended it in most any viewing situation. (Image credit: TCL)

As an aside, the Mini and Micro RGB backlit products—not to be confused with true direct-view LED display technology (dvLED) that is common for video walls, virtual production and staging—may just be the thing to recommend when your nonindustry friends ask you, “What should I buy?” Along with the standard set by OLED, these and the (non-RGB) TCL SQD won’t steer them wrong.

Crossover in Action
As one other example of where From the Other Side will take you going forward, let’s look at one other “trickle up” product drawn from the consumer/home office space that you might benefit from on the job and on the go.

TV technology professionals are often on the go, both traveling to and from gigs, at a remote event, or in recent times possibly even at home doing remote production. Particularly since the pandemic, we’ve all gotten used to multiple screens but what do you do when you have to finish an edit on the go at an airport lounge or coffee shop?

After all, taking a wall of monitors with you just doesn’t work in an era where, to paraphrase another now-obsolete advertising slogan, “bags don’t fly free” unless you have elite-level loyalty status. TSA wouldn’t like that too much, either.

Xebec’s TriScreen is a consumer/hybrid workplace product that lets you fit multiple screens in your backpack to work almost anywhere, from an airport to a co-worker’s kitchen table.

Xebec’s TriScreen is a consumer/hybrid workplace product that lets you fit multiple screens in your backpack to work almost anywhere, from an airport to a co-worker’s kitchen table, coffee shop or even on the plane! (Image credit: Michael Heiss)

One solution I have tested and used, courtesy of a sample provided by the manufacturer, is the Tri-Screen 3 from a company with the unique name of Xebec. It lists for $699 and consists of two 13.3-inch, 1080p/60Hz screens that fold up against one another to a compact form that isn’t much thicker than some larger laptops. It fits snugly to the laptop’s screen, has one USB-C connection and, after folding out the aluminum kickstand, you fold out the monitors. You then have three screens, counting the laptop or two screens facing you and one facing behind the laptop so others can see what you are working on.

Best example: sitting in a cold Boston airport this winter, having people wonder what I was doing with an edit on three screens. That’s nowhere near as interesting as continuing it with three screens on the plane and then uploading the job as soon as I landed.

These two examples are just a hint of the crossover potential between “work and play” or “home and office/studio/remote shoot” that this column will be bringing you as we all move forward into a future that is not only mixed in terms of media, but with respect to the tools and products we all use to navigate the ever-changing media landscape.

]]> <![CDATA[ TVs, Peripheral Device Sales Offer Bright Spot In Worldwide Consumer Electronics Spending ]]> Consumer spending worldwide on televisions and TV peripheral devices will buck the overall trend that will see a contraction in CE expenditures by $5.3 billion in 2024, according to newly released data from Stocklytics.com.

While overall spending on consumer electronics will fall 0.5% this year, consumers are expected to spend $4.6 billion more year-over-year in 2024 on TVs, radios and multimedia devices, such as digital cameras, headphones and speakers, reaching a total of $195.1 billion, the forecast said.

The biggest loser worldwide will be smartphones and landlines with an expected decline of $11.6 billion from $498 billion in 2023 to $486.7 billion this year, Stocklytics.com said citing a projection from Statista.

The second biggest loser will be desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, keyboards and monitors, which are expected to see a sales decline of $500 million from 2023 levels, to $314 billion, it said citing Statista.

Stocklytics.com also looked at where people will buy electronics. Worldwide nearly 78.3% of all consumer electronics sales will come from a brick-and-mortar store, the same as in 2023. Online sales will account for the remainder, it said.

By market, China will see the biggest revenue decline, a drop of 5% to $218.6 billion this year. There also will be a downturn in the United States. Revenue will fall 0.5% to $160 billion. Japan will see a decline of 1.2%, or $44.1 billion, and Brazil will experience a 0.6% drop, or $35.5 billion, according to the Stocklytics.com forecast.

India is the only market where spending on consumer electronics is expected to grow, with a 5% jump from $69.5 billion in 2023 to $73.1 billion this year, it said citing Statista.

More information is available at Stocklytics.com.  

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/tvs-peripheral-device-sales-offer-bright-spot-in-worldwide-consumer-electronics-spending dQJabV37TsjzNAhHSArvSR Tue, 30 Jan 2024 17:43:27 +0000 false false false

Consumer spending worldwide on televisions and TV peripheral devices will buck the overall trend that will see a contraction in CE expenditures by $5.3 billion in 2024, according to newly released data from Stocklytics.com.

While overall spending on consumer electronics will fall 0.5% this year, consumers are expected to spend $4.6 billion more year-over-year in 2024 on TVs, radios and multimedia devices, such as digital cameras, headphones and speakers, reaching a total of $195.1 billion, the forecast said.

The biggest loser worldwide will be smartphones and landlines with an expected decline of $11.6 billion from $498 billion in 2023 to $486.7 billion this year, Stocklytics.com said citing a projection from Statista.

The second biggest loser will be desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, keyboards and monitors, which are expected to see a sales decline of $500 million from 2023 levels, to $314 billion, it said citing Statista.

Stocklytics.com also looked at where people will buy electronics. Worldwide nearly 78.3% of all consumer electronics sales will come from a brick-and-mortar store, the same as in 2023. Online sales will account for the remainder, it said.

By market, China will see the biggest revenue decline, a drop of 5% to $218.6 billion this year. There also will be a downturn in the United States. Revenue will fall 0.5% to $160 billion. Japan will see a decline of 1.2%, or $44.1 billion, and Brazil will experience a 0.6% drop, or $35.5 billion, according to the Stocklytics.com forecast.

India is the only market where spending on consumer electronics is expected to grow, with a 5% jump from $69.5 billion in 2023 to $73.1 billion this year, it said citing Statista.

More information is available at Stocklytics.com.  

]]> <![CDATA[ NPD Increases U.S. Consumer Tech Revenue Forecast ]]> PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—Strong first half sales and rising average sales prices will push U.S. consumer technology revenue in 2021 up by 7% over 2020 even though unit sales will see a 1% decline, according to The NPD Group. 

NPD’s latest "Future of Tech" report estimates sales for 2021 will reach over $113 billion, a 4% increase from NPD's January estimates. In 2022 and 2023 NPD expects revenue to be down year over year 7% and 4% respectively, and unit sales will see a 6% and 5% decline.

“The higher than expected ASPs [average sales prices] we are seeing in the market today can be attributed to increased shipping costs, component shortages, consumer readiness to trade-up to a higher cost product to meet their needs, and lack of promotional activity,” explained Stephen Baker, vice president and industry advisor for NPD. “All of these factors have driven our total revenue projections up, but higher ASPs inevitably lead to lower demand, resulting in unit sales declines in categories such as TVs, networking devices, and printers in the back half of the year. Following the historically high sales in 2020 and 2021, we are anticipating near-term declines with a slow climb back to normalcy by the end of 2023.”

The current quarter, Q3 2021, is forecasted to be the most challenging revenue quarter for the consumer electronics (CE) business since the pandemic began due to difficult comps to Q3 2020. But NPD’s forecast predicts a temporary return to revenue growth in Q4 2021, up 2% year over year, despite a 5% decline in unit sales, again driven by pricing and product availability. This is noteworthy revenue growth given the strong CE sales recorded in Q4 2020.

“Revenue growth in Q4 will be driven by higher prices in the industry’s most popular holiday categories like big screen TVs, PCs, gaming, and audio,” said Ben Arnold, executive director and technology industry analyst for NPD. “As consumers trade-up to better, more feature laden technology products, they will also have to contend with fewer and shallower promotions,”  

NPD's "Future of Tech" report is based on forecasted sales of technology products captured in The NPD Group Retail Tracking Service point-of-sale data. This does not include mobile phones.

