Consumer Electronics
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‘Super 8’ Coming to 4K Ultra HD May 25
Super 8, from writer/director J.J. Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg, will debut on 4K Ultra HD May 25 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Originally released on June 10, 2011, the film celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Newly remastered for the 4K Ultra HD release, Super 8 stars Joel Courtney (The Kissing Booth), Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) and … Continue reading “‘Super 8’ Coming to 4K Ultra HD May 25”
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Classic Musical ‘My Fair Lady’ Heading to 4K Ultra HD May 25
The classic musical My Fair Lady will debut on 4K Ultra HD combo pack May 25 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Winner of eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, My Fair Lady also won the Best Picture Golden Globe and was selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. Adapted from the Broadway stage hit, the … Continue reading “Classic Musical ‘My Fair Lady’ Heading to 4K Ultra HD May 25”
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Best Buy Q4 Entertainment Revenue Jumps 31.4%
Driven by ecommerce and new video game consoles from Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox, Best Buy Feb. 25 reported a 31.4% leap in fourth-quarter (ended Jan. 31) domestic entertainment sales, a major turnaround from a decline of 21.8% in the previous-year period. International entertainment revenue skyrocketed 59.5% compared to a 16.9% drop last year. The … Continue reading “Best Buy Q4 Entertainment Revenue Jumps 31.4%”
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Fry’s Electronics Shutters All Its Stores, Was Once a Top Blu-ray Disc, DVD Retailer
Fry’s Electronics, the big-box consumer electronics chain that for years was known for its large and eclectic Blu-ray Disc and DVD selection, on Feb. 24 announced it is closing all 31 of its stores. The chain, which for at least two years has suffered inventory problems, with store shelves largely empty, made the announcement on … Continue reading “Fry’s Electronics Shutters All Its Stores, Was Once a Top Blu-ray Disc, DVD Retailer”
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Roku Topped 51 Million Active Accounts; Users Streamed 58.7 Billion Hours in 2020
As expected, Roku crushed fourth quarter and fiscal year results, ended Dec. 31, 2020, as consumers increasingly seek over-the-top video entertainment in the home during the pandemic. The SVOD market co-founder Feb. 18 said it added 14.3 million incremental active accounts in 2020 to reach 51.2 million at year end. That’s up 39% from 36.9 … Continue reading “Roku Topped 51 Million Active Accounts; Users Streamed 58.7 Billion Hours in 2020”
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Walmart Reports Record Q4, Fiscal Year Revenue; E-Commerce Skyrockets
Walmart Feb. 18 reported record revenue of $152.1 billion for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31. That was up 7.3%, or $10.4 billion, from the previous-year period. Same-store sales increased 8.6%. For the fiscal year, revenue increased 6.7% to $559.2 billion, an increase of $35.2 billion. Online sales exploded 69% in the quarter and 79% … Continue reading “Walmart Reports Record Q4, Fiscal Year Revenue; E-Commerce Skyrockets”
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TiVo Extends License Deals With Vodafone, Sharp Corp.
TiVo continues to expand its digital content distribution, search functionality and other home entertainment technology with separate license software renewals with South Korea’s Sharp Corp. and U.K.’s Vodafone. Sharp will utilize TiVo’s G-Guide products, including G-Guide HTML, G-Guide xD and remote schedule recording service across compatible television and Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc recorder products in … Continue reading “TiVo Extends License Deals With Vodafone, Sharp Corp.”
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Crackle Plus Launching AVOD App on Smart TVs
Crackle Plus, an advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) service, Feb. 10 announced an agreement to launch its app on Smart TVs with the VIDAA smart operation system, including Hisense Smart TVs. At launch, Crackle content on VIDAA will be available to their customers in the U.S. using their proprietary operating system. VIDAA customers will gain access to … Continue reading “Crackle Plus Launching AVOD App on Smart TVs”
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Interpret: 90% of Apple TV+ Subs Own at Least One Apple Device
Interpret research found that 90% of Apple TV+ subscribers own at least one Apple device, with 42% owning four or more Apple products. Apple’s SVOD service (regularly $4.99 a month) has been free to any users who purchased an iPhone or other iOS device in late 2019. After extending the free period through February, the … Continue reading “Interpret: 90% of Apple TV+ Subs Own at Least One Apple Device”
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Sony Looking to Further Bridge Anime, Movie, Video Game Markets
Sony is seeking to further meld anime, motion picture and video game markets through SVOD subsidiary Crunchyroll; a minority stake in Epic Games, publisher of the Fortnite game franchise; the PlayStation 5 game system; and other ventures. Speaking on the Feb. 3 third-quarter fiscal call, CFO Hiroki Totoki said consumer interest in anime throughout Japan … Continue reading “Sony Looking to Further Bridge Anime, Movie, Video Game Markets”
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LG Electronics Touts Record 2020 Sales, Profits
LG Electronics Jan. 29 announced record 2020 revenue of KRW 63.26 trillion ($56.45 billion) and record operating profit of KRW 3.20 trillion ($2.85 billion), an increase of 31.1% over 2019, and driven primarily by higher sales of OLED TVs and home appliances, among other products. Sales in the fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31) of KRW … Continue reading “LG Electronics Touts Record 2020 Sales, Profits”
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Report: Big-Screen TVs, Roku Drove Streaming Video Consumption in Q4
Viewer time spent streaming video in the fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2020) increased 44% compared with the fourth quarter of 2019 — underscoring a significant year for the streaming industry, according to new data from Conviva. Big television screens captured more than 75% of all viewing time, led by Roku with a 31% share … Continue reading “Report: Big-Screen TVs, Roku Drove Streaming Video Consumption in Q4”