There’s some interesting news to look back on this past week in the KMB Communications Technology Week in Review.
The news we’ll be looking at includes the continuing resurgence of physical media with a post from eCoustics, as well as Residential Systems’ deep dive into the topic of home theater. Other news items in this week’s roundup include Fender introduces home audio speakers; Samsung to cut QLED production, and the tech week in review will have news on the Paramount merger with Warner Bros.
- Black Sabbath and Paranoid Return on 15 IPS Reel-to-Reel as Ozzy Osbourne’s Legacy Endures
- Home Theater Week: Unlocking Professional Audio Precision
- Fender Audio Hits U.S. Retail with ELIE Speakers and MIX Modular Headphones
- Samsung to Reportedly Drastically Cut QLED Production
- Why AV over IP Needs a Security Rethink
- Paramount Settles Antitrust Lawsuit, Clearing Path for WBD Merger
KMB Communications Residential Technology News
Music and home audio has been surging over the past couple years and most notably vinyl. More recently, data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) indicates that CD sales are rising. Jumping on the rise of physical media, eCoustics is reporting that Rhino Records is releasing a reel-to-reel version of the classic Black Sabbath album, “Paranoid.”
The story says the release will be on 15-inch-per-second (IPS) half-track, quarter-inch tape, and the release will be limited to 500 copies for $300.
Getting the most from consumer media, Residential Systems is in the midst of its home theater week, and to support the best possible playback of home AV content, the magazine published a story on how integrators can improve the quality of their installations by manually calibrating their AV jobs.
The story features the long-time smart home industry educator Gerry Lemay, and it examines the latest methods recommended by the Home Acoustics Alliance (HAA).
Fender, a brand known for the Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars, and Deluxe Reverb amplifier, is entering the consumer home audio market with the release of its ELIE speakers and MIX headphones.
AV Nirvana is reporting the products are designed for a variety of lifestyle applications: The ELIE is a pair of portable speakers that serve as Bluetooth speakers and compact speakers. The MIX headphones are a modular solution designed to provide long battery life, with a choice of multiple wireless settings, and active noise cancelling options.
The final KMB Communications residential technology news item for the week is a story from Sound & Video Contractor (SVConline) on Samsung’s QLED TV production.
The story from SVConline points out Samsung introduced QLED back in 2017, and due to slowing sales, the company is set to move on from the technology. Citing a report from the Korean news site ETNews, production will be reduced from 10-million units to 2- to 3-million units. ETNews speculates that production of QLED could be cut entirely by 2028, and the cuts, the story adds will allow Samsung to dedicate those resources to technologies such as OLED and MicroLED.
National Technology News Roundup
The social media website LinkedIn earlier in the week posted on the latest developments with the Paramount attempt to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
LinkedIn states that Paramount has settled with the attorney generals of several states to facilitate its acquisition of WBD. The website notes the five-year deal with these attorney generals includes a $1.5 billion investment in domestic film production, and for the release of 30 movies per year in the commercial cinema industry.
Putting a bow on the KMB Communications Technology Week in Review for the week of September 21-25 is a column that appeared on the Systems Contractor News (SCN) website.
The column by Ayham Ereksousi, senior director of product, NETGEAR Enterprise, says that for the past decade he’s recommended taking steps to protect the security of AV-over-IP networks.
In the column he warns the AV industry that if the proper steps aren’t taken with these infrastructure systems, the market is risking far more than just the use of outdated equipment—it risks exposing clients to operational disruption and far worse.
Ereksousi closes the column with this: “The networks we deploy are no longer isolated. They never will be again. The opportunity is to make security a core part of every AV deployment, and a defining part of the value we deliver.”
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