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/npd-increases-us-consumer-tech-revenue-forecast vc6zcdN4DE4zbWCaZ9jv6B Tue, 10 Aug 2021 22:09:44 +0000 false false false

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—Strong first half sales and rising average sales prices will push U.S. consumer technology revenue in 2021 up by 7% over 2020 even though unit sales will see a 1% decline, according to The NPD Group. 

NPD’s latest "Future of Tech" report estimates sales for 2021 will reach over $113 billion, a 4% increase from NPD's January estimates. In 2022 and 2023 NPD expects revenue to be down year over year 7% and 4% respectively, and unit sales will see a 6% and 5% decline.

“The higher than expected ASPs [average sales prices] we are seeing in the market today can be attributed to increased shipping costs, component shortages, consumer readiness to trade-up to a higher cost product to meet their needs, and lack of promotional activity,” explained Stephen Baker, vice president and industry advisor for NPD. “All of these factors have driven our total revenue projections up, but higher ASPs inevitably lead to lower demand, resulting in unit sales declines in categories such as TVs, networking devices, and printers in the back half of the year. Following the historically high sales in 2020 and 2021, we are anticipating near-term declines with a slow climb back to normalcy by the end of 2023.”

The current quarter, Q3 2021, is forecasted to be the most challenging revenue quarter for the consumer electronics (CE) business since the pandemic began due to difficult comps to Q3 2020. But NPD’s forecast predicts a temporary return to revenue growth in Q4 2021, up 2% year over year, despite a 5% decline in unit sales, again driven by pricing and product availability. This is noteworthy revenue growth given the strong CE sales recorded in Q4 2020.

“Revenue growth in Q4 will be driven by higher prices in the industry’s most popular holiday categories like big screen TVs, PCs, gaming, and audio,” said Ben Arnold, executive director and technology industry analyst for NPD. “As consumers trade-up to better, more feature laden technology products, they will also have to contend with fewer and shallower promotions,”  

NPD's "Future of Tech" report is based on forecasted sales of technology products captured in The NPD Group Retail Tracking Service point-of-sale data. This does not include mobile phones.

]]> <![CDATA[ GV Expo 2018: Tracking New Consumer Technology Trends for 2019 ]]> WASHINGTON—We are on the cusp of a new age of consumer technology, said Steve Koenig, vice president of market research at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) during his “2019 Tech Trends” keynote at the 2018 Government Video Expo in late November. At some point over the course of the last decade, which he describes as the “connected age,” we began to take the internet for granted, expecting our consumer devices to be online. “We’re streaming audio, video—most of our waking hours are spent online either passively or actively.” 

Not only have we been using these devices to stay connected, they have been using us, collecting data on what we watch, where we go and what we like to buy.

AI

So what’s on the horizon? “Get ready for the data age of consumer tech,” Koenig said. “More and more business decisions, more and more consumer choices are guided and informed by data. Just think about your Netflix queue. Those recommendations about what you might like, that isn’t just magic. That’s all built off of data. So we look across the whole tech ecosystem, I think data is the common denominator. Whether it’s Netflix or a self-driving vehicle, data is behind much of what we do, and that’s only going to grow and multiply exponentially as we get into the next decade.”

This era will be driven by advances in AI and machine learning, which Koenig anticipates will be a strong theme at the upcoming International Consumer Electronics Show, which the CTA produces every January in Las Vegas. Drawing an anticipated 180,000 trade professionals from 150 countries this year, according to Koenig, CES is probably the world’s largest consumer technology event.

About AI, Koenig continued, “Companies have massive amounts of customer data ... that they want to make sense of that would take us humans years and years” to sort. And AI will potentially be able to do it in real time, translating this data into instant, actionable information.

Stressing the importance of AI as a technology enabling the future, Koenig mentioned a study released by the McKinsey Global Institute in September. “Just to kind of underscore the significance of AI, they likened the global economic impact of AI in terms of GDP growth globally to the invention of the steam engine or the steam locomotive 150 years ago... They go on to say that through 2030, AI will add 1.2 percent to global GDP growth. It’s such a small percentage, but what’s behind that is quite literally trillions of U.S. dollars. Trillions. That’s how significant AI is. You don’t have to look too deep to uncover other statistics about the vast majority of commercial operations that are either using AI now or making plans to.”

5G

With the speed of technological progress, it’s not surprising that Koenig noted another change we’ll be navigating over the next few years, and another enabling technology. “We’re bridging into the data age, and 5G, which is the next generation of wireless connectivity, is essentially going to become the central nervous system of the data age.”

The hallmarks of 5G—faster speed, greater capacity and lower latency—are all critical elements to enable emerging technologies such as self-driving vehicles, smart cities, 8K video and others.

In its publication “5 Technology Trends to Watch in 2019,” the CTA noted that the U.S. “is beginning a transformation that will create lucrative business opportunities for many. 5G is coming and its rich bandwidth will reduce latency, allow a fast data stream and incentivize new services that cross the borders of all tech sectors. Combined with low-cost sensors, deep data analytics and AI, 5G will be the backbone for much of the smart city infrastructure that will help drive resilience for unforeseen disasters ... 5G will also fuel the connected home, transform digital healthcare and create immersive experiences for global sports fans. Of course, AI will be at the core of each of these areas, supporting them with data to make informed actions.”

Describing the many potential opportunities it may unlock, Koenig explained that 5G, deployed as fixed wireless broadband, has the capacity to bridge the digital divide in the United States and other large countries with geographically dispersed citizens. Noting that it is too expensive to lay fiber to support access to broadband internet for all the residents of the Appalachian Mountains, for example, “fixed wireless 5G brings those super-fast speeds of broadband to places that heretofore have not been able to get a robust internet connection.”

[Read: 5G—The Future Is Now]

He added that 4G and 5G are going to coexist for a time while networks are built out to support 5G deployments and 5G smartphones are put in the hands of consumers. Koenig predicts that by 2022 or 2023, the majority of handsets shipping in the U.S. will be pure 5G.

8K

Koenig positions the 2019 International CES as “the coming-out party for 8K TV,” based on monthly shipment data CES tracks in the U.S. market: “In the October year-to-date data for TV shipments, we have breached the 1 million mark [for the first time] in terms of unit volume shipped for TV sets 70 inches and above,” the target screen size for 8K resolution.

He admits that there’s little native 8K content now and no 8K transmission in the United States, but we were in a similar position when HDTVs first began to appear around the turn of the century.

As for how many 8K televisions are going to sell in the coming year, Koenig said, “Right now my current thinking is 100,000 or less. It’s going to be pretty small simply because it’s a brand new technology.”

He added, “It starts small but then we hit an inflection point. Now, when that big inflection point comes, I don’t think 8K is going to be a big majority seller simply because it’s domain is very, very large screens.”

The trend in the United States is toward increasingly large screens, so 8K sets may increase in prominence over time. “Ten years ago, under 40 inches was the lion’s share of TV shipments, and that has slowly modulated to where now shipments of TVs above 40 inches are the lion’s share. The size category that’s just crushing it right now is 65 inch. Three years ago it was 55 inch. You can start to see a trend here.”

Smart Speakers and Digital Assistants

This holiday season, tech spending is expected to reach a record $96.1 billion in the U.S. alone, according to CTA research, a year-over-year increase of 3.4 percent. Whether it’s emerging tech like smart speakers and smart home devices, or the popular categories like TVs and laptops, tech is an integral part of our lives.

CTA projects that smart speakers such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home will sell 22 million units this holiday season, up 44 percent over 2017.

