Here are some audio and video trends for 2019:
The global Hi-Fi Systems market was valued at million US$ in 2018 and is expected to grow. EISA Awards has selected Hi-Fi product category winners, but I did not see anything really fancy new innovations that would excite me there. The Hi-Fi speaker market has seen considerable consolidation over the years but is expected to grow. The global Hi-Fi speaker system market is highly competitive. Various established international brands, domestic brands and as well as new entrants form a competitive landscape. The market is expected to have higher growth rate as compared to the previous years due to the booming electronic industry globally. It is due to the rising income of individuals globally and increasing affordability of technology products globally. Due to technological adoption and smart gadgets, North America region is showing steady growth in the Hi-Fi speaker system market. On technology standpoint the Hi-Fi market is mainly based on pretty much stabilized technology as class D amplifiers have been on mainstream for many years.
Smart TVs are everywhere. The vast majority of televisions available today are “smart” TVs, with internet connections, ad placement, and streaming services built in. Despite the added functionality, TV prices are lower than ever. Your new smart TV was so affordable because it is collecting and selling your data. It is clear that TV companies are in a cutthroat business, and that companies like Vizio would have to charge higher prices for hardware if they didn’t run content, advertising, and data businesses. Google wants sensors and cameras in every room of your home to watch, analyze, you, patents show.
Streaming services competition stays high. Apple’s embracing the TV industry for the first time: Vizio and LG TVs will support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, while Samsung TVs will get an iTunes Movies & TV app, as well as AirPlay 2 support. Google and Amazon are playing are important players on smart speaker markets.
4K video resolution is still as hot as in 2019 – it us becoming mainstream and getting cheaper. Peraso showcases 4K wireless video at CES 2019. LG has produced a market-ready rollable OLED TV. The new 75-inch 4K Micro LED TV announced at CES 2019 proves Samsung is serious about scaling the technology to do battle with OLED. But it seems that even in 1029 “4K” trend remains woefully deficient from a compelling-content-availability standpoint. CES 2019 is already full of weird and wonderful monitors.
But new higher 8K resolution is being pushed to market. The “8K” (resolution) tagline was apparently everywhere at CES this year. Samsung announced a 98-inch 8K TV because why not. LG has come strong to CES 2019 with an 88-inch 8K OLED TV, a 75-inch 8K LED/LCD TV, HDMI 2.1, new auto calibration features, Alexa built in, and many more features. It seems that this ongoing evolution is occurring out of necessity: as a given-size (and -pixel-dense) display becomes a low profit margin commodity, manufacturers need to continually “up-rev” one or both key consumer-attention-grabbing parameters (along with less quantifiable attributes like image quality) in order to remain profitable … assuming they can continue to stimulate sufficient-sized consumer demand in the process. I am not sure if they can stimulate 8K to mass market in next few years.
Wall size TVs are coming. Samsung announced a modular TV at CES. Samsung first showcased this MicroLED TV technology at CES 2018, showcasing how the screens were composed of millions of individual LEDs. Individuals screens could be combined to create massive displays, which the company calls The Wall TV. The wall-sized displays shown in recent years at CES are, in my opinion, quite ridiculous, at least for the masses.
HDMI updates are coming. At present, the HDMI equipment uses the 2.0 standard (adopted in 2013) tht provides support for example for 4K video. HDMI Forum announced a new 2.1 standard already in November 2017, but it just starter showing in CES in January 2019. 8K fiber-optic HDMI cables seen at CES 2019. The 2.1 standard is a big change in technology at the bus bandwidth increases from 18 gigabit to 48 gigabits per second. This enables up to 10K video transmission and up to 120 frames per second.
Bendable displays are really coming to PCs and smart phones. LG’s “rollable” display shown this year neatly showcased the technology’s inherent flexibility while also addressing the question of how to hide a gargantuan display when it’s not in use. Several foldable smart phones have been shown. Chinese company Royole was showing off the FlexPai at CES in Las Vegas.
Micro displays for VR and AR glasses have developed. MicroLED is better looking, more efficient and more versatile than any previous display tech. Now all Samsung, Sony, LG and others have to do is figure out how to manufacture it affordably.Nanoco Technologies and Plessey Semiconductors have partnered to shrink the pixel size of monolithic microLED displays using Nanoco’s cadmium-free quantum-dot (CFQD quantum dots) semiconductor nanoparticle technology. Microchips and organic LEDs that deliver 4K-like high resolution displays a quarter of the size and half the weight of existing virtual reality (VR) headsets have been developed under a European Union project. Marc Andreessen says VR will be “1,000” times bigger than AR even though VR seems to be the popular whipping boy amongst the tech community.
