Amazon has revamped its flagship hardware, updating design and adding new intelligence. Four new Echo devices have been updated with new Omnisense intelligence and the next-generation Alexa+, the latter also now in Ring cameras. The company also unveiled three thinner and lighter Kindle Scribe tablets, including the Colorsoft, the first with a color screen. The sleeker form factors prompted Bloomberg to suggest Amazon plans “to take on Apple in the AI era.” One plain-looking device that got a lot of attention was the $40 Fire TV Stick 4K Select that Amazon calls the fastest streaming dongle on the market. Continue reading Amazon Emphasizes Design & Intelligence at Hardware Event

Google TV is introducing Gemini as a conversational AI assistant to help find content and get more information about a favorite TV show or movie. Gemini on Google TV goes beyond the simple queries and commands of Google Assistant, which has been around since 2017, and allows “free-flowing conversations with your big screen,” the company explains. “Just say ‘Hey Google’ or press the microphone button on your TV remote” to tap into Gemini for TV to activate the new feature. Gemini is now available on the TCL QM9K series, with more TCL models coming onboard later this year. Google says additional functionality for Gemini on TV is coming soon. Continue reading Google TV Adding Conversational Intelligence with Gemini AI

Dolby Laboratories has announced Dolby Vision 2, engineered to take Dolby Vision beyond HDR with features like Content Intelligence, an AI-powered image optimization tool, and Authentic Motion, a “motion control tool to make scenes feel more authentically cinematic” by eliminating “judder on a shot-by-shot basis.” In addition to standard Dolby Vision 2, the company is also rolling out a tier called Dolby Vision 2 Max designed for “the highest performing TVs.” Hisense says it will be the first television brand to bring Dolby Vision 2 to market, incorporating it into premium TVs including the company’s new RGB Mini-LED lineup. Continue reading Dolby Vision 2 Goes Beyond HDR with ‘Content Intelligence’

Hisense’s new top-of-the-line TVs, which use the China-based company’s latest RGB-MiniLED technology, hit the market last week at “select retailers.” The 116-inch Hisense 116UX lists for $30,000 and the 100-inch Hisense 100UX is priced at $20,000 (though as of this writing Best Buy offers them for $25,000 and $15,000, respectively). The company also announced its new 4K UHD ultra short throw projector, the TriChroma Laser TV L9Q — which supports a picture of 80 to 200 inches — will ship in North America and Europe beginning in Q3. Continue reading Hisense Announces New RGB-MiniLED TVs and UST Projector

Hisense Channels is a new FAST service launched by TV manufacturer Hisense and Xumo, the streaming joint venture between Charter Communications and Comcast. Boasting in excess of 200 premium channels from content providers including Scripps, Stingray and Radial Entertainment, Hisense Channels is debuting on Hisense smart TVs, where viewers can access it from the TV’s homepage screen — no need for a subscription or download. The move is an expansion of the existing partnership between Xumo and Hisense, which is interested in simplifying content discovery with built-in streaming access. Continue reading Xumo Powers Hisense Channels’ 200 FAST Content Offerings

South Korea-based electronics giant Samsung has released the first TV set to use its new Micro RGB backlight technology. Measuring 115-inches, the 4K TV is being released in the company’s home country priced at roughly $32,300, with plans to hit U.S. shelves next, followed by a global rollout and additional screen sizes. Samsung’s proprietary Micro RGB technology arranges individually controlled red, green and blue micro RGB LEDs — each less than 100µm in size, less than the width of a human hair — behind the panel, enabling precision control over each color. The tech is drawing comments like “game changer” and “makes LED look outdated.” Continue reading Samsung Rolls Out New 4K TV, Its First with Micro RGB Tech

LG has revealed more information about its 2025 premium QNED evo lineup of LCD smart TVs in sizes ranging from 50 to 100 inches. QNED evo is the branding for LG’s 2025 LCD and LED TVs, which compete in the mid-range and high-end with models from Samsung, Hisense and TCL. The new QNED9M, the first LG QNED TV able to transmit audio and video wirelessly using LG’s True Wireless technology, allowing set-top boxes and gaming devices to be placed away from the TV for a clutter-free look and easier wall mounting. Last week LG announced it was adding direct access to Xbox gaming to its webOS portal. Continue reading LG’s 2025 QNED TVs Feature Mini-LED and a Wireless Model

