Peacock incorporates Dolby picture and sound technology
Peacock is incorporating Dolby picture and sound technology to enhance the quality of live sports including NBA, MLB, NFL Sunday Night Football, and the FIFA men’s World Cup. Dolby Vision and Atmos will be introduced later this year with the plan to upgrade to Vision 2 and AC-4. Viewers will experience more vibrant and balanced colors, enhanced sound, and clearer dialogue, with minimal background noise. Commentary and crowd noise will be turned up as needed for an immersive experience. Peacock is the first streaming service to incorporate Dolby's full suite of products.
The Circana Take:
- Staying current with premium technology is important to the videophile and provides a top-notch experience.
- Sports is the perfect launch pad as the viewer can tweak the broadcast to tailor the experience, like turning up or down the crowd noise.
DirecTV launched streaming service for small businesses
DirecTV launched a new streaming service for small businesses, with plans to expand the offering to larger businesses soon. The service offers a quick, self-install option for small businesses that have a high-speed broadband connection. It includes access to 140 FAST channels including live and on-demand content from ABC and The Walt Disney Co., CBS and Paramount, NBC and NBCUniversal, Fox and Fox Corp., Warner Bros. Discovery, AMC Networks, A+E Networks, the NBA, FOX Sports, and more. This follows the recent launch of streaming for hospitality businesses. Along with Google, DirecTV is offering streaming access to hotels by incorporating Google TV’s business-to-business version of the Android TV operating system into DirecTV’s platform, with full launch scheduled this year.
The Circana Take:
- Sports content delivery for small businesses such as hotels, bars, and restaurants has seen substantial growth lately. DirecTV is expanding its streaming business from consumer households to commercial to increase profitability in this growing segment.
Amazon upgrades
Amazon will be debuting a major UI upgrade to Fire TV in February. The company is also gearing up for the release of a new Fire TV mobile app and introducing a lifestyle TV called the Amazon Ember Artline.
The new UI displays movies, TV shows, sports, news, and live content across all your apps, so all titles will appear on the page. The UI will feature improved aesthetics such as rounded corners, redesigned color grades, updated fonts, improved spacing and a faster overall experience. The Menu button on the Fire TV remote gives easier and quicker access to Games, Art & Photos, and users will be able to pin 20 apps up from six.
The new Fire TV mobile app will enable users to browse content, manage watchlist, and play content on the TV, with the new and improved Fire TV design. Users can also use their phone as an additional screen to find and add content to their watchlist.
Lastly, Amazon will introduce its new lifestyle TV, Amazon Ember Artline which is a 4K QLED TV designed to hang on the wall like artwork. It is their thinnest TV to date at just 1.5 inches deep and will be available in ten different frame colors. The TVs have a matte screen and will be available in 55- or 65-inch screen sizes, starting at $899. Customers can use the Ambient features, which include displaying art when the TV is not in use. Fire TV has over 2,000 pieces of free art, or you can use your own photos.
The Circana Take:
- Companies are relying more on UI upgrades to boost engagement, keep users satisfied and bolster ad revenues. Given the substantial number of TV operating systems features like these become crucial.