Leaning into gaming is key for media companies to reach Generation Z users, said Shobana Radhakrishnan, Google TV senior director-engineering, reviewing streaming media industry trends on a virtual Streaming Media Connect keynote Monday. Some 68% of Gen Z consumers consider themselves gamers, 61% of millennials; that compares with 34% of Gen Xers and 8% of baby boomers, said a slide. Playing games with others and groups is becoming a “natural habit” for the two generations, she said, highlighting Netflix’ nascent move into gaming [see (Ref:2201210003)].

The TrueCut Motion image-grading platform for filmmakers, in development for three years at Pixelworks and formally launched for “end-to-end” commercial use in December, landed a significant win at CES 2022 when TCL became the first device manufacturer “to join and publicly endorse the TrueCut Motion ecosystem,” said Pixelworks CEO Todd DeBonis on a Q4 earnings call Thursday. Pixelworks bills TrueCut Motion as offering filmmakers advanced mastering tools to control how motion is rendered in their films when modern consumer displays with HDR, high resolution and high frame rates often can compromise “motion integrity.”

Harman executives previewed new car audio technologies and an edge compute software platform for the automotive market at Thursday's hybrid Explore event from its Novi, Michigan, facility. The company’s Savari Mecwave platform, acquired with the purchase of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications company Savari last month, is the industry’s first multi-access edge computer (MEC) platform that enables carmakers and mobile network operators to deliver ultra-low latency applications and services on an edge computing infrastructure, it said.

Much of the oral argument in Starz's copyright fight with MGM before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday (docket 21-55379) was about what the Supreme Court said or didn't say in its 2014 Petrella copyright decision. Judge Sandra Ikuta and counsel for MGM disagreed whether, and when, the high court's decision says a copyright claim starts accruing. MGM is appealing a lower court not dismissing some of Starz's copyright claims on MGM licensing content to Starz and subsequently to other content service providers while Starz allegedly had exclusive license.

Audiences will be Disney’s “North Star" as it determines whether to distribute its content theatrically or through direct-to-consumer streaming or a hybrid of the two, said CEO Bob Chapek on an earnings call Wednesday for fiscal Q1 ended Jan. 1. "We do not subscribe to the belief that theatrical distribution is the only way to build a Disney franchise,” he said.

Florida House Commerce Committee members backed a privacy bill containing a private right of action (PRA) unanimously and on a bipartisan basis at a livestreamed Thursday hearing. Possible litigation and compliance costs from the comprehensive bill aren’t concerning enough to vote no, said committee members. Bipartisan policymaking can still happen in state legislatures, unlike in Congress, said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) on a Freedom of Privacy Forum webinar later that day.

Chip shortages and shipping delays prevented iRobot from filling $35 million in Q4 orders, said CEO Colin Angle on the company’s Thursday earnings call. Sales fell 16% year on year to $455.4 million, said the company. Shares plunged14.3% Thursday to close at $62.47.

Supply constraints that limited Sonos’ holiday quarter promotional activity impeded the company's sales in fiscal Q1 ended Jan. 1, said management on an earnings call Wednesday.

Expect a House suspension vote soon on one of the Judiciary Committee’s less controversial antitrust bills, House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., and ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo., told us Tuesday.

Following a strong emphasis on green initiatives at its CES keynote, Samsung continued its sustainability push at its Wednesday virtual Unpacked event launching the latest series of Galaxy smartphones and tablets.