During CES 2020, Spotify revealed plans to leverage its massive amount of user data in order to introduce targeted advertising in its exclusive podcast content. With its proprietary Streaming Ad Insertion (SAI) tech, Spotify will analyze data based on user location, type of device, gender, age and more to insert advertisements in real time (Spotify already automates dynamic ad insertion for its music streaming). The company could eventually become a major podcast ad network if it ends up placing ads in other networks’ content as well. Continue reading Spotify Plans to Run Targeted Ads in its Exclusive Podcasts

During CES 2020 in Las Vegas this month, IBM announced its continued efforts to develop practical applications using quantum computing. The company emphasized the expansion of IBM Q Network, which now includes more than 100 organizations across industries such as air travel, automotive, banking, electronics, energy, health and insurance. IBM announced new collaborations with Anthem, Delta Air Lines, Georgia Tech, Goldman Sachs, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Stanford University, Wells Fargo and Woodside Energy, in addition to a number of government research labs and startups. Continue reading IBM Expands Partnerships to Advance Quantum Computing

During CES in Las Vegas, Samsung introduced its new Sero TV, which is designed to rotate 90 degrees in order to display vertical video content — the portrait mode that is commonly recorded via today’s mobile phones. The format is increasingly popular on social media platforms (such as Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube), and will soon become a focus of Quibi, the short-form streaming video service from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. The 43-inch 4K Sero TV — “designed for the mobile generation” — has the ability to sync with Samsung smartphones and can automatically rotate based on the content being viewed. Continue reading CES: Samsung Engineers Sero TV to Display Vertical Video

A panel of six undergraduates from the USC Iovine and Young Academy and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences spent an hour answering questions about their media habits. The questions were asked by ETC member company executives at the December 12, 2019 All Members Meeting held in Burbank at Disney. Where do students get their media recommendations? What’s a good length for a viewing experience? What do they think about having their personal data gathered, and about data analytics in general? What do they pay to subscribe to? Watch this 9-minute highlight video to find out. Continue reading USC Students Respond to Media Questions at ETC Meeting

ST37 Sport et Technologie, a small startup within the French Pavilion at CES’s Eureka Park, was demonstrating an AI-driven real-time referee assistant that will, in their words, end subjectivity in sports. The company’s autonomous robotized cameras connect to an AI that interprets the images in real time and sends the results to smartwatches or screens. The system is designed to assist referees in making better calls, provide helpful tools to scouts, and offer coaches and athletes valuable tools for improving performance. The ETC team suggested to ST37 that the data would also be extremely useful for on-air color commentators. Continue reading CES 2020: Startup Creates AI For Better Sports Refereeing

The Internet of Things is about to offer middle America a new creative outlet. Italian startup LEDWORKS produces strings of individually addressable LED Christmas tree lights. Twinkly’s phone app maps the location of each individual light: one camera scan to map lights arrayed on a flat surface and two or three camera scans to map the lights arrayed around a 3D object like a Christmas tree or a wall outside. The app can then wirelessly load a program into the lights’ plug to display preset patterns and images or, if you are clever, patterns of your design. The current app can control up to 10,000 lights. By the end of 2020, Twinkly should be able to control 20,000 lights. Continue reading CES 2020: Holiday Smart Lights Have Multiple Applications

During CES we saw a number of VR and AR headsets that illustrate the emerging trends and most recent developments in this space. LetinAR showcased its PinMR optical solution with glasses that leverage 11 pinhole micromirrors per eye in order to deliver a clear and bright image. Panasonic demonstrated a prototype of its new VR headset with micro OLED 2,048 x 2,048 resolution, HDR and spatial audio. Human Capable presented its lightweight and affordable glasses expected to ship Q2 this year, while Pimax showed an updated tethered HMD with native 4K per eye display. And Nreal showed significant improvement to the brightness of its AR display. Continue reading CES Features the Latest Advances in VR and AR Headsets

