Here are some audio and video trends for 2018.
Buying headphones in 2018 is going to be a fragmented mess because of a silent goodbye to the 3.5mm audio plug, Majority of new headphones introduced at CES were wireless and there are several different wireless systems. Bluetooth audio has historically sacrificed sound quality for convenience relative to a wired connection. However, there are a couple of standards now that promise “better-than-CD” audio quality. For wired connections where we once had the solid reliability of a 3.5mm analog connector working with any jack shaped to receive it, there’s now a divergence of digital alternatives:Lightning, USB-C, and Sony’s 4.4mm Pentaconn connector.
Voice, connectivity and AI took center stage at the Consumer Electronics Show. Alexa Skills and the Voice Experience is really getting off. With over 15 million Amazon Echo devices shipped and 244 million projected by 2022 it is expected to take lead with Google Home Assistant and Apple Homepod with Siri following. Also Google Assistant was mentioned a lot in CES. Google Sold 6.75 Million ‘Google Home’ Devices In the Last 80 Days. ‘Language assistants were a big topic at this year’s CES. More and more manufacturers like JBL and Creative are integrating smart helpers into their WLAN speakers. Alexa support comes to 2018 TVs from Sony, Hisense and LG. Google launches smart displays with JBL, Lenovo, LG and Sony. There will be also other competitors aiming to this market, for example “China’s Google,” shouted out most loudly for voice. Microsoft’s Cortana had a crappy CES so it seems that Amazon Alexa will soon arrive on Windows PCs (HP, ASUS, Acer and others). Introducing Single-Chip Solutions for Building Alexa-Enabled Products.Sony launches a bunch of new headphones and adds Google Assistant functionality to the line.
Binaural, ambisonic, spatial, surround, 3D will be talked about. The most accessible exhibitions of this technology are in Youtube VR and Facebook 360, where users can interact with 360º videos that contain spatial audio. AR/VR was hot topic at CES 2018.
Sound bars are popular for compact home theater setups. Traditional home cinema systems with AV receivers and large speaker arsenals are only used by film and sound enthusiasts who sacrifice space in the living room for this purpose.
People listen to four hours of audio content every day. Streaming platforms like Spotify take a big bit of that. Streaming accounts for 41% of music consumption was the 2017’s most jaw dropping statistic. People will also listen a lot of music from YouTube.
Acoustics-based NFC is being pushed to market as it requires only a microphone and speaker, eliminating tags and chips. Chirp and LISNR are two emerging companies facilitating soundwave communication.
Wireless headphones and speakers become more common. Portable loudspeakers without cables are more popular than ever with music listeners. Most popular connection technology is Bluetooth.More and more manufacturers are breaking away from the cable and are showing new models and updates of completely wireless in-ear headphones at the CES 2018.
There is a bit of nostalgia involved: Several traditional technology tries to make come-back in 2018. The traditionalists among the music lovers continue to use records, so new record players keep coming. Cassette tapes making a comeback thanks to young, independent artists. Artists like Justin Bieber, Eminem and Metallica have all put out material on tape recently as a recent blockbuster film “Guardians of the Galaxy” put a hero center stage with a Sony Walkman. Tube amplifiers are back for traditionalist audiophiles that think that tubes can make your music to sound better.
4K video resolution is hot and 8K going to be pushed to market. TV has progressed to the 4K ultra-high-definition stage with its 3,840 × 2,160 pixel resolution. LG Display has made a 65-inch rollable 4K OLED TV. LG displayed 8K OLED TV at CES. Samsung has technology scales the image resolution to a 8K with AI. LG, Panasonic, and TCL put the spotlight on the chips that do the video processing: For the foreseeable future, any advances in image quality will be coming from these chips, not from the displays themselves.
Welcome ATSC 3.0 in USA: In November, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued new rules that will let TV broadcasters adopt the next-generation wireless TV standard designated ATSC 3.0. This new standard defines the specifications for ultra-high-definition (UHD) or 4K over-the-air (OTA) digital TV. But over-the-air is minority in USA as roughly 75% of households pay for their TV reception for cable or satellite distribution.
