Sorry, Aristotle. When it comes to 4K video, the whole is not always greater than the sum of its parts.

4K video is rapidly gaining traction throughout the photo and video ecosystems, in devices from capture to display. Read more »

How the late Yogi Berra defines the product roadmap for streaming media players

September and October have been busy with product announcements from leading manufacturers of streaming digital media players. But despite the surging popularity of 4K Ultra HD video, there is a mixed bag of support for the new high-resolution format. Some of the new streamers support it, but others conspicuously do not. Read more »

The Reality of 4K

Once again, the major theme of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show was 4K — from capture to workflow to transmit and display. With each passing year, 4K gets a little closer to becoming reality.

I was asked many times at the show “Is 4K for real?” and “Will it become mainstream?”

Looking Back on CES 2014

The 2014 International CES has come and gone. Tens of thousands of geeks and those who write about geeky things (often indistinguishable, by the way) descended on Las Vegas earlier this month. Many of them persevered through travel delays caused by record cold and snow in the central and northeastern United States; an estimated few thousand more gave up after spending a day or two trying to make the trip. Those that made it saw a vast assortment of products, some of which will soon be available for sale, and others that will probably never again see the light of day. Read more »

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.

Read more »

Amazon Lights the Kindle Fire

The tablet market got a little more crowded this week. What remains to be seen is whether the top 80% or the bottom 20% feels the squeeze, or if maybe the whole pie gets bigger to make room for a new player. Amazon’s entry had been widely anticipated and predicted to be a potential “iPad killer”. The announcement of the Amazon Kindle Fire, a 7-inch Android device with an aggressive $199 price point, made headlines on Wednesday, but measuring it against the iPad may be comparing apples to, um, Apples. Read more »

Will universal active-shutter 3D glasses kick start 3D TV sales?

On August 8, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, and Xpand 3D announced they will team up to develop a new technology standard for active-shutter glasses. They have termed the partnership the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative. The universal active 3D glasses will allow consumers to mix-and-match their glasses with various brands and types of 3D displays such as televisions, personal computers, projectors, and 3D theaters. Universal glasses are expected to be available in 2012 and are targeted to be backward compatible with 2011 3D active TVs. Read more »