CSR, a supplier of Bluetooth Smart connectivity chipsets, is teaming with Universal Electronics to add infrared setup and control functionality to remote controls based on Universal’s QuickSet platform, the companies said Thursday (http://bit.ly/1xnHYdi). Manufacturers that use the CSR1011 chipset can deliver remote controls with long battery life and that are compatible with their existing entertainment products, removing the need for multiple remote controls, they said. QuickSet IR command upload capability will be integrated into CSR1011-based remote control software development kits, they said. Choosing the QuickSet option in the CSR remote SDK enables TV and set-top suppliers to take advantage of Universal’s device control database of entertainment devices, “which gives users access to many of the control functions for virtually all digital entertainment electronics devices in the world,” they said. By adding low-cost IR LEDs in a design, CSR1011-based remotes “can now seamlessly work with the QuickSet application to detect, identify and control compatible devices traditionally operated via IR remotes with minimal, if any, user setup,” they said.
Nearly nine of 10 millennials say their smartphone never leaves their side, while six of 10 predict that within five years, it will be the only device they'll need for everything from banking to enrolling in classes. So said the results released Thursday (http://bit.ly/1n20yo6) of a Zogby Analytics survey of 1,000 millennials commissioned by Mitek, a supplier of mobile imaging technology for banking and other business applications. The survey found that the “mobile habits of this important demographic extend beyond just apps, to also include widespread use of the camera on their mobile devices,” and that this trend will “only continue to grow as the smartphone camera evolves,” Mitek said. Of those canvassed, 37 percent said they've made a decision on where to bank or spend money “based on what the organization allowed users to accomplish with a mobile device,” it said. Forty-eight percent said they wish they could do more banking with a snapshot, while 41 percent would like more mobile imaging in retail, 35 percent would like more in insurance and 34 percent would like the credit card industry to adopt more uses for the camera, it said. One in every three expressed the wish “that nearly every industry would adopt more mobile imaging functionality, so they would be able to enter information by snapping a picture,” it said.
DirecTV shareholders voted to approve AT&T’s proposed takeover of the DBS provider. More than 99 percent of votes cast were in favor of the deal at the DirecTV shareholder meeting Thursday, DirecTV said. AT&T will work with the various regulatory agencies reviewing the deal to gain their approval as well, an AT&T spokesman said in a statement.
DisplaySearch predicts Apple will ship 74 million iPhone 6 handsets and 42 million iPhone 6 Plus phones this calendar year, David Hsieh, vice president-Greater China market, said Thursday in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1u2xu0j). LG Display, Japan Display and Sharp are the LCD panel suppliers for the iPhone 6, while LG Display and Japan Display are supplying the panels for the iPhone 6 Plus, he said. “The panel makers need to ramp up production quickly, as we estimate that Apple has ordered more than 100 million iPhone 6 panels for 2014,” he said. That’s a strong indication that Apple “is clearly confident about iPhone 6 sales into 2015,” he said.
Public Knowledge kicked off a more formal campaign against the provision of the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act (S-2799) that would repeal the set-top box integration ban. The provision “would make it difficult for consumers to use devices like TiVo DVRs, which use CableCARDs to access video programming,” Public Knowledge said in a widely circulated email message Thursday. “No member of Congress should prioritize broadcast and cable company interests over the rights of the people using these services.” NCTA has strongly lobbied in favor of the integration ban repeal. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., had proposed and withdrew an amendment during the bill’s markup session last week that would have changed the integration ban provision. He blocked the Senate’s Sept. 18 attempt to pass by unanimous consent a Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act bill that included the STAVRA provisions, prompting backlash from Senate Commerce leaders of both parties. That was the last day Congress was in session until mid-November, and STELA expires Dec. 31. Public Knowledge backs the Markey amendment and asked people to spread the following message on Twitter: “#STAVRA reauthorization must not hurt consumers, learn more: bit.ly/Yd6sGC @MarkeyMemo @publicknowledge.” The message links to a Sept. 17 blog post from senior staff attorney John Bergmayer blasting the STAVRA provision.
The number of consumers using tablets to watch TV shows and movies has skyrocketed, a survey by Altman Vilandrie & Co. found. Tablet ownership penetration increased to 50 percent last year, up from 40 percent in 2012, said the consulting firm Thursday. The portion of all consumers watching TV shows or movies on tablets on a weekly basis jumped from 17 percent to 26 percent last year, it said. More than 40 percent of consumers under age 35 use smartphones to watch TV or movies, it said. More than 70 percent of the consumers binge watch at least once a month, and 41 percent use their cable providers’ TV Everywhere service each month, it said. The survey also found that over-the-top use increased from 26 percent last year to 35 percent in 2014. The survey received input from more than 3,000 U.S. respondents. It was drawn from an online panel by Research Now, Altman Vilandrie said.
