Tag: TV

4K telly market booms

Posted on July 12, 2017 by - News

television-exploding-biz-2015-billboard-650The global 4K TV market is expected to reach $380.9 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research.

The beancounters claimed that the evolving nature of the consumer electronic industry, advancements in graphic engines of televisions, increased pressure on manufacturers to reduce prices, and popularity of the ultra-high definition technology and its advantages have fueled the demand for UHD televisions in the past few years.

Latest graphic processors permit advanced technical image formats and have improved the content quality significantly hence, they are widely used in production and distribution of UHD content. Customers are getting accustomed to using such contents, which is further anticipated to spur the market growth.

The 52-65 inches’ segment dominated the global 4K TV market in 2016 since this segment has a wide range of product offering at different price points. Moreover, the adoption of novel technologies, such as Quantum dot LEDs (QLEDs) and Super UHD (SUHD) and decreasing prices of 4K TVs are expected to catapult the segment demand over the forecast period.

Televisions belonging to this range have high penetration rates as compared to the others. However, the above 62 inches’ screen size segment is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period owing to the declining price trend of 4K TVs coupled with increasing disposable incomes of individuals globally.

The global UHD TV market is expected to witness a CAGR exceeding 20 percent  from 2017 to 2025 owing to the changing consumer preference from HD to UHD technology along with increasing demand for high-end home products

Moreover, increasing penetration of ultra-high-speed internet, particularly in developed regions including metropolitan cities are expected to favorably impact the 4K TV market growth over the coming years.

The 52 – 65 inches’ segment accounted for the largest share in 2016, which is accredited to increasing penetration of 4K TVs in the higher economic class; however, with decline in TV prices the above 65-inch screen size segment pose high growth opportunities

The Asia Pacific region accounted over 40 percent  of the overall revenue share in 2016 and is also expected to dominate over the forecast period owing to the huge adoption along with declining prices of 4K televisions

A few key players who captured a significant market share in 2016 were Samsung, LG Electronics, Sony, Hisense, and Sharp.

 

Ooyala gets into the channel

Posted on February 2, 2017 by - News

r6uhkgtsix9vtvl3pjd4Broadcasting and media sector outfit Ooyala has launched a channel programme with the aim of getting more VARs and MSPs.

Normally getting into the video and media market is limited to those channel specialists.  Ooyala thinks it can be made easier for those looking to get a foot into broadcasters and media firms.

The video monetisation specialist has rolled out its solutions partner programme, which is designed to attract IT partners that can sell a range of products from video production workflow to analytics and video monetisation. It wants partners with the data skills that can help broadcasters go digital.

Ooyalal thinks that VARs or MSPs are in the best position to pull together a solution that can help its target market get into a position where they are ready to take advantage of the latest digital technology.

Channel partners have the advantage of signing up for a scheme that has a customer base that is likely to have digital needs that go beyond simply the video and could want more.

Ooyala CEO, Issac Vaughn said that Ooyala wanted customers to thrive in the future of TV delivery and production.

“ Our increased commitment to our channel programme is designed to attract and enable our customer’s preferred suppliers and align with their typical buying patterns,” he said.

TV resellers can rejoice as Sky plans 4K service

Posted on July 28, 2015 by - News

tvOne of the sales problems for 4K TVs has been a lack of content, but it appears that Sky is getting ready to fix that.

Dubbed SkyQ, the gear will be in the shops soon. Coincidentally it appears soon after BT’s Ultra HD box began selling online.

Like EE TV, Sky’s new box will enable you to share broadcasts across smartphones and tablets as families move towards viewing TV on multiple devices.

It will also let you  watch or record at least four programmes at once although that will require you to learn how to programme the damn thing.

Apparently SkyQ’s killer feature is 4K football which means that it will be only useful for people who want to watch grossly overpaid, tax dodging morons running up and down a field kicking a ball.

For the rest of the world who wants entertainment that investment in a 4K telly is still a waste of money until Sky and its ilk start upgrading their lower res content.

Sky will launch its box within a month or two so we will know then. The company has not released much in the way of content pricing either. If it is like 3D it will probably be a bit expensive.

Apple wants to get into the TV business

Posted on March 17, 2015 by - News

tvFruity cargo cult Apple is convinced it can make a bob or two out of the television market, despite failing dismally in the past.

Boldly going where Intel and Microsoft have failed, Apple has been hinting that it would get into the telly business for a while now. However the Wall Street Journal thinks it has found evidence that the iPhone maker is in talks with programmers to offer a slimmed-down bundle of TV networks in the autumn.

