Tag Archives: Hulu

Why Smart Speakers Were Popular Gift Idea Again This Holiday Season

Smart Speakers 101  The trendy devices can help you with everything from appointment reminders to grocery shopping lists to playing your favorite music and podcasts. It’s that last item that has the radio world excited. Find out why all the buzz is good news not only for broadcasters but also importantly for you.

A recent trend has shown an increase in radio listenership through popular smart speakers such as Google Home and Amazon Alexa. So what can broadcasters do to take advantage of this trend? Steve Goldstein of Amplifi Media and Sonic Ai aims to help.

A broadcaster by trade, most recently as EVP at Saga Communications, Steve saw a shift to on-demand content, and in 2015 launched Amplifi, a firm focused on developing on-demand audio—the intersection of podcasting and broadcasting. Earlier this year, Steve partnered with Jacobs Media on Sonic Ai, who develops smart speaker skills (more on skills later) for podcasters and broadcasters.

So what is it about smart speakers that make it easier for people to listen to radio? Steve explains, “There are a number of factors. For starters, the number of radios in the home has been on a steady decline. By some estimates, two-thirds of homes do not have radios. Generationally it’s even fewer.” Steve says the notion that it’s a choice between a radio and something else isn’t really true anymore – in some homes, there is no radio.

While it may be hard for those of us in the broadcast industry to imagine, the smartphone has replaced the radio and clock radio in many homes. “The smartphone is an entertainment hub,” Steve says. “It’s where people listen to music, get the news, watch videos, and so on. It’s transitioned from a telephone to a full-fledged hub. Part of that hub can be radio, but very little listening to radio occurs through the device.”

Steve says radio stations need to think beyond the transmitter and audio stream. While there are only so many radio stations in a market, there are 100,000 radio stations available via the TuneIn Radio app, streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, and 400,000 podcasts. “You’re talking about an awful lot of audio,” he asserts. “The focus needs to be on-demand content. That’s the trend. The expectation today is that content is available on-demand.” The ability to listen whenever and wherever a listener desires—in the car, while they’re walking the dog, when they’re exercising—is in step with today’s lifestyles.

Steve Goldstein

It’s the same arc we’ve seen on the video side with on-demand services such as Netflix, Hulu, and others. While adoption has been slower on the audio side, the conversion is happening rapidly among millennials.

An Edison Research study from NPR earlier this year showed that somewhere between 7-11% of homes in the U.S. have these devices and the largest group of users is millennials (18-34). And we should expect this trend to continue, especially with the holidays upon us. “We should expect these devices are going to sell like hotcakes over holiday season,” Steve says. He points out that some analysts predict that market penetration may increase to 15-18% by the end of the year.

Smart Speaker

With the trend toward radio and audio consumption through smart devices, it’s apparent the way forward for broadcasters is to develop new ways to connect audiences to their content.

Got Skills?
You’ve probably heard the term skills thrown about when smart speakers are discussed. So what exactly are skills? And how do they relate to broadcast audio consumption via smart speakers? Steve explains. “Think of smart speakers as computers… They don’t know what to do until you teach it. In this case, Amazon refers to the learning aspect of the device as a skill. We develop skills and invocations for the stations we work with.”

As an example, Sonic Ai built a skill for WMMR in Philadelphia called ‘Open MMR.’ The listener hears a greeting from the morning show, then is offered a menu of choices. Listeners can choose to listen to the live stream, the latest podcast of the morning show, or the show’s top feature, called ‘The Bizarre Files’—an 8-12 minute piece of audio you can listen to without sitting through the entire morning show. Steve says WMMR has seen significant traction from listeners who missed the segment on the morning show tuning in to listen at a time convenient to them.

For a top-performing morning show, this is huge; for the first time, there’s a retention strategy, with the ability to repurpose and reuse audio. Additionally, in PPM markets, listening to content within 24 hours of the original broadcast is accretive to a station’s ratings.

Steve points out that when it comes to a radio station’s invocations and skills, getting it right is essential. Depending on the name or phrase used to identify a station, the invocation might not provide the audio stream you’re looking for. Steve cites the phrase ‘Lite FM’ as an example. “If you say ‘Play Lite FM’ as your invocation, you’re going to get Lite FM in Beirut, Lebanon, or an Inspirational station in Albany, NY. So you need to get your name and invocation correct, and register it.”

Steve suggests however that if stations are only doing this for streaming purposes, that’s not enough. “The real opportunity is with on-demand audio, which is what we’re focused on.”

