CyberPowerPC’s recent introduction of an Oculus-ready virtual-reality PC powered by an Advanced Micro Devices FX processor and Radeon GPU “brings the cost of entry for VR-ready systems down to $500 for the first time,” AMD CEO Lisa Su said on a Thursday earnings call. “This is a meaningful milestone for consumers and I am excited that AMD is enabling the ecosystem and driving broader adoption of VR by making premium experiences available at such an attractive price point.”

AV retailer Video & Audio Center has a 65 percent attach rate for Ultra HD Blu-ray players with the purchase of 4K TVs, Corporate Director Tom Campbell told us last week at a Home Technology Specialists of America event in Chicago. Campbell credited affordable pricing for Samsung’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the first to market, and “the way we demo” TVs using 4K Blu-ray rather than 4K streaming content. Video & Audio Center now is selling software to show off 4K resolution and high dynamic range “that you can’t get through streaming,” Campbell said. He noted recent synergy between the electronics industry and studios, with Twentieth Century Fox President and Digital Entertainment Group Chairman Mike Dunn also being a member of the CTA executive board and Starz Chief Strategy Officer John Penney a CTA board trustee: That's leading to a unified effort between the camps, something that hasn't always been the case. About a fifth of the marketing real estate on Ultra HD Blu-ray titles Lucy from Comcast's Universal and Fox’s The Martian is devoted to technology, said Campbell.

Spotify is now available on Samsung 2015 and 2016 smart TVs, said the music streamer in a blog post Thursday. Spotify Free and Premium users have access to the provider’s 30 million songs on Samsung TVs and can control music around the house using the Spotify Connect app on a mobile phone, tablet or desktop PC, it said.

The FCC should extend a waiver of accessibility requirements for videogame software until January 2018, the Entertainment Software Association said in a petition posted Wednesday in docket 10-213. The waiver of the advanced communication systems requirements of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act is to expire in 2016 (see 1509170006) and was granted in 2012. Without the waiver, ESA said members would have to make their products accessible to those with disabilities. Extending the waiver is in the public interest, ESA said; it would allow industry to continue to work on developing accessibility technology, ESA said.

Third-party set-top box makers should be bound only by the same privacy rules that govern multichannel video programming distributors for data that “is derived exclusively from the MVPD data stream,” said Microsoft officials in a call with aides to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Chief Technologist Scott Jordan Thursday, said an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 16-42. “Overbroad application of the certification requirement would interfere with the collection and use of data to support other legitimate functions of multi-use devices, including operations to maintain the security of the device.” If third-party box makers are bound by the MVPD privacy rules' notice requirement, they should be allowed to provide that notice online, since unlike MVPDs, they don't send customers monthly bills, Microsoft said. A draft set-top box order is circulating but may not be OK'd by commissioners soon (see 1610180052).

Broadcaster adoption of ATSC 3.0 would raise “numerous complicated technical and practical issues for cable operators” (see 1605270054), NCTA said in a meeting Thursday with FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake and Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp, according to an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 16-142. An NPRM on ATSC 3.0 should seek comment on minimizing the costs of the transition for cable operators and their customers, NCTA said. “Cable operators should not be required to carry any ATSC 3.0 signal during this transition," and the FCC in any NPRM "should ensure that those broadcasters that opt to transmit an ATSC 3.0 signal continue to provide a good quality ATSC 1.0 signal to the cable headend,” NCTA said. The FCC, not individual broadcasters, should determine when the ATSC 3.0 transition period ends, NCTA said. NAB didn't comment right away Tuesday.

Pandora redesigned its Artist Marketing Platform to simplify how artists expand an audience, track progress and connect with fans, it said in a Monday news release. With a messaging app, artists can record a short audio message, customize the message with images or calls to action, set it to play before or after a specific track and geo-target fans by market, it said.

Comcast and Liberman Broadcasting agreed to not argue in their carriage fight that any complaints should be dismissed due to the expiration of a statute of limitations. In a tolling agreement effective Sept. 21 and posted Monday in FCC docket 16-121, the two agree the statute of limitations is on pause from that date to 30 days after the Media Bureau rules on Liberman's petition for reconsideration of the bureau's Aug. 26 dismissal of the broadcaster's carriage complaint (see 1609260049). The tolling agreement also says Liberman or its affiliates may file additional, related complaints against the cable company, but it won't do so during the tolling period.

Netflix is giving up for now trying to expand its service into China because “the regulatory environment for foreign digital content services in China has become challenging,” the company said Monday in its quarterly letter to shareholders. “We now plan to license content to existing online service providers in China rather than operate our own service in China in the near term. We expect revenue from this licensing will be modest. We still have a long term desire to serve the Chinese people directly, and hope to launch our service in China eventually." In Q3, quarterly global streaming revenue at Netflix exceeded $2 billion for the first time, the company said. Netflix estimated 40 percent of its Q3 streaming revenue was “generated abroad.” The company is now in the fourth year of its “original content strategy” and is “pleased with our progress,” it said. Netflix plans to release more than 1,000 hours of “premium original programming” in 2017, up from over 600 hours this year, it said. The internet “allows us to reach audiences all over the world and, with a growing base of over 86 million members, there’s a large appetite for entertainment and a diversity of tastes to satisfy,” it said. Netflix faces “immense competition for consumer screen time,” the letter said. “Our challenge is to continue to improve our service and content so that we better meet consumer desires. Total screen time is quite large and growing as technology and content improve globally.” In after-hours trading Monday, Netflix shares jumped 20 percent to $119.39, presumably because Q3 subscriber additions exceeded forecasts in the U.S. and internationally.

CTA hails the Nevada Senate’s approval of a proposal to fund the “expansion and modernization” of the Las Vegas Convention Center (see 1605010002), said Karen Chupka, senior vice president-CES and corporate business strategy, in a statement. “This critical investment will help us grow CES,” with expected completion of the project in 2023, Chupka said. The measure now moves to the Nevada Assembly, where members are urged “to act quickly to approve this important project,” she said.