Buying & Selling of Musical Instruments – This overlooked segment of the music industry boasts over $6.7 billion dollars annual sales in the U.S. alone and is a part of the over $15 billion annual sales of the music business in the U.S., including publshing, album and ticket sales, and licensing programs. Without the many different instruments, there would be little music to listen to in the first place, except vocal.
OLED TV Is On the Rise – Rising yields at the LED panel manufacturing facilities of LG have enabled the company to drop prices of the newest UHD models by 30% to 45%, and to bring out a 1080p OLED display at $2000. (The first 1080p OLED TV was $15,000 a few years ago at CES.) LG will likely launch a UHD Blu-ray player at CES in January. The 10-bit LG OLED panels deliver a color gamut exceeding Rec. 709 standards by 13% to 15% but don’t reproduce DCI-P3 gamut as delivered by digital theaters. LG’s 9600 UHD OLEDs will get a firmware update to be compatible with HDR streaming services, but their HDMI 2.0 ports are not upgradable to 2.0a to display HDR content from outboard sources.
New UHD Projectors from JVC – offer brighter output than formerly, to project larger images without sacrificing native contrast ratios. Some models can project content with high dynamic range (HDR). All new models also have Control4 integration, joining integration capabilities with Creston and AMX control systems. The two top models have 265-watt lamps combined with a new light engine to preserve the higher contrast ratios of their predecssors despite the higher lumen outputs. Due to the higher brightness, the projectors can expand the maximum screen width to 18 to 20 feet from 10 to 12 feet away. The two top models also have THX 3D certification.
New Delivery Services for Oversized Items – Retailers of oversized items like large-screen TVs, barbecue grills, mattresses or furniture have often had a problem with delivery of such items. A survey showed that 11% of oversized items which would have been purchased are abandoned for lack of a workable delivery option. Now there are new on-demand companies such as Fleetzen and Buddytruk which address the issue at zero cost to retailers. All the consumer has to do is download the app, take a photo of the item and fill out an online form. Most promise same-day delivery and the typical cost is $50, a bit more for a two-man job.
Sphero Wants to Put a Robot in Every Home – Sphero, who have have made headlines with their Star Wars-inspired BB-8 rolling ball droid, aims to put a robot in every home. The company is big in the connected play space with unique toys which combine sophistication and the mechanics of great technology. They have an organization which teaches the basics of coding and programming using a new app platform, so that the supportive community which has grown up around their products can contribute apps and games for the end user.