Discussing consumer purchasing trends, Koenig said, “About every five or six years there tends to be a must-have consumer tech product. It has the signature of hyper-growth and hyper-volume of sales, so almost overnight, millions of households adopt it. Today that’s the smart speaker.” Five or six years ago, the must-have consumer tech item was the tablet; before that it was the smartphone, and back in 2002 it was the DVD player.

Smart speakers provide an entrée into the home for AI via the speakers’ digital assistant. Microsoft’s Cortana, Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant are some very capable helpers, and they are changing the way consumers interact with and even purchase new technology.

“CES 2018 taught us three things related to digital assistants,” Koenig said. “The first is that these digital assistants are going into more vessels—this is everything from phones to PCs to cars.”

The second point: “Support for these assistants has now become table stakes, just like connectivity was mandatory several years ago.” If you brought forward a non-connected device in 2010, people didn’t have much interest in it; it’s the same now with devices that don’t interconnect with a digital assistant ecosystem.

This has become critically important in smart home products, where digital assistants have become the killer app, according to Koenig, which leads to the third point: these digital assistants are quickly establishing voice as the go-to user interface.

“Voice is really coming into the user experience,” he said. “I predict that within five years, things that we normally do on a website or through an app, that all gets pushed to the digital assistant that is omnipresent in our experience. They’re in our car, they’re on our phone, they’re on our laptop, they’re in the kitchen on the smart speaker, they’re integrated into the fridge—they’re everywhere. Therefore, they’re always standing by to help. So voice and digital assistants become the new search.”

Koenig isn’t simply speculating on this. The CTA conducted research over the summer that revealed several things about how American adults are using these digital assistants. Koenig noted, “The list is very long of the things that consumers are doing with these digital assistants—it’s not just a few things like checking the weather or setting an alarm. Point two: the things that they are doing are what we would normally fire up an app for or go to a website.” At least part of the time, consumers are starting to pivot to a digital assistant to make purchases or schedule their work and free time.

He added, “I’m belaboring the point, but what I’m trying to say is that we are on the cusp of a major shift in consumer behavior and it’s made possible by these digital assistants, and it will transform our interactions.”

Koenig will be at CES next month to track the accuracy of these forecasts. The 2019 International CES takes place Jan. 8-11 in Las Vegas.

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/gv-expo-2018-tracking-new-consumer-technology-trends-for-2019 oreE3RqejgDmfv98joKTkw Tue, 11 Dec 2018 20:46:36 +0000 false false false

WASHINGTON—We are on the cusp of a new age of consumer technology, said Steve Koenig, vice president of market research at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) during his “2019 Tech Trends” keynote at the 2018 Government Video Expo in late November. At some point over the course of the last decade, which he describes as the “connected age,” we began to take the internet for granted, expecting our consumer devices to be online. “We’re streaming audio, video—most of our waking hours are spent online either passively or actively.” 

Not only have we been using these devices to stay connected, they have been using us, collecting data on what we watch, where we go and what we like to buy.

AI

So what’s on the horizon? “Get ready for the data age of consumer tech,” Koenig said. “More and more business decisions, more and more consumer choices are guided and informed by data. Just think about your Netflix queue. Those recommendations about what you might like, that isn’t just magic. That’s all built off of data. So we look across the whole tech ecosystem, I think data is the common denominator. Whether it’s Netflix or a self-driving vehicle, data is behind much of what we do, and that’s only going to grow and multiply exponentially as we get into the next decade.”

This era will be driven by advances in AI and machine learning, which Koenig anticipates will be a strong theme at the upcoming International Consumer Electronics Show, which the CTA produces every January in Las Vegas. Drawing an anticipated 180,000 trade professionals from 150 countries this year, according to Koenig, CES is probably the world’s largest consumer technology event.

About AI, Koenig continued, “Companies have massive amounts of customer data ... that they want to make sense of that would take us humans years and years” to sort. And AI will potentially be able to do it in real time, translating this data into instant, actionable information.

Stressing the importance of AI as a technology enabling the future, Koenig mentioned a study released by the McKinsey Global Institute in September. “Just to kind of underscore the significance of AI, they likened the global economic impact of AI in terms of GDP growth globally to the invention of the steam engine or the steam locomotive 150 years ago... They go on to say that through 2030, AI will add 1.2 percent to global GDP growth. It’s such a small percentage, but what’s behind that is quite literally trillions of U.S. dollars. Trillions. That’s how significant AI is. You don’t have to look too deep to uncover other statistics about the vast majority of commercial operations that are either using AI now or making plans to.”

5G

With the speed of technological progress, it’s not surprising that Koenig noted another change we’ll be navigating over the next few years, and another enabling technology. “We’re bridging into the data age, and 5G, which is the next generation of wireless connectivity, is essentially going to become the central nervous system of the data age.”

The hallmarks of 5G—faster speed, greater capacity and lower latency—are all critical elements to enable emerging technologies such as self-driving vehicles, smart cities, 8K video and others.

In its publication “5 Technology Trends to Watch in 2019,” the CTA noted that the U.S. “is beginning a transformation that will create lucrative business opportunities for many. 5G is coming and its rich bandwidth will reduce latency, allow a fast data stream and incentivize new services that cross the borders of all tech sectors. Combined with low-cost sensors, deep data analytics and AI, 5G will be the backbone for much of the smart city infrastructure that will help drive resilience for unforeseen disasters ... 5G will also fuel the connected home, transform digital healthcare and create immersive experiences for global sports fans. Of course, AI will be at the core of each of these areas, supporting them with data to make informed actions.”

Describing the many potential opportunities it may unlock, Koenig explained that 5G, deployed as fixed wireless broadband, has the capacity to bridge the digital divide in the United States and other large countries with geographically dispersed citizens. Noting that it is too expensive to lay fiber to support access to broadband internet for all the residents of the Appalachian Mountains, for example, “fixed wireless 5G brings those super-fast speeds of broadband to places that heretofore have not been able to get a robust internet connection.”

[Read: 5G—The Future Is Now]

He added that 4G and 5G are going to coexist for a time while networks are built out to support 5G deployments and 5G smartphones are put in the hands of consumers. Koenig predicts that by 2022 or 2023, the majority of handsets shipping in the U.S. will be pure 5G.

8K

Koenig positions the 2019 International CES as “the coming-out party for 8K TV,” based on monthly shipment data CES tracks in the U.S. market: “In the October year-to-date data for TV shipments, we have breached the 1 million mark [for the first time] in terms of unit volume shipped for TV sets 70 inches and above,” the target screen size for 8K resolution.

He admits that there’s little native 8K content now and no 8K transmission in the United States, but we were in a similar position when HDTVs first began to appear around the turn of the century.

As for how many 8K televisions are going to sell in the coming year, Koenig said, “Right now my current thinking is 100,000 or less. It’s going to be pretty small simply because it’s a brand new technology.”

He added, “It starts small but then we hit an inflection point. Now, when that big inflection point comes, I don’t think 8K is going to be a big majority seller simply because it’s domain is very, very large screens.”

The trend in the United States is toward increasingly large screens, so 8K sets may increase in prominence over time. “Ten years ago, under 40 inches was the lion’s share of TV shipments, and that has slowly modulated to where now shipments of TVs above 40 inches are the lion’s share. The size category that’s just crushing it right now is 65 inch. Three years ago it was 55 inch. You can start to see a trend here.”

Smart Speakers and Digital Assistants

This holiday season, tech spending is expected to reach a record $96.1 billion in the U.S. alone, according to CTA research, a year-over-year increase of 3.4 percent. Whether it’s emerging tech like smart speakers and smart home devices, or the popular categories like TVs and laptops, tech is an integral part of our lives.

CTA projects that smart speakers such as Amazon’s Echo and Google Home will sell 22 million units this holiday season, up 44 percent over 2017.