The capabilities of smart speakers are constantly being enhanced, and they’re used for a variety of tasks, but audio is by far the top option. That’s the good news, Steve says, but the challenge for broadcasters is that that audio is coming from a variety of sources. “The linear AM/FM notion is going away, but the notion that broadcasters create relevant content is not, so they need to be more flexible about where content is being consumed, less focused on the transmitter, and more focused on devices that can play audio.”

It’s a new challenge, but with booming sales of smart speakers and potential for a measurable increase in listeners, it’s a challenge broadcasters need to embrace. Steve sums it up. “Broadcasters need to get out of the radio business and into the audio business. That will change your thinking about everything.” For the Silo, Dave Sarkies/Telos Alliance.

Supplemental-
For more about the impact of smart speakers on the broadcast industry, check out TWiRT 372 – Tom Vernon on Smart Speakers 

Portable LED Bluetooth Projector Is Game Changer- Has Short Throw Lens

BenQ America Corp., the No.1 DLP® projector brand worldwide, today introduced the Colorific™ i500, a completely new way to enjoy immersive entertainment in small spaces. A compact device that combines wireless streaming, short-throw LED projection and rich integrated audio, BenQ’s i500 instantly delivers big-screen entertainment designed for today’s modern, tech-friendly lifestyles. With access to the most popular apps, the i500 opens unlimited possibilities for thousands of movies, shows, apps, games and even live broadcast — all without cables, set-top boxes or streaming dongles.

Cute as a button right? It's only about 20cm x 9cm or 8" x 3"
Cute as a button right? It’s only about 20cm x 9cm or 8″ x 3″

“The i500 smart projector is an entertainment game-changer,” said J.Y. Hu, vice president at BenQ America Corp. “At just 3.3 pounds and 3 inches tall just about the size of today’s tablets, the i500 is a powerful and versatile device for even the tightest spaces. Simply turn on the i500 and you’re ready to stream videos and music wirelessly for the ultimate big-screen experience anywhere.”

Thanks to its short-throw lens, the i500 projects images up to 80 inches from as close as 3 feet from the wall or screen, enabling supersized movies, shows, apps and games in WXGA (1280 x 800) native resolution. Supporting a variety of streaming content, the i500’s Colorific technology features a long-life LED light source rated for 20,000 hours without lamp replacement and is capable of projecting high-definition videos with supreme clarity and sharpness. Its vertical keystone correction means the projector can be placed at an indirect angle without any distortion — perfect for placement on a coffee table. With its contemporary gold finish, it blends in seamlessly with existing décor.

On the other side of the dual-sided device users will find a pair of 5W fine-mesh-covered chambered speakers specially tuned to produce clear voices and rich sound quality without external audio connections. When the i500 is not projecting, it can double as a powerful, portable Bluetooth® speaker system.

The i500 comes out-of-box-ready and maintains its flawless performance with the latest software and streaming apps via over-the-air live updates to provide years of unlimited hassle-free entertainment. It is preloaded with popular streaming services and apps such as YouTube, Spotify, Vimeo, Netflix, Hulu and many others. Also, with available game pad and controllers, the i500 unleashes a universe of heart-pounding games including action/adventure, strategy, role-playing and even first-person shooter games.

The i500 does all of this via wireless LAN with no other connections required, and it can play video or music content from a USB stick or display Excel, Word, or PowerPoint documents without a PC. For even more convenience and versatility, the projector offers a selection of the latest inputs, including HDMI x 1, USB 2.0 x1, USB 3.0 x 1, audio I/O as well as a mic in.

The BenQ i500 is now shipping in North America at a retail price of U.S. $749.

Supplemental: Did we mention this beauty is also 3-D compatible?

 

BenQ adds new Home Theater Colorific Projectors to its high tech line- 4K Yes!

The Benq 1075- a full 1080p HD image, with the promise of over 1 billion colors and options for 3D. We want! CP
The Benq 1075- a full 1080p HD image, with the promise of over 1 billion colors and options for 3D. We want! CP

 

COSTA MESA, Calif. — BenQ America Corp., an internationally renowned provider of visual display solutions and the No. 1-selling DLP® projector brand in The Americas(1), today introduced its next-generation Colorific™ home entertainment projectors: the HT1075 and HT1085ST. Building on the incredible success of the company’s top-selling W1070 and the short-throw W1080ST, the new home theater devices have been designed to take content to an entirely new level — combining the magic of over 1 billion colors, 3D-readiness, and the realism of full HD 1080p picture quality. What’s more, the new projectors add streaming and mirroring capabilities for devices equipped with Mobile High-definition Link (MHL) to allow the transfer of small-screen content from any portable device. When such an astounding feature set meets such a small price tag, enthusiasts can now easily bring home a full-on cinematic experience.

