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LG’s Highly Unique ‘Rollable’ 4K OLED TV Finally Rolls into the U.S. Market

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LG OLED R
Courtesy of LG SIGNATURE

I first told you about the remarkable new form factor for OLED TVs back in 2019 when LG showed a rollable OLED technology concept (along with a separate bendable OLED technology as well). It was an interesting concept and resembles a simple sideboard cabinet in which the screen rolls up out of the cabinet like a motorized shade – only rolling up. LG had shown it more as a concept piece back at the 2019 CES – a demonstration of the technology, but not a real product at that time.

Now, rollable OLED TV is for real.

See more on the remarkable LG rollable 4K OLED TV…

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Sputtering Supply Chain Hit Again – Surge of COVID in Vietnam Closes Factories

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COVID surge in Vietnam is causing global supply chain issues

Brands Like Apple, Samsung, Nike & Adidas Have Been Forced to Close

In a new hit to the supply chain, top brands report that they have been forced to close down factories in Vietnam as the country struggles with a COVID resurgence of surprising resiliency. Notable brand names like Samsung, Nike, Adidas, Apple, Coca-Cola have all at one time or another over the last 90-days been forced to close some or all of their factories as employees came down with the illness.

See more on this new supply chain disruption…

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The New West Coast Experience Center for Savant? A Stunner…

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Savant's new West Coast Experience Center

Nestled in the hills over the Nevada plains, not far from the bright lights of Las Vegas, Savant Systems partnered with design-led development firm Blue Heron and integrator Eagle Sentry to create what they call their West Coast Experience Center – otherwise known as a stunning residential home showcasing a million dollars worth of Savant technology (as well as a few technology partners). The ultra-modern home, clearly destined for an ultra-rich niche, featured a design that was – to my eyes – just stunning…and the installation is a true testament to Savant’s theory that installed AV should be “hidden in plain sight.”

You’re going to want to see Savant’s new West Coast Experience Center…

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Crestron CEO Randy Klein Announces His Retirement

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Photo of Randy Klein, Crestron President and CEO

Crestron Electronics announced on Friday that long-time company President and CEO Randy Klein will retire from the company “later this year.” The news was a bit of a surprise and the company said that Crestron Chairman and COO Dan Feldstein – son of company founder George Feldstein – will assume the role of President and CEO after Klein retires.

See more on this changing of the guard at Crestron

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Crestron Home is Center of Attention in a Pair of New Partnerships

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A Crestron Home controlled Somfy pergola
A Somfy motorized pergola controlled by Crestron Home

Somfy and Josh.ai Say Dealers Demanded They Partner with Crestron Home

Ever since Crestron launched Crestron Home it became obvious that there had been a sea change in the company’s go-forward strategy. The new Home operating system was easier to program and deploy, more visually attractive for end-users, and more clearly differentiated from their more robust high-end programming solutions. But also, the company’s style of operation changed as well, from doing it all in-house to opening itself up to partnerships.

Now we learn of two more in a long line of technology partnerships as the company continues to evolve and propel Crestron Home down the path to becoming the dominant smart home OS in the industry. The new partnerships are with Josh.ai and Somfy, both well-regarded technology players in the custom integration channel.

See more on the new Crestron, Josh.ai, and Somfy partnerships

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LG Hits All-New Record in Preliminary Fiscal 2021 2nd Quarter Results

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LG show display
LG OLED Wave from a past trade show exhibit

LG Electronics Inc (LG) released preliminary results for their fiscal 2021 second quarter, and they were an eye-opener. In fact, even in the wake of their surprising decision to exit the smartphone business, the company says they booked an all-new record in the quarter.

See the LG 2nd quarter results…

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Voxx Announces Final Deal to Acquire Onkyo, with a Twist

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onkyo portable record player

Voxx International has announced that they have finalized their agreement to partner with Sharp Corporation to acquire the Home Entertainment Division of Onkyo – news that Strata-gee readers knew about last week. The news comes as a result of Onkyo shareholders voting last Friday to approve the sale of the company to Voxx’s subsidiary known as the Premium Audio Company. Not much was new here on the Onkyo front, as we already told you about the deal only covering the Onkyo and Integra brands. However, we did learn some more interesting details on the company’s attempts relative to the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite brands.

See what’s happening with Voxx, Onkyo & Pioneer

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End of an Era: Onkyo Shareholders Vote to Sell Off Home Entertainment Division

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Photo of Onkyo Atmos models at CE Week
Onkyo Atmos-ready AV models at a past CE Week [Click to enlarge]

BREAKING NEWS

In a rather terse announcement to investors posted today, Onkyo Home Entertainment Company, Ltd. announced that, by a majority vote of company shareholders, the sale of the company’s Home Entertainment Division to Voxx International has been approved. This vote of approval was widely anticipated and represents the last formality in the transfer of the company over to Voxx. This is the first time since 1945 that Onkyo’s parent company is no longer involved in the home entertainment business.

See more on this end of an Onkyo era

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ISE 2021 ‘Heralds’ Getting the Industry ‘Back to Business,’ But Did They?

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In a press release distributed Wednesday morning, Integrated Systems Events (part of Integrated Systems Europe) announced the conclusion of their annual ISE event, this year in Barcelona, Spain for the first time on June 1-2. It was a hybrid-style event, offering an online or virtual conference as well as an in-person event with exhibitors in the Fira de Barcelona exhibition center. The organizers heralded the event as helping “the industry getting back to business.”

But how successful was the ISE this year? See more…

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VOXX Finally Speaks: We Have an Agreement to Purchase Only Onkyo

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onkyo logo

Well after much coverage on the VOXX/Onkyo deal by Strata-gee, in which VOXX remained strangely silent, the company finally issued a press release today in which they acknowledged that they had signed an asset purchase agreement (APA) with Onkyo for $30.8 million. The deal remains subject to approval by Onkyo shareholders in a vote scheduled to take place on June 25, 2021.

This news was likely not a surprise to Strata-gee readers. But what was a surprise is that this purchase does NOT include the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite brands.

See more on the latest news out of VOXX about Onkyo

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