Discussing consumer purchasing trends, Koenig said, “About every five or six years there tends to be a must-have consumer tech product. It has the signature of hyper-growth and hyper-volume of sales, so almost overnight, millions of households adopt it. Today that’s the smart speaker.” Five or six years ago, the must-have consumer tech item was the tablet; before that it was the smartphone, and back in 2002 it was the DVD player.

Smart speakers provide an entrée into the home for AI via the speakers’ digital assistant. Microsoft’s Cortana, Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant are some very capable helpers, and they are changing the way consumers interact with and even purchase new technology.

“CES 2018 taught us three things related to digital assistants,” Koenig said. “The first is that these digital assistants are going into more vessels—this is everything from phones to PCs to cars.”

The second point: “Support for these assistants has now become table stakes, just like connectivity was mandatory several years ago.” If you brought forward a non-connected device in 2010, people didn’t have much interest in it; it’s the same now with devices that don’t interconnect with a digital assistant ecosystem.

This has become critically important in smart home products, where digital assistants have become the killer app, according to Koenig, which leads to the third point: these digital assistants are quickly establishing voice as the go-to user interface.

“Voice is really coming into the user experience,” he said. “I predict that within five years, things that we normally do on a website or through an app, that all gets pushed to the digital assistant that is omnipresent in our experience. They’re in our car, they’re on our phone, they’re on our laptop, they’re in the kitchen on the smart speaker, they’re integrated into the fridge—they’re everywhere. Therefore, they’re always standing by to help. So voice and digital assistants become the new search.”

Koenig isn’t simply speculating on this. The CTA conducted research over the summer that revealed several things about how American adults are using these digital assistants. Koenig noted, “The list is very long of the things that consumers are doing with these digital assistants—it’s not just a few things like checking the weather or setting an alarm. Point two: the things that they are doing are what we would normally fire up an app for or go to a website.” At least part of the time, consumers are starting to pivot to a digital assistant to make purchases or schedule their work and free time.

He added, “I’m belaboring the point, but what I’m trying to say is that we are on the cusp of a major shift in consumer behavior and it’s made possible by these digital assistants, and it will transform our interactions.”

Koenig will be at CES next month to track the accuracy of these forecasts. The 2019 International CES takes place Jan. 8-11 in Las Vegas.

]]> <![CDATA[ Joe Clayton, Industry Pioneer, Dead At 69 ]]> Industry great Joseph “Joe” Clayton, who helped spearhead myriad CE and telecommunications technologies from satellite radio to Sling TV over his 42-year career, died Saturday at the age of 69 following a brief illness.

Clayton’s illustrious curriculum vitae included runs as president/CEO of Dish Network, from 2011-2015; chairman of Sirius Satellite Radio, from 2004-2008, and before that CEO, from 2001-2004; and president and president/CEO, respectively, of telecommunications providers Global Crossing and Frontier Corp.

Before that he helped launch DirecTV at Thomson Consumer Electronics in concert with Hughes Electronics, and also led RCA’s marketing and sales efforts for TVs and VCRs.

At Sirius (now SiriusXM Radio), he helped introduce new home and car hardware, and put the company on the map by signing multiple radio contracts with sports leagues and entertainment figures including Howard Stern.

“We were able to launch the Hopper, DishNet and Sling TV; navigate two spectrum auctions; and deliver our customers throughout,” Clayton said upon his retirement from Dish.

In his spare time, Clayton served on EchoStar’s board of directors; was chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association (now CTA) from 1995-1996; and was a trustee for his alma mater, Kentucky’s Bellarmine University.

He was inducted into the CT Hall of Fame in 2008, received CTA’s Digital Patriot Award in 2013, and was bestowed a LIfetime Achievement Award by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

The tributes came in fast and furious. “Joe was a man of passion and vision whose influence on our industry is remarkable in its breadth and depth,” said Dish co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen. “As a master marketer, his brands, including RCA, DirecTV, Sirius Satellite Radio and Dish, were welcomed into tens of millions of American homes. As importantly, he mentored and influenced generations of leaders across our industry, including me. I am grateful for Joe’s leadership, his friendship and his generosity.”

Said CTA president/CEO Gary Shapiro, “The consumer technology sector has lost a legend. Joe was a strong and ethical leader — a lion of the industry, who was larger than life. He saw the future clearly and helped lead the industry in areas including direct broadcast satellite, HDTV and satellite radio. Joe focused on the big picture, increasing growth by inspiring people … Our industry and all those who knew Joe Clayton are better for his influence, leadership and guidance.”

n a 2016 column, longtime TWICE editor Steve Smith described Clayton as a mentor, an enthusiastic promoter of the RCA brand and its color TV line, and as someone who “knew and respected the role the press had in covering the business, when news was good, bad or indifferent.”

“He not only shared info on his products and technology,” Smith continued, “but was willing to provide significant insights into the arcane world of CE retailing, and without realizing it, helped me get up to speed rather quickly in this fast-paced business. Over the years he was generous with his time and his insights, even when the story was not about RCA — or later on — Sirius or Dish.”

Susan M. Donovan, Ph.D., president of Clayton’s beloved Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., noted his role as a trustee and benefactor. “Joe Clayton was a part of everything at Bellarmine. The Bellarmine campus wouldn’t be what it is today without his incredible support,” she wrote in a university post. “Not just through our physical space, and not just through his leadership as a trustee and distinguished graduate. It lives in the legacy of so many students and alumni who have now moved on to become educators, librarians, business people and leaders in their communities. It is a legacy that will continue forever.”

A native Kentuckian and self-described “poor young kid from the hills of Bardstown,” Clayton was an avid traveler, hunter and University of Kentucky basketball fan.

He is survived by his wife, Janet, daughters Megan Stovall (Matthew), Kelly Herr (Brock), Kathleen Reitz (Andy), and Molly; son John Paul; grandchildren Samuel, Abigail, William and Lucas Paul; brother Mike Clayton (Leigh Ann); and sister Ellen Willett (Jerry).

Visitation will be Thursday, Nov. 8, from 3:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. in Knights Hall at Bellarmine. His funeral will be held Friday, Nov. 9 at 11:00 a.m. at Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, with burial immediately to follow at St. Joseph.

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/joe-clayton-industry-pioneer-dead-at-69 m3132VAaM2yzFQnTjAtCAo Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:40:27 +0000 false false false

Industry great Joseph “Joe” Clayton, who helped spearhead myriad CE and telecommunications technologies from satellite radio to Sling TV over his 42-year career, died Saturday at the age of 69 following a brief illness.

Clayton’s illustrious curriculum vitae included runs as president/CEO of Dish Network, from 2011-2015; chairman of Sirius Satellite Radio, from 2004-2008, and before that CEO, from 2001-2004; and president and president/CEO, respectively, of telecommunications providers Global Crossing and Frontier Corp.

Before that he helped launch DirecTV at Thomson Consumer Electronics in concert with Hughes Electronics, and also led RCA’s marketing and sales efforts for TVs and VCRs.

At Sirius (now SiriusXM Radio), he helped introduce new home and car hardware, and put the company on the map by signing multiple radio contracts with sports leagues and entertainment figures including Howard Stern.

“We were able to launch the Hopper, DishNet and Sling TV; navigate two spectrum auctions; and deliver our customers throughout,” Clayton said upon his retirement from Dish.

In his spare time, Clayton served on EchoStar’s board of directors; was chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association (now CTA) from 1995-1996; and was a trustee for his alma mater, Kentucky’s Bellarmine University.

