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The leading producer of OLED TVs gets to the bottom of TV’s staying power

As the world’s Internet penetration rate increases, many doomsday heralds predict the demise of TV. However, fast-forward to 2017, the TV is not only still around, but also better and more high-tech models are being released every year. At this rate, one cannot help but wonder: What gives TV the staying power it is enjoying today? 

TV affects society

The original philosophy behind the TV as a medium is to facilitate communication and globalization in the modern world. And as we find ourselves in a brand-new golden age of TV, no other medium does this as beautifully and as covertly as TV.

Cultural changes on a global and local scale have been fueled in one way or another by TV shows. Locally, variety shows are consistently influencing the way most Filipinos talk. And social scientists believe that teleseryes, like FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, effectively preserve and promote Filipino family values and patriotism in a society that’s bombarded by various influences from abroad. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. 

Although some may argue that smartphones, tablets, and laptops are just as good as TVs when it comes to conveying society-altering messages, the clamor for high quality media cannot be ignored. 

TV offers immersive viewing experience   

While the big screen will always have a special place in the hearts of many cineastes, in front of the silver screen is where many families find themselves bonding over the latest episode of the hottest TV series. This is why more companies, like LG Electronics, deliver products that cater to the need for an immersive at-home viewing experience.

Early this year, LG released its latest OLED TV masterpiece – the 77-inch LG Signature OLED TV – in the local market. It features Active HDR with Dolby VisionTM and Dolby AtmosTM – an explosive combination in the visual and aural sense, significantly elevating the TV experience at home. This immersive entertainment formula is the perfect solution to stay true to the award-winning work many people put in cinematic masterpieces.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Christopher Nolan said, “Sound is as important as picture. I don’t agree with the idea that you can only achieve clarity through dialogue. Clarity of story, clarity of emotions – I try to achieve that in a very layered way using all the different things at my disposal – picture and sound,” he said. 

This is why LG’s TVs and sound bars come with Dolby Atmos technology to provide immersive audio with three-dimensional, object-based surround sound. 

One of the company’s most notable sound bars is the advanced Multi-Dimensional SJ9 Surround Sound Bar. It is equipped with multiple speakers that deliver high-quality audio from every conceivable angle. 

Meanwhile, the Sound Bar Flex SJ7 brings versatility by allowing users to position its two halves anywhere they like.        

“We recognize the importance of good quality audio in delivering cinematic masterpieces to more people. We put in equal amount of effort in making our TVs and sound bars; they are designed to deliver excellent musical scores down to its last note,” said Mr. Tony An, LG Philippines Vice President for Home Entertainment. 

As long as more people demand for high quality content, TV will still be around, continuously evolving to redefine what it means to achieve a complete viewing experience.

For more information about LG’s TVs and sound bars, please visit www.lg.com/ph

Pushing the boundaries of education through digital transformation

Digital transformation is here, and it’s changing all industries, including education. Microsoft, in its constant push for innovation to empower every person and every organization to achieve more, is leading the charge in the digital transformation of education in the Philippines. 

“At Microsoft, we believe that technology alone cannot develop the future-ready skills students require. Technology is an accelerator, but alone it does not enable change. We believe in the power of schools and the impact school leadership can have when they work towards a common goal,” said Clarissa Segismundo, Microsoft Philippines Education Programs Lead. 

In the last few months, Microsoft has launched several efforts to bridge educational gaps in the Philippines. This includes empowering the visually impaired through a more inclusive SPED with ATRIEV. Microsoft also launched the Microsoft Experience Hub at Asia Pacific College (APC), a classroom of the future where students are prepared with 21st century skills. 

Today, Microsoft is celebrating key milestones in the Education Summit. The summit aims to deliver impactful sessions on the digital transformation journey that involve school leaders, administrators, students, and institutions. 

Empowering educators

Microsoft is empowering educators in the country by conducting scalable training programs on teaching with technology through partner institutions like the Department of Education (DepEd) and its various Microsoft Showcase Schools. Educators are equipped with modern tools to transform teaching and learning in the classroom.  

