A year after launching its first active noise-canceling headphone at CES 2019, Sol Republic announced Tuesday it’s finally shipping the over-ear Soundtrack Pro ANC. “It took refinement and precision to bring that vision to life," said Josh Poulsen, director-product management. The $199 cans, with a foldable design, feature 40mm drivers; 32-hour battery life with and without noise cancellation; four buttons for control of volume, answer/end calls, and pause-skip; and an auxiliary cable for wired listening. Its digital hybrid ANC technology uses a four-mic system to intercept ambient noise while preserving audio quality, said the company. Users can enter monitor mode to pause music and ANC for a quick conversation without having to remove the headphones. USB-C quick charge technology is said to provide three hours’ listening from a 15-minute recharge. The Pro has a leather-wrapped foam ear cushion for a more comfortable fit and “sleeker look” than the entry-level Soundtrack headphones. The Soundtrack ($169) wireless model has 42-hour battery life, similar controls and design, and 4.5-hour operation from a 15-minute USB-C quick charge, said the company.
While the phase one deal is a welcome pause in trade war hostilities between China and the U.S., the president of the Asia Society Policy Institute said a conclusion to phase two -- which presumably would lift Section 301 tariffs -- won't come this year. The think tank's president, Kevin Rudd, who also is a former prime minister of Australia, said at a program Jan. 28, “I think the best way to look at the phase one deal is that it's a ceasefire. I wouldn't go beyond that, to be honest.” He added, “I don't think it's in either side's political interest to see phase two conclude or fail on this side of a presidential election.”
CTA’s application to register NEXTGEN TV as a certification mark for ATSC 3.0-compliant consumer goods (see 1909190066) is scheduled for Feb. 25 Trademark Official Gazette publication, a Patent and Trademark Office status page shows. Opposition parties would have 30 days from publication date to try to block the registration from going forward, if they wish.
Comcast and Cox Communications are fighting a Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable request that the FCC delay considering the cable operators' effective competition petitions in the state (see 2001140050). Comcast posted a motion for abeyance that a pause would constrain its ability to compete and saddle it with administrative costs competitors don't bear, Wednesday in docket 19-385. Cox's docket 20-10 opposition took issue with MDTC not seeking FCC reconsideration of the agency's Charter Communications effective competition order (see 1910250036) and then appealing the Charter order with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 1912230063) after Cox submitted its petition. That "impose[d] substantial and unjustifiable harm" on it, Cox said. MDTC didn't comment.
LAS VEGAS -- A lot has changed for DTS since its early 1990s startup days as a multichannel audio company serving up content and playback gear for cinemas and home theaters, Jon Kirchner, CEO of DTS parent Xperi, told us on a CES booth tour. “For a long time, DTS and Dolby were, more or less, exactly in the same bucket,” referring to surround-sound technologies sold in many of the same markets.
Growth of vMVPDs is slowing amid above-inflation price hikes, and new entrant Vidgo needs to add important functionality and channels without increasing prices to compete, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday: Sports-centric Vidgo lacks regional sports networks and CBS and NBCUniversal, and lack of pause and DVR functions is a problem. Vidgo CEO Shane Cannon told us its social TV component -- letting people interact virtually while watching -- and its targeting of underserved markets are competitive differentiators, and its channel lineup allows it to have a lower cost structure. He said DVR functionality is coming.
Growth of vMVPDs is slowing amid above-inflation price hikes, and new entrant Vidgo needs to add important functionality and channels without increasing prices to compete, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday: Sports-centric Vidgo lacks regional sports networks and CBS and NBCUniversal, and lack of pause and DVR functions is a problem. Vidgo CEO Shane Cannon told us its social TV component -- letting people interact virtually while watching -- and its targeting of underserved markets are competitive differentiators, and its channel lineup allows it to have a lower cost structure. He said DVR functionality is coming.
Growth of vMVPDs is slowing amid above-inflation price hikes, and new entrant Vidgo needs to add important functionality and channels without increasing prices to compete, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday: Sports-centric Vidgo lacks regional sports networks and CBS and NBCUniversal, and lack of pause and DVR functions is a problem. Vidgo CEO Shane Cannon told us its social TV component -- letting people interact virtually while watching -- and its targeting of underserved markets are competitive differentiators, and its channel lineup allows it to have a lower cost structure. He said DVR functionality is coming.
The Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable asked the FCC to pause consideration of Cox's and Comcast's effective competition petitions for various Massachusetts markets (see 1912190070). In a nearly identical docket 20-10 posting and docket 19-385 posting Monday, MDTC said the abeyance wouldn't hurt Cox or Comcast. Without one, the state agency would be litigating both petitions before the Media Bureau while pursuing the same issues before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That's where the FCC effective competition finding for Charter Communications in 32 Massachusetts franchise areas is being challenged (see 1912230063). Comcast outside counsel and Cox didn't comment Tuesday.
DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim filed a notice of appearance at U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in the Tunney Act review of T-Mobile's buying Sprint, he said Friday (in Pacer). DOJ didn’t comment. Judge Timothy Kelly said Wednesday he won't pause while states separately challenge the deal at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (see 2001080051). The D.C. federal court held a telephone status conference with parties Friday. Amici may file briefs of up to 20 pages by Jan. 24; parties must respond by Feb. 7, Kelly said in a Friday minute order in case 1:19-cv-02232. State plaintiffs in the SDNY case may file one joint brief, he said: "All potential amici shall address in their briefs only the precise and limited issues before the Court in this proceeding." The D.C. federal court held a telephone status conference with parties Friday. Amici may file briefs of up to 20 pages by Jan. 24; parties must respond by Feb. 7, Kelly said in a Friday minute order in case 1:19-cv-02232. State plaintiffs in the SDNY case may file one joint brief, he said: "All potential amici shall address in their briefs only the precise and limited issues before the Court in this proceeding."