He was inducted into the CT Hall of Fame in 2008, received CTA’s Digital Patriot Award in 2013, and was bestowed a LIfetime Achievement Award by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

The tributes came in fast and furious. “Joe was a man of passion and vision whose influence on our industry is remarkable in its breadth and depth,” said Dish co-founder and chairman Charlie Ergen. “As a master marketer, his brands, including RCA, DirecTV, Sirius Satellite Radio and Dish, were welcomed into tens of millions of American homes. As importantly, he mentored and influenced generations of leaders across our industry, including me. I am grateful for Joe’s leadership, his friendship and his generosity.”

Said CTA president/CEO Gary Shapiro, “The consumer technology sector has lost a legend. Joe was a strong and ethical leader — a lion of the industry, who was larger than life. He saw the future clearly and helped lead the industry in areas including direct broadcast satellite, HDTV and satellite radio. Joe focused on the big picture, increasing growth by inspiring people … Our industry and all those who knew Joe Clayton are better for his influence, leadership and guidance.”

n a 2016 column, longtime TWICE editor Steve Smith described Clayton as a mentor, an enthusiastic promoter of the RCA brand and its color TV line, and as someone who “knew and respected the role the press had in covering the business, when news was good, bad or indifferent.”

“He not only shared info on his products and technology,” Smith continued, “but was willing to provide significant insights into the arcane world of CE retailing, and without realizing it, helped me get up to speed rather quickly in this fast-paced business. Over the years he was generous with his time and his insights, even when the story was not about RCA — or later on — Sirius or Dish.”

Susan M. Donovan, Ph.D., president of Clayton’s beloved Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., noted his role as a trustee and benefactor. “Joe Clayton was a part of everything at Bellarmine. The Bellarmine campus wouldn’t be what it is today without his incredible support,” she wrote in a university post. “Not just through our physical space, and not just through his leadership as a trustee and distinguished graduate. It lives in the legacy of so many students and alumni who have now moved on to become educators, librarians, business people and leaders in their communities. It is a legacy that will continue forever.”

A native Kentuckian and self-described “poor young kid from the hills of Bardstown,” Clayton was an avid traveler, hunter and University of Kentucky basketball fan.

He is survived by his wife, Janet, daughters Megan Stovall (Matthew), Kelly Herr (Brock), Kathleen Reitz (Andy), and Molly; son John Paul; grandchildren Samuel, Abigail, William and Lucas Paul; brother Mike Clayton (Leigh Ann); and sister Ellen Willett (Jerry).

Visitation will be Thursday, Nov. 8, from 3:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. in Knights Hall at Bellarmine. His funeral will be held Friday, Nov. 9 at 11:00 a.m. at Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, with burial immediately to follow at St. Joseph.

]]> <![CDATA[ Recognize Anyone? Throwing Back To The 20th Anniversary Of HDTV ]]> Representatives from the former DOW Stereo shared this video marking the 20th anniversary of the retailer’s first HDTV sale — a 56-inch Panasonic model — complete with plenty of rich nostalgia. How many faces do you recognize? 

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/recognize-anyone-throwing-back-to-the-20th-anniversary-of-hdtv cUbNdMxuvVscPB2AEkoocT Wed, 08 Aug 2018 19:47:48 +0000 false false false

Representatives from the former DOW Stereo shared this video marking the 20th anniversary of the retailer’s first HDTV sale — a 56-inch Panasonic model — complete with plenty of rich nostalgia. How many faces do you recognize? 

]]> <![CDATA[ Television To Help Drive ’18 CE Revenue To $377B, Says CTA ]]> While AI, voice recognition and fast connectivity are contributing to the upswing in electronics consumers are buying, television remains one of three screen-based technologies driving CE revenue, according to a newly released update to a Consumer Technology Association (CTA) sales and forecast report.

The other two screen-based CE revenue drivers are smartphones and laptop/notebook PCs, says the revision to CTA’s “U.S. Consumer Technology Sales and Forecasts” report. CTA now pegs consumer technology revenue for 2018 at $377 billion, a 6% increase over the previous year.

[Read: Next Gen TVs Record Greatest Gain In U.S. Household Ownership, Says CTA Study]

Digital displays, including televisions, registered a strong performance in 2017, which contributed to a slowing early this year, says the update. CTA now forecasts total digital display unit sales to drop 6% from last year, reaching only 40.4 million units.

Despite the decline, higher average wholesale prices will maintain 2018 projected revenue of $21 billion at about the 2017 level, CTA said.

Strong growth, however, is occurring in the 4K UHD TV category. For the year, 18.6 million units are expected to be sold, an 11% increase from 2017.

OLED unit sales are forecasted to climb to 772,000, a 45% increase, earning $1.4 billion in revenue in 2018. Next year, OLED display revenue is forecasted to increase 50%, propelling the category over the $2 billion mark. Next-generation screen technology is expected to be the driver of growth in the future, says CTA.

As for the other screen-based technologies, the updated forecast adjusted 2017 and 2018 revenue figures to $69 billion and $78 billion, respectively. Unit shipments this year are expected to growth 1% to 169.4 million.

When it comes to laptops, unit sales are forecasted to reach 50.1 million units in 2018 and earn $28.4 billion, according to the revision.

Revenue from subscriptions to music and video streaming services is forecasted to climb to $19.7 billion in 2018, 38% higher than the previous year. Streaming video services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Sling TV, are expected to generate $13.4 billion in revenue, according to the update.

“We are undergoing a huge shift in how people consume content,” said Rick Kowalski, senior manager of market research and business intelligence, CTA. “Video streaming services are offering an increasing amount of exclusive content, and live TV streaming options are becoming widely available this year — and that has more consumers exploring their over-the-top video options.”

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]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/television-to-help-drive-18-ce-revenue-to-377-billion-says-cta ptrPkUWiRbZfjRmfd7Qj6a Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:11:32 +0000 false false false

While AI, voice recognition and fast connectivity are contributing to the upswing in electronics consumers are buying, television remains one of three screen-based technologies driving CE revenue, according to a newly released update to a Consumer Technology Association (CTA) sales and forecast report.

The other two screen-based CE revenue drivers are smartphones and laptop/notebook PCs, says the revision to CTA’s “U.S. Consumer Technology Sales and Forecasts” report. CTA now pegs consumer technology revenue for 2018 at $377 billion, a 6% increase over the previous year.

[Read: Next Gen TVs Record Greatest Gain In U.S. Household Ownership, Says CTA Study]

Digital displays, including televisions, registered a strong performance in 2017, which contributed to a slowing early this year, says the update. CTA now forecasts total digital display unit sales to drop 6% from last year, reaching only 40.4 million units.

Despite the decline, higher average wholesale prices will maintain 2018 projected revenue of $21 billion at about the 2017 level, CTA said.

Strong growth, however, is occurring in the 4K UHD TV category. For the year, 18.6 million units are expected to be sold, an 11% increase from 2017.

OLED unit sales are forecasted to climb to 772,000, a 45% increase, earning $1.4 billion in revenue in 2018. Next year, OLED display revenue is forecasted to increase 50%, propelling the category over the $2 billion mark. Next-generation screen technology is expected to be the driver of growth in the future, says CTA.

As for the other screen-based technologies, the updated forecast adjusted 2017 and 2018 revenue figures to $69 billion and $78 billion, respectively. Unit shipments this year are expected to growth 1% to 169.4 million.

When it comes to laptops, unit sales are forecasted to reach 50.1 million units in 2018 and earn $28.4 billion, according to the revision.

Revenue from subscriptions to music and video streaming services is forecasted to climb to $19.7 billion in 2018, 38% higher than the previous year. Streaming video services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Sling TV, are expected to generate $13.4 billion in revenue, according to the update.

