Internet advertising revenues hit a record $225 billion in the U.S. in 2023, a 7.3 percent increase, according to a PwC report for the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The connected TV and audio categories saw double-digit growth, as did spending on e-commerce platforms, classified “retail media,” which rose 16.3 percent year-over-year, reaching $43.7 billion in 2023 as key players expanded their ad inventory. Video advertising revenue climbed 10.6 percent year-over-year, to $52.1 billion, with 42 percent of that revenue generated from CTV and OTT streaming. Continue reading IAB: U.S. Digital Advertising Hit Record $225 Billion Last Year

CES 2024 attracted more than 135,000 attendees to Las Vegas where 4,300 companies filled 2.5 million square feet of exhibit space. Technology that empowers creators, a new generation of displays, and the promise and peril of artificial intelligence dominated the show. After several years of incremental advances, market development built on maturing technology, and over-hyped trends, this year felt different with an energy that suggests the beginning of a new era. Among the major themes were embedded AI, vehicle tech, digital health, screens and XR, and numerous policy and regulation topics. ETC@USC attended the conference for live reporting on products and services. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading ETC’s CES 2024 Report: Creators, Displays, and AI Innovation

In the wake of the recent Vision Pro launch, mostly positive reviews, and (reportedly) selling out of its modest 200,000 unit initial production run, Apple seems to have reignited its appetite for innovation. The company is said to be considering the release of a foldable iPhone after quietly developing the technology since 2018. A sticking point for the design-oriented firm may be the “ubiquitous foldable crease,” which has pundits speculating that Apple’s debut entry won’t hit the market before 2026. Early reports suggest the company is pursuing a clamshell form factor that folds lengthwise. Continue reading Is Foldable iPhone What’s Next for Apple After the Vision Pro?

Technology that empowers creators, a new generation of displays, and the promise and peril of artificial intelligence dominated CES 2024. After several years of incremental advances, market development built on maturing technology, and over-hyped trends, this year felt different with an energy that suggests the beginning of a new era. Among the highlights were next generation displays, including MicroLED and transparent technologies. If a consensus emerged, it is that AI may be everywhere but it isn’t everything. “People at the heart of creativity” was Sony’s CES slogan, yet its people-centered sentiment applied broadly across the show. Continue reading CES: AI Was Everywhere but Not the Only Thing in Las Vegas

Dell’s Alienware has redesigned its gaming laptops with the debut of the m16 R2. It is also coming to market with Pro Line peripherals and two new QD-OLED curved gaming monitors, being showcased this week at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. The new m16 R2 laptop has a slimmed down look, with a reduced heat shelf and Stealth Mode that turns off the glitzy lighting and boisterous sound for gamers who want their portable hardware to perform double duty as a productivity device. The company also unveiled its first competitive gaming peripherals, the Alienware Pro wireless mouse and keyboard. Continue reading CES: Alienware Intros Updated Laptops, Curved 4K Monitors

Samsung Electronics kicked off CES 2024 with a bang, premiering a transparent MicroLED display at its First Look curtain raiser that created a great deal of buzz in Las Vegas. Transparent screen technology is poised to extend virtual experiences into the world’s living rooms, and Samsung says that its MicroLED tech — the result of six years of R&D — is better than competing OLED and LED options, claiming the clear, glass-like display offers superior brightness and clarity to competing options. To illustrate its claim, Samsung’s demo lets visitors compare its transparent MicroLED display next to transparent OLED and LCD screens. Continue reading CES: Samsung Demonstrates Transparent MicroLED Display

Display manufacturers are giving gamers a big OLED push this year. That means faster refresh rates, a big plus when it comes to action titles, including sports. Samsung has a 32-inch OLED monitor that delivers 4K at 240Hz and 27-inch QHD OLED monitors and panels that clock at 360Hz. LG Display, providing tech to third parties — has debuted a 1440p panel said to be the fastest OLED yet. LG Elecronics’ own UltraGear 32 OLED is the company’s first to use dual refresh technology and has a .03ms response time, processing 4K at 240Hz and 480Hz for 1080p. Continue reading CES: LG Introduces OLED Display Tech Designed for Gaming