Home theater headsets have come a long way. AR/VR is hot. Oculus partners with Xiaomi to launch the Oculus Go and Mi VR Standalone.
Wired peripherals and electronics are still a major part of the market. Cabling for AV systems will have new features: a new HDMI standard and how active cables will provide both power and video to consumer devices.
3D cameras are hot. HP’s Z 3D Camera puts Sprout’s scanning power on your PC. Intel’s new cameras add human-like 3D vision to any machine.
When almost all AV products are pushing more and more features, it seems that almost Everything is too complicated for an average Joe.
Sources:
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2018/01/10-audio-marketing-trends-2018
http://www.computerbild.de/artikel/avf-News-Audio-Trends-CES-2018-11264743.html
https://www.marketplace.org/2017/11/22/business/cassette-tapes-make-comeback
http://aeaaudio.com/why-tubes-are-back-and-how-to-get-in-on-it/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/coolest-best-audio-gadgets-ces-2018/
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/18/16903516/headphones-wireless-analog-jack-future-ces-2018
https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/08/alexa-support-comes-to-2018-tvs-from-sony-and-hisense/
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332845
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYhgJlEn880
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7368-tekoaly-skaalaa-televisiokuvan-8k-tarkkuuteen
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/6/16859102/lg-display-rollable-oled-65-inch-ces-2018
https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/08/eagle-wearable-home-theater/
http://www.electronicdesign.com/community-home/free-tv-keeps-getting-better-welcome-atsc-30
https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/18/intel-realsense-ready-to-use-depth-cameras/
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/01/hps-z-3d-camera-puts-sprouts-scanning-power-on-your-pc/
841 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
The 7 most egregious fibs Apple told about the iPhone XS camera
https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/12/the-7-most-egregious-fibs-apple-told-about-the-iphone-xs-camera-today/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
To be clear, I have no doubt they made some great updates to make a good camera better. But whatever those improvements are, they were overshadowed today by the breathless hype that was frequently questionable and occasionally just plain wrong.
Tomi Engdahl says:
University of Illinois’ MUTE Cancels Noise Without Using Headphones
https://blog.hackster.io/university-of-illinois-mute-cancels-noise-without-using-headphones-76711716a05e
Researchers from the University of Illinois Coordinated Science Lab are in the process of developing a noise canceling platform that doesn’t require the use of headphones.
CSL’s MUTE solution is to utilize IoT networks with noise cancellation tech, as it offers a faster signal cancellation. Headphones use internal microphones, so when noise is detected, the DSP has little time to process them and generate a response. Instead of internal microphones, the researchers place an external mic in an environment that detects sound
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brian Barrett / Wired:
A look at The Weather Channel’s “green screen immersive studio”, which allows it to bring extreme weather to life through immersive demonstrations — AT A CERTAIN point, you think you have a good grasp of what to expect from weather graphics. A color-coded map, a five-day forecast with a sassy cloud.
How The Weather Channel Made That Insane Storm Surge Animation
https://www.wired.com/story/weather-channel-hurricane-florence-storm-surge-graphic/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blake Montgomery / BuzzFeed News:
US-based K-pop fans create dummy Spotify accounts and share them with overseas fans to continuously play songs in order to try influence Billboard’s metrics — The Billboard charts have long been the gold standard by which musicians measure their success, but as recent tantrums by the likes …
Fans Are Spoofing Spotify With “Fake Plays,” And That’s A Problem For Music Charts
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/blakemontgomery/spotify-billboard-charts
The spoofing could erode the veracity of widely respected Billboard chart metrics, especially since the fan campaigns appear to be getting more sophisticated.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloomberg:
YouTube’s ninth most-watched channel, Little Baby Bum, founded in 2011 by a UK couple, has been bought by Moonbug agency, with one price estimate of £6M-£8.5M
One of the World’s Biggest YouTube Channels Just Got Sold
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-14/youtube-channel-little-baby-bum-children-s-cartoons-sold
A husband-and-wife team in London created children’s cartoons with 17.5 billion views, rivaling Justin Bieber’s.
