Smart TV viewership data collected by way of Gracenote automatic content recognition (ACR) is one of several signals that goes into the calculation of the company’s Video Popularity Score metric, emailed a Gracenote spokesperson Thursday to our question on data privacy. Gracenote announced Video Popularity Score Wednesday (see 1906190052) to help customers deliver discovery experiences where viewers are “connected to the movies and TV shows they want with the least amount of friction." Viewership is measured through a proprietary algorithm that analyzes consumption data covering linear TV, VOD and over-the-top from Nielsen Total Content Ratings, movie box office data from Gracenote and additional raw data from third-party sources, said the company. Awareness is calculated based on social media conversation measurement from Nielsen Social Content Ratings combined with engagement data from outside sources. The spokesperson told us viewing information is “fully anonymized and cannot be linked to Personally Identifiable Information. As with all ACR implementations on Smart TVs, users must opt in to privacy policies during the set-up process to enable the functionality,” he said. Users can activate or deactivate ACR “at any time,” he said.

A new feature for Comcast cable customers allows eye control via the X1 remote, said the company Monday. That lets people with physical disabilities control basic TV functions with eye gazes. "Changing the channel on a TV is something most of us take for granted but until now, it was a near-impossible task for millions,” said Tom Wlodkowski, vice president-accessibility. X1 eye control is free and uses a web page remote control available to subscribers with login credentials. The feature works with existing eye gaze hardware and software, sip-and-puff switches and other assistive technologies, it said. To make eye control work, customers go to xfin.tv/access and use their credentials to pair the web-based remote with their set-top-box. After that, each time the customer gazes at a button, the web-based remote sends the corresponding command to the television, it said. Control examples include changing channels, launching the guide, searching for content, and setting a recording. Viewers can use a gaze to type out voice commands such as “watch NBC” or “action movies” via the X1, it said.

CommScope closed Friday down 3 percent at $15.90 after Raymond James analyst Frank Louthan downgraded it to "outperform," citing expectations Arris will do worse than expected. Commscope closed on its $7.4 billion Arris buy in April (see 1904040054). Louthan said the evolution of cable networks toward virtualized architectures, which began years ago, is hitting an inflection point, while Arris "has been slow to embrace the transition" even as it expects to put out a virtual product. Commscope didn't comment.

Westinghouse announced pricing updates on its Roku-powered TVs Friday, starting at $169 for a 32-inch 1080p HD model. 4K TV models begin at $299 for a 43-inch set. Additional 4K models are 50- ($329), 55- ($399), and 65 inches ($579) with additional models “coming soon,” said the company. Customers can control the TVs with a Roku TV remote or with a Roku app on their smartphone. The Westinghouse Roku TVs are available from Target, Best Buy, Micro Center, HSN and QVC, the company said.

AT&T said it’s exploring with Uber how LTE and “eventually” 5G can enhance electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles and cargo drones. “Multi-phase collaboration plans to bring together AT&T’s outstanding 4G and industry-leading 5G expertise with Elevate, Uber’s air mobility business unit, to support advanced technologies eventually enabling aerial ridesharing and cargo delivery applications,” AT&T said Tuesday.

Apple recalled three-prong AC wall-plug adapters included in Apple World Travel Adapter kits sold before February 2015, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission Wednesday. The adapters were also sold with Mac computers and iOS devices. Apple has received six reports from other countries of wall-plug adapters breaking and consumers incurring shocks, including reports of two consumers who required medical attention, it said. No reports of incidents or injuries were reported by U.S. consumers. The kits include three- and two-prong plug adapters for different electrical outlets worldwide, with the recalled adapters made for use primarily in the U.K., Singapore and Hong Kong. The recalled three-prong AC wall plug adapters are white with no letters on the inside slot where it attaches to an Apple power adapter; redesigned adapters are white with gray on the inside portion that attaches to the power adapter, said CPSC. The kits were sold at Apple stores, apple.com and other home electronics stores nationwide January 2003-January 2015 for about $30. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled wall plug adapters and contact Apple for free replacements, it said.

Target recalled 3-foot Lightning USB charging cables under its exclusive private-label Heyday electronics brand after 14 reports of the cables smoking, sparking or igniting, including two reports of consumer finger burns, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission Wednesday. Metal around the cord can be electrically charged if it contacts the USB wall charger plug prongs while charging, posing shock and fire hazards, said CPSC. The recall covers about 90,000 units sold at Target stores nationwide and online from June 2018 through January 2019 for about $15. Consumers should stop using the product and return the recalled cable to a Target store for a full refund, the agency said.

Apple quietly rolled out a new generation of iPod touch Tuesday starting at $199 for a 32 GB model. Based on the Apple-designed A10 Fusion chip, the device is positioned as a music playback and gaming handheld offering “immersive augmented reality experiences” and Group FaceTime. The company pushed its “three time faster” graphics performance that will enable smoother operation for games, including those available from its Apple Arcade game subscription service due in fall. Additional models include a 128 GB version ($299) and 256 GB model ($399), Apple said.

Having combined the consumer electronics and professional businesses into a single Electronics Products & Solutions reporting segment April 1, Sony is “optimizing our business structure and enhancing efficiency” by “revitalizing the movement of human capital across businesses,” CEO Kenichiro Yoshida told the company’s annual corporate strategy meeting Tuesday in Tokyo. “We are also nurturing new businesses that leverage Sony’s technology, such as medical and robotics.” The new sector’s “mission” is to continue creating “products that bring to life all of the creativity and expressiveness of artists such as movie directors and professional cameramen,” he said. “The mission is also to create consumer products that leverage the technology that these professional artists have demanded from Sony.”

OLED materials supplier Universal Display isn't disclosing “the size of the fund” new subsidiary UDC Ventures will have at its disposal to invest in technology startups and entrepreneurs (see 1905090004), emailed spokesperson Darice Liu Friday. “Universal Display’s balance sheet is robust and we expect to use some of the cash for investment opportunities,” she said. The company reported $225.05 million in cash on hand and $968.19 million in total assets as of March 31.