Netflix has begun streaming HDR10+ programming for AV1-enabled devices, enhancing the customer viewing experience for subscribers at the $25 per month Premium level. Previously, high-definition content had been limited to HDR10 and Dolby Vision, which it will continue to offer. Netflix has been “a pioneering adopter of High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology” starting nearly a decade ago, not only streaming in the format but also producing and encoding in it. “In the last five years, HDR streaming has increased by more than 300 percent” on Netflix while HDR-configured devices have more than doubled, according to the company. Continue reading Netflix Enhanced Viewing Supports HDR10+ on AV1 Devices

One of the new television unveilings at CES this year was Hisense’s L9Q, the latest evolution of the Chinese company’s L9 Series of laser TVs first introduced in 2014. Offering five immersive screen sizes ranging from 100 to 150 inches at 4K UHD resolution, L9Q touts the most compact laser TV console (as small as a 12-inch laptop). Its proprietary TriChroma triple-laser light engine emits up to 5,000 lumens with a 5,000:1 contrast ratio and is the first to achieve 1,500 nits full-screen brightness. Each L9Q is paired with one of the company’s Ambient Light Rejection (ALR) screens. The L9Q also supports Dolby Atmos, DTS Virtual X, and eARC for quality surround sound. Continue reading CES: Hisense Introduces L9Q Laser TV with Compact Console

Hisense is going high-end at CES 2025, with two XXL-size TVs that leverage new display technology. For 2025 the company has queued up a 136-inch micro-LED TV and a 116-inch mini-LED TV that uses RGB backlight for improved color. The Chinese company’s 2025 TVs all feature a new Hisense Hi-View AI Engine X processor that the company says is faster than last year’s and uses artificial intelligence to optimize the picture and sound, as well as energy consumption. The models also have built-in ATSC 3.0 tuners for NextGen digital TV broadcasts. No word yet on pricing or availability. Continue reading CES: Hisense Goes Big and AI with New Micro-, Mini-LED TVs

Alphabet is rolling out the Google TV network, an advertising platform that will for the first time allow media buyers to slot ads across the entire Google TV platform of more than 125 channels with one transaction. Google says those ads will reach the 20 million monthly active users who use Google TV and other Android TV OS devices to watch live sports, full-length TV shows, movies and more. Initially offering “staple connected-TV ad formats” — including non-skippable and 6-second bumpers ads — placed in-stream, Google says there are more formats to come. Continue reading Google TV Network is Alphabet’s New In-Stream Ad Platform

Walmart is acquiring Vizio in a deal valued at $2.3 billion. The retail giant is following a template established by Amazon by expanding into entertainment media and connected TV advertising. The majority of Vizio’s growth from the last five years has come from ads on its WatchFree+ platform, which offers more than 260 channels, Walmart said touting a deal point. Vizio’s primary business is manufacturing value-priced TV sets. It also makes soundbars. The deal will instantly vault Walmart into a mix of players including Amazon, Roku, Samsung Ads and Google’s YouTube. Continue reading Walmart Bolsters Advertising Business with Vizio Acquisition

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

Consumer Technology Association VP of Marketing & Communications Melissa Harrison moderated a CES discussion about the evolution of the connected TV (CTV) from the point of view of marketers. Hisense USA Senior VP of Brand Marketing David VanderWaal noted the pandemic’s impact on TV viewership. “In 2020, 47 percent of people reported watching movies on TVs; in 2023, it’s now 64 percent,” he noted. “More people want to have big screen entertainment.” At digital marketing firm The Trade Desk, Executive VP and CMO Ian Colley reported that 2023 was the “tipping point” for more people watching streaming rather than linear TV. Continue reading CES: Marketers on the Future of the Connected TV Ecosystem

The Hisense 110UX TV, a 110-inch diagonal screen said to have 10,000 nits of peak brightness — five times greater than that of the best OLEDs — will make its official debut at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With more than 40,000 backlight zones for local dimming and high levels of color volume, Hisense says it achieves 95 percent of the BT.2020 color palette, or about 20 percent better than the top OLEDs. Developed on Hisense’s ULED X platform, the preview photo showed it on a console-style stand that appeared to house its own audio system. Continue reading Hisense to Debut ‘World’s Brightest’ 110-Inch TV at CES 2024