There seems to be no shortage of angst with the current (and unfortunately burgeoning) popularity of usage of the term artificial intelligence (AI). Intelligence has been defined in many ways which makes it hard to get good picture on what is going on. I am still waiting for sensible intelligent AI to do something useful. But the ability for a sufficiently trained deep learning system to pattern-match images, sound samples, computer viruses, network hacking attempts, and the like is both impressive and effective.
Potential problems related to the coming of self-driving car technologies and cameras are expected. A man at CES in Las Vegas says that a car-mounted lidar permanently damaged the sensor in his new $1,998 Sony a7R II mirrorless camera. Man says CES lidar’s laser was so powerful it wrecked his $1,998 camera because the LIDAR laser power rules ensure lasers are safe for human eyes—but not necessarily for cameras. Is this something that camera and car manufacturers need to figure out together?
2019 Will Be the Year of Open Source from software and even hardware. Open source video player app VLC has now reached 3 billions downloads.
When almost all AV products are pushing more and more features, it seems that almost Everything is too complicated for an average Joe.
1,491 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding the Art of Stop Motion
https://the-artifice.com/art-of-stop-motion/
Stop motion: the art of bringing inanimate objects to life. While some filmmakers might find this style of animation tedious, there are those that appreciate and treat it as an art form. There is something magical about physically touching the objects to immerse oneself into one’s work, and stop motion is slowly gaining recognition for its peculiar style. Its origins trace back to the late 1800s, to a time when ‘movie magic’ helped viewers believe that the objects were moving on their own. Unfortunately, compared to Computer Graphic Images (CGI), stop motion may no longer seem impressive to viewers, as its choppy movements can be considered too ‘retro’ for the audience.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Every MCU And DC Film In 2020 Will Have Female Directors, And Why That Matters
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2019/09/06/scarlett-johansson-margot-robbie-gal-gadot-angelina-jolie-black-widow-wonder-woman-birds-of-prey-harley-quinn-joker-mcu-marvel-dc-films-aquaman-comic-book-superhero-box-office/?utm_source=FACEBOOK&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Jennie/#6a656e6e696
Tomi Engdahl says:
LG to pay AU$160,000 for misleading two consumer
https://www.zdnet.com/article/lg-to-pay-au160000-for-misleading-two-consumers-about-burnt-in-tvs/?ftag=COS-05-10aaa0h&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5d722e7e4b188d00011bb947&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook
Korean manufacturer the latest to be caught out by the ACCC.
LG Electronics has been ordered by the Australian Federal Court to pay AU$160,000 to two consumers for refusing to provide repairs, replacements, or refunds for faulty televisions.
the screens were solarised and a different colour after less than eighteen months of use, according to court documents.
The LG representatives at the time did not mention the Australian consumer law to the two consumers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vinyl is set to outsell CDs for the first time since 1986, a new report reveals. The revelation comes in a mid-year report from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Vinyl records earned $224.1 million (from 8.6 million units) in the first half of 2019. This figure is impressively close to the CD numbers ($247.9 million, 18.6 million units).
Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986
Read more at https://www.nme.com/news/music/vinyl-set-outsell-cds-first-time-since-1986-2545781#EJm0UKxV336rB7Ht.99
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Your Old CD Collection Worth A Fortune?
Read more at https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/how-much-are-old-cds-worth-rolling-stones-michael-jackson-1759874#125AC38XRPEvPVGp.99
Tomi Engdahl says:
Watch a Deepfake That Casts Will Smith as Neo In “The Matrix”
https://futurism.com/the-byte/deepfake-will-smith-the-matrix
A deepfake video on YouTube explores what it would have been like if Will Smith had accepted the role of protagonist Neo in the 1999 blockbuster “The Matrix.” Smith was offered the role before Keanu Reeves.
