Ultra HD’s future got "a rocket-propelled boost" Saturday with the successful launch of the DirecTV 14 satellite, DirecTV said in a news release. When DirecTV 14 begins operations in early Q2, it will be the first commercial satellite to use the "reverse band" direct broadcast satellite spectrum, providing additional capacity for the delivery of 4K Ultra HD programming and other advanced services, the company said Saturday. DirecTV last month laid claim to becoming the first multichannel video programming distributor to deliver 4K VOD to customer homes (see 1411130039). With additional satellite capacity, DirecTV also plans to launch "linear" 4K TV services in 2016, an executive said at last month’s SatCon conference in New York (see 1411130033).

Janney Capital Markets raised its Q3 same-store sales estimates for Best Buy Monday from a negative 2.5 percent to negative 1.5 percent on strength driven by TVs. The retailer reports Q3 results on Thursday. For Best Buy's Q4, Janney is also upgrading its forecast to a 0.8 percent same-store sales increase from its previous forecast of a 0.2 percent decline, basing that upgrade on recent intelligence. High-end TVs will drive higher average selling prices (ASPs) during Q4, offsetting weakness in tablets, said analyst David Strasser. At about twice the price of HDTVs, 4K models are “starting to get into an affordable range,” and that will spur adoption as consumers replace 10-year-old living room TVs, said Strasser. Demand for large-screen and 4K Ultra HDTVs is “very strong,” and 4K will drive sales of large screens at prices that allow for “decent to substantial ASP gains year over year,” Strasser said. Best Buy’s relationships with LG, Samsung and Sony -- and sales strategies including price match, returns and free delivery -- “makes them a destination,” he said of Best Buy. In other CE categories, gaming, is a “wild card,” said Strasser. Other categories riding a positive trend are PCs, GoPro cameras, CDs and DVDs, and smartphones, the analyst wrote. Overall, the holiday season has started out promotional “but nothing dramatic” while similar to last year, Strasser said. “It appears the big brands have power over pricing, as key specials are all generally the same price at national retailers.” Among national retailers, Costco could turn out to be the winner by staying closed on Thanksgiving, he said. Extended hours on Thanksgiving for stores that will be open -- including Best Buy, Target and Walmart -- are not expected to drive additional sales, he said, and will instead “add labor hours and negative press about how retailers [are] ruining this family holiday.”

LG, irked at being left out of an Amazon statement about upcoming Ultra HD streaming content, issued a statement Thursday as a reminder of its role as sponsor of the Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Cheek to Cheek LIVE! concert recorded in July at Lincoln Center in New York. Michael Paull, vice president-Amazon Digital Video, issued a statement this week saying Amazon Prime members will have access to Ultra HD content on Prime Instant Video “at no additional cost.” Following Paull’s statement, LG said, “What Amazon didn’t mention is that LG Electronics is the official Ultra HD sponsor of the concert and the driving force in bringing this landmark television event to 4K Ultra HD TV owners.” LG referred to its role as a leader in the 4K Ultra HD TV market and said it's “proud of our role in allowing consumers to stream the performance in the highest resolution at no added cost when it becomes available in the weeks ahead.” Meanwhile, as retailers announce 4K Ultra HD TV sales for the holiday season, Amazon still hasn’t said when 4K programming will be available for streaming. “We’re confident that offering Ultra HD content, whether it’s a TV series or a film, will help create the ultimate viewing experience and can’t wait to start making it available this year,” said Paull. In addition to the Bennett and Gaga concert, Amazon will also make available its original series Alpha House, Mozart in the Jungle and Transparent in 4K, he said. Amazon will "unveil even more titles that Prime members and customers can watch in Ultra HD later this year and into next year,” Paull said.

After months or more of saying it was "gearing up" for 4K content delivery (see 1312160069), DirecTV pulled the trigger Thursday when it said it will become the first multichannel video programming distributor to deliver 4K VOD to customer homes when it launches Ultra HD programming Friday. With additional satellite capacity, DirecTV also plans to launch "linear" 4K TV services in 2016, an executive said Thursday at the SatCon conference in New York (see 1411130033). Its initial offering will consist of "a variety of new releases, popular films and nature documentaries in 4K," the company said in its announcement. Samsung will be its exclusive CE 4K "launch partner," DirecTV said. In addition to owning a DirecTV-ready Samsung 4K TV, DirecTV subscribers will need an Internet-connected DirecTV Genie HD DVR (model HR34 and above), DirecTV said. For more than 20 years, DirecTV "has been changing the way people watch TV as the first to move the industry from analog to digital to HD and now the ultimate TV experience with 4K TV," said DirecTV Chief Technology Officer Romulo Pontual. "The picture quality and depth of detail that 4K provides is nothing short of remarkable and we will continue to expand our 4K lineup as consumer demand grows and evolves." DirecTV chose Samsung as its launch partner because it’s "the leading brand" in Ultra HD, DirecTV said. DirecTV spokeswoman Jade Ekstedt emailed us Thursday to say she was looking into our question whether the company will use any of the brands it has trademarked -- 4KN, 4KNET and 4K Network -- to trumpet the new VOD service with Samsung. As for how long the exclusivity with Samsung will last, she declined comment, saying: "We don't publicly disclose the terms of our agreements." Until Thursday, DirecTV had declined to discuss its specific ambitions in 4K, other than to promise it will be there in a big way as it was with HD. In May, in discussing his company’s proposed buy of DirecTV, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson hailed DirecTV as having "more HD channels than anybody, and a really clear and elegant path to Ultra HD" (see 1405200030). Some 20 movies in 4K from Paramount and K2 Communications will be available at launch, including Forrest Gump and Star Trek (2009), with more titles to be announced soon, DirecTV said Thursday.

