TV Brands Changing Sales Strategies – Analysts find that TV manufacturers are making major recalibration efforts following the lukewarm public response to 3D – due to the high price of sets and the lack of 3D content. This year they are marketing 3D not as a must-have but as a desirable feature, along with the Internet connectivity of Smart TVs. Brands are also slashing prices – during March the prices of 3D sets fell 9% compared to the previous month. Researcher IHS iSuppli says global 3D TV will grow more than five-fold, to account for 11% of flat-screen sales in 2011, with shipments rising to 23.4 million units this year. By 2015 they expect 3DTVs will account for more than half of global flat-panel shipments. IHS iSuppli says the current industry standard of shutter 3D glasses will give way to passive film-patterned retarder types (FPR), and the most popular 3D screen size this year will be the 40 to 41-inch range, numbering about 3.3 million units. The 45 to 46-inch range will have 2.7 million units sales.
Apple Beats Google for Top Brand Slot – The Financial Times in Britain ranks the world’s most valuable brands in their BrandZ Top100 List. The new report finds Apple has increased its brand value by 859% since the rankings were launched in 2006, and its market capitalization is much higher than second-runner Google. A spokesman for the list said Apple’s success reflected the fact its products are not only highly desired by consumers but also seen by other companies as useful.
D-Box Seats In Theaters Worldwide – 70 theaters around the world, 50 of them in the U.S., have now installed D-Box motion seats in some spots which are available at a premium of about $8. The gyrating seats are the next big thing for viewers for whom surround sound and 3D are not enough. The intensity level of the experience, such as used on the soundtrack of the new Vin Diesel feature Fast Five, can be dialed up or down – at highest setting it can reach twice the acceleration of gravity. Users can experience being pitched forward, back, or side to side, or even a moment of free fall when a character, say, leaps off a cliff. Strictly for action movies. D-Box technology is also available for home use.
Cyrus Introduces Music-Streaming Players – The Cyrus line has launched a new range of products in the UK and Australia allowing users to access entire digital music collections without searching for individual CDs, being able to listen to thousands of Internet radio stations, and to download hi-res stereo music. The stylish interface is a two-way WiFi unit which allows control of all the players’ features. A few buttons on the remote browse music libraries, selects albums, artists, tracks, or stations, and can control many other devices in the home. The gear has 96/24 UPnP streaming support and a USB input for an iPod or memory stick.
New Composer to Watch: Du Yun – The New York-based Chinese composer’s works have been described by The New York Times as “electrifying.” Like many composers of today, she works in a wide spectrum of genres: orchestral, opera, pop, performance works. She cites influences ranging from Kurt Weill to Elliott Carter, and from Björk to Zenakis, and has found inspiration in Egyptian and Peruvian folksongs.
