The EPA’s determination to deny Energy Star Version 8.0 certification to TVs found to be less energy-efficient when tested “with content that reflects a variety of typical viewing experiences” (see 1703100064) without agreed-upon definitions of what that means was a sticking point among commenters on the V8.0's spec’s first draft. At issue, comments posted Monday said, is how to account for uniform testing from all TV makers when "typical viewing experiences" can mean different things to different people. The proposed testing requirement “would be very difficult to meet because there is no standardized methodology for manufacturers to determine ‘typical viewing experiences,’” commented John Godfrey, Samsung Electronics America senior vice president-public policy. “Unfortunately, there is not likely to be a new, agreed-upon test clip in time for implementation” of V8.0, wrote Dave Lamb, senior scientist in 3M’s Display Materials and Systems Division. The Natural Resources Defense Council wants EPA to “add language” to the V8.0 spec “to better define what ‘typical viewing’ experience means,” said Senior Scientist Noah Horowitz. “Adjust” downward nearly by half the agency's proposed requirement that TVs maintain at least 150 nits of brightness when viewed in a dark room with the automatic brightness control feature enabled, wrote Tony Ye, LG Electronics USA senior manager-regulatory compliance.
The FCC provided 40 records to the Columbia Journalism Review, which filed a Freedom of Information Act request for consumer complaints, submitted since Oct. 1, containing the phrase "fake news." On CJR Wednesday, Jonathan Peters wrote that 19 of the 40 records focused on "the mainstream media's reporting as a whole" or highlighted "supposedly left-leaning" organizations such as CNN and MSNBC, while five addressed Fox News. The remaining complaints were "about the National Enquirer’s presence at supermarket checkouts and the urgent need for the FCC to 'drain' Facebook’s 'swamp,'" he said. In some cases, the agency responded that it lacks jurisdiction, told people to refer the matter to the FTC, or said the FCC can't censor or restrict availability of nonbroadcast programming like CNN shown over cable and satellite systems.
Ultra HD video's main delivery will be via streaming, at least through 2020, due to "broadcaster foot-dragging and falling disc sales," nScreenMedia said in a blog post Sunday. It said UHD Blu-ray discs are selling well for now, but the long-term trajectory of disc sales is downward as more people opt for subscription VOD over ownership. It said Japan is alone in having a firm timetable for converting to UHD broadcasts, and there's no hard deadline in the U.S. for the rollout of ATSC 3.0, which includes UHD support. Also, major cable companies haven't said anything about supporting UHD in their traditional cable delivery. The firm said strong UHD TV set sales and the growing number of 25 Mbps broadband connections mean the number of people able to watch UHD is growing quickly, but people will still mostly watch HD video in 2020.
Fox warned Charter Communications subscribers of a possible programming blackout effective Monday. A TV advertisement and accompanying website list a variety of Fox channels and programs that could go dark. "We’re disappointed that despite our best efforts to reach a resolution, Charter Spectrum subscribers could lose access to multiple Fox sports and entertainment networks on April 10," Fox said on the site. Charter didn't comment Friday.
Charter Communications' declaratory judgment counterclaim against Univision is barred by documentary evidence, by the cable operator breaching their agreement and by defenses of unclean hands, lack of good faith and fair dealing, and/or equitable estoppel, the broadcaster replied Thursday in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. The counterclaim was filed in March (see 1703200027) as part of the companies' legal fight over carriage contractual terms for Charter's 2016 buy of Time Warner Cable. Charter didn't comment Friday.
Facebook and Google, dogged by claims that news hoaxes were posted unchecked over the last year (see 1703200052), acted again recently to verify the legitimacy of news shown on their sites. Google said Friday a "Fact Check" label being tested since October is now globally available in all languages. When a user does a search "that returns an authoritative result containing fact checks for one or more public claims," they will see that information on the results page, wrote Google Research Scientist Cong Yu and Jigsaw Product Manager Justin Kosslyn in a blog post. "The snippet will display information on the claim, who made the claim, and the fact check of that particular claim." For instance, the result may say the claim may be fact checked by PolitiFact or Snopes.com. The information won't be available for every search result, they wrote, and, in some cases, different publishers checking the same claim may reach different conclusions. "It’s still helpful for people to understand the degree of consensus around a particular claim and have clear information on which sources agree," they said. Adam Mosseri, Facebook vice president-News Feed, said Thursday in a blog post that a new educational tool developed with First Draft (see 1701040025) is aimed at improving people's news literacy and helping spot fake news. When users click on the tool, located at the top of the News Feed feature, they will see information and resources in the Facebook Help Center, "including tips on how to spot false news, such as checking the URL of the site, investigating the source and looking for other reports on the topic." The tool will be available for a few days to people in 14 countries, he said. Facebook has gotten a majority of the scrutiny and criticism on fake news and has taken measures to counter the spread (see 1701310068, 1612150035 and 1611210002).
The content industry runs the risk of endangering high dynamic range’s commercial success if it trumpets HDR just for technology’s sake and not as a storytelling vehicle, Harry Mathias, associate professor of film and digital cinema at San Jose State University, told an SMPTE webinar Thursday. "You can’t simply promise an audience a wild technological ride. You have to deliver the story." Too many films lately “are being sold based on their technological content,” said the veteran cinematographer in film and TV production. He isn't seeking to “throw a monkey wrench into technological advancement.” HDR “is a good thing,” said Mathias.
Documents about how other cable companies' takeovers were treated by programmers "are necessary" to mounting a defense, Charter Communications said in notices of appeal (see here, here and here) filed Wednesday in New York Supreme Court in three related cases. At issue are three March decisions by Supreme Court Judge Peter Sherwood -- who's hearing lawsuits by Fox News Network, Showtime Networks and Univision against Charter -- denying the operator's requests to compel production of programmer documents, ruling the material wasn't likely to lead to discovery of relevant or admissible evidence. The programmers are suing Charter over whether their legacy contracts with Time Warner Cable or their legacy contracts with Charter survived 2016's Charter/TWC. Counsel for the programmers didn't comment Thursday.
Cox Enterprises announced its Cox Media Technology (Comet) advertising services platform Wednesday, saying in a news release it includes real-time inventory quality checks and machine learning that simulates the performance of an impression in a live-market scenario. Comet also uses data from various Cox companies, it said.
The global music market, driven by subscription streaming, will grow by 25 percent between 2016 and 2021, but at a value “significantly lower than its peak in the early 2000s,” Futuresource reported. Consumer spending on recorded music grew 8 percent in 2016 to $19.8 billion, said Futuresource Wednesday, on track to approach $25 billion within five years, offsetting annual losses in downloads and packaged music sales. Spotify, which announced a new multiyear global license agreement with Universal Music Group Tuesday, is leading streaming music providers with 130 million users.