Vizio plans to showcase its Ultra HD TVs and soundbars in a big way through its sponsorship with the American Film Institute of AFI FEST 2014, which opened Thursday in Hollywood for a weeklong run, the TV supplier said. Through a series of demos, Vizio "aims to connect movie lovers to its Ultra HD TVs and audio products, which deliver a home theater experience highlighted by best-in-class picture and audio," the company said. The company also is supplying a 70-inch 4K TV and 54-inch soundbar as prizes for the winner of the event's Visionary Special Jury Award, it said. The prize, to be awarded Nov. 13, recognizes one filmmaker "for extraordinary visual story telling" and will be chosen by a panel of international film writers and critics, Vizio said.

Amazon will announce the 4K video stream of Cheek to Cheek: Live, performed by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, "in the coming weeks,” said an update Tuesday from LG, which sponsored the event that was recorded at New York’s Lincoln Center in July. LG will launch Cheek to Cheek: Live on LG 4K Ultra HD TVs equipped with the webOS platform, it said. WebOS is “optimized for 4K streaming” with an interface that “makes it easier to find and transition between content options at speeds similar to regular channel changing,” LG said. The concert will be available on all LG smart TVs after the initial launch through a software update, an LG spokeswoman told us. LG doesn't have a jump on other TV makers, though, which will have access to the Cheek to Cheek 4K concert stream at the same time as LG's webOS TVs as part of LG's "contribution to the 4K world," she said. The 4K stream will have “subtle” LG branding, and Amazon will promote the LG-sponsored concert in its concert carousel for 4K devices, LG said. For retail demos, LG will incorporate exclusive 4K behind-the-scenes clips and 4K Cheek to Cheek concert footage during its next in-store “refresh" due “late this year,” the spokeswoman said. Demos using Cheek to Cheek content will run through early 2015 with timing varying by retailer, she said. Amazon didn't immediately comment.

Consumers in the U.K. can choose five 4K movie titles from a choice of 10 "award-winning Hollywood blockbusters," all from Sony Pictures, when they buy one of six eligible Bravia 4K Ultra HD TVs by Christmas Eve, Sony U.K. said in an announcement Friday. Under this Privilege Movies 4K promotion, the movie titles are preloaded onto a "compact" hard drive, which consumers who enter a proper model number, serial number and device ID as proof of purchase can claim free of charge by registering at the Sony U.K. website. "This unique offer from Sony adds to the momentum behind 4K which has become unstoppable following ground-breaking 4K content from platforms including Netflix and Amazon," the company said. The roster of available movies includes: The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Moneyball, Premium Rush, Total Recall, Salt, Ghostbusters, The Patriot, Battle LA and Captain Phillips. The offer must be redeemed by Jan. 31, the company said. Once redeemed, Sony customers will have until Sept. 30 to "unlock" their five movies of choice on the hard drive, and up to a year thereafter to watch them, it said. Sony has only "a limited number" of hard drives to give away, "and they’re only available while stocks last," says the website. Sony Electronics representatives in San Diego didn’t immediately comment whether the promotion will be available in the U.S.

Panasonic released a firmware update for its AX800 4K Ultra HD TVs, enabling North American users able to stream Netflix 4K programming including House of Cards and Breaking Bad. Panasonic’s 65-inch-class AX900 and 85-inch class AX850 4K Ultra HD TVs, due to ship next month, will be compatible with 4K Netflix streaming out of the box, it said. The subscription cost for Netflix 4K streaming is $11.99, which includes the ability to view up to four screens simultaneously, compared with a standard Netflix new subscriber fee of $8.99 per month. A firmware update for European TV models will be available next month, Panasonic said.

Ultra HD pay-TV viewership will reach 46 million homes globally by 2018, Parks Associates said in a forecast Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1u155nH). Pay-TV providers will deploy 4K content delivery "as a differentiator, especially among younger consumers who are more likely to use new pay-TV features, such as TV Everywhere and cloud DVR, but also have slightly lower subscription rates for pay-TV services," Parks said. In the U.S., 82 percent of consumers in the 18-22 age group have a pay-TV subscription, compared with 87 percent among older adults, it said. "To enjoy the true benefits of 4K, three things need to be present: the television, the content, and a way to get the content to the TV," Parks said. Parks thinks 4K "can deliver an enhanced experience to viewers, but these three factors are not yet aligned," it said. "Getting 4K content to the TV remains a key challenge as is the pace of production of 4K content."