Apple’s service would have about 25 channels, anchored by broadcasters such as ABC, CBS and Fox, and be available across all devices powered by Apple’s iOS operating system, including iPhones, iPads and Apple TV set-top boxes, the newspaper said.

Apple has been talking to Walt Disney, CBS, and Twenty-First Century Fox, and other media companies to offer a “skinny” bundle with well-known channels like CBS, ESPN and FX, leaving out the many smaller networks in the standard cable TV package, the Journal said.

Apple will charge $30 to $40 a month, plans to announce the service in June and launch it in September.

Apple is refusing to comment on the news until it has been hyped a little more and it can stage one of its Nuremburg rallies to promote the idea.

Several media companies are considering joining streaming-only services, or launching their own like HBO and CBS, to attract young people who do not subscribe to traditional pay TV packages. But programmers also fear the packages could become so popular that they undercut current, more profitable deals with cable companies.

Sony is rolling out competing services and it already has the inside measurement of the entertainment business.

LG fights to make OLED more mainstream

Posted on February 24, 2015 by - News

tvLG will partner with Chinese and Japanese firms in a bid to make organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display televisions more acceptable to the great unwashed.

LG has not said who it is teaming up with or what its OLED partnership would mean for those signing up to it.

So far, its affiliate LG Display is the only panel maker that can mass-produce OLED TV panels, and Samsung and LG are the biggest proponents of the technology for the TV market.

The LG companies say OLED offers better picture quality and consumes less power than mainstream liquid crystal displays (LCD).

However, they are still more expensive than LCD televisions. Quantum dot technology, which has many of the advantages of OLED but costs less, could also undercut OLED TV sales.

Some Chinese TV makers like Skyworth Digital Holdings and Konka are using OLED, but analysts say the technology needs to be more widely used by manufacturers to take off.

Samsung has said it has no plans to make OLED TVs in the immediate future because the technology is not yet ready for mass consumption.

Sony said it would be open to using OLED displays for its televisions but nothing appears to have happened yet.

White space will speed up your connection

Posted on February 13, 2015 by - News

Screen Shot 2015-02-13 at 14.57.04A technology that makes use of gaps in radio and TV frequencies has been approved by regulator Ofcom.

Academics from Strathclude University tested the technique by producing a prototype system in Glasgow which Ofcom has approved.

Ofcom believes that the technique will allow internet access for ships and boats, machine to machine networks and other wide ranging applications. The white space technology can pass more easily through walls and has a greater range than wi-fi.

Ofcom will guide the industry on how to use the white spaces in the frequencies without affecting other channels.

It said it was likely that commercial applications of the technology will be available by the end of this year.

The wireless technology is also expected to be useful when products and services based on the internet of things finally kicks off.

A number of organisations and companies are already experimenting with the technology.

Samsung invests in new OLED plant

Posted on February 11, 2015 by - News

oldtvSamsung thinks that more people will be interested in buying its OLED TVs which spy on you and tell advertisers your doings.

The outfit has announced that it plans to write a cheque for $3.6 billion into making organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.

A Samsung Display spokesman said that the new production line would mainly make medium and small-sized OLED displays for consumer electronics devices like smartphones and tablets. The investment would be made from 2015 to 2017.

The new line will initially produce curved panels like those on the Galaxy Note Edge, and eventually help win external customers which are becoming crucial to parent Samsung Electronics’ future earnings growth.

In addition to the planned OLED investment, Samsung is expected to start building a chip plant in South Korea sometime in the first half of the year. The company said in October that construction for this plant will be completed in the second half of 2017.

However it is likely that all this investment will cut back on Samsung’s total 2015 dividend payout and it is likely that share values will fall.

It is not the only one thinking of following this line. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said this morning that LG Display is adding capacity in an existing large-panel OLED production line.

 

 

Video drives the mobile data market

Posted on February 5, 2015 by - News

tvThe age of TV is not over, it’s just taken a different shape.
IDC estimates that mobile data traffic will show double digit growth in 2015 – by 59 percent.
The company said in a report that while faster networks and more affordable 4G handsets are playing their part, the real reason for data growth on this scale is mobile video apps and other streamed content.
In 2013, mobile data traffic was 19,049,158 terabytes but by this year that figure will grow to close to 52 million terabytes while in 2016 the figure will not be far off 80 million terabytes.
IDC thinks 4G service prices will continue to fall but 3G still has its place, particularly in the non-Western markets.
By 2018, the company believes that people using 4G handsets will generate 46 percent of data traffic.
By 2018, it estimates that 4G devices will churn 5.5GB of data a month, three times more than a 3G smartphone.
Right now, mobile video generates 50 percent of all mobile data and that number is set to increase.  And video calling services are also set to grow.