The actor went on to film “Wild Wild West” instead — a move he publicly apologized for earlier this year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Deepfake App Lets You “Act” in Popular Movies, TV Shows
https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-deepfake-app-zao
On Friday, Chinese company Momo launched Zao, a new deepfake app that lets iPhone users in China replace actors’ faces in video clips with their own. The app quickly went viral, and by Sunday, it topped the Chinese App Store’s free chart.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Polaroid Lab uses the light from your phone’s screen to turn digital photos into Polaroids
https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/10/the-polaroid-lab-uses-the-light-from-your-phones-screen-to-turn-digital-photos-into-polaroids/
When all of us are carrying phones that can snap a thousand photos a minute and are connected to cloud systems that can store millions, there’s an undeniable charm to physical photos. The ones deemed worthy
While photo printers are nothing new, Polaroid is twisting up the concept (and rebooting an idea from a few years back) with the “Polaroid Lab”. It’s a $129 tower that uses the light from your phone’s screen, bounced off a series of mirrors, to make a proper Polaroid from the photos you’ve already taken.
Is using light and mirrors better than just sending a picture to a printer over Bluetooth or WiFi and blasting the ink out from a cartridge? Maybe not. But it’s neat! It’s physical and sciencey and fun — and, arguably, as close as you can get to having a “true” Polaroid picture of a moment that’s already happened.
Tomi Engdahl says:
First DJ in Space! Italian Astronaut Spins ‘Out of This World’ Set in Orbit
https://www.space.com/first-dj-in-space-astronaut-luca-parmitano.html
On Aug. 13, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano, Italy’s first spacewalker, became the first DJ in space when he performed a set from the International Space Station.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vinyl set to outsell CDs for first time since 1986
Read more at https://www.nme.com/news/music/vinyl-set-outsell-cds-first-time-since-1986-2545781#B7BdDtmbpwVfWpbP.99
Tomi Engdahl says:
YouTubers say kids’ content changes could ruin careers
A community is fearful that major shifts are coming
https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/5/20849752/youtube-creators-ftc-fine-settlement-family-friendly-content-gaming-minecraft-roblox
Tomi Engdahl says:
iPhone 11: What is Deep Fusion?
https://www.zdnet.com/article/iphone-11-what-is-deep-fusion/
During the iPhone 11 launch event, Apple teased a new photographic feature called Deep Fusion. But what is Deep Fusion, and will it help Apple stay ahead of the competition?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2019-highly-commended-first-images-released-/
https://www.iflscience.com/space/incredible-winners-of-astronomy-photographer-of-the-year-2019-revealed/
Tomi Engdahl says:
20 Funniest Finalists Of Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2019
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2019/09/11/15-funniest-finalists-of-comedy-wildlife-photography-awards-2019/
Tomi Engdahl says:
In this JSConf video, Charlie Gerard discuses building a simple gesture recognition system with JavaScript, Arduino and machine learning.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HvtlRMpDbnQ&feature=youtu.be
Tomi Engdahl says:
AMD EPYC 7742 powers the world’s FIRST real-time 8K HEVC encoder AMD EPYC 7742 has yet another first: Cinebench R20 world record, now power the world’s first real-time 8K HEVC encoder
Read more: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/67598/amd-epyc-7742-powers-worlds-first-real-time-8k-hevc-encoder/index.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Streaming Music Services Pay (Updated for 2019)
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Streaming-Music-Payouts.png
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/12/25/streaming-music-services-pay-2019/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google is bringing a data-saving feature to Android TVs
https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/17/android-tv-data-saver/
Google said on Tuesday it is bringing a set of new features to Android TVs to improve the experience of users who rely on mobile hotspots to connect their giant devices to the internet. The features, developed by Google’s Next Billion Users team, will be first rolled out to users in India and then in other countries, the company said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TiVo’s killer app is skipping commercials. There are so many other options for DVRs that this is a suicidal decision.
TiVo confirms its customers will soon see ads before DVR recordings
Rolling out to TiVo’s current devices over the next 90 days
https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/9/21/20876976/tivo-pre-roll-ads-commercials-dvr-recordings
TiVo has confirmed that it plans to place pre-roll video advertisements before DVR recordings for all customers — even those with a lifetime subscription plan. “DVR advertising is going to be a permanent part of the service,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Meet SoundCloud rival Audius, free & anti-takedowns
Launching today
https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/24/audius-music/
Today Audius launches its music streaming and free hosting service backed by DJs like Deadmau5 and Zed’s Dead, plus $5.5 million in A-list venture capital. Music makers can upload their songs at no cost, and users can browse, follow, and get listening recommendations. The catalog is small to start with just a few hundred artists, but Audius has big plans for how to lure artists choosing between other SoundCloud alternatives from Mixcloud to YouTube.
https://audius.co/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scientists have unveiled a 500 megapixel cloud camera system in China that they say is capable of capturing the facial details of each individual in a crowd of tens of thousands of people, raising fears facial recognition monitoring could soon reach a new level.