Samsung Display has revealed plans to begin mass production on a new type of monitor with ultra-high-definition resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. Samsung says this is the highest pixel density and UHD resolution among available OLED monitors, and that the display also offers super-fast response speed to thrill gamers. The new QD-OLED monitors will initially be offered in two sizes: 32 inches and 27 inches. Typically, 30-inch QHD monitors offer 2560×1440 pixels, which Samsung says is fine for “general-purpose” use, adding that “consumers who enjoy gaming and high-definition video content will have a strong preference for UHD products.” Continue reading Samsung’s New QD-OLED Monitor Called a ‘Game Changer’

Looking Glass has since 2014 been working to bring holographic display into regular consumer use. Now the Brooklyn-based company thinks it’s found the killer app to make that happen: Looking Glass Go, a pocket-sized display that has a $300 MSRP for June 2024 delivery and features a six-inch screen and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to enable receipt of “holograms from the cloud.” The Looking Glass Go allows you to “shoot instant spatial photos with your phone” and view them as holograms — “including holographic AIs you can customize, powered by ChatGPT,” the company says. Continue reading Looking Glass Readies Launch of Mobile Holographic Display

Swiss technology firm CREAL has announced what it calls a breakthrough in lightfield technology that can greatly improve augmented reality experiences. The tech is set to be commercially released in early 2024 for integration into third-party products, CREAL CEO Tomas Sluka says the advancement will make it more comfortable to wear AR glasses, reducing eye strain, nausea and fatigue. While other companies approach AR’s challenges through solutions including passthrough, monocular projection and varifocal display, CREAL says the stack it’s built for lightfield display addresses the most pressing common issues. Continue reading CREAL Plans Launch of Commercial Lightfield AR Next Year

What a difference a year makes. CES 2023 attracted more than 115,000 attendees from 140 countries to Las Vegas where 3,000 companies filled 2 million square feet of exhibit space. Among the major themes relevant to M&E this year were artificial intelligence, the multiverse, AR and immersive experiences, displays, mobility, IoT, and numerous policy and regulation topics. ETC@USC attended the convention with onsite and remote teams, once again blending its in-person tradition with a virtual presence. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to these key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading CES 2023 Report: Connection, Collaboration and Cooperation

LG is bringing to market a line of LED screens designed for small movie theaters, the LG Miraclass line. The four initial models range in size from 16- to 46-feet wide, offering 24-bit color and resolution from 2K to 4K. The screens are comprised of smaller panels featuring self-emissive LED pixels that run edge-to-edge (eliminating visible seams). Brightness adjusts across five stages — from 48 to 300 nits  — making the displays suitable for a range of use-cases, from the brightness required for 2D/3D movies to less light-intensive corporate presentations. Continue reading New LG Miraclass LEDs Offer Cinemas Projection Alternative

As “right to repair” laws gain traction in states including New York, which passed legislation last year, tech firms are girding to battle back against consumer rights to buy parts and access information about how to implement DIY fixes. Forced obsolescence being part of virtually every hardware manufacturer’s business plan, the rapid pace of device disposal and replacement has proven taxing on the environment, as well as costly for consumers. Some companies are said to design software that performs inadequately with replacement parts, or update software to intentionally degrade product performance with age. Continue reading Tech Firms Push Back as ‘Right to Repair’ Gains Momentum

Apple is gearing up to make a big play for the smart home market, according to reports that put it on a trajectory to challenge Google and Amazon. This week, the company released a new HomePod smart speaker with superior audio, enhanced Siri capabilities, and better security. But a report surfaced of Apple preparing a dedicated smart home control device to rival the displays for Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub. Although the iPad currently offers some smart home features, standalone devices are growing in popularity, kickstanding on countertops or mounted on walls. Continue reading New Apple HomePod Signals Big Push in Smart Home Space

Samsung Display has debuted a concept mobile device that both folds and slides, the Flex Hybrid. The company’s “smart mobile device” prototype unfolds to reveal a display on the left side, with the right side sliding outward to expand screen real estate. The Flex Hybrid’s OLED screen expands from a 10.5-inch 4:3 configuration to a 12.4-inch 16:10 display. Samsung Display also previewed two larger displays at CES 2023, the Flex Slidable Solo, which expands in a single direction, and the Flex Slidable Duet, which grows on both sides, from 13 or 14 inches of screen space to 17.3 inches. Continue reading CES: Samsung Flex Hybrid Mobile Device Can Fold and Slide