 

Samsung confirms Tizen TV move

Posted on January 2, 2015 by - News

tv58Samsung has confirmed that it is moving all its new smart television products launched in 2015 to its operating system which is named after a particularly loud sneeze.

Tizen will give smart tellies additional software and connectivity functions, such as video streaming and web browsing capabilities.

Kim Hyun-suk, Samsung’s president of visual display business said that while Samsung is focusing on Tizen, the hope was that other TV makers will follow suit and help build an ecosystem that will help the platform grow.

Televisions are only part of Samsung’s Tizen plans. The idea is that a few smartwatches and cameras will also use it.

Samsung has been keen to move to Tizen to break it free from Google’s iron grip with its Android platform. Some pundits think that it will not take off until Samsung builds a successful smartphone with it.

This will encourage developers to write software for Tizen.  Certainly TVs will increase the platform’s user base, even if it is not the normal sort of market developers write for.

 

Hon Hai ties up with Innolux

Posted on November 20, 2014 by - News

Hon-HaiHon Hai Precision Industry has tied up with flat panel maker Innolux and is investing $2.8 billion in a panel producing plant in Taiwan.

Hon Hai is desperately trying to find new revenue streams which do not depend on the fruity themed cargo cult, Apple.  Earlier this year it bought stakes in a Taiwanese mobile network provider and a South Korean IT services provider.

Under the plan, the pair will buy equipment for the facility located in the southern city of Kaohsiung and which is expected to start production in the second half of 2016.

The plant, which will make low-temperature polysilicon panels, predominantly for use in smartphones, was built in 2008, but was mothballed due to financial constraints after the 2008 global financial crisis.

The plans are still awaiting final approval from the boards of both companies, but it seems likely that Hon Hai will stump up for the majority of the cash. The Innolux representative said the investment may take the form of a new joint-venture company.

Hon Hai already holds a nine percent stake in Innolux though its various subsidiaries. It is all a little mysterious dot com.

 

Top TV makers reject OLED

Posted on October 31, 2014 by - News

tv58Samsung and LG have decided that the world is not ready for OLED and the next generation of TVs will run on quantum dot technology.

The problem is that they can’t come up with a way of making OLED affordable for the mass market.

Quantum dot involves incorporating a film of tiny light-emitting crystals into regular liquid crystal displays (LCD). The manufacturing process is relatively straightforward and offers improved picture quality at much cheaper cost than using organic light-emitting diodes (OLED).

The manufacturers think that the resulting lower prices could help the technology catch on far quicker. One industry analyst estimated a 55-inch quantum dot TV would be priced 30 to 35 percent more than a current LCD TV, while an OLED TV could be 5 times more expensive.

LG’s 65-inch ultra-high definition OLED TV cost $11,350  which is a big problem.

The only real difficulty is that the quantum dot material comes from a small pool of suppliers, including Quantum Materials and Nanoco who are almost certain to jack up the prices as it might be in short supply.

Nanoco said a South Korean plant being built by partner Dow Chemical will start quantum dot production in the first half of 2015. Analysts believe the output is destined for a local client.

LG plans to make quantum dot TVs in addition to OLED TVs. Analysts regarded that a tacit acknowledgement that OLED needs more time for prices to come down before eventually becoming the new standard.

LG Chief Financial Officer Jung Do-hyun told analysts after the company reported earnings that OLED is the fundamentally superior product.

Samsung Vice President Simon Sung said that quantum dot is among many technologies under consideration.

Sony is the only major electronics manufacturer selling quantum dot TVs. Researcher DisplaySearch forecasts 1.95 million quantum dot TV shipments next year, for just 0.8 percent of the market, growing to 25.5 million by 2020. IHS Technology sees OLED TV shipments at 7.8 million units by 2019 from 600,000 in 2015.

 

Microsoft to release a Chromecast rival

Posted on August 27, 2014 by - News

tvMicrosoft thinks that there is room for another TV casting dongle and is apparently thinking about releasing a rival to Chromecast.

Redmond has not mentioned the dongle so far but it did pop up in an FCC filing.

The filing  lacks much info to identify the device, but it carries the model number HD-10.

