Sony will soon join LG and Samsung in offering curved 4K LCD television sets. The Japanese company is expected to unveil two models at 65- and 75-inches during next month’s IFA show in Berlin. While Sony has yet to announce pricing and availability, the curved sets will compete with Samsung’s HU9000 line, which includes a 65-inch model priced at $4,300 and 78-inch model at $8,000. Sony currently sells a 65-inch curved 1080p TV for $2,500. Continue reading Sony Planning to Debut a Pair of Curved 4K TVs Next Month

Samsung Electronics America announced that it is now taking orders on its 105-inch curved Ultra HD LED LCD TV, which offers 5,120 x 2,160 resolution (11 million pixels) and features a cinematic aspect ratio. The massive curved set will be built to order for a suggested retail price of $119,999. Each sale will be supported by Samsung Elite Service, which includes field engineers being dispatched to customers’ homes to explain features and configure the TV for an optimal viewing experience. Continue reading Samsung Takes Orders on $120K 105-Inch Curved Ultra HD TV

Last week, wireless startup Nitero unveiled its first WiGig radio silicon. The low-power WiGig chip is targeted at smartphones, tablets and TVs, specifically to transfer large files in a short range at extremely fast speeds. For example, the WiGig chip can stream 4K video from a TV to a smartphone using high frequency 60GHz waves. Nitero’s 28-nanometer WiGig chip reportedly consumes 10 times less power than competing chips from Wilocity. Continue reading Nitero WiGig Chip Brings Multi-Gigabit Speeds to Smartphones

Digitimes Research projects that global Ultra HD television shipments will experience a compound annual growth rate of 160 percent from 2013 to 2017, jumping from 1.5 million units to 68.2 million. The report estimates that 26.6 percent of all TVs shipped in 2017 will be Ultra HD, and more than 90 percent of LCD TVs will offer UHD resolution or higher. In addition, Digitimes anticipates that Blu-ray support for UHD and increased user-generated content will help push demand. Continue reading Report: Ultra HD TV Shipments to Grow 160 Percent by 2017

An estimated 160 million phones sold this year will feature 4K video-capable cameras, while only two percent of TVs shipped to North America will have 4K screens. These cameras will be available on high-end models, including the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Sony Xperia Z2 and the LG G Pro 2. Meanwhile, cable, satellite and telecommunications companies are unlikely to move to Ultra HD for a few years as they wait for more TVs to show up in American homes. Continue reading Increasing Number of Smartphones Are Capable of 4K Video

Samsung is shifting away from direct media sales and ending its Video and Media hub, which directly sold and rented digital content to consumers. On July 31, Samsung’s video streaming service for Galaxy mobile devices and Samsung Smart TVs will no longer be available. On-demand streaming service M-GO will assume all Samsung Video accounts. Users who bought movies or TV shows through the Samsung Video and Media hub will be able to access their content through M-GO. Continue reading M-GO to Replace Samsung’s Video and Media Streaming Hub

Qualcomm has acquired Wilocity, a Sunnyvale, California-based startup that works with a high-speed wireless technology called WiGig, which operates at a much higher frequency than Wi-Fi. WiGig has been considered as a potential replacement to wires for sending videos between components in the same room. It could transfer multiple 4K video streams, while Wi-Fi can only handle one. The bet is that WiGig will also become a standard feature on smartphones and other mobile devices. Continue reading Qualcomm Acquires Wilocity in Pursuit of WiGig Technology

ETC’s Phil Lelyveld recently moderated a media panel on the “Ultra High Def Revolution.” Presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at CBS Studios, panelists included Oscar- and Emmy-winning DP Dave Stump of the ASC, Sony Pictures Television’s Phil Squyres, and award-winning DPs and lighting experts Bradford Lipson and Greg Gardiner. Vendors demonstrating UHD solutions included Advantage Video Systems, AJA Video Systems, Blackmagic Design and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Continue reading Panel: Film and TV Production Experts Discuss UHD Revolution

As several broadcasters get ready to test live Ultra HD broadcasts of the World Cup this week, the BBC has plans to go one step further. Journalist and ETCentric contributor Adrian Pennington tells us that the BBC has chosen next month’s Commonwealth Games for the world’s first live Ultra HD production that will use an entirely Internet-based infrastructure. While broadcasters have used IP to distribute content between the studio and remote locations, all-IP live production is not yet common. Continue reading BBC Plans the First Live Ultra HD Broadcast Entirely Over IP

Journalist and ETCentric contributor Adrian Pennington forwarded us news that the LiveSphere 360-degree broadcast video application, which is presently under development in France and is at least a year from a commercial product, was tested during the recent Roland-Garros tennis tournament. LiveSphere is being developed by compression specialist ATEME in partnership with Kolor, maker of photo and video stitching software, and mobile interaction expert Finwe. Continue reading LiveSphere: 360-Degree Immersive Broadcast Video Platform

IMAX announced that it has developed the first fully integrated dual 65mm 4K digital large-format 3D camera. Michael Bay’s latest Paramount Pictures project, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” is the first feature film to use the true 4K stereo camera, which captures both left and right eye images at full 4K resolution. According to the company, the new IMAX 3D Digital Camera system is “smaller, lighter and easier to use than other 3D digital camera systems on the market.” Continue reading Latest “Transformers” Film Shot with New IMAX 4K 3D Camera

Cisco’s latest Visual Networking Index forecasts an increase in annual Internet traffic of more than 20 percent by 2018, at which point global network traffic will exceed that of all previous Internet years combined. More users and devices, faster broadband speeds and an increase in video viewing is expected to expand global Internet Protocol traffic nearly three-fold over the next five years. Also, the Internet of Everything, M2M technologies and Ultra HD adoption will be key growth drivers. Continue reading Annual Internet Traffic to Grow More Than 20 Percent by 2018

Journalist and ETCentric contributor Adrian Pennington forwarded us news that the BBC, working with research partners Arqiva and BT, plans to broadcast the World Cup final and two other FIFA matches live in 4K as part of an ongoing trial with the Ultra HD format. This marks the first time that 4K will be distributed simultaneously over IP and digital terrestrial television technologies, a hybrid distribution model that the BBC has been developing for several years. Continue reading BBC Schedules 4K Ultra HD Broadcast Trials for World Cup

New data from analyst IDC finds that shipments of 4K televisions have reached over one million per month and are projected to reach upward of 15.2 million for 2014. Consumer adoption is on the rise as the average selling price has dropped 85 percent worldwide in the last two years, from $7,851 in 2012 to $1,120 in 2014. A new report from BI Intelligence predicts a faster adoption curve than HDTV, with 4K TVs to be found in more than half of North American homes within 10 years. Continue reading Ultra HD: Consumer Adoption on the Rise with Lower Prices

Sony and Panasonic are reportedly in early discussions to create a joint venture in next-gen panel tech for mobile devices with key Apple supplier Japan Display Inc. While OLED tech for TVs has been a pursuit of numerous companies, LG and Samsung have led the charge for smaller screens in mobile devices. According to people familiar with the matter, Japanese manufacturers hope they can compete with their Korean rivals in smaller panels through the new joint venture. Continue reading Sony, Panasonic May Team Up for Mobile Panel Tech Venture