One of YouTube’s most popular brands has been bought by a trio of entertainment-industry veterans with ties to Disney and the Teletubbies, as independent creators find the way to expand is deep-pocketed backers or combining with other video producers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What is the best audio medium?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBTedjvpW2U
Vinyl, tape, CD, mp3? Maybe some future technology? What would be the ultimate audio storage medium?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hi-Fi Audio As Fast As Possible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HRUA363DMM
People who are serious about sound often swear by high-fidelity, or hi-fi, audio equipment. Here’s a look at what goes into a hi-fi setup.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/09/17/kiinalainen-elektroniikkayritys-tampereelle-uusi-tutkimuskeskus/
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8437-oneplus-mukaan-alytelevisiokisaan
Tomi Engdahl says:
Violet Blue / Engadget:
Female ASMR video creators have been permanently banned from PayPal and had funds frozen after 8chan harassment campaign; PayPal says it has no anti-ASMR policy
Why PayPal’s crackdown on ASMR creators should worry you
Misogyny, weaponized (again).
https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/14/paypal-ban-asmr-sound-art-therapy/
In June, China banned and excised videos of sound effects while claiming to cleanse its internet of pornography. YouTube had already demonetized the genre in a sex panic; now PayPal is banning people for life and holding individuals’ funds, ignorant of the facts and marching lockstep to the tune of 8chan trolls enacting a campaign to punish “whores.”
The most bitter punchline in all this? A tiny percentage of the entire video genre is even remotely sexual, and those suffering — female creators — aren’t even making sex content.
This past week, nonsexual ASMR video creators Sharon DuBois (ASMR Glow), Scottish Murmurs, Creative Cal, and Rose ASMR have been permanently banned from PayPal and had their funds frozen for 180 days. Like with YouTube’s July censorship sweep, the women create videos of sound effects and have been expelled from the payment utility under alleged violations of the company’s sexual content policy prohibitions. ASMR community websites are now warning all creators to avoid PayPal.
Capitalizing on entrenched and easily exploitable anti-sex policies by internet giant payment processors and a new internet sex panic ushered in by FOSTA, 8chan trolls have started a campaign to mass-report attractive women who make ASMR videos.
a forum thread called “PayPal lowering the hammer on ASMRtits”
If you’re unfamiliar with ASMR, it’s essentially a genre of videos where the creator makes sound effects in a variety of scenarios that are geared toward evoking a sense-memory of tingling sensations from the back of the head.
It may sound weird, but it’s quite popular — especially with people combating anxiety and insomnia.
“The study found that those who experience ASMR showed significantly greater reductions in their heart rates when watching ASMR videos (an average decrease of 3.14 beats per minute) compared to those who do not,”
The systems in which ASMR videos are made possible and distributed (YouTube, PayPal, Reddit, Patreon and others) are still a dream come true for men who want to harm women.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://memad.eu
WHY IS MEMAD IMPORTANT?
