On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

According to ABI Research, the saturated global TV market is on the cusp of mainstream 4K TV adoption, as consumer seek higher resolutions, larger screen sizes and connected and integrated applications and services.

The analyst forecasts 4K TV shipments will reach 233 million in 2024, while growing a 13% CAGR. Looking further into the future, 8K should prove to be the next big thing, as vendors including Samsung, Sony, LG and TCL have already announced such sets, if at currently exorbitant pricetags limiting sales volumes, at least for the foreseeable future. However price points should decline over the next several years, just as 4K TVs have.

The biggest barrier to 8K TV at the moment is a lack of content and distribution models. Currently the only country with a form of 8K broadcast is Japan, although the Korean Broadcasting Corporation (KBS) is working on an 8K broadcast. Rakuten plans to offer 8K streaming in late 2019, even if the limited adoption of 8K TV sets fails to provide incentive for 8K broadcasts.

Yamaha announces a pair of home-theatre-in-a-box packages-- the YHT-4950U and YHT-5950U, both featuring 5 speakers (right, left, centre in front, plus right and left in the rear), a powered subwoofer and a speaker cable for connection to the AVR.

The two systems support 4K UHD video withh HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and are Bluetooth-enabled. The receiver also carries Yamaha Cinema DSP 3D sound-field processing plus Dolby TrueHD and DST-HD decoding, and provides x4 HDMI inputs and x1 output with eARC support.

The YHT-5950U adds MusicCast technology, allowing customers to access music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music (via AirPlay 2), Pandora, SiriusXM, Tidal, Deexer, Napster and Qobuz over wifi. Control comes through MusicCast app. Users can also connect additional MusicCast wireless speakers and devices to the wifi network. A MusicCast Surround feature allows owners to replace the included wired rear speakers with wireless MusicCast 20 speakers to create a 5.1-channel setup with wireless rear surround.

German luxury TV maker Loewe is broke, Spiegel Online reports-- leading to the end of production on 1 July 2019 and the threat of dismissal of the majority of around 400 employees.

According to the news story, the company has less than €500000 in the bank, and was denied a €9 million loan from British investment firm RiverRock. The situation lead to the union IG Metall to criticise RiverRock, as it accuses the firm of waiting until Loewe was broken to, as union head Jurgen Horn puts it, "earn money with the rubble of the company."

Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) reach 1.3 million in Q1 2019-- a 27.2% Y-o-Y increase, marking a return to growth for the market brought about by a surge of standalone and tethered head mounted displays (HMDs).

VR headsets make 96.6% of the combined Q1 2019 AR/VR market, with strong volumes from top vendors such as Sony, Facebook, HTC, Pico and 3Glasses. The top 5 vendors hold 65.1% of the total VR headset market.

"Facebook has promised to bring VR to the masses and it took its latest steps toward realising this vision with new standalone and tethered headset releases during the quarter," the analyst says. "The company’s new $399 standalone Oculus Quest began shipping this quarter and has enjoyed positive reviews, and its new Rift S offers an updated take on its pioneering tethered headset. These products, along with other new offerings from companies such as HTC and Valve, should position the VR market for solid growth through the rest of the year."