https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-26/chinas-new-500-megapixel-super-camera/11539176?pfmredir=sm
Tomi Engdahl says:
YouTube Music will be preinstalled on Android 10 and new Android 9 devices
https://tcrn.ch/2ng0KpW
Here’s one way to play catch up in the competitive streaming music market: preinstall your app on millions of Android handsets. That’s what Google will now be doing with YouTube Music. The company announced today the app will come preinstalled on all new devices launching with Android 10 as well as Android 9, including its own Pixel series of smartphones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Audius, a SoundCloud alternative built on the blockchain, has launched its music streaming service with songs hosted on independent operators to avoid takedowns
https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/24/audius-music/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A fast-fashion brand selling fake, nonfunctional ‘ear pieces’ reveals AirPods’ transformation into a millennial style symbol
https://www.businessinsider.com/asos-fake-airpods-millennial-style-symbol-2019-9
ASOS is now selling nonfunctional ear pieces that look like silver Apple AirPods for $9.50.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NIH Bets $20 Million Music Can Heal Our Brains
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinseatonjefferson/2019/09/28/nih-bets-20-million-music-can-heal-our-brains/
We can’t prove it. But it’s something most of us have always known. Music just makes you feel better. Whether it’s the classic melodies of Beethoven, Brahms or Tchaikovsky; the toe-tapping feel-good rhythm of pop music; or even for some the head-banging, heart-pounding throbbing of heavy metal, we all have our favorites. And whatever they are, they somehow feed our souls.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei explains how it achieved 7,680fps slow-motion video capture
https://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_explains_how_it_achieved_7680fps_slowmotion_video_capture-news-39316.php
Tomi Engdahl says:
What The World Looks Like Through The Eyes Of Different Animals
https://designyoutrust.com/2019/10/what-the-world-looks-like-through-the-eyes-of-different-animals/
Have you ever wondered what you look like in the eyes of your dog? Or even how a bee sees the world? The vision of every kind of animal on Earth is unique, and some can even see what we can’t.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.opettajantekijanoikeus.fi/2011/10/youtuben-kayttooikeudet-koulussa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The New Consumer Gatekeepers: Inside the Hidden Power Of The DJ Industry 2.0
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencoleman/2019/09/22/the-new-consumer-gatekeepers-inside-the-hidden-power-of-the-dj-industry-20/
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Smartphone Camera Lens Design Is Just Microns Thick
https://www.hackster.io/news/new-smartphone-camera-lens-design-is-just-microns-thick-c1fca61c8277
Every photographer worth their salt knows that the lens is just as important as the camera. Part of that is because one lens can produce a dramatically different picture then another
lens bump on the back of your phone. But this new lens developed by researchers from the University of Utah is just microns thick thanks to a completely new fabrication technique.
This lens is a flat disc that measures just a few microns thick—compared to a few millimeters thick for a conventional smartphone camera lens. It also weighs far less. The disc is made up of thousands of individual microstructures, each oriented at the proper angle to refract light towards the camera’s digital sensor. The microstructure at the very center of the lens is parallel to the sensor, while the microstructures near the edge are oriented at a relatively extreme angle.
https://m.techxplore.com/news/2019-10-thin-lightweight-lens-slimmer-camera.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Deepfakes are the next step in a long chain of the democratisation of media production,” says Peter Rojas, a venture capital investor at Betaworks Ventures. “Deepfakes are the democratisation of CGI. It’s not that different to what blogging did for publishing.”
Deepfakes: Hollywood’s quest to create the perfect digital human
https://www.ft.com/content/9df280dc-e9dd-11e9-a240-3b065ef5fc55?shareType=nongift
Tech advances help film-makers but could lead to a glut of videos involving politicians or porn
The 23-year-old Smith clone, known in the movie as Junior, is not the real actor hidden under layers of make-up or prosthetics. Instead, he is a completely digital recreation
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Gemini Man’ was made in such a technically advanced way that zero movie theaters in the US can show it as intended
https://bit.ly/2IFu696
Lee shot the movie in 120 frames per second, which gives the movie an incredibly sharp look. Ideally, Lee wants the movie shown in theaters at that frame rate, on a 4K projector, and in 3D.
Theaters in the US can’t handle all those elements at the same time. The closest is 120 fps on a 2K projector in 3D, which is available at 14 theaters.
