The 4K Wave Rolls into the NAB Trade Show

NAB takes over the Las Vegas Convention Center

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show has been running for over 85 years and this year it was estimated that over 92,000 media and entertainment professionals from over 150 countries filled the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) from April 8 to 11.  

At this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, Ultra HD (4K) displays were the talk of the show. If 4K displays are to succeed, they will need 4K content and that is where the NAB trade show comes in.

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Jessops Back from the Dead

Earlier this year, I wrote a blog about Jessops entering administration and the impact this would have on the U.K. digital camera market. Three days after I wrote that blog, Jessops did close its doors and 1,300 staff lost their jobs.

Since then Peter Jones, one of the dragons on BBC’s Dragons’ Den program, has emerged as a buyer of the business. Mr. Jones has invested £4mln in Jessops and will by the end of this month have reopened 30 of the 187 stores that were closed in January, re-employing many former Jessops staff in the process. Mr. Jones becomes the Chairman and Chief Executive and has vowed to be closely involved with the business as it is turned around, setting a target of £80 million in sales and 15% share of the U.K. DSLR market in their first year of business. Read more »

Indian Wedding Albums: Big Potential in a Growing Market

The Indian graphic arts market as a whole is fascinating and fast growing. However, there is one area of particular interest for digital printing: the wedding industry. According to recent research, there are around 12,000 weddings held every day in India and around 1.5 million photos are taken on each of these wedding days. All of these marriages have the potential to drive the production of multiple wedding albums and related photo merchandise.

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Everyday Video Going Mobile

In the ‘60s it was your favorite Uncle who had the fancy Super8 video camera. The ‘80s brought us the “luggable” VHS camcorder, the ‘90s saw smaller digital camcorders that could record to compact video tapes, and the 2000s made a move to internal or flash memory. Present day finds the traditional camcorder being displaced by smaller and more convenient mobile phones and digital cameras. Will these pocketable devices replace camcorders?

In the 2012 InfoTrends Video End User survey asked what cameras people were using to shoot video and then more specifically what they use most often for shooting everyday videos. Read more »

Another Challenging Year For Digital Cameras

2013 is shaping up to be another challenging year for players in the digital camera market. In 2012, for the first time, the worldwide digital camera market declined. It was a significant decline of 10%. The cause of the decline is linked to the following factors: Read more »

Jessops Administration – A Sign of Tough Times in U.K. Retail

Yesterday, Jessops and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced that Jessops is entering administration (equivalent to Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in the U.S.). Jessops has been an integral part of the U.K. camera market since it was founded by Frank Jessop in 1935. In the early 2000s Jessops went on the acquisition trail and bought up many of the U.K.’s independent camera shops. This led Jessops to become the largest chain of camera specialty retailers with more than 200 stores across the country. In 2002, ABN AMRO acquired the company and 2 years later Jessops went public on the London Stock Exchange.  In 2007, just ahead of the Global Financial Crisis, Jessops faced financial trouble and entered into a period of restructuring and negotiations with its creditors. In 2009, Jessops Plc was liquidated and Jessops Ltd was created. Read more »

CES 2013 is shining a light on the year ahead in consumer electronics

This year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicked off in Las Vegas on Monday with the press day. CES sets the scene for the technology year ahead. 2012 offered a bumpy ride for many tech companies. Japanese companies in particular felt the squeeze of the strong yen, the China-Japan dispute, restructuring costs and the competitiveness of companies such as Samsung and LG from Korea. This year CES will be the platform to deliver positive messages to shareholders that their plans for the year ahead will turn around their fortunes. Read more »

All I want for Christmas….

Although there are some BIG ticket items on people’s wish lists this holiday season, the Wii U, X box 360, tablets, and flat screen TVs. One of the most popular gifts on consumer’s wish list as well as items purchased for others is a digital camera.

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Photo Plus 2012 – The “Go To” Event for the East Coast

The annual PDN PhotoPlus Conference & Expo (PPE) was held October 24-27, 2012 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Since, several of the leading companies in the photo industry have U.S. headquarters in the New York metropolitan area, the PhotoPlus Expo is a great “home show” for many industry insiders. PPE draws a healthy contingent from the surrounding metropolitan region and has become a “go to” event. The show drew nearly 24,000 attendees and 250+ exhibitors filled the exhibit hall floor.

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4K is now Ultra HD

Naming a new product category is always a challenge. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) appears to have its act together when it comes to high-definition televisions, unlike the digital camera industry, which has failed to standardize on a name for Compact Interchangeable Lens Cameras (Read The Difficulties of Choosing a Name blog from earlier this year)  which has hindered the development of the segment, in our opinion.

As of October 18^th, the “4K” term will now be known as “Ultra-High Definition.” According to the new rules from CEA the minimum requirement for a television or projector to earn the “Ultra HD” designation is having a resolution of at least 8 million active pixels (3,840 x 2,160 minimum). Displays must also have an aspect ratio of at least 16 x 9 and a digital input capable of carrying native 4K video. Don’t get too excited about Ultra HD televisions just yet. Initial 84-inch offerings from LG Electronics and Sony will cost about $20,000 and $25,000, respectively. Read more »