DISH is first to complete the 4K product-content-distribution loop

6 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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Any 4K you have.

Like HDTV before it, 4K ultra high definition television programming will enter the U.S. consumer mainstream via satellite. At its CES press conference yesterday, DISH Network announced that it will soon offer the 4K Joey. That’s what it calls its new set top box that streams satellite-delivered UHD channels to any 4K-capable television. Content availability, though, is less clear. According to the company…

DISH will deliver 4K content from several providers.

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Samsung CEO puts company's weight behind open IoT standards

5 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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The Internet of Things is the most important development in front of the consumer electronics industry right now, BK Yoon, president and CEO, said in the opening to his CES keynote address tonight. It’s not something that’s coming in the future, he said, “I would argue that the age of the Internet of Things has already started”.

He called for open IoT standards, promised that Samsung’s products would comply and said by 2017 90% of the company’s products – and 100% within 5 years would be IoT capable.

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Enplug wins the Eureka Park pitchfest at CES

5 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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A company with an interactively focused digital signage platform was the best of the bunch at this afternoon’s Showstoppers Launch.it competition at CES. Enplug CEO Nanxi Liu was the first of 11 entrepreneurs who gave a 5 minute presentation telling why they should be funded, and then took 3 minutes of questions from a panel of angel investors. At the end, the panel voted LA-based Enplug the winner.

Second and third place went to Israeli companies – VocalZoom and SwitchBee respectively.… More

Sling TV offers traditional channels via broadband for $20 a month

5 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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Best of all, no cable company.
Roger Lynch, CEO Sling TV

Targeting the millennial generation, Sling TV – a sister company of DISH Network – announced it will offer a line up of 25 to 30 traditional cable channels via broadband for $20 per month, with no commitment or contract, beginning later this month.

“All you need is a credit card and a broadband connection”, said DISH CEO Joe Clayton. The channels can be streamed on pretty much any device you have: mobile phone, tablet, PC, smart TV and, crucially, streaming devices made by other online television providers like Netflix or Hulu.… More

Ultra definition TVs coming faster and cheaper, CEA predicts

5 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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Click for the full presentation.

The Consumer Electronics Association is forecasting 4 million 4K televisions will be sold in the U.S. in 2015, representing 20% of the market for 40-inch or larger screens. That prediction ramps to 14 million – 63% of the big screen category – in 2018. Those numbers are significant: in a short period of time, ultra HD TV’s will move from technophiles – less than 1% of the market – into the hands of the 15% to 20% of consumers who can be characterised as mainstream early adopters.… More

ChangeTip takes the geek out of Bitcoin

5 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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Bitcoin is back at CES, with 9 crypto-currency related companies pitching at the Startup Debut showcase last night. Bitpay, the big Atlanta-based payment gateway, was there, as a prelude to anchoring a growing Bitcoin pavilion on the show floor – I’ll be checking that out. BitAngels made a return appearance as well.

The most interesting of the newcomers was ChangeTip. It’s a San Francisco start-up that just raised $4.2 million in seed funding, or so spokeswoman Victoria van Eyk said.… More

Wearables flood in, home hubs back out from CES Unveiled

4 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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The pot calls the kettle back.

The 2015 Consumer Electronics Show will be about networked wristbands and coffee pots, if CES Unveiled – the opening press group grope – is anything to judge by. Wearables and home automation – products that lived in a geek ghetto only a couple of years ago – are the hot new categories this year.

Contenders in the wearable fitness tracker category seem to be following a common path: cram some sensors and a Bluetooth module into a sleek looking wristband, write iOS and Android apps to talk to it, then beef it up with some server-side analysis.… More

Update: CEA makes bullish prediction for ultra HD products

4 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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At its opening press conference at CES this afternoon, the Consumer Electronics Association predicted that 4 million ultra high definition – 4K – television sets will be sold in 2015, against 77,000 in 2013 and an estimated 1.3 million in 2014. By 2018, CEA says that annual 4K sales volume will hit 14 million. Price points for sets in the 50-inch range – the smaller end of the scale in 4K terms – are expected to drop below $1,000.

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Don't expect consumer electronics to drive FTTH builds in 2015

4 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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Don’t expect them to do your job for you. Not this year, anyway.

If there’s one new consumer electronics product on the horizon that’s going to drive demand for fiber to the home service, it’s advanced televisions of the 4K and 8K ultra high definition variety. The big players at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will be showcasing their latest ultra TVs, and several events and panel sessions are devoted to it.… More