Audiovisual media content is an essential resource of modern history. It’s our way to communicate and to entertain. To fully benefit from multilingual audiovisual content, we need efficient tools to make visual content accessible in words.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Will powered speakers ever be equal to passives?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQMurX_ITns
Speaker designers would love to place perfectly matched power amplifiers and active crossovers in their designs yet there’s a problem with that, one that has always held them back.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sennheiser Factory Tour – Hanover, Germany
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5es8zggYM7A
The folks over at Sennheiser gave us a pretty in depth tour of their manufacturing facility in Germany. I have to say, this was an extremely cool experience…
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mr. M bought World’s Best Speakers KRS 4351 & McIntosh MC1.2KW, DEQX HDP-4, 2x Hugo TT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNYX-NcF2hA
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8450-stereoaani-kuntoon-bluetooth-korvanapeissa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Magic Leap promised us a world of holographic dreams, we’re getting Angry Birds
Magic Leap One’s first big game is another Angry Birds; here’s what it’s like
https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/19/magic-leap-ones-first-major-game-is-angry-birds-heres-what-its-like-to-play-it/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
The far-flung future tech shows its potential with a familiar mobile juggernaut
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8439-pelottaako-kuvien-varmuuskopiointi-verkkoon-harkitse-omaa-pilvea
Tomi Engdahl says:
Patricia Hernandez / The Verge:
RIAA: revenues from streaming up 28% YoY to $3.4B in H1 2018, accounting for 75% of recorded music revenue; 75% of streaming revenue comes from subscriptions
Streaming now accounts for 75 percent of music industry revenue
https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/20/17883584/streaming-record-sales-music-industry-revenue
Music sale revenues largely come from the same place now
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8461-jokaiselle-sopiva-kuulolaite-suoraan-kaupasta
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8459-vihdoin-aito-hifi-stereoaani-korvanappeihin
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s Inside FAKE Speaker Box?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq8q9J_9y4k
The fake speaker might be the passive radiator
Tomi Engdahl says:
What You Need to Know About Projection Mapping on a Raspberry Pi
https://blog.hackster.io/what-you-need-to-know-about-projection-mapping-on-araspberry-pi-367f149593e1
Projection mapping is a really cool way to create visual effects that almost look like magic. The basic concept is that you use a projector to display some sort of graphic or video on a real world object.
If you want to experiment with projection mapping yourself, Projectile Objects has a write-up that explains how to get started with a Raspberry Pi.
https://projectileobjects.com/2018/09/12/projection-mapping-with-the-raspberry-pi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Wireless Noise-Canceling Tech Is Faster Than the Speed of Sound
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/consumer-electronics/audiovideo/noisecanceling-techs-edge-is-faster-than-the-speed-of-sound
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony: OK, OK, we don’t own Bach
https://boingboing.net/2018/09/13/beethoven-is-another-matter.html
When pianist James Rhodes uploaded a recording of his own performance of a Bach composition to Facebook, it was immediately blocked thanks to a match with a recording that Sony had claimed copyright in; Facebook uses an automated filter of the sort that the EU voted to make mandatory for all content types and services yesterday and it can’t distinguish any competent rendition of Bach from any other competent rendition.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancillary_data
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arielle Pardes / Wired:
Museums around the world, including the Smithsonian, are increasingly using augmented reality technology to engage visitors at the exhibits
https://www.wired.com/story/museums-augmented-reality-next-frontier/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mariella Moon / Engadget:
NextVR now supports Oculus Rift and Oculus Go for its live sports and entertainment broadcasts
NextVR brings virtual reality broadcasts to the Oculus Rift
You can now watch its immersive sports and entertainment experiences on Oculus devices.
https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/22/nextvr-vr-broadcast-oculus-rift/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Playing the first new Quadraphonic Vinyl Record in over 30 years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMu-BoECblE
As someone fascinated with physical music formats and HiFi oddities – it’s been a privilege to receive a copy of the first new Quadraphonic Vinyl release in over thirty years.
With this limited edition set there’s no need to go hunting on ebay for a matching and functioning forty plus year old quad decoder as there’s a brand new one included inside the box.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Major Test Bench Upgrade! 10,000 Watt DC Power Supply! Sorensen DCR-16-625T
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6TvHLU-C5w
Tomi Engdahl says:
Deezer’s AI mood detection could lead to smarter song playlists
It pays attention to both the instruments and the lyrics.
https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/23/deezer-ai-song-mood-detection/
Astute listeners know that you can’t gauge a song’s mood solely through the instrumentation or the lyrics, but that’s often what AI has been asked to do — and that’s not much help if you’re trying to sift through millions of songs to find something melancholic or upbeat Thankfully, Deezer’s researchers have found a way to make that AI consider the totality of a song before passing judgment. They’ve developed a deep learning system that gauges the emotion and intensity of a track by relying on a wide variety of data, not just a single factor like the lyrics.