The display of Sony’s 360 Reality Audio at CES 2020 just might summarize the entire show: a personalized experience in a 360-degree spherical sound field, exactly as intended by artists and creators. Listeners optimize Sony’s object-based spatial audio technology with an app that captures an image and then analyzes their ears. With the app connected to one of the select new Sony headphones and a premium music service such as Deezer, nugs.net, and TIDAL they will hear individual instruments, vocals, and even the audience placed in the sound field. Continue reading All About You: CES Products Highlight Personal Experiences

Since 2016, each edition of CES has touted the imminent arrival of “Fully Self-Driving” (SAE Level 5) autonomous vehicles. While some companies working on “mostly self-driving” offered rides around town (like Russian-based Yandex), this year’s show came with a dose of realism as companies focus on clearing the hurdles associated with lower levels of autonomy. Demonstrating these efforts, companies showcased sensor fusion, mapping technologies and new intelligent systems. Meanwhile, some companies are using this calm before the storm to focus on the user experience. Sony even built a car to jumpstart the conversation. Continue reading Latest Progress of Autonomous Driving Showcased at CES

CES is not a computing show, but this year’s edition felt silicon-centric thanks to major announcements from Intel and AMD. Intel revealed more details about its next CPU, Tiger Lake, that boasts improved performance on graphics and AI. The company also offered a glimpse of its first discrete GPU. But the show arguably belonged to AMD, which continued its year-long renaissance with a keynote unveiling mobile CPUs, a new midrange GPU, and the world’s fastest workstation processor. Continue reading AMD vs. Intel: The Computing Wars Ramp Up in Las Vegas

CES 2020 expanded its media and entertainment-oriented C-Space to cover more interests, but four themes repeated across virtually every conversation and panel: data, privacy, quality and a genuine respect for the audience. Data was at the heart of the discussions. Never before has there been more information available, but how it is managed emerged as a consensus issue because few companies are organized to share data and insights across their enterprise. With the promise of optimizing experiences for consumers is a balance of privacy. Continue reading CES: Marketers and Creators Give Audience Starring Role

If you were looking for a break from CES this week, DreamlandXR offered a wide range of social and professional events with a focus on immersive entertainment, music and eSports. The festival included an insightful two-day conference of immersive media panels and demos at the Alexis Park Resort. Industry leaders discussed the logistics, management, business models and marketing of XR experiences in location-based entertainment, casino spaces, VR theaters, and more. We were told that videos of all panels will be posted on the DreamlandXR site in the near future. Continue reading DreamlandXR Festival Brings the XR Community Together

Though not the driving force they once were, TVs are still a staple at CES. This year’s show is overflowing with display technologies like microLEDs and curved OLEDs from high-end to budget manufacturers alike. The “Smart” moniker has been just as ubiquitous. Thanks to beefier processors, additional sensors, the cloud and Dolby, however, “Smart” is no longer just an alias for “Internet-Ready.” Multiple manufacturers are showcasing technologies meant to marry personalization with creative intent while establishing a new digital gateway for the home. Continue reading CES 2020: From Smart TVs to Intelligent Digital Gateways

At CES this week, TiVo announced a new device described by CEO Dave Shull as a “tiny little HDMI puck” that will bring the company “full on into the streaming wars.” The $50 TiVo Stream 4K, hitting shelves in April as a competitor to Roku and Amazon devices, is designed to expand the company’s current user base by offering streaming and live television for today’s cord cutters and cord shavers. While TiVo plans to continue offering its signature cable-ready DVRs, the new 4K dongle could be a glimpse into the company’s future. In December, TiVo announced its $3 billion merger with licensing firm Xperi. “This transformation for TiVo enabled the merger,” said Shull. Continue reading CES 2020: TiVo Joins Streaming Wars with HDMI Dongle

Panasonic demonstrated its prototype of a stylish, steampunk-looking set of VR goggles at CES this week. The company claims these are the first such ultra-high definition VR eyeglasses to offer support for HDR video content. The company envisions a number of applications for the glasses, including new VR experiences such as sports viewing and virtual travel experiences. Panasonic and its partner on the goggles, Massachusetts-based Kopin Corporation, expect to offer a commercial version featuring a compact and lightweight body sometime next year in anticipation of the many applications that will be enabled by 5G services. Continue reading CES 2020: Panasonic Reveals HDR-Capable VR Glasses