Podcast #1057: DTS Play-Fi Soundbars Challenge WISA and 8K TV Sales

This week we take a look at the top ten movies on Netflix and talk about DTS Play-Fi becoming a challenger to WISA with their new Play-Fi Soundbars. We also discuss why 8K TV sales are not really doing anything worldwide. Plus we read your emails and the week’s news.

News:

• Major Smart Home Milestone Achieved! Z-Wave Alliance Surpasses 4,000 Certified Devices
• Amazon overhauls Fire TV user interface
• Chromecast with Google TV users get first crack at profiles
• Nokia Is Working On A Chromecast-Like Streaming Stick
• Netflix's most watched films, ranked

The following are Netflix's most watched movies, based on Netflix's own reporting of total hours viewed in the first 28 days of each titles' release. Any changes are in bold text. 

1. Red Notice, an action movie starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds -- 364 million hours.
2. Don't Look Up, a dark comedy with a star-packed cast -- 359.8 million hours. 
3. Bird Box, a post-apocalyptic movie starring Sandra Bullock -- 282 million hours.
4. The Adam Project, a sci-fi adventure comedy -- 233.2 million hours.
5. Extraction, an action movie starring Chris Hemsworth-- 231.3 million hours.
6. The Unforgivable, a drama about a woman rebuilding her life after prison -- 214.7 million hours.
7. The Irishman, a period Mafia epic directed by Martin Scorsese-- 214.6 million hours.
8. The Kissing Booth 2, a teen rom-com sequel -- 209.3 million hours.
9. 6 Underground, a Michael Bay explosion-fest starring Ryan Reynolds -- 205.5 million hours.
10. Spenser Confidential, an action-comedy starring Mark Wahlberg -- 197.3 million hours.

Play-Fi Home Theater Extended in TVs to support new Speaker Configurations. DTS Play-Fi Home Theater is both expanding the feature-set and availability. Full press release from DTS here…

Play-Fi Home Theater for Soundbars

Support for wireless surround sound has been added to the latest generation of Play-Fi soundbars, speakers and subwoofers. You can create a wireless home theater using multiple Play-Fi products as the cornerstone of your system. TYou can add up to two subwoofers and optional rear satellites or amplifiers for surround sound with support up to 7.2.4.

Play-Fi Home Theater for TVs Enhancements

Available beginning with 2022 TV models, Play-Fi Home Theater for TVs will allow Play-Fi speakers or amplifiers to be used either as stereo pairs with the TV, or alternatively to be used as left and right speakers with the TV serving as the center channel for a surround sound system. This functionality augments existing home theater functionality enabled in 2021 TVs including: Using the TV’s built-in speakers as the front channels of a surround system or upgrading them with a Play-Fi enabled soundbar to improve audio quality without wiring between TVs and external speakers or electronics. Select Philips TVs will be first to launch with these features.

New and Recently Launched Play-Fi Products

New products continue to launch featuring DTS Play-Fi in 2022 and more products are on the way. Products that have launched or are launching soon include:

• Audiolab Omnia Streaming Amplifier
• Hisense AX2106GW 2.1 Soundbar
• Hisense U5120GW 5.1.2 Soundbar
• Integra DRX-2.4, DRX-3.4, DRX-5.4 AVRs
• Loewe klang bar5 mr 5.1.2 Soundbar
• Loewe klang mr1, mr3, and mr5 Speakers
• Onkyo TX-NR5100, TX-NR6050, TX-NR6100, TX-NR7100, and TX-RZ50 AVRs
• Full 2022 range Philips Ambilight TVs running on Android TV
• Philips Fidelio FB1 7.1.2 Soundbar
• Philips Fidelio FW1 Subwoofer
• Philips Fidelio FS1 Speaker
• Philips B8907 Soundbar
• Philips B8507 Soundbar
• Pioneer VSX-LX105, VSX-LX305, VSX-LX505 AVRs
• SVS Prime Wireless Pro Powered Speakers
• SVS Prime Wireless Pro Streaming Amplifier

Products that Support Play-Fi Surround

There are two elements of product required for Play-Fi Surround. They are the concepts of the Master and its Surrounds. In order to have Play-Fi Surround, you need at least one product that can be the Master, and you need two to act in Surround as Left and Right respectively. Any Play-Fi product can act as Surround Left or Right, but the Master has special requirements, and is limited to select products.

The latest DTS Play-Fi soundbars will allow you to create configurations up to 7.2.4—complete with height channels for Dolby Atmos—simply by adding more Wi-Fi-connected Play-Fi speakers.

8K TV has been getting a lot of hype, especially from Samsung, but the latest numbers show that consumers aren’t taking the bait. Full article here…

According to a recent report from Omdia research only 350,000 8K TVs were shipped to dealers worldwide in 2021, which amounts to only 1.5% of total TV shipments. With Samsung offering the most models, 65% of the 250,000 were from them. What is interesting is that according to the report, Samsung didn’t ship any 8K TVs to Japan. What makes this significant is that Japan is the only country that actually offers 8K TV broadcasts on a limited basis.  

By the end of 2022, the number of 8K TV households is expected to break down as follows:

REGION NUMBER OF 8K TV HOUSEHOLDS

Western Europe 305,000

North America 269,000

China 244,000

Asia and Oceania 121,000

Eastern Europe 115,000

Japan 48,000

Latin America and the Caribbean 43,000

The Middle East and Africa 37,000

World Total 1,181,000

The following factors affect 8K TV Adoption:

• Although almost all TVs on store shelves 43-inches and larger are 4K UHD TVs, there are still millions of consumers that own 1080p Full HD sets and most of the content they are watching is HD and not even 4K. 
• Although 8K TVs work with content sources currently available and perform upscaling of 4K content, to take full advantage of an 8K TV you need access to content that has been made in native 8K. To date, there is very little content to justify the purchase of an 8K TV.
• Even though 8K TVs offer more pixels per inch, it’s nearly impossible to notice an improvement in picture quality unless seated within a few feet from the screen. Our eyes simply can’t resolve 8K resolution at a real world seating distances.
• In terms of streaming in 8K only YouTube, Vimeo, and a few other apps offer any 8K content and it is very limited. To stream 8K you need upwards of 50 Mbps or higher broadband speed.
• There is no 8K TV broadcasting (except in Japan as mentioned previously). The ability to broadcast in 4K is still slowly being rolled out in the U.S. 8K TV broadcasting is a long way off. 
• Movie and TV studios don’t have an end-to-end 8K production and distribution capability of any consequence. Also, movie theater projectors currently in use are either 2K or 4K. This means that there is no incentive to make movies in 8K. 
• It has been indicated that the current UHD Blu-ray Disc format will be the last disc-based format available. There are no plans to make an 8K disc format available to consumers.
• Although some PC and console gaming platforms are starting to include 8K gaming capability, there aren’t a significant number of 8K games being released.