“BenQ has taken two enormously successful projectors and made them even better,” said Bob Wudeck, Associate Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at BenQ America Corp. “Sustaining our value promise to our customers, the all-new HT1075 and HT1085ST provide enhanced benefits such as Colorific image quality, SmartEco technology, and flexible setup options that allow users to install and easily integrate the projectors with their MHL devices. Available at an amazingly low price, the duo delivers more vibrant colors and richer contrast levels for the ultimate in big screen entertainment.”

Featuring BenQ’s Colorific image quality, the HT1075 and HT1085ST provide more vivid and accurate color reproduction, higher brightness levels, crisper contrast, and longer-lasting picture quality. Both units offer full HD 1080p and 3D support, while the short-throw HT1085ST allows users to fill screens measuring up to 100 inches by simply setting up the device at only 6 feet away — making it an ideal choice for urban environments or media room settings where installation space is limited. Adding to the projectors’ razor-sharp imaging are 2,200 ANSI lumens of brightness and a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, which turn colors from TV shows, movies, or sporting events into more natural-looking, film-like content. The projectors are also ISFccc-certified by the Imaging Science Foundation® (ISF®), enabling viewers to enjoy a professionally calibrated picture with two optimized modes — ISF Day and ISF Night.

To create a household media hub, users can easily connect Blu-ray players and gaming consoles to the projectors via HDMI® as well as view cloud content using any MHL-ready streaming device, including Roku®, Chromecast®, and Apple® TV. As a result, viewers can bring their favorite content from popular services such as Netflix® or Hulu™ onto the screen using their streaming player of choice or even directly from their smart device. Rounding off the unparalleled convenience are the units’ new 10W chamber speakers, which offer rich audio to create a complete solution whenever a dedicated sound system is not practical, or in outdoor situations such as movie nights under the stars.

Further reducing installation and setup time is a new vertical lens shift option for the HT1075, allowing users to perfectly align the projected image to the center of the screen, thus eliminating any tedious tinkering. To ensure even more placement flexibility, both models offer horizontal and vertical keystone correction, which delivers picture-perfect projection at the push of a button. Saving money by lowering total cost of ownership (TCO), the projectors are equipped with BenQ’s SmartEco™ lamp-saving technology to prolong lamp life up to an amazing 6,000 hours while lasting three times as long as projectors sold just a few years ago. Additional cost-saving features include a filter-free design built around a sealed DLP chip that eliminates the need to clean or change messy filters; a unique lamp door design that enables lamp replacement down the road without needing to take down the projector; and a special sleep mode that reduces power consumption to under half a watt when connected but not in use.

To further simplify installations, a new optional wireless connectivity kit will be sold separately and is planned for release in Q4 2014. The fully wireless system will allow users to send content to the projectors from up to 100 feet away, giving homeowners the freedom to move the projectors throughout the house or even take them outdoors without the need to run cable.

Available in September 2014, BenQ’s all-new HT1075 and HT1085ST projectors retail at $1,199 (USD)and $1,299 (USD) respectively.

More information on BenQ’s full line of products is available at www.BenQ.us.

About BenQ America Corp.  The BenQ digital lifestyle brand stands for “Bringing Enjoyment ‘N’ Quality to Life,” fusing lifestyle with technology, enjoyment with productivity, and aesthetic design with purpose-built engineering. It is this mantra that has made BenQ the No. 1-selling DLP® projector brand in The Americas(1). BenQ America Corp. offers an extensive line of visual display and presentation solutions that incorporate the very latest technologies. The company delivers a broad range of Colorific projectors, RevolutionEyes™ monitors, and flat-panel displays for any application and market — education, home, gaming, enterprise, government, house of worship, digital signage, A/V, and IT — with cutting-edge models that lead the industry in performance, reliability, environmental sustainability, and aesthetics. Whether it’s interactive digital whiteboards for classrooms, full HD 3D projectors for home theaters, short-throw projectors for boardrooms, interactive flat-panel displays for digital signage, or LED backlight monitors for professional gaming, BenQ continues to defy the limits of digital displays. The company’s products are available across North America through leading value-added distributors, resellers, and retailers.

Click to view on I-tunes
Click to view on I-tunes