Rebecca Day

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Italy-based Nice, which bought Nortek Control a year ago for $285 million (see 2110050066), completed the transition Wednesday, announcing it retired the Nortek brand name and is now Nice North America. The company is integrating residential smart home brands including Elan, SpeakerCraft and Panamax under the Nice brand, a process it expects to complete by the end of 2023.

Imax bought video optimization company Ssimwave for $18.5 million in cash and $2.5 million in stock, plus an additional earnout consideration of $4 million based on financial objectives, it announced Thursday. Ssimwave’s 30-person engineering team “has mapped the human visual system to produce one of the most accurate measures of perceptual quality,” driven by its AI-based software that enhances video streams and files in real time, Imax said. With the rise in demand for higher resolution video for 4K, 8K, virtual and augmented reality, and gaming, filmmakers and creators are looking for systems that ensure the fidelity and quality of their work on screen, Imax said. Near term, Imax will work with Ssimwave to grow its business and product offerings, including internationally; long term, Imax’s technology and post-production teams will work with Ssimwave’s engineers to develop solutions for “Imax-quality video experiences” globally, it said. The acquisition builds on Imax Enhanced, the company’s platform for streaming entertainment. Rosenblatt Securities analyst Steven Frankel applauded the acquisition in a Thursday investor note, saying it "expands the company’s reach, building deeper relationships with potential streaming partners and provides solutions that can help both existing efforts in the legacy business and the nascent live events business."

Piracy is a double-edged issue for the video streaming industry, leading to lost revenue and other concerns but also being a form of marketing, panelists said on Parks Associates’ virtual Future of Video event Thursday.

Holiday retail battles have begun, with Target and Walmart breaking out price and return guarantees, extended payment options and savings promises for an extended promotional run starting the first week of October. The retailers are also competing for tens of thousands of workers -- with a focus on delivery drivers -- with wage and benefits enticements.

Energy management products, luxury loudspeakers, connected devices and dealer tools are among the products exhibitors will showcase next week at CEDIA Expo, Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Dallas.

Bowers & Wilkins updated its mid-tier 700 Series loudspeaker line Wednesday, focusing on design, upgraded drivers and a new downfiring port in the flagship model. The result of the three-year makeover is an eight-model series that includes three floor-standing, three stand-mount and two center-channel speakers. Four models have the company's tweeter-on-top design.

Xperi hopes to capitalize on consumer streaming subscription fatigue, said Geir Skaaden, chief products and services officer, on the company’s Tuesday virtual Investor Day. The event outlined how Xperi and licensing company Adeia plan to go forward following their planned spinoff, due to happen Oct. 1 (see 2209080029).

Sound United parent Masimo tapped Blair Tripodi as chief operating officer of its consumer division, it said Monday. Tripodi, who joined Sound United in 2013, was most recently chief commercial officer. He will report to Masimo CEO Joe Kiani, after Kevin Duffy, president of Masimo's consumer division, left the medical technology company last month (see 2208100023), in what Kiani said then “wasn’t a good fit for either Kevin or us.” In August, Kiani praised Masimo COO Bilal Muhsin as “as an “incredible supply chain and operations leader,” and extolled the engineering team: “We obviously are going to do our best to keep everyone that we really think we need for the journey.” The combined companies have been “moving at full speed to create many new consumer health products” via collaborative R&D efforts, Kiani said then. Masimo didn’t respond to questions about Muhsin’s status with the company.

Voxx launched a new e-commerce platform, rolling it out first through its Premium Audio Co. subsidiary, it said Monday. The company has been looking “at all aspects of its consumer-facing assets to improve the customer experience” and move to a more “user-friendly platform” designed to improve visibility, data aggregation and support functions, it said.

Silicon Labs unveiled four products in its Series 2 line at its virtual Works With Developer Conference Tuesday, including one supporting the cross-protocol Matter smart home connectivity standard, which the company expects to be released this fall after several delays. Plans for Matter were first announced in December 2019, with plans to release the standard in a year.