ZTE Sees Brightstar
Brightstar 20:20 has been chosen by ZTE as the official distributor for its smartphones and tablets in Spain.
32″ – 42″ Panel Prices Will Rise in Q4
Pricing for 32″, 40″ and 42″ TV panels will continue to rise in Q4’14, say Asian sources. The situation is not expected to soften until Q1’15, when demand seasonally falls. Panel makers have lowered production of 32″ units to focus on larger, higher-end products such as 50″ and 60″ UltraHD panels.
Best Buy Licenses Sharp Brand
Best Buy and Sharp have signed a licensing agreement (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 43) which allows the US chain to use Sharp’s brand on three recently released HDTVs. The new line comprises 32″, 42″ and 50″ models, selling for $200, $330 and $430 respectively.
DVB-T2 Plans Outlined in Germany
At a Media Broadcast event in Germany regarding DVB-T2, it was said that private broadcasters in the country plan to launch services using the platform in mid-2016. DVB-T broadcasts could be turned off in early 2018. Public broadcasters plan to begin -T2 programming in early 2017 and turn off simulcasts in mid-2019. Media Broadcast and … Read more
EC Looks to Limit Display Power Draw
The European Commission has published a working paper proposing new energy standards for large-screen TVs and monitors, which would cap their energy use. TVs in Europe are currently ranked according to the internal efficiency of their components. Under the proposed new scheme, fewer TVs would attain the top ratings. The standards could be in force … Read more
Entropic Leaves STB SoC Development
Entropic has announced that it will no longer produce SoC devices for use in set-top boxes. The company will continue to supply its STB SoCs that are already in production and believes that the business will contribute ‘meaningful revenue’ for the next three years. However, Entropic’s new focus is on its core connectivity business.
Fire TV Arrives In Time For Christmas
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 43) has been launched in the USA. It costs $40.
Frankfurt Claims Largest Airport Screen
A 100m² (5.5m x 18.3m) LED screen has been installed at Frankfurt Airport in Germany – making it the largest digital airport advertising space in Europe. We heard (via our friends at Invidis) that the screen is 16m from the ground and weighs 18 tonnes – but operator Media Frankfurt didn’t give away any more … Read more
Hastings: Broadcast TV Dead in 16 Years
“Broadcast TV will probably last until 2030”, was the bold claim by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings during a recent speech in Mexico City. Hastings has been predicting the death of linear TV (and its replacement by internet TV) for several years, although this is the first time that he has put a date to the … Read more
HD+ Reaches 1.6 Million Subs
HD+, the German TV platform, now has almost 1.6 million customers, five years after it was launched. Compared to September 2013, 313,683 new subscribers have joined HD+. An additional 1.3 million viewers are in the free trial period, putting the platform’s reach at about 2.9 million households.
High-End STB Shipments to Rise Quickly to 2020
Worldwide UltraHD-capable set-top box shipments will reach 48 million by 2020, says ABI Research. HEVC STB shipments will climb even higher, to 88 million units. Only about 60,000 STBs with both features will be shipped in 2014.
High-Res Streaming Arrives on Amazon
Amazon’s preparations (Display Monitor Vol 21 No 48) have now concluded. The company has launched UltraHD streaming on its Prime Instant Video service – although the service is currently only accessible on TVs, not other displays.
