The Consumer Electronics Association launched a promotional campaign called “Innovating Safety” last week to emphasize that CE devices and automobiles can work together safely. The campaign is designed to inform consumers and lawmakers about the many devices that support driver safety, such as Bluetooth kits and teen tracking. The campaign launched during a policy forum in Washington, D.C. that addressed distracted driving. Continue reading CEA Launches New Campaign to Promote Car Gadget Safety

During our CES coverage in January, we reported that Sony was planning to launch a 4K Ultra HD Media Player, preloaded with 4K movies from Sony Pictures Entertainment. On Monday, the company began taking pre-orders for the $699 device, which will be available this month (new 4K content will be added to the service by the fall). Those who purchase Sony’s 4K TVs will receive a $200 introductory discount on the media player. Continue reading Sony Takes Preorders on New 4K Media Player, Ships in July

Eye IO, LLC (eyeIO) announced on Friday that its Ultra HD compression encoding technology has been licensed by Sony Pictures to help the studio offer content on Sony 4K Ultra HD TVs in the home. Owners of Sony 4K TVs will be able to access a number of movies via Sony’s 4K media player, which will launch this summer. The eyeIO technology processes, compresses and encodes 4K source files into a format that requires less bandwidth. Continue reading Sony Pictures Turns to eyeIO Video Compression for 4K Player

Since the debut of Ultra HD 4K TVs at CES in January, Sony has become the first to offer 4K televisions to consumers with its new line of screens available through its Bravia brand. The first 4K Bravia sets are 55- and 65-inch models priced in the $7,000 range, while an 84-inch unit costs as much as $25,000. As an incentive, Sony is including a set of 10 4K mastered Blu-ray movies, and plans to launch a digital download service with more content. Continue reading Sony Launches 4K Bravia TVs, Other Brands Expected Soon

Real money online poker has been reintroduced in the U.S. with the launch of UltimatePoker.com, the country’s first legal online gambling portal since regulators shut down gambling sites in 2011. The site is operated by Ultimate Gaming, a subsidiary of Fertitta Interactive that also runs the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Currently, only users in Nevada will have access, since Ultimate Gaming plans to track IP addresses in order to keep the site secure. Continue reading Ultimate Poker: Real Money Online Gambling Returns to U.S.

During last week’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Sony announced that its Digital Cinema Solutions Group is beginning customer trials that will test its “xMassif” Web-based, content exchange platform. According to the company release: “This online marketplace creates a new model for increasing access to alternative, independent and repertory content among content owners, exhibitors and promoters, in an easy-to-use and secure environment.” Continue reading Sony Launches Pilot Program for Content Exchange Platform

Cinema sound and related standards were hot topics at last week’s CinemaCon conference in Las Vegas. Industry leaders discussed the promise of immersive sound to extend the theatrical experience into one that cannot be duplicated in the home. They also addressed the issue of developing how to create and distribute mixes for the new types of sound systems that are soon going to show up in theaters. The proposal of an open format approach was debated. Continue reading Immersive Sound Standards Debated at CinemaCon Event

In an effort to regain revenue lost from shrinking DVD sales, Universal Pictures chairman Adam Fogelson suggested that studios should consider partnering with theaters to test out the idea of premium video on demand. Fogelson made his remarks during a panel discussion at the Cinema-Con convention in Las Vegas this week. Typically, movies are made available on-demand at home about three months following theatrical distribution. Premium VOD would shrink that window. Continue reading Industry Leaders Discuss Possible Change to VOD Window

The end of celluloid film distribution in North America may come as soon as the end of this year, as the transition from film to digital continues. Michael Karagosian, president of MKPE Consulting, said that by the end of last year, 75 percent of worldwide cinema screens had already made the digital transition. This is expected to be an important topic this week at the annual CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas. Continue reading Distribution of Film Prints May Soon End in North America

A number of interesting camera and related 4K technologies were on display at last week’s NAB show in Las Vegas including Blackmagic’s new $995 Pocket Cinema Camera, the Production Camera 4K from Blackmagic, Phantom’s Flex4K Digital Cinema camera, two new 4K projectors from Christie capable of 60 frames-per-second, and a proof of concept trifocal camera system from Germany’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute. Continue reading NAB 2013: Compelling New Camera and Projection Systems

Akamai is aiming to get the second screen experience right. It demonstrated its Hyperconnected Living Room concept at NAB in Las Vegas, showcasing a dual-screen experience that pushes out on-demand movies and other streaming content to a user’s slate right when they would expect to see it. It is a contrast to other such services that tend to lag and provide content later than desired. Continue reading NAB 2013: Akamai Demos Hyperconnected Living Room

On Tuesday at NAB, Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam joined a growing contingent of consumers and insiders who believe the answer to combating cord-cutting is for the television industry to allow for a-la-carte cable subscriptions. He thinks it would be an answer to ongoing consumer pressure and says he understands when consumers ask questions such as, “Why should I have to pay for 300 channels?” Continue reading NAB 2013: Verizon CEO Supports A La Carte Programming

Dell announced at NAB “Dell Create,” a professional consulting service and IT solution provider designed to help content creators — including large broadcast companies and entertainment studios — improve their content workflows with a centralized IT environment. With comprehensive management, implementation and support, Dell is positioning Dell Create as a multi-vendor cloud for content creators that allows customers to worry less about IT and spend more time being creative. Continue reading NAB 2013: Dell Announces Solution for Media Workflows

At NAB in Las Vegas, Japanese broadcaster NHK demonstrated its real-time, over-the-air transmission and reception of 8K for the first time outside of Japan. 8K technology is considered Ultra High-Definition — touting resolution 16 times that of HDTV. The U.S. and U.K. are currently exploring the possibilities of 4K technology, which seems more realistically applicable within the market at this point. Continue reading NAB 2013: NHK Demos Super Hi-Vision 8K Technology

In advance of next week’s NAB show, Dell announced its Dell Precision Performance Optimizer (DPPO), a free download solution that simplifies, automates and optimizes Dell Precision workstation settings to maximize application performance. DPPO addresses the variations in processing requirements between different software and configures optimal settings for professional systems, manages system resources and tracks performance for future analysis. Continue reading NAB 2013: Dell Launches Automated Workstation Software