All items in category Industry News
Mackie In Celebration Mode for NAMM 2019
by audioXpress Staff

Mackie In Celebration Mode for NAMM 2019

Mackie is celebrating 30 years since they made their mark on the pro audio industry and a history full of breakthrough products which have gone on to create and define a number of new categories like the LM-1602 analog mixer that was originally shown at the NAMM show in 1989, and other classics like the CR-1604 mixer, the HR824 studio monitors, the SRM450 active speakers or the MCU control surface. At NAMM 2019, Mackie will be signaling its 30th Anniversary with special give-aways and a daily serving of cake on demo room 201D.
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Smart Home Devices to Exceed 100 Million Shipments in 2018
by audioXpress Staff

Smart Home Devices to Exceed 100 Million Shipments in 2018

The Consumer Electronics (CE) Team at Futuresource Consulting recently published the latest findings from its World Wide Smart Home industry report, which forecasts nearly 110 million smart home devices will be shipped worldwide in 2018. This equates to a retail value of almost $17 billion and demonstrates strong growth in both volume and value. Security and monitoring, followed by climate control and smart speakers are the dominating categories.
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Consumer Technology Association Forecasts US Tech Revenue to Reach Record $398 Billion in 2019
by audioXpress Staff

Consumer Technology Association Forecasts US Tech Revenue to Reach Record $398 Billion in 2019

Artificial intelligence (AI) and fast connectivity – critical ingredients for the next era of category leaders such as smartphones, smart home devices and smart speakers – will drive the U.S. consumer technology industry to a record-breaking $398 billion in retail revenues ($301 billion wholesale) in 2019 and 3.9 percent year-over-year (YOY) growth, which includes streaming services revenue, according to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). A record growth anticipating the introduction of 5G smartphones and 8K TVs in 2019.
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Qobuz US Opens Public Beta for 192 kHz Hi-Res Streaming
by Luke McCready

Qobuz US Opens Public Beta for 192 kHz Hi-Res Streaming

It’s been a year since Qobuz announced at CES 2018 its impending entry into the US marketplace, with the ambition of becoming a heavy player in the hi-res music streaming market. Qobuz has the US audiophile set squarely in its sights, and it intends to deliver higher quality streams and a more complete experience than its competitors. At CES 2019, Qobuz confirmed it is now available for registration to US users as an open beta, and published the finalized pricing.
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Sony Introduces 360 Reality Audio Music Experiences Powered by Object-Based Spatial Audio Technology
by Joao Martins

Sony Introduces 360 Reality Audio Music Experiences Powered by Object-Based Spatial Audio Technology

At CES 2019, Sony is not focusing so much on products and mainly highlighting content and experiences instead. Among those, Sony is promoting an all new music experience called "360 Reality Audio,” delivered by MPEG-H object-based spatial audio technology developed in collaboration with Fraunhofer IIS and promoted as “a new musical ecosystem for content creation, distribution and music playback.”
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HDMI 2.1 Specification Sees Strong Adoption Numbers and New Announcements at CES 2019
by audioXpress Staff

HDMI 2.1 Specification Sees Strong Adoption Numbers and New Announcements at CES 2019

Since the HDMI 2.1 Specification was released in November 2017, manufacturers of several products including semiconductors, TVs, AVRs, soundbars, and game consoles have made announcements on upcoming releases supporting the specification. During CES 2019, the HDMI Licensing Administrator (HDMI LA) organization reported an increasing number of new product announcements covering a broad range of categories, and forecasted annual shipments with HDMI interface to reach almost 1 Billion devices in 2019.
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Vesper Microphones Powers Innovative Line of Voice-Activated Trash Cans
by audioXpress Staff

Vesper Microphones Powers Innovative Line of Voice-Activated Trash Cans

Vesper announced that its piezoelectric MEMS microphones will be embedded in the voice-activated sensor trash can from luxury housewares designer simplehuman. The brand will introduce the next-generation of its voice-activated Sensor Can range at CES 2019, providing an excellent example of an implementation that needs to be low-cost, low-power, and robust in any environmental conditions. It needs to support simple voice controls in any circumstance, in exactly the type of product that users appreciate not having to touch.
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Universal Electronics and Microsoft Collaborate on a Turnkey Digital Assistant Platform for Smart Home Hub
by audioXpress Staff

Universal Electronics and Microsoft Collaborate on a Turnkey Digital Assistant Platform for Smart Home Hub

Universal Electronics (UEI), a company specializing in universal control and sensing technologies for the smart home, announced a collaboration with Microsoft to launch a new digital assistant platform for the home built on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform using AI and IoT services. The UEI’s Nevo Butler turnkey smart home hub with nevo.ai built-in digital assistant will be launched at CES 2019 and will be available as a white-label solution for other manufacturers.
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USB-IF Launches USB Type-C Authentication Program
by audioXpress Staff

USB-IF Launches USB Type-C Authentication Program

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) announced the launch of its USB Type-C Authentication Program, marking an important milestone for the optional USB security protocol. The specification defines cryptographic-based authentication for USB Type-C chargers and devices and allows USB Type-C OEMs to protect against malicious payloads and harmful power surges from non-compliant USB devices. DigiCert was selected by USB-IF to manage PKI and certificate authority services for USB Type-C Authentication.
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Bryston Appoints The Sound Organisation for US Sales
by audioXpress Staff

Bryston Appoints The Sound Organisation for US Sales

Bryston has announced that they have appointed The Sound Organisation as their sales partner for the US market effective February 1st, 2019. The objective is to align the Bryston brand and its unusually broad range of high-performance audio products with a specialized sales team that can best service independent dealers and custom integrators. The Sound Organisation will replace Bryston’s network of regional independent sales reps across the US market.
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