VRLA #4 will be held on Saturday, December 13 at House of Moves in Marina Del Rey. VRLA is a meetup that brings together thought leaders in virtual reality, augmented reality and immersive entertainment. The last event included more than 30 exhibitors, 7 presentations, and 650 attendees. VRLA #4 promises dynamic panel discussions and 43 exhibitors including VR leaders such as CastAR, Control VR, Epic Games, High Fidelity, Jaunt, Samsung and Sixense. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit the Eventbrite page.

ETC@USC is sending its ETCentric reporting team to the HPA Tech Retreat next week, February 17-21. Hollywood Post Alliance’s annual event in the Palm Springs area brings together entertainment media business leaders and technical and creative talent to discuss the latest in tech trends related to film, television and video. During the week we will be providing reports from HPA’s panels, roundtables and product demos. For more information on this year’s gathering, including a complete schedule, visit the HPA Tech Retreat site.

Boyden’s Peter Santora will moderate a complimentary live webinar today featuring Allen Fazio of Disney’s Theme Parks & Resorts. “Innovation in Business & Technology” is scheduled for 2:00 pm EST. According to the registration page: “Allen will share some of the data that Disney has collected through the decades, the technology that their global consumers use, and exactly how this impacts innovation and far ranging decisions from souvenir selection and reservation management, to the premium park facilities Disney offers.” The interactive webinar will focus on what data you need to be collecting today, what it now takes to drive loyalty, and where to begin evolving.

The Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers will host an educational webcast tomorrow, January 23, 10:00 am PST. “CES Summary: What Were the Biggest Technology Advancements?” will feature guest speakers Michael Bove of MIT, Michael DeValue of Disney and Pete Putman of Kramer Electronics. “You will hear if there are any technology surprises, what technology advancements may prove to be the next big disruptors, and what technologies are being discussed in every corner,” explains SMPTE.

The ETCentric reporting team is in Las Vegas this week for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Due to the volume of news, we expect to distribute multiple editions of our email blast The Daily Bullet on certain days — so don’t be surprised if you see morning and evening editions in your inbox. We’ll be reporting live throughout each day on keynotes, panel discussions, conferences tracks, and new products and services. If you don’t want to wait for the next email alert, check out ETCentric for our latest posts and additions to our Flickr stream. As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

Unless there is breaking news, ETCentric and The Daily Bullet will not publish during the upcoming holiday break. We wish you and your families a very happy holiday season. Our team is gearing up for the Consumer Electronics Show and we’ll be back on January 1 with the latest in entertainment technology news.

Unless there is breaking news this week, ETCentric and The Daily Bullet will not publish during the upcoming holiday. We wish you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving. We’ll be back on Monday with the latest in entertainment technology news.

Anita Elberse will discuss her first book, “Blockbusters” at USC on Thursday, October 24th at 7:30 pm. The presentation and book-signing reception will take place at Newman Recital Hall. Elberse’s research reveals why executives often spend outrageous amounts of money in search of the next blockbuster, why superstars are paid unimaginable sums, and how digital technologies are transforming the entertainment landscape. Additional details and registration are available online. ETC members/guests should choose the “Partner MBA ticket” when checking out, which is the same price that HBS Alumni members receive.

We would like to remind everyone that Silicon Beach @ USC is scheduled for September 17-18 at the Tutor Campus Center. Day One will feature the second annual Silicon Beach Awards venture competition (invitation-only). The September 18 conference program on Day Two will feature game-changers and thought leaders from Hollywood studios, tech startups and academia. For more information or to register for the September 18 conference, visit the Silicon Beach @ USC event website or Eventbrite registration page (use promo code: FriendOfETC).

ETCentric is pleased to launch ETC Exclusives, a variety of original feature stories, perspectives and special reports from the ETC team, community members and outside contributers. We kick-off this new subscriber-only feature with a compelling examination of the summer box office results and trends in theater attendance by ETC staffer Don Levy. We hope you enjoy this new feature and we look forward to hearing your comments.

Unless there is breaking news, ETCentric and The Daily Bullet will not publish during the upcoming holiday. We wish you and your families a very happy 4th of July. We’ll be back on Monday with the latest in entertainment technology news.

In an effort to improve the user experience for our readers, we will be implementing a series of changes to the look and functionality of ETCentric over the coming weekend. We apologize in advance if this temporarily interrupts or affects our service. Thank you for your patience as we continue to improve our site and the experience we provide to our community. Continue reading ETCentric Readies Launch of New Homepage