Vizio officially launched its new P (Performance) series of Ultra HD TVs Tuesday in New York, pitting its flagship 65-inch TVs against its top rival Samsung. Vizio hung its high-end TVs art-style on the walls while also holding video “shootouts” in darkened rooms of its 65-inch 4K TVs against competing models from Samsung’s 8500 series. Because most material currently available for viewing is HD, Vizio compared upscaled content between the two sets to promote its upscaling engine, Vizio Product Marketing Manager Carlos Angulo told us. Angulo noted the significant price difference between the two models, tagging the competing Samsung TV at $4,999 versus Vizio’s $2,199 price. Our price-check Wednesday revealed a selling price of $3,179, a $300 discount, on the Samsung model at Costco, far below the figure Angulo gave but still a hefty premium over the Vizio TV of the same size. During the test using a Spears and Munsil evaluation tool, Angulo pointed out motion artifacts in the Samsung that didn’t occur in the Vizio, an expected result in a select test chosen by the sponsoring company. Using clips from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Robynne Curry, director-product marketing, demoed the same two TV models in a different room for a contrast and black-level comparison. While the Vizio TV’s 64 LED zones produced more uniform lighting versus the edge-lit LED model from Samsung that had a halo effect in the lower left of the screen, we also noticed too much contrast in one scene on the Vizio TV, where the sky appeared to have a textured pattern. Curry said the TVs were using their “out of the box” settings, saying settings could be tweaked for optimum performance and personal taste. We asked Curry if Vizio would follow the P series, its first Ultra HD TVs, with a high-dynamic range Dolby Vision model, and she repeated the company line: “We haven’t made any announcements yet.” She steered us instead to the P series, which includes five models from 50 inches ($999) to 70 inches ($2,499). Vizio was one of three TV companies to demonstrate Dolby Vision TVs at CES last January, and Sharp’s complete 2014 TV lineup doesn’t include a model with Dolby Vision, leaving TCL and Vizio as likely suppliers. Dolby has said a Dolby Vision model will be in market by year-end.
Scottish hi-fi company Linn adopted a radically new approach for products it debuts, unveiled at a London briefing Tuesday. Its new Akurate Exaktbox corrects for room acoustics and speaker positioning, not just with all Linn speakers, but other brands of speakers as well, Linn said. For the London event, Linn’s demonstrators used a pair of B&W Nautilus speakers and Linn’s new compact Akudorik units. They acknowledged that they could not recall ever before demonstrating Linn hardware with a competitor’s product. The Akurate Exaktbox is software-configured, with a dropdown menu that lists all suitable speakers. The original analog crossover in the speaker is bypassed and the Akurate Exaktbox performs the crossover digitally and optimizes sound for the room. The speakers are run actively, with separate amplifiers for each drive unit. Linn claims this eliminates magnitude and phase distortion. The 24-bit/192 kHz signal is carried by Cat 5 cable, using a proprietary protocol -- Exakt Link -- rather than Ethernet. Ten channels of digital-to-analog conversion handle a stereo pair of speakers with five drivers each. Exaktbox has 13 inputs, including an RCA phono jack, such as for a turntable. Exakt Akudorik is a new compact speaker with the Exakt electronics housed in its floor-standing column. A pair costs nearly $29,000. The London demonstration showed Exakt to provide a clearly audible improvement in bass and imaging when the speakers were moved from the acoustically ideal but family-unfriendly position that is away from a room wall, to an acoustically un-ideal, but visually neater, position that is close to a wall.
CES for the first time will carve out an exhibit area dedicated to commercial drones, beginning with the 2015 show that opens Jan. 6 for a four-day run, CEA said Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1rkusCi). The “Unmanned Systems Marketplace” will span about 6,500 square feet of exhibit space in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s South Hall, enough room for about 16 exhibiting companies, it said. CES estimates the global market for consumer drones will approach $130 million in 2015 and will “easily exceed” $1 billion in the next five years. “Drones and unmanned systems are being used to assist in a variety of applications, from aerial coverage for sports and real estate, to assistance in search and rescue and disaster relief missions,” said Karen Chupka, CEA senior vice president-CES and corporate business strategy.
The total cost of the Apple Watch’s plastic AMOLED display “is highly dependent on yield rates throughout the manufacturing and assembly process,” DisplaySearch said Wednesday in an emailed sales pitch for its Flexible Displays Technology and Market Forecast Report (http://bit.ly/1msRbgB). “Producing a high resolution AMOLED display alone is challenging,” the company said. “Add the processes for coating the flexible substrate on carrier glass, encapsulation, and laser-lift off and the module process becomes even more complicated.” Assuming a 60 percent yield rate, DisplaySearch estimates the Apple Watch’s display costs more than $27 on bill of materials terms, “depending on the costs of the module, touch panel interface, and cover lens.” For the Apple Watch, Apple is sourcing 1.3- and 1.5-inch AMOLEDs on plastic substrates from LG Display, a DisplaySearch blogger said last month, saying a big benefit of AMOLED on plastic is that it can be extremely thin, light and rugged (CED Aug 26 p6). DisplaySearch has estimated average yield rates above 60 percent would allow LG Display to produce more than 10 million AMOLED-on-plastic panels in 2014. Apple hasn’t given a precise release date on the Apple Watch, but has said it would debut the watch in early 2015 at $349 (CED Sept 10 p1).