The international viewpoint of CES was presented by CEA Director of Industry Analysis Steve Koenig during the State of the Global CE Industry pre-show event staged at the Mandalay Bay on Sunday, January 6th. While most major international markets suffered a 1 percent drop in GDP last year, it is expected that as developing economies improve we will still only see single digit growth during a modest recovery. Continue reading CES 2013: CEA Presents State of the Global CE Industry

In the first press conference of the 2013 International CES, CEA’s Chief Economist and Senior Director of Research Shawn DuBravac outlined trends anticipated for this year’s confab, including mobile devices moving away from their primary role as a communication tool, and mobiles transitioning from serving as a second screen to potentially a primary screen. He also estimated that 50 Ultra HDTV models could be unveiled this week. Continue reading CES 2013: CEA Chief Economist Presents Trends to Watch

Smart TV Alliance announced on Sunday that five new members have joined to help develop and launch smart TV applications and services. The new members include manufacturers Panasonic, ABOX42 and TechniSat, and solution providers IBM and Specific Media. Additionally, the organization announced a new software development kit designed to optimize the smart TV experience with 3D video, high quality video and audio, updated DRM and more. Continue reading CES 2013: Smart TV Alliance Announces 5 New Members and SDK

Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem’s UltraViolet launched in October 2011 and at the 2013 International CES, attendees can expect to hear news and updates from consortium members about the rollout, support and its Common File Format. A booth located in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center will offer live demonstrations and an opportunity for CES attendees to register for UltraViolet accounts. Continue reading CES 2013: DECE Counts 9 Million UltraViolet Account Holders

A favorite pastime of analysts in recent years has been attempting to forecast what will prove to be the top trends emerging from the annual International CES confab in Las Vegas. Of course, this year is no different, as consumer electronics continue to branch out from purely an interest of the technorati, become more intrinsically tied to our lifestyles and subsequently draw more mainstream media attention. As we get ready to hit the show floor when the exhibition opens its doors tomorrow, we take a look at some of the more interesting forecasts recently published. (One of our favorite pastimes is discovering who will be right and who will end up missing the mark.) Continue reading CES 2013: A Look at Some of the More Interesting Predictions

The smartphone continues to grow in popularity and power as the always-on processing unit of choice. Quad-core units, phones with screen displays of 1080p and outsized “phablets” are expected to take center stage at the 2013 International CES. There’ll be a wow-factor, like the 5.5-inch flexible screen Samsung prototype, and a now-factor, like wireless pocket chargers from Energizer and Lilliputian that provide up to 20x life. Continue reading CES 2013: Phones to Tout Quad Cores, 1080p and Flexible Screens

Apple’s 2013 Mac lineup will reportedly include a range of updated internal features and hardware, including a potentially significant chipset upgrade — the inclusion of 802.11ac networking for super-fast Wi-Fi connectivity. Sources have told The Next Web that Apple has partnered with chipmaker Broadcom to deliver 802.11ac chips in the new Macs. “This will provide a much-needed boost for the standard, which is currently undergoing revisions, as electronics manufacturers look to introduce new consumer products capable of supporting high-speed networks,” explains TNW. Continue reading Apple Partners with Broadcom to Bring 5G Wi-Fi to Macs

While it commonly takes significant time to complete a motion picture, the process does not typically involve 15 years. That’s how long it took writer-director Chris Sullivan to complete his animated featured “Consuming Spirits.” Why so long? In addition to raising a family and working as a film professor, Sullivan is an “obsessive artist who animated three-fifths of its 129 minutes with his own hands, using puppets, tracing paper and miniature models shot on 16mm film,” explains the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading Chicago Filmmaker Pours 15 Years into Dark Animated Feature

The second annual Year End Stats Report from social media intelligence platform Trendrr indicates that 2012 saw a major surge in social interaction involving TV programs, with significantly increased chatter across Twitter, Facebook and various social apps. Growing interest in social TV chatter was also evidenced by the recent Nielsen announcement to create the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating. Continue reading Report: Social TV Chatter Sees Dramatic Increase in 2012

Jeramiah Perkins of the IMAGiNE Group was handed a record prison term for illegal file-sharing. The 40-year old Perkins, who is the reported leader of the in-theater camcording gang, was ordered to serve a 60-month prison term. The sentence surpasses that of IMAGiNE co-defendant Gregory Cherwonik of New York, who received 40 months in November. “In all, five IMAGiNE members have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for operating what prosecutors described as the world’s most prolific piracy release group between 2009 and 2011,” reports Wired. Continue reading Convicted File Sharer Recieves Record 5-Year Prison Term

Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the U.S. smartphone market, according to a new report from Tavis McCourt, technology analyst for financial services firm Raymond James. While iPhone retention remains roughly 86 percent, Samsung is consolidating the Android space domestically as it has already successfully achieved in much of the European market. Continue reading Apple and Samsung Tighten Control of U.S. Smartphone Market

With entertainment spending growing to $18.7 billion according to IHS Screen Digest, the entertainment industry is reaping the rewards of offering consumers more choice and options in how they consume content. TV Everywhere’s multi-channel, multi-device approach is finally complementing rather than cannibalizing. The year saw strong growth in Blu-ray discs. UltraViolet’s 7 million households and 8,500 titles now position the format to grow significantly in 2013. Video streaming or SVOD tripled in the first three quarters of the year to an estimated $1.7 billion. And studios continue to experiment with their windowing strategies for electronic sell-through. In this environment, the CE industry continues to respond and innovate. Continue reading CES 2013: Entertainment Trends Drive New Technologies

The interest in 3D entertainment and augmented reality has inspired numerous new head-mounted displays and wearable technology. Using Bluetooth technology and wireless connections to offload processing, these displays come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all have similar aims: to create an immersive entertainment experience or overlay relevant information onto our surroundings. We expect to see some compelling new products at CES. Continue reading CES 2013: Head-Mounted Displays and Wearable Tech

Ultra HD television sets will be featured at next week’s 2013 International CES. And while the technology promises four times the resolution of current TVs, pricing for these higher-resolution models are expected to range from $8,700 to $25,000. Additionally, there is little available in terms of UHD content, other than upscaled versions of existing content. Will consumers be excited about the prospect of Ultra HD? Continue reading CES 2013: Are Consumers Ready for the Cost of Ultra HD TVs?

According to Variety, 2012 was more about what didn’t happen than what did happen when considering the intersection of TV and digital media. As the multichannel world continues “begging for disruption,” the cost of the “average pay-TV subscription has skyrocketed 68 percent over the past 10 years,” notes the article. It seems something will definitely have to give, “but despite the fragility of their delicate bond, programmers and distributors didn’t face any real challenge in 2012 from any of the expected upstarts hoping to gain rights to live TV and package it in more innovative ways.” Continue reading In a Multichannel World, Pay TV Fought its Future in 2012