“We are undergoing a huge shift in how people consume content,” said Rick Kowalski, senior manager of market research and business intelligence, CTA. “Video streaming services are offering an increasing amount of exclusive content, and live TV streaming options are becoming widely available this year — and that has more consumers exploring their over-the-top video options.”

[Want more information like this? Subscribe to our newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox.]

]]> <![CDATA[ Sony Introduces Master Series TVs With Netflix Calibrated Mode ]]> Sony introduced a pair of TVs under a new top-of-the-line Master series, positioning them as a reflection of its end-to-end (or “lens to living room”) commitment to picture quality.

Sony A9F

Sony A9F

The A9F OLED and Z9F LED feature a Sony-exclusive Netflix Calibrated Mode that’s better able to reproduce what content creators see during video production, executives from both companies said during a press event in New York on Tuesday. They likened the mode to the pro-grade monitors used during video post-production.

Both TVs, which will come in 55- and 65-inch sizes, feature Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor with object-based enhancement technology, first previewed during CES in January. They also include Dolby Vision and HDR10 support, while the Acoustic Surface Audio technology adds a center-channel speaker for more accurate sound reproduction.

The X-Wide Angle technology is designed to ensure picture and color quality remain consistent regardless of the viewing angle, while X-Motion Clarity reduces motion blur.

Pricing was not revealed. Shipping is slated for fall.

Sony Z9F

Sony Z9F

There was much talk of Sony’s commitment to “Kando” during the presser, a Japanese term for the act of evoking an emotional response. During a Q&A hosted by actress Alison Haislip, Bill Baggelaar, Sony Pictures senior VP of technology production and post-production technologies; Cheryl Goodman, Sony’s communications head; Scott Mirer, Netflix’s VP of device partner ecosystem; and Zack Estrin, producer of Netflix’s “Lost in Space,” waxed poetic on the Master series’ ability to deliver the experience the creator originally intended.

Noted Mirer on the reasoning behind Netflix’s long-standing partnership with Sony: “We reach our members through these devices. The stories have more impact when they do a better job of bringing that story to them in all its glory and intent.”

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]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/sony-introduces-master-series-tvs-with-netflix-calibrated-mode mifubUYbvEtC52HNZPS9Fb Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:19:51 +0000 false false false

Sony introduced a pair of TVs under a new top-of-the-line Master series, positioning them as a reflection of its end-to-end (or “lens to living room”) commitment to picture quality.

Sony A9F

Sony A9F

The A9F OLED and Z9F LED feature a Sony-exclusive Netflix Calibrated Mode that’s better able to reproduce what content creators see during video production, executives from both companies said during a press event in New York on Tuesday. They likened the mode to the pro-grade monitors used during video post-production.

Both TVs, which will come in 55- and 65-inch sizes, feature Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor with object-based enhancement technology, first previewed during CES in January. They also include Dolby Vision and HDR10 support, while the Acoustic Surface Audio technology adds a center-channel speaker for more accurate sound reproduction.

The X-Wide Angle technology is designed to ensure picture and color quality remain consistent regardless of the viewing angle, while X-Motion Clarity reduces motion blur.

Pricing was not revealed. Shipping is slated for fall.

Sony Z9F

Sony Z9F

There was much talk of Sony’s commitment to “Kando” during the presser, a Japanese term for the act of evoking an emotional response. During a Q&A hosted by actress Alison Haislip, Bill Baggelaar, Sony Pictures senior VP of technology production and post-production technologies; Cheryl Goodman, Sony’s communications head; Scott Mirer, Netflix’s VP of device partner ecosystem; and Zack Estrin, producer of Netflix’s “Lost in Space,” waxed poetic on the Master series’ ability to deliver the experience the creator originally intended.

Noted Mirer on the reasoning behind Netflix’s long-standing partnership with Sony: “We reach our members through these devices. The stories have more impact when they do a better job of bringing that story to them in all its glory and intent.”

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]]> <![CDATA[ Bigger Is Still Better (At Least In The Living Room) ]]> Few things are a more iconic representation of a traditional U.S. home than a big TV in the living room.

And while smartphones are pacing to reach TV ownership rates within the next five years, consumers still place value on large screens in living rooms and are willing to spend more to have them, according to recent data from NPD Connected Intelligence.

In releasing its most recent “TV Ownership Trends Report,” the market research firm noted that among three reasons for purchasing a replacement 4K Ultra TV — larger screen, better picture quality, more affordable pricing — bigger was cited by consumers as No. 1. Of the consumers who purchased a 4K/UHD replacement TV, 45% cited a larger screen as the No. 1 desire, while 39% shelled out for better picture quality and 24 percent because pricing became more affordable.

[Read: Next Gen TVs Record Greatest Gain In U.S. Household Ownership, Says CTA Study]

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of these TVs were installed in the living room, with the average size display for this room listed at 52 inches.

The average replacement screen size for all other rooms, meanwhile, was 43 inches.

Unsurprisingly, 4K/UHD adoption rose, with the number of respondents replacing an existing TV with a 4K/UHD TV growing to 28% in February, up from 23% in November 2017.

“While the number of installed TVs per U.S. household has shrunk slightly in recent years, consumers are continuing to spend on the primary TV in their home, upgrading it to the biggest screen and the best picture they can afford,” said Stephen Baker, VP, industry advisor for NPD. “Despite the fact that content viewership is splintering among devices, it’s important to note that demand for a great TV to occupy a prominent position in home is not diminishing.”

Baker observed that 90% of the installed base of TVs in the U.S. is not yet 4K/Ultra HD.

“Screen size and picture quality are driving consumer purchase decisions instead of price, which seems to indicate that the industry has been slow to address the shifting value proposition of the TV in the home,” he added.

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]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/bigger-is-still-better-at-least-in-the-living-room o2EhmjWiE1hVWD8VkvVDaD Mon, 09 Jul 2018 18:43:46 +0000 false false false

Few things are a more iconic representation of a traditional U.S. home than a big TV in the living room.

And while smartphones are pacing to reach TV ownership rates within the next five years, consumers still place value on large screens in living rooms and are willing to spend more to have them, according to recent data from NPD Connected Intelligence.

In releasing its most recent “TV Ownership Trends Report,” the market research firm noted that among three reasons for purchasing a replacement 4K Ultra TV — larger screen, better picture quality, more affordable pricing — bigger was cited by consumers as No. 1. Of the consumers who purchased a 4K/UHD replacement TV, 45% cited a larger screen as the No. 1 desire, while 39% shelled out for better picture quality and 24 percent because pricing became more affordable.

[Read: Next Gen TVs Record Greatest Gain In U.S. Household Ownership, Says CTA Study]

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of these TVs were installed in the living room, with the average size display for this room listed at 52 inches.

The average replacement screen size for all other rooms, meanwhile, was 43 inches.

Unsurprisingly, 4K/UHD adoption rose, with the number of respondents replacing an existing TV with a 4K/UHD TV growing to 28% in February, up from 23% in November 2017.

“While the number of installed TVs per U.S. household has shrunk slightly in recent years, consumers are continuing to spend on the primary TV in their home, upgrading it to the biggest screen and the best picture they can afford,” said Stephen Baker, VP, industry advisor for NPD. “Despite the fact that content viewership is splintering among devices, it’s important to note that demand for a great TV to occupy a prominent position in home is not diminishing.”

Baker observed that 90% of the installed base of TVs in the U.S. is not yet 4K/Ultra HD.

“Screen size and picture quality are driving consumer purchase decisions instead of price, which seems to indicate that the industry has been slow to address the shifting value proposition of the TV in the home,” he added.

[Want more information like this? Subscribe to our newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox.]