Deezer trained the AI using raw audio signals, linguistic context reconstruction models and a Million Song Dataset that aggregates Last.fm tags describing tunes (such as “calm” or “sad”). The researchers mapped the MSD to Deezer’s library using song metadata, extracting individual words from the lyrics in the process. The result was an 18,644-song database the team could use to both train AI on song moods and to test its theories.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple acquires Shazam and announces it’ll now be ad-free
https://thenextweb.com/apple/2018/09/24/apple-acquires-shazam-app-ad-free/
Apple has just confirmed its acquisition of the music identification app, Shazam. On top of this, the company has announced that the app will become ad-free for all users, even for those on Android.
This purchase has been on the cards for some time. In fact, we reported on it in December of last year, but it’s now completely official.
The app ‘listens’ to songs when users open it, then delivers links to the track through services like Spotify and iTunes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Piracy is Booming in Russia, With Help From Online Casinos’
By Ernesto on September 23, 2018
https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-is-booming-in-russia-with-help-from-online-casinos-180923/
The number of illegally recorded films in Russian cinemas is skyrocketing, cybersecurity company Group-IB reports. Nearly all films that were released this year have leaked. According to Group-IB, one particularly active group of pirates is financed by online-casinos, who advertise their logos in the videos.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Can we bring back 3-channel audio?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8nbBSE0-8E
The center channel in a 2-channel audio system is not real and is only imagined inside our heads. Would it be possible to extract a center channel from 2-channel stereo and add a 3d channel?
Comments:
Doesn’t Dolby Pro Logic/2 do something like this?
Yes and it can sound very good too…
Yes right. It can work well for some music.
I can see how hard it would have been to have a 3 channel discreet analog recording, especially on an LP. Paul is correct on the fact a hi end “stereo”, with near perfect phasing, speaker placement, listener placement would re-create a 3rd channel smack dab in the middle of the stereo speakers from the material that is equally present on both L/R channels aka mono. But with modern day surround sound receivers/processors, the DSP sorta can “extract” the mono-ish signals going to the main L/R and re-direct it to the center channel speaker. That is how I listen to standard music sources on my home theater system. Since my main L/R speakers are old vintage horn loaded units, they are not the greatest for good imaging. So I have a large PA…yes…PA cabinet as the center speaker! Using careful leveling of output power, I get a nice strong vocals from that big PA speaker and the instruments from the big ole L/R speakers! Now, with the rear back speakers producing the reverb/echoes, from the musical source, the playback is pretty darn good!
“The Ramblings of Paul McGowan and his Journey through the HiFi Universe” – You should rename your show and the upcoming book. Thanks for the daily mental massage. Love it!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Clearing HDR Confusion in PC Display Market
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1333797
HDR delivers significantly improved video quality, but it is still not well understood by consumers.
High dynamic range (HDR) displays are designed to provide a more vivid picture quality compared to standard dynamic range (SDR) displays – with greater brightness and contrast levels as well as a wider range of colors. Think of “darker” black tones and “brighter” white tones.
Within the past several years, HDR displays have gained significant traction within the consumer television market. Yet even today when consumers buy an HDR TV, they have no idea what performance level they are getting.
There seems to be nearly as many HDR logos and standards as there are brands. No brand is sharing details of their HDR performance. There is no fully transparent testing methodology nor fully public performance metrics. Typically, what consumers see is just a marketing sticker on a device with no real meaning behind it.
While the PC industry lagged behind the TV industry in adopting HDR, it has experienced a surge in HDR display product introductions during the past twelve months.
To help avoid a similar fate of confusion around HDR, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)
established a new tiered HDR compliance test standard in December 2017, called DisplayHDR. It provides a very clear and easy to understand logo system representing different performance levels for both laptop and desktop PC displays.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Play with Holograms Using Waiik, the First Interactive Hologram Projector
https://blog.hackster.io/play-with-holograms-using-waiik-the-first-interactive-hologram-projector-5163b014a70d
It’s a near-universal hope that one day, technology will be advanced enough to create realistic interactive holograms like those featured in the Iron Man and Avengers movies. Until that time arrives, engineer Alberto Beltran Herrera’s Waiik Interactive Hologram Projector is the next best option.
