Audio Video News

Ads on Alexa? So far the only ads on the voice platform are those incorporated into supported streaming services. But Amazon is talking to Proctor & Gamble and other companies about product placement...

Pay-TV rate hikes are rampant, with Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, and the Dish Network continuing to gouge consumers (and Charter expected to follow) at rates that usually far exceed inflation. Cox, where increases are from one to five bucks, attributes them to “the rising cost of programming content” and “new features and functions” such as voice remote and TV Everywhere...

Dish added Google Assistant to all generations of its Hopper DVR and Wally receiver. Use it to navigate or search content...

Dish’s Hopper Duo is a two-tuner HD DVR with 500 GB hard drive, which can store up to 125 hours of HD video, plus Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, VOD, PIP, and voice remote. There’s no up front cost but the DVR fee is $10/month...

Cable operators regulated by the FCC can also raise rates — by 2.09 percent, with the latest inflation adjustment. This applies only in areas proven to have scant competition...

Streaming “pain points” may hinder the growth of online video services, says an IBM Cloud Video study. Among consumer complaints are buffering, delayed starts, inadequate programming, crude recommendation tools, and (in some cases) ads...

Philadelphia viewers have lost WYBE (channel 35) due to the TV station’s spectrum-sharing arrangement with other channels in the post-auction spectrum repack. It will remain a pay-TV must-carry channel but many antenna viewers may be unable to receive it due to the transmitter move...

The spectrum repack is running short of funds, according to Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) — no surprise, since Congress allocated only $1.75 billion to a process estimated to cost $3 billion. Low-power transmitters and translators are in danger of getting lost in the shuffle, reducing free TV service available to low-income viewers and cord cutters...

Cord cutters are saving $115/month by dumping pay-TV for streaming. They tell LendEdu that they spent an average of $33.74/month on streaming before cutting the cord, and $35.33/month afterward, saving $51.38/month via password sharing...

NFL may go online for future seasons of Thursday Night Football, the league is warning TV networks. If they don’t ante up, the program may to go a streaming service...

$20/month for streaming is what 42 percent of consumers are willing to spend, they tell Phenix, provider of IP video solutions. “Most platforms that provide ‘live streaming’ capabilities offer either scale or speed, not both,” notes Phenix CEO Stefan Birrer...

Kaleidescape will use forensic watermarking technology from NexGuard in its Blu-ray-quality movie player, allowing protection of Ultra HD content with HDR. The company needs to demonstrate its anti-piracy seriousness to maintain cordial relations with studios...

“Power at a distance” wireless charging is now a thing, with the FCC’s approval of the WattUp Mid Field transmitter from the startup Energous. It has greater range than existing wireless charging schemes, charges multiple devices, and works with any brand of device as long as it has the receiver...

Control 4 bought Ihiji and is combining their BakPak and Invision remote management technologies into a single service platform. That will enable the combined dealer base to implement cloud-based monitoring and service for more than 2,000 third-party products...

In case you missed it, Sound United bought Classé, Canadian maker of high-end amps, from Bowers & Wilkins. It adds another dimension to the company’s existing ownership of Denon and Marantz, among other brands...

RTI added Yamaha MusicCast with a two-way driver that supports the wireless multizone system. Now MusicCast products can be integrated into RTI automation and control systems...

YouTube is skewering small content providers by raising the threshold for payment to contributors with 4,000+ hours of watch time and 1,000+ subscribers in a 12-month period. “We’ve arrived at these new thresholds after thorough analysis and conversations with creators like you,” says a Google executive with an apparently inexhaustible appetite for irony...

Time spent with friends has dropped 13 percent in 15 years as people have become more distracted by mobile devices, reports Britain’s Office for National Statistics — especially those under 25. “Easy internet access enables people to talk to friends via social media apps, but they’re still doing so alone,” says the study...

ESPN is coming to Samsung smart TVs along with Freeform, another Disney-owned network. They are initially on 2017 models and various mobile devices and eventually will make it to earlier smart TV models...