]]> <![CDATA[ Tariffs On Chinese TV To Cost U.S. Consumers $711 Million, Says Study ]]> ALEXANDRIA, VA.—A new study finds the Trump Administration’s proposed tariffs on TVs from China would boost the price Americans pay for sets, costing an estimated $711 million next year.

The study, commissioned by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and National Retail Federation (NRF), finds the proposed tariffs will increase the price of TVs from China by 23 percent and increase prices for all TVs by 4 percent.

"These proposed tariffs are bad for the economy, businesses and American consumers," said Gary Shapiro, CEO and president, CTA.

The study relies on a model that reflects shifts to other sources that would occur if the tariff on Chinese products in four product areas –televisions, monitors, batteries and printers—were imposed.

[Read: The Top 10 Tech Trends For 2018: Juniper Research]

The results “show that, even accounting for alternative sources of supply, the proposed tariffs would have a negative impact on American consumers,” the study said.

As relates to TVs, the tariffs would result in U.S. consumers cutting back on television purchases by 7.8 percent, it found. “The net impact on the economy (the value of U.S. producer gains plus tariff revenues to the U.S. government, minus the value of consumer losses) is a hit of $322 million,” it said.

"China's unfair trade practices must be addressed, but as this study shows, tariffs aren't the answer and will punish U.S. consumers in the form of higher prices," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/tariffs-on-chinese-tv-to-cost-u-s-consumers-711-million-says-study 4AM5sqGCcaTd2SBHCcSjvs Tue, 17 Apr 2018 16:10:57 +0000 false false false

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—A new study finds the Trump Administration’s proposed tariffs on TVs from China would boost the price Americans pay for sets, costing an estimated $711 million next year.

The study, commissioned by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and National Retail Federation (NRF), finds the proposed tariffs will increase the price of TVs from China by 23 percent and increase prices for all TVs by 4 percent.

"These proposed tariffs are bad for the economy, businesses and American consumers," said Gary Shapiro, CEO and president, CTA.

The study relies on a model that reflects shifts to other sources that would occur if the tariff on Chinese products in four product areas –televisions, monitors, batteries and printers—were imposed.

[Read: The Top 10 Tech Trends For 2018: Juniper Research]

The results “show that, even accounting for alternative sources of supply, the proposed tariffs would have a negative impact on American consumers,” the study said.

As relates to TVs, the tariffs would result in U.S. consumers cutting back on television purchases by 7.8 percent, it found. “The net impact on the economy (the value of U.S. producer gains plus tariff revenues to the U.S. government, minus the value of consumer losses) is a hit of $322 million,” it said.

"China's unfair trade practices must be addressed, but as this study shows, tariffs aren't the answer and will punish U.S. consumers in the form of higher prices," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

]]> <![CDATA[ Meet Sony's New CEO ]]> NEW YORK--As of yesterday, Kenichiro Yoshida is in the driver's seat at Sony as the new CEO. So what to expect?

Yoshida was Sony's chief financial officer in the turnaround days of the last five years, so he comes with a keen eye on the ledger, but not necessarily an eye for the kind of innovative technology that is Sony's legacy.

His success as an executive is plain. Sony has been ringing up record profits by culling its product lines, nurturing its digital imaging business and concentrating on premium-priced devices, while simultaneously riding its PlayStation franchise to profitability.

But Sony is a very different company than in its heyday. Gone are the days of the Walkman. Sony has ceded ground in the innovation race to Samsung, LG and Apple. It no longer feels the need to be a bleeding-edge consumer device supplier. Rather, it has pivoted to a sort of hybrid supplier of imaging processors and chipsets to other manufacturers, while leveraging its gaming business with millennials. Record profits are the result.

[Read: Sony Launches Media Solutions Division To Consolidate Cloud Services]

In addition, Sony's entertainment division is still a behemoth, and Yoshida is about as far away from a movie mogul or record impresario as possible. There are doubts from analysts that he is equipped to take on those businesses.

Still, Sony has showed glimpses of it innovative-centric past. At CES in January it caused a bit of stir with its reimagined Aibo robot dog. It was a move out of its past with a coolness factor that has been lacking in recent years.

Yoshida's path is bumpy at best; however, the Sony legacy endures, and the industry will be watching to see if he embraces the challenge.

This article originally appeared in TV Technology's sister publication, TWICE. 

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/meet-sonys-new-ceo jYLnD7JEkwZ2trzF2j2NpA Mon, 02 Apr 2018 17:20:07 +0000 false false false

NEW YORK--As of yesterday, Kenichiro Yoshida is in the driver's seat at Sony as the new CEO. So what to expect?

Yoshida was Sony's chief financial officer in the turnaround days of the last five years, so he comes with a keen eye on the ledger, but not necessarily an eye for the kind of innovative technology that is Sony's legacy.

His success as an executive is plain. Sony has been ringing up record profits by culling its product lines, nurturing its digital imaging business and concentrating on premium-priced devices, while simultaneously riding its PlayStation franchise to profitability.

But Sony is a very different company than in its heyday. Gone are the days of the Walkman. Sony has ceded ground in the innovation race to Samsung, LG and Apple. It no longer feels the need to be a bleeding-edge consumer device supplier. Rather, it has pivoted to a sort of hybrid supplier of imaging processors and chipsets to other manufacturers, while leveraging its gaming business with millennials. Record profits are the result.

[Read: Sony Launches Media Solutions Division To Consolidate Cloud Services]

In addition, Sony's entertainment division is still a behemoth, and Yoshida is about as far away from a movie mogul or record impresario as possible. There are doubts from analysts that he is equipped to take on those businesses.

Still, Sony has showed glimpses of it innovative-centric past. At CES in January it caused a bit of stir with its reimagined Aibo robot dog. It was a move out of its past with a coolness factor that has been lacking in recent years.

Yoshida's path is bumpy at best; however, the Sony legacy endures, and the industry will be watching to see if he embraces the challenge.

This article originally appeared in TV Technology's sister publication, TWICE. 

]]> <![CDATA[ TV Audio Advances ]]> Television screens are getting bigger and sexier, but the audio technology in them seems to have stagnated. Connections haven’t changed other than an upgrade to HDMI 2.0 for some. There is good news however, with more mention of front-facing speakers instead of down facing, and more manufacturers including multiple drivers instead of single small speakers.

Philips’ Fidelio E5 is a 4.1 speaker system, with Bluetooth and Near Field Communications. If you happen to have incredibly deep pockets, you can pick up the 105-inch LG Ultra HD curved, 21:9 aspect ratio television with 7.2 multichannel sound provided by Harman Kardon. Then there is the Sharp Aquos Ultra HD with six front facing speakers, including tweeters, midrange, and dual subwoofers, all powered by an underwhelming 35 Watts of power. Honestly, it has to be hard to get decent sounding speakers into a box as thin as television displays have become, which may be why LG is outfitting its Gallery OLED TVs with something called a canvas speaker that delivers 2.2 channels of audio with 100 Watts of power. The canvas speaker tech remains totally mysterious and whether they sound good or are simply a tie-in to the Gallery display name remains to be seen.

Fortunately, manufacturers have come up with a solution to poor sounding televisions: sound bars and sound stands. Reviews for these speaker systems, which try to emulate either front array or full surround imaging, run the gamut from OK to really great. Most television manufacturers had sound bars on display, with the GoldenEar 3D Array sound bar generating the most attention. Sound bases, which are like sound bars but are also a base for the television to sit on top of, seem to be coming on strong this year, with the Vizio Sound Stand, LG SoundPlate, Samsung HW-H600 Sound Stand, and Sony HT-XT1 Speaker Base among models announced at the show.