According to Herrera, the Waiik “is a projector in free space,” meaning it doesn’t need a tangible surface to project images and video.
particles are then shot up using forced air currents on both sides of the projector, forming a 3mm-thick 1280 x 720p screen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
When Televisions Were Radioactive
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/09/when-televisions-were-radioactive/570916/?single_page=true
Anxieties about the effects of screens on human health are hardly new, but the way the public addresses the problems has changed. An Object Lesson.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
YouTube starts wide roll out of its picture-in-picture mode for web, in testing since March, via a new Miniplayer — Back in March, YouTube began testing picture-in-picture on the web for simultaneous watching and browsing. While the previous A/B test was limited in scope …
YouTube Miniplayer rolling out on the web for picture-in-picture
https://9to5google.com/2018/09/28/youtube-miniplayer-web-pip/
Tomi Engdahl says:
See the new iPhone’s ‘focus pixels’ up close
https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/25/see-the-new-iphones-focus-pixels-up-close/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
The new iPhones have excellent cameras, to be sure. But it’s always good to verify Apple’s breathless onstage claims with first-hand reports. We have our own review of the phones and their photography systems, but teardowns provide the invaluable service of letting you see the biggest changes with your own eyes — augmented, of course, by a high-powered microscope.
Although the optics of the new camera are as far as we can tell unchanged since the X, the sensor is a new one and is worth looking closely at.
The sensor size has increased from 32.8mm2 to 40.6mm2 — a huge difference despite the small units. Every tiny bit counts at this scale. (For comparison, the Galaxy S9 is 45mm2, and the soon-to-be-replaced Pixel 2 is 25mm2.)
The pixels themselves also, as advertised, grew from 1.22 microns (micrometers) across to 1.4 microns — which should help with image quality across the board.
That’s Apple’s brand name for phase detection autofocus (PDAF) points, found in plenty of other devices. The basic idea is that you mask off half a sub-pixel every once in a while (which I guess makes it a sub-sub-pixel), and by observing how light enters these half-covered detectors you can tell whether something is in focus or not.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Taking the Audiophile Linux distro for a spin
https://opensource.com/article/18/9/audiophile-linux-distro?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
This lightweight open source audio OS offers a rich feature set and high-quality digital sound.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Resize images using Python
https://opensource.com/life/15/2/resize-images-python?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Tomi Engdahl says:
CDs: More to Talk About (Sony vs. Philips)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7olNiMCz9to
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to make a Bluetooth Cassette Adapter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPZuJedgqDU
This video will show you How to make a Bluetooth Cassette Adapter
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Multi-Room Wifi Audio System
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K_0spzbimw
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why don’t turntables have built in amps?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bolLzctGjc
Turntables are rarely more than a rotating platter, tonearm, and cartridge. Why doesn’t someone build in the electronics necessary to amplify the vinyl signal?
Comments:
Many professional broadcast turntables used to have built-in phonostages. EMT, BBC, Schlumberger for example. High performance phonostages are usually pretty expensive. Buyers usually want to choose their own. An all in one record player that wasn’t entry level would likely be ignored in the marketplace .
It surprises me once solid state devices allowed for preamps to be smaller, that mainstream manufacturers who built both audio electronics and turntables, such as Pioneer, Sansui etc. didn’t start building phono preamps into their turntables in the 1970s and 1980s. The bragging rights about less noise and hum with a turntable with local phono preamp with line level output would have been a game changer. Because this never happened, just about any record player with line level outputs gets the stigma of being ‘Walmart’ grade junk, and it could therefore never audiophile. Same as modern record-ruiners with USB outputs…
A lot of turntables have built in preamps these days. The Audio Technica AT-120LP has one as well as the their standard model. I have the Cord DJ U Pro turntable which go for about $350 AUS. Unfortunately the phono preamps that they put in turntables these days aren’t all that great. Most audiophile entry level turntables that around $600 and up do not have a built in phono preamp, because you can get a much better sound and signal from a seperate preamp. In fact I have seen a lot of videos on YouTube of people with the Audio Technica AT-120LP turntable who have bypassed the wiring in the built in preamp completely, so it’s just a straight line out.
