Tech Roundup

Hundreds of thousands of Floridians still don't have reliable access to TV, or the internet. Access to the radio is essential. It's why Tronc's Fort Lauderdale-based daily, the Sun Sentinel, on Friday published an impassioned editorial pleading Apple to turn on its FM chips across its iPhone products. The editorial hit a nerve with not only NAB EVP/Communications Dennis Wharton, but also the radio industry leader behind the NextRadio app—Jeff Smulyan. We've got an RBR+TVBR Observation on the topic.

Artificial intelligence as a tool for broadcast media's sales teams is gaining attention not only from the C-Suites of TV and radio companies, but from Wall Street. Thanks to some positive press and key partnerships, Veritone stock has dramatically soared in just the last five days. With company executives in Amsterdam for IBC2017, their return to the U.S. should be a giddy one. They can thank Dalet, Barron's, and financial house Jeffries.

Ooyala has just released its Q2 2017 Global Video Index, and there's a glimmer of hope for broadcast radio and TV C-Suiters intent on scraping away at some of those digital ad dollars: Mobile video plays have plateaued after 22 quarters of strong growth, increasing just over 1% since Q1 this year.

Does the potential impact on AM and FM radio listening in the self-driving car worry you? Better grab the Mylanta: a new study finds that more than half of the respondents in a recently conducted study would buy an autonomous car for their next car purchase.

It's been a banner September on Wall Street for Newport Beach, Calif., based Veritone Inc., which is bringing radio and TV broadcasters the power of using artificial intelligence to expand advertising opportunities through audio and visual cognition software. On Tuesday things got even bigger, thanks to a partnership with Wazee Digital on media asset management tools.

An operational ATSC 3.0 test station is being established in Cleveland, and Tribune Media's WJW-TV is leading its launch. But, it is not alone in its creation, and the NAB and Consumer Technology Association (CTA) are each playing significant roles with the test station's development. Now, Triveni Digital is joining as a collaborator.

An individual who most recently served as a consultant for such companies as Rightsline, TabletTV, and Mercy Neutraceuticals has been appointed VP of Worldwide Sales for a technology firm best-known for providing digital media content solutions to broadcast media.

Artel Video Systems, a world-class provider of innovative, real-time multimedia delivery solutions, has released a White Paper that delves into the topic of "hitless," or seamless, protection switching and its ability to provide long-term error correction in a live-television environment.

The nation's second-largest radio broadcasting company by number of stations has inked a licensing agreement that brings a variety of software, including one that handles traffic, across all of its AMs and FMs.  It's a big coup for this tech company, as Cumulus' begins the phase-out phase of its proprietary Stratus traffic system. Implementation is expected to begin before the end of 2017 and continue through March 2019.

The former Americas sales manager for EVS Broadcast Equipment has been selected for the role of VP/Strategic Accounts for the eastern U.S. at Burbank, Calif.-based Riedel Communications.

A top supplier of integrated video production systems for the broadcast TV market is ready to unveil a new dual SDI/IP camera interface that increases camera density for acquisition workflows using SDI PTZ cameras.

Will the stuff of science fiction swiftly become the reality for car drivers across the U.S. who purchase a vehicle with a next-generation dashboard? That question — and how the "connected car" will impact the radio broadcasting industry — was one of the first to be addressed at the 2017 Radio Show, the annual conference produced by the NAB and RAB that began in Texas's state capital on Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks to what is being billed as "major enhancements" to a widely used radio industry tech platform, customized production can now be pushed to an on-air automation system from any device, fully programmed.

To mark 100 years of "outstanding innovation and technological leadership," pro camera equipment brand Gitzo, from Manfrotto, has hit the market with a variety of top-of-the-line products, including the Gitzo Century Camera Bag Collection.

A recently finalized transaction completed by mulitmedia delivery solutions firm Artel Video Systems has given the company "selected intellectual property" from the company responsible for the Quarra 1G and 10G IP Switch family.