The two-time best-director Oscar winner (“Life of Pi” and “Brokeback Mountain”) has been on a quest of sorts recently: getting audiences and Hollywood to appreciate high frame rates as much as he does.
The standard movie is shot at 24 frames per second. But Lee made his latest movie, “Gemini Man” (in theaters Friday), in the extremely sharp and ultrarealistic high frame rate of 120 frames per second. He also shot it digitally and for 3D.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Frequencies for wireless microphones
https://apwpt.org/downloads/handoutfrequencies2016.pdf
This is how it works in Austria, Australia,
Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Latvia,
The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, South Korea,
Sweden, Switzerland, USA, UAE, Ukraine and UK.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Wireless Microphone Frequencies are Legal
https://virtuosocentral.com/what-wireless-microphone-frequencies-are-legal/
Tomi Engdahl says:
18 commonly used sound terms and what they actually mean
https://vimeo.com/blog/post/what-18-common-sound-terms-actually-mean/
Creating videos is half about the visuals and half about the sounds. But when you’re just getting started, there is a ton to figure out just on the visuals side, and when you add in audio, it can be overwhelming to say the least.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.caverion.fi/blogi/blogi-details/finland-blog/2019/10/02/av-teknologian-tulevaisuus
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-institute/ieee-member-news/startup-resonado-reinvents-the-speaker-with-its-flat-core-technology
Tomi Engdahl says:
Increase piezoelectric transducer acoustic output with a simple circuit
https://www.edn.com/design/analog/4462308/Increase-piezoelectric-transducer-acoustic-output-with-a-simple-circuit
Increase piezoelectric transducer acoustic output with a simple circuit
https://www.edn.com/design/analog/4368114/Circuit-boosts-voltage-to-piezoelectric-transducers
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/cinematogr/videos/virtual-reality-painting-by-annadreambrush/510766329701433/
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://radiooooo.com/mobile/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everything You Probably Didn’t Know About FOV In HMDs
https://hackaday.com/2019/06/21/everything-you-probably-didnt-know-about-fov-in-hmds/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Simple Way To Analyze Guitar Pickups
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/29/a-simple-way-to-analyze-guitar-pickups/
To the uninitiated an electric guitar seems fairly simple: you pluck a string and the electronics send the corresponding audio signal on the 6.3 mm jack output, all ready for for the amplifier to work its magic. Much of what makes a guitar like that sound good depends on the pickups, however. These are the devices which are placed between the guitar body and the strings. Depending on the guitar there can be one, two, or more of them, of varying types and configurations.
As a Gibson fan who upon getting introduced to a Fender Telecaster just had to replace its pickups with humbucking types, [Ken Willmott] found himself thrown into the wonderful world of pickup design and characterization.
Guitar Pickup Measurement Revisited
http://kenwillmott.com/blog/archives/284
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/28/take-control-of-your-dslr-with-pixpi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/08/10/acoustic-lenses-show-sound-can-be-focused-like-light/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Putting 3D Printed Speaker Drivers To The Test
https://hackaday.com/2019/09/07/putting-3d-printed-speaker-drivers-to-the-test/
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/337129-polymate3d-fd61-3d-printed-range-speaker-driver-development.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/01/monochrome-crt-and-liquid-crystal-shutter-team-up-for-color-video/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Modular Camera Remote Is Highly Capable
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/04/modular-camera-remote-is-highly-capable/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everything Makes Sound If You Try Hard Enough
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/11/everything-makes-sound-if-you-try-hard-enough/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2jRs45JTUs
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building The World’s Best DML Speakers For Under $115
https://hackaday.com/2019/10/26/building-the-worlds-best-dml-speakers-for-under-115/
Flat panel speakers are heavily reliant on the material they’re mounted on for the best acoustic quality. In particular, for DML (distributed mode loudspeaker) speakers, sound is produced through the distribution of vibration modes in the panel. You can easily spend far too much on special exciter foam or optimized materials for producing the best quality sound.
[Tech Ingredients] does a deep dive into how to build high-quality and low-cost DML speakers using some interesting materials, such as acoustic ceiling tiles and styrofoam. He analyzes their frequency based on the material and shape used and demonstrates how a full setup sounds with studio microphones and stereo speakers installed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKIye4RZ-5k
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon Echo Studio review: finally, an Echo that sounds great
https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/6/20950100/amazon-echo-studio-smart-speaker-alexa-3d-audio-test-review-price-specs-features
The Studio is a great-sounding smart speaker that has some silly gimmicks you can thankfully ignore