There’s still no smd capacitor suitable for audio. Plastic caps are almost always tht type, and fairly large as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eric Nuzum / Audio Insurgent:
Despite some worries about falling ad prices, podcasting audiences and ad budgets are growing as the medium matures and moves past the gold rush stage
The Rumors of Podcasting’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
https://medium.com/audio-insurgent/the-rumors-of-podcastings-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-a25d4066997c
What tulips, cryptocurrency, and bespoke home-delivered dog food can tell us about the resilience of audio and the madness of crowds
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sijia Jiang / Reuters:
Source: Tencent Music earned almost $400M in 2017, expects $764M profit in 2018 and revenues to grow 72% to $3.1B — HONG KONG (Reuters) – Tencent Music, which owns China’s most popular music streaming apps, is often compared to Sweden’s Spotify Technology (SPOT.N) but it offers …
Tencent Music, bound for U.S. IPO, profits from social savvy
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tencentmusic-ipo/tencent-music-bound-for-u-s-ipo-profits-from-social-savvy-idUSKCN1M718Y
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nielsen:
Nielsen: in Q2 2018, 24% of US homes owned a smart speaker, and the most common use, by nearly 90% of users, is to listen to music, while 68% listen to news
(Smart) Speaking My Language: Despite Their Vast Capabilities, Smart Speakers Are All About the Music
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2018/smart-speaking-my-language-despite-their-vast-capabilities-smart-speakers-all-about-the-music.html
Over the last couple of decades, technology has not only evolved at a rapid pace, but has been adopted by swaths of consumers across the U.S. This boon of innovation hasn’t just opened multiple avenues for consumers to engage with content and develop new, unique media habits—it’s also given marketers and brands another tool in their toolkit to reach these consumers. But while these emerging devices introduce new capabilities that bring visions of a future society, most consumers are demonstrating through their behavior that the tried and true is still fundamental to the experience. In the case of smart speaker users, simply finding the time to hear more audio (whether music, news or information) tops the list of weekly habits.
smart speakers (e.g., Amazon Echo or Google Home) are a burgeoning interactive technology that offer consumers useful, cutting-edge capabilities. Of the U.S. homes that have a smart speaker, four out of 10 have more than one device in the household. Furthermore, 62% of smart speaker owners first started using the device within the last six months, with 45% planning to purchase more devices for their home.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/10/02/uusi-hyperspektrikamera-valmiina-avaruuteen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
VideoLAN Announces Dav1d, a New Libre and Open Source AV1 Decoder
https://news.slashdot.org/story/18/10/01/1946250/videolan-announces-dav1d-a-new-libre-and-open-source-av1-decoder?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
AV1 is a new video codec by the Alliance for Open Media, composed of most of the important Web companies (Google, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft,…). AV1 has the potential to be up to 20% better than the HEVC codec, but the patents license is totally free, while HEVC patents licenses are insanely high and very confusing.
The reference decoder for AV1 is great, but it’s a research codebase, so it has a lot to improve. Therefore, the VideoLAN, VLC and FFmpeg communities have started to work on a new decoder, sponsored by the Alliance of Open Media.
dav1d is an AV1 decoder
Targeted to be small and fast.
https://code.videolan.org/videolan/dav1d
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Rise of Netflix Competitors Has Pushed Consumers Back Toward Piracy
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3q45v/bittorrent-usage-increases-netflix-streaming-sites?utm_source=mbfb
BitTorrent usage has bounced back because there’s too many streaming services, and too much exclusive content.
A new study shows that after years of declines, BitTorrent usage and piracy is on the rise again. The culprit: an increase in exclusivity deals that force subscribers to hunt and peck among a myriad of streaming services to actually find the content they’re looking for.