- HDMI 2.2 revealed, featuring 96Gbps of bandwidth
Following reports that the next HDMI standard would be revealed at this year’s CES, the HDMI Forum this week announced HDMI 2.2, bringing with it a host of upgrades. “New technology enables higher quality options now and in the future for content producers such as TV, movie and game studios, while enabling multiple distribution platforms,” reads the organization’s announcement. “Higher 96Gbps bandwidth and next-gen HDMI Fixed Rate Link technology provide optimal audio and video for a wide range of device applications. An end-user can be assured that their displays support a native video format in the best way possible and can deliver a seamless and reliable experience.” Notable advancements include a 96Gbps bandwidth to support use cases such as 8K and even 16K, as well as emerging VR technologies. The expanded bandwidth should also help combat video compression on TVs that display higher resolution content. Also included is Latency Indication Protocol (LIP), said to improve audio and video synchronization, especially for multiple-hop system configurations such as those with an audio video receiver or soundbar. Notably, a new Ultra96 cable will be required to take advantage of the expanded bandwidth.
- RadioShack is back under new ownership
A surprising guest showed up to this year’s CES: RadioShack. After going bankrupt in 2017, the iconic chain is a far cry from the electronics store of yesteryear as it makes its return to CES. Now under the ownership of El Salvador’s Unicomer Group, the company has made its own branded products exclusively through radioshack.com. This is part of the new owner’s strategy of bringing back RadioShack as a products-focused brand, eschewing any sort of physical retail presence. Unicomer has controlled RadioShack’s presence in Central and South America, beginning as far back as 1998. The multinational group acquired global rights to the brand in 2023, and has made e-commerce the primary focus of its comeback.
“RadioShack has been a household name for decades, recognized for its deep connection to electronics enthusiasts, makers, and small businesses,” President of RadioShack International Rudy Siman told Stewart Wolpin for TWICE. “The brand’s rich heritage, customer loyalty, and market potential aligned perfectly with Unicomer’s vision of bringing accessible technology to people across diverse markets. The acquisition was a natural fit, allowing us to preserve the legacy of RadioShack while revitalizing its presence and adapting it to meet the needs of today’s consumers.”
- Dell is getting rid of its well-known brands
In attempt to simplify its naming conventions, Dell announced at CES last week that it will be killing off several of its branding lines such as XPS, Precision, and Latitude from all of its products. Moving forward, the company revealed that all products would fit into three main groups: Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max. To make things possibly more confusing, these groups will be further divided into tiers: Base, Plus, and Premium.
This means that while Dell’s well-known XPS line will be going away in name, it’s being replaced by Dell Premium models. That is to say, Premium tier of the Dell group. It’s all a little confusing, but the company says that existing products under its current brand names will continued to be referred to as such until they are discontinued and replaced.
In a statement to The Verge, Public Relations for Consumer and Gaming at Dell Frank Cestone said, “It will be a journey, but we’re taking the necessary steps to make this as easy as possible for customers on day-one and we know it’ll only get easier once the transition is fully complete.”
- PXO Akira system looks to free vehicle filming from the constraints of real-world locations
Among the the many tech showcases at this year’s CES, film tech company Pixomondo gave attendees a first-hand look at the new PXO Akira system, which provides a rotating platform that accommodate nearly any vehicle for thrilling stunt and chase sequences. In a video released by Pixomondo, the company guides us through the Akira ecosystem, which includes a robotic camera dolly, a driving simulator, a complete wall of LED screens, and of course, the adjustable platform itself.
The system’s base is built to be able to fit a range of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, from a motorcycle to an airplane fuselage. A modular rigging system allows for customizable lighting and camera locations, while the base itself can spin and be tilted to provide additional angles.
Pixomondo posits that the PXO Akira system, once set up on a sound stage, allows for freedom when shooting vehicle sequences without being constrained to a physical location. The driving simulator allows for control of the platform, with inputs made to the simulator steering wheel or gas pedal translating to movements made by the platform.
- Panasonic debuts new four-layer OLED panel in Z95B Series TVs
Panasonic has revealed that it is featuring a new OLED panel type in its Z95B Series of TVs that the company claims provides improved brightness, picture accuracy, contrast, and efficiency. Panasonic calls the new panel type the ‘Primary RGB Tandem Panel,’ a fourlayer panel manufactured by LG Display.
“The Z95B series uses the latest next-generation OLED panel with Primary RGB Tandem technology, which employs a four-layer emission structure that refines the wavelength of light and increases color purity, thus enhancing light efficiency by 40 percent,” says Panasonic. “This improvement enables a significant increase in brightness and a broader color volume, delivering even richer, more realistic imagery.”
The new panel adds an additional layer to the structure, which, according to FlatPanelsHD, is the same panel type that LG claimed at one point to achieve 3700 nits. Whether or not this metric will hold up in real-world settings, however, remains to be seen. Additional features in the Z95B Series include what Panasonic is calling its new ‘ThermalFlow’ cooling system, as well as a redesigned Dolby Atmos sound system.
- L-Acoustics names Bryan Bradley as CEO Americas
Having recently crossed its milestone 40th anniversary and added its 1,000th team member at the close of 2024, L-Acoustics heads into NAMM and the new year touting the news that Bryan Bradley has joined the company as CEO Americas. The announcement jointly comes from worldwide L-Acoustics co-CEOs Laurent Vaissié and Hervé Guillaume, to whom Bradley reports.
Bryan Bradley now oversees all of the manufacturer’s North, Central, and South American operations and will be sharing his time between the global hub in Westlake Village, California and a new Americas operations and creative hub at Nashville Yards when it officially opens later this year.
Bradley recently spent six years serving as the president of Group One Limited, the New York-based US distributor for DiGiCo, Calrec, Solid State Logic, Sound Devices, and several other leading pro audio and lighting manufacturers. Prior to that he held multiple executive management positions at Harman, most recently as senior vice president and general manager of the Americas for Harman Professional Solutions, where he managed the retail, live performance, large venue, hospitality and enterprise channels for JBL Professional, AKG, AMX, Crown, dbx, Lexicon, Soundcraft and Martin, among other Harman brands, across the American continents.
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