Amazon has introduced a new infrared device, designed to extend Alexa voice control to TVs, sound bars, cable boxes and A/V receivers.

Retailing for $34.99 when it ships Dec. 11, the Fire TV Blaster is designed to work with an Amazon Echo smart speaker and a compatible Fire TV streaming device, such as a Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Control, Fire TV Stick 4K or third-generation Fire TV.

Using the Fire TV Blaster, users can use Alexa voice to, among other things, turn on their TV, adjust volume and switch inputs. They can also select what channel they want to tune into.

As Amazon explained it, a user with the right three-Amazon-device configuration can tell their Echo, “Amazon, play Jack Ryan on Fire TV,” and the system will turn on the TV and fire up the Amazon Prime original show.

“The complexity of television right now is hard for people to manage. The best way to get at that is with voice,” said Sandeep Gupta, vice president of Fire TV devices experiences, speaking Tuesday at the Streaming Media West Conference in Downtown Los Angeles. “Just being able to say the title of a show is much easier way to do that. Voice just kind of resonates with customers.” 

Amazon is reportedly in development on a networked DVR that would compliment its Fire TV OTT device by offering the ability to record live TV.

Citing an unnamed source familiar with Amazon’s plan, Bloomberg said the online retail giant is developing the device within the confines of its Lab 126 R&D center—the unit that developed Fire TV, as well as the Echo product line. Bloomberg said the DVR project has been dubbed “Frank.” Amazon is not confirming the project at this point.

Related: Amazon Unleashes the Fire TV Cube

According to the report, the DVR would connect to a user’s Wi-Fi network (and not directly to a TV, as is the case with traditional DVRs).

“Frank” would record live-streamed video, and users would access that video over Wi-Fi, using OTT devices like Fire TV, connected smart TVs, laptop computers, tablets and smart phones.

The report did not make clear as to whether the device would merely record over-the-air broadcast channels, or live-streamed content from Amazon Channels, as well.

Bloomberg tied a 10% drop in TiVo’s stock price Friday to the Amazon leak. However, as TiVo exits the hardware business, Variety noted that the Frank sounds more like networked DVR devices made by Tablo

The Bloomberg report said that Amazon also plans to update its Fire TV stick with new software.

Fire TV over-the-top devices have been hot sellers for Amazon, allowing the company to effectively execute its strategy of using video services to expose customers to its broader retail environment. 

Home tech enthusiasts cite "peace of mind" as the main reason to invest in smart home technology.

That is according to a new Scripps Networks Interactive survey of 612 homeowners; the study also found that homeowners are often wooed to smart home tech via a gift.

Scripps said personal recommendations are the top driver of home tech buy, and that getting a tech gift "feels" like a recommendation from a friend.

The survey, drawn from Scripps's panel of self-described "home enthusiasts," was conducted in October 2017.

Almost three quarters of respondents said they "love" having the latest and greatest in home tech, like the Amazon Echo or devices from Nest. An equal percentage said they thought that home tech made them better parents.

A Nest for the New Nest
The survey found that three "life events" help prompt connected home purchases: home renovations, moving into a new home and a boost in household income.

But while homeowners want all that new gear, they don't want it advertising itself. One of the draws of the devices is that they are seamless and thus somewhat "forgettable ... in that physically and psychologically unobtrusive devices allow the household to operate in a focused and balanced manner, free of technological complication," a Scripps spokesperson said.

Demand for smart home tech is lower in the kitchen, however; there it is considered a "nice-to-have" rather than a must-have. More than a third of respondents said they were not interested in connected kitchen appliances and did not see much utility beyond the "gee whiz" factor.

The global smart home device market will increase to $31.4 billion in 2018 from $27.5 billion in 2017, and will almost double by 2022 to more than $53 billion, according to data aggregator Statistica.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has taken aim at a new Mattel AI toy, Aristotle, calling it a data-collecting and marketing intruder.

The device, which is described as alternately, a smart baby monitor (it has "cry detection" technology), high-tech electronic assistant and an Amazon Echo for kids, has a camera and microphone and generated buzz when it was introduced by Mattel's nabi division at the year's CES show in Las Vegas.

Mattel says that "child development/parenting advice, learning, music entertainment, books and games content [from third parties including iHeart Radio] can be instantly accessed through the Aristotle hub and corresponding Aristotle app."

"In order to work, Aristotle collects and stores data about a child’s activity and interactions within range of the device," says CCFC. "Because Aristotle connects to other apps and online retailers, that data can be shared with those partner corporations, who in turn can use it to target the marketing of other products to a child or her family."

CCFC is hosting a petition to try to get Mattel to pull the plug on the device. Among their concerns is that the toy could interfere with the responding and bonding that are crucial to the parent/child relationship.

"Many of the country’s leading experts on child development and health concur that Mattel’s Aristotle product is a digital “Trojan Horse” that threatens their well-being," said Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester. "Mattel should not be trying to creep into the room where a child sleeps in order to spy on them and generate revenues. This product should not enter the marketplace."

Mattel said on the Aristotle Web site that all the data is encrypted and that it is in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

At press time, a Mattel spokesperson had not returned a request for comment on the petition.

Entertainment consulting firm Accenture has been conducting its digital consumers survey for about a decade, but its 2017 edition was the first to include questions around artificial intelligence and technology. And the results were surprising to the company.

“There’s pretty intense interest in AI this year, and a year ago there wasn’t anyone talking about it,” said Charles Hartley, Accenture’s global media and analyst relations manager for communications, media and high-tech businesses. “Consumers aren’t intimidated by it at all, apparently. It’s a sobering message to human beings.”

The survey, which interviewed just under 26,000 consumers across 26 countries, found that 62% of people are comfortable with AI apps — like Amazon’s Alexa — responding to voice queries, even though only 4% of people actually eda standalone, digital, voice-enabled device (like the Amazon Echo or Google Home) at the end of 2016.

Nearly 90% of respondents said AI simply makes it easier to do things, and a third said they’re interested in using voice-enabled digital assistants available in smartphones.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

The NBC Owned Television Stations have launched local news updates on Alexa-enabled devices like the Amazon Echo, becoming the first station group to move into the space.

The O&Os are providing the updates on the voice-enabled platform via Flash Briefings – pre-recorded reports from broadcasters that, until now, have included more far-reaching outlets like NPR and BBC News, the company said.

The news updates -- usually four top stories -- are approximately 90 seconds long. They are updated throughout the day, the group said. 

Consumers must opt in to get the updates; to access them, users just say, "Alexa, what's the news?"

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.