WIRELESS WOWS
Wireless technology was the real surprise for me coming out of this year’s show. Wireless HDMI seems to be on the immediate horizon, but there were lots of wireless audio products too. Philips was showing the Fidelio E5 speaker system, oddly a 4.1 system, with Bluetooth and Near Field Communications. The subwoofer and surround speakers connect to the left and right speakers via Bluetooth and NFC is used to connect tablets, smartphones, and other compatible devices. Samsung expanded its Shape series wireless speaker system, which also uses Bluetooth and NFC technologies. HD audio streaming over Wi-Fi is promised as part of a wireless technology from Broadcom called Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices. WICED actually uses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC to connect not just audio devices, but home appliances, other electronics, and personal wearable technology as well.

The truly interesting wireless audio products were those using technology from Wireless Speaker and Audio. The system claims to be able to wirelessly transmit 7.1 channels of audio at up to 24-bit, 96 kHz, with 5 ms fixed latency, in all directions, with less than 160 ns delay between speakers. To help it stay free from interference from Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals, the technology operates in the 5.2 to 5.8 GHz UNII bands. Bang & Olufsen demonstrated its BeoLab transmitters and receivers using WiSA that wirelessly connects their televisions and sound systems to their active speakers. Since all technology demos need source material, Sharp introduced their WiSA-enabled SD-WH1000U Universal Disc Player, which according to the manufacturer, “is the first component to transmit uncompressed sound at 24-bit/96kHz and video at Full HD (1080p)—wirelessly.” In addition to B&O and Sharp, WiSA has also signed on Onkyo, Pioneer, Polk, Gibson, Klipsch and others manufacturers to provide enabled devices. If these technologies work as promised, and if cost is kept under control, we may finally have a solution to running speaker cables all over the living room.

There were a few other tidbits from the show that are worth mentioning here because they’re all encouraging signs for the television audio industry. First is that headphones are back in a big way, with lots of high-end models being released. Hopefully this means that people are starting to listen more critically and are caring more about quality sound, but it certainly shows that the personal audio market continues to grow. Auro Technologies has announced that its immersive surround format, Auro- 3D, is coming to the home with the introduction of the Auro-3D ISSP 12.200D AV Receiver. Sony introduced the PCM-D100 portable audio recorder, which records in Direct Stream Digital format, and announced plans to bring lots of high-resolution audio products to the home.

Finally and surprisingly, Harmonic, in its end-to-end 4K transmission demos, showed that its system can handle 5.1 and 7.1, can downmix those formats, and output a host of audio codec formats including MPEG-1 L2, AAC-LC, and a couple of flavors of HEAAC. I didn’t expect to see any successful 4K transmission demos anytime soon, so I find this incredibly encouraging for the future of 4K broadcast television.

Jay Yeary is a television audio engineer who spends his days working for a large media corporation. In past lives he has worked as a live sound engineer, music editor, and sound designer. He is thrilled that high quality headphones are making a comeback and plans to use this as justification for his addiction to them. He can be contacted throughTV Technologyor via Twitter at @TVTechJay.

]]> https://www.tvtechnology.com/opinions/tv-audio-advances 2RzEmZ51b3gTwFtDFrpYfM Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:43:00 +0000 false false false

Television screens are getting bigger and sexier, but the audio technology in them seems to have stagnated. Connections haven’t changed other than an upgrade to HDMI 2.0 for some. There is good news however, with more mention of front-facing speakers instead of down facing, and more manufacturers including multiple drivers instead of single small speakers.

Philips’ Fidelio E5 is a 4.1 speaker system, with Bluetooth and Near Field Communications. If you happen to have incredibly deep pockets, you can pick up the 105-inch LG Ultra HD curved, 21:9 aspect ratio television with 7.2 multichannel sound provided by Harman Kardon. Then there is the Sharp Aquos Ultra HD with six front facing speakers, including tweeters, midrange, and dual subwoofers, all powered by an underwhelming 35 Watts of power. Honestly, it has to be hard to get decent sounding speakers into a box as thin as television displays have become, which may be why LG is outfitting its Gallery OLED TVs with something called a canvas speaker that delivers 2.2 channels of audio with 100 Watts of power. The canvas speaker tech remains totally mysterious and whether they sound good or are simply a tie-in to the Gallery display name remains to be seen.

Fortunately, manufacturers have come up with a solution to poor sounding televisions: sound bars and sound stands. Reviews for these speaker systems, which try to emulate either front array or full surround imaging, run the gamut from OK to really great. Most television manufacturers had sound bars on display, with the GoldenEar 3D Array sound bar generating the most attention. Sound bases, which are like sound bars but are also a base for the television to sit on top of, seem to be coming on strong this year, with the Vizio Sound Stand, LG SoundPlate, Samsung HW-H600 Sound Stand, and Sony HT-XT1 Speaker Base among models announced at the show.

WIRELESS WOWS
Wireless technology was the real surprise for me coming out of this year’s show. Wireless HDMI seems to be on the immediate horizon, but there were lots of wireless audio products too. Philips was showing the Fidelio E5 speaker system, oddly a 4.1 system, with Bluetooth and Near Field Communications. The subwoofer and surround speakers connect to the left and right speakers via Bluetooth and NFC is used to connect tablets, smartphones, and other compatible devices. Samsung expanded its Shape series wireless speaker system, which also uses Bluetooth and NFC technologies. HD audio streaming over Wi-Fi is promised as part of a wireless technology from Broadcom called Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices. WICED actually uses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC to connect not just audio devices, but home appliances, other electronics, and personal wearable technology as well.

The truly interesting wireless audio products were those using technology from Wireless Speaker and Audio. The system claims to be able to wirelessly transmit 7.1 channels of audio at up to 24-bit, 96 kHz, with 5 ms fixed latency, in all directions, with less than 160 ns delay between speakers. To help it stay free from interference from Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals, the technology operates in the 5.2 to 5.8 GHz UNII bands. Bang & Olufsen demonstrated its BeoLab transmitters and receivers using WiSA that wirelessly connects their televisions and sound systems to their active speakers. Since all technology demos need source material, Sharp introduced their WiSA-enabled SD-WH1000U Universal Disc Player, which according to the manufacturer, “is the first component to transmit uncompressed sound at 24-bit/96kHz and video at Full HD (1080p)—wirelessly.” In addition to B&O and Sharp, WiSA has also signed on Onkyo, Pioneer, Polk, Gibson, Klipsch and others manufacturers to provide enabled devices. If these technologies work as promised, and if cost is kept under control, we may finally have a solution to running speaker cables all over the living room.

There were a few other tidbits from the show that are worth mentioning here because they’re all encouraging signs for the television audio industry. First is that headphones are back in a big way, with lots of high-end models being released. Hopefully this means that people are starting to listen more critically and are caring more about quality sound, but it certainly shows that the personal audio market continues to grow. Auro Technologies has announced that its immersive surround format, Auro- 3D, is coming to the home with the introduction of the Auro-3D ISSP 12.200D AV Receiver. Sony introduced the PCM-D100 portable audio recorder, which records in Direct Stream Digital format, and announced plans to bring lots of high-resolution audio products to the home.

Finally and surprisingly, Harmonic, in its end-to-end 4K transmission demos, showed that its system can handle 5.1 and 7.1, can downmix those formats, and output a host of audio codec formats including MPEG-1 L2, AAC-LC, and a couple of flavors of HEAAC. I didn’t expect to see any successful 4K transmission demos anytime soon, so I find this incredibly encouraging for the future of 4K broadcast television.

Jay Yeary is a television audio engineer who spends his days working for a large media corporation. In past lives he has worked as a live sound engineer, music editor, and sound designer. He is thrilled that high quality headphones are making a comeback and plans to use this as justification for his addiction to them. He can be contacted throughTV Technologyor via Twitter at @TVTechJay.

]]>