The FCC filing says that this device has an HDMI port, Wi-Fi and a USB charging unit.

But if you look at the Wi-Fi Alliance product database you can spot that Microsoft’s HD-10 is described as a Miracast dongle.

Miracast is a wireless standard that lets devices connect to one another and share media.  It is not as sexy as the Chromecast or Apple AirPlay. Miracast doesn’t let users queue up multiple files from different sources or play multiplayer games, and it requires media to be played on other devices and sent to the TV, rather than directly from online and cloud sources.

However, this does mean that Microsoft will get its Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 devices casting to the TV which, at the moment, it cannot do.

 

 

Smart toys change Brit living rooms

Posted on August 1, 2013 by - News

living-roomOfcom research has revealed that the huge take-up of smartphones and tablets is transforming the traditional living room into a digital media hub. Ofcom’s Communications Market Report 2013 found that people are still coming together to watch TV in the living room, but the telly is no longer the centre of attention.

The number of UK adults who watch TV in the living room is 91 percent, up from 88 percent in 2002, but adults and kids alike now have a huge range of distractions. People are streaming videos, messaging, updating their social media status and doing a lot more, all while watching more TV than before. In fact, watching may not be the right word, as the TV now apparently provides the soundtrack for couch surfing.

More than half of adults now use smartphones, almost double the number two years ago (27 percent). Tablet ownership has more than doubled in the past year, going up from 11 percent to 24 percent The average household now has more than three types of internet enabled devices and one in five owns six or more.

So what exactly are people doing on their smart toys while “watching” TV? A quarter are “media meshing” which means they aren’t exactly watching TV, but doing something related to what’s on TV, like browsing IMDB, talking on the phone or texting about what they’re watching. Younger people are a lot more likely to use other media while watching TV (74 percent).

The other phenomenon is called “media stacking”. Half of people use their devices for completely unrelated activities while watching TV. These include smurfing the internet, social notworking and online shopping (16 percent). Women are more likely to media multitask than men, 56 percent compared to 51 percent.

However, ye olde telly is fighting back. Many people are picking up bigger TVs, with panels over 43 inches, but many households are reverting to having just one TV rather than a bunch of sets in different rooms. Tablets appear to be disrupting the traditional TV routine and smart TVs are also becoming relevant.

The growth in ownership of tablets is driving the use of second screens, and enticing people to the main TV room. More than half (56 percent) of tablet owners use their device for viewing audiovisual content and half of these do so while in the living room.

In addition, tablets are a very useful tool for entertaining and educating children. Kids of all ages love anything with a touchscreen and the vast majority of parents say the let their kids use tablets.

The transformation of the traditional living room into a multimedia hub could go even faster with superfast broadband services with speeds of over 30Mbps. However, just 17.5 percent of British homes have a superfast connection right now. People who decided to switch to superfast broadband told researchers that they have increased their levels of streaming high-definition content and started using more cloud services.

4K to steady global TV market

Posted on July 18, 2013 by - News

tv58The worldwide TV market is showing signs that it will return to growth this year after a 2012 shipment shortfall.

FutureSource consulting forecasts that the TV market will grow six percent this year, and continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of four percent through to 2017 – when it is expected annual shipments will be above 270 million units, with emerging markets accounting for 67 percent of those.

Ultra high definition 4K TV sets are beginning to emerge, and it’s predicted that worldwide shipments for these will grow from 62,000 in 2012 to 780,000 in 2013. They should reach 22 million units in 2017, according to FutureSource, bolstered by an increase in native 4K content and broader consumer appeal around 2015.

Cheaper sets from big Chinese domestic brands are pushing China to the front of the 4K rollout. But most major brands worldwide are expected to begin launching their own 4K TVs this year. North America is tipped to be a big market because of strong demand for enormous screens.

While 3D was an attempt to tackle the glut in flat panels, it didn’t really manage it by itself. 4K sets, according to FutureSource, indicate a natural progression instead, but it will have its own set of challenges.

Producing 4K panels at high yield rates could prove difficult, as well as challenges in delivering content that requires serious bandwidth. Compression improvements from the HEVC codec should help with broadcast.

Ad market to grow £3 billion, hit £17 billion by 2017

Posted on June 6, 2013 by - News

billboardThe UK advertising market is getting a shot in the arm from online operations and it is expected to grow by £3 billion by 2017, reaching £17 billion. According to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) the UK entertainment and media market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of four percent between 2013 and 2017, reaching £65.5 billion, up from £54 in 2012.