Today, Microsoft celebrates a key milestone, reaching 1,000 Microsoft Education Ambassadors in the country, the highest number in the entire Asia Pacific region. In addition, there are now also 100 MCEs (Microsoft Certified Educators) in the Philippines.

Engaging students

In its thrust to transform education, Microsoft provides tools such as Power BI & Azure Machine Learning for data analysis and coding, collaboration on O365, Teams, OneNote, Skype in the Classroom, and Kaizala messaging app. Students are also engaged through Minecraft in the classroom. Minecraft: Education Edition is an open world game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive environment where the only limit is your imagination.

According to top educators, Minecraft supports social and emotional learning (SEL) as well as promotes the 5Cs: Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Critical thinking and Computational thinking.

Educators cited “problem solving” as the top SEL skill that their students learn from classroom Minecraft lessons. Other top skills cultivated include creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

In addition, teachers also felt that their students’ decision-making and communication abilities were positively impacted by the time they spent playing Minecraft, whether working in small groups or individually. 

Minecraft can also be a used as a learning platform to advocate empathy. In the same study, educators believe that Minecraft also enables students to build empathy skills due to interactions with classmates, as well as with characters within the game.

Optimizing institutions

Through the Microsoft Showcase Schools, Microsoft continues to optimize institutions to transform education. These schools are part of a global network of schools who exemplify innovation in the campus through technology – and that covers the institution, educators, and their students. 

The 2017 Microsoft Showcase Schools promote digital transformation through their leadership in personalized learning, amplified by 1:1 deployments effectively using Microsoft solutions such as Windows 10, Office 365, Office Sway, OneNote, Skype, to enable anywhere, anytime education for all. Microsoft Showcase Schools in the Philippines include Asia Pacific College, ,De La Salle Santiago Zobel, and De La Salle University Dasmariňas , Lyceum of the Philippines Manila, National University, Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan, Silliman University. 

To promote productivity and collaboration, these schools also use Kaizala — a mobile app and service for communicating and coordinating work. It makes it easy for both teachers and students to manage their work and connect with large numbers of people inside and outside the classroom.  

Another example of the power of technology in transforming education is the EGG classroom. It is an example of how learners in off-grid locations can be educated through cloud technology.

These are just a few milestones in Microsoft’s digital transformation journey as it continues its mission to empower each and every individual to achieve more.

“At Microsoft, we are deeply committed to the digital transformation in education. This is why we work closely with key educational institutions in the Philippines like the DepEd and our Showcase Schools. Through strategic partnerships, we can transform the way students learn and educators teach,” said Segismundo.

All pyrotechnics are allowed to be used everywhere &

ONLY firecrackers are limited to be used in designated areas.

1. The Philippine Fireworks Association on Nov. 21 spoke at Pandesal Forum at Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City, appealing to leaders of local government units (LGUs) and the media to help clarify that there is no firecrackers ban in the Philippines, that President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Executive Order 28  allows pyrotechnics (or “pa-ilaw” in Filipino, meaning “lights”) to be used. It is not true that pyrotechnics are prohibited, restricted or limited.

PLS. BAN PICCOLO & SMUGGLED FIREWORKS—The association urges strict ban on dangerous piccolo firecrackers (which had in the past caused 60% or more injuries every New Year) and asks topping of illegal smuggled fireworks which usually have unregulated and dubious quality.

2. Please help clarify that Executive Order 28 only limits the use of firecrackers (or “paputok” in Filipino) to designated areas nationwide, but this doesn’t include the safer pyrotechnics.

3. Our association wishes to appeal to Quezon City and other local government  units not to totally ban all pyrotechnics during this holiday season, especially for welcoming the new year .

4. We wish to appeal to local government officials to please not restrict or discourage these age-old tradition of using pyrotechnics for celebrations, because this is a safer legal alternative to firecrackers

5. Our association appeals to mass media and social media to please help spread the whole truth and to help us clarify misinformation adversely and unfairly affecting our whole industry.

6. The association wishes to thank President Duterte for his fairness towards our local Philippine-made pyrotechnics and fireworks industry, which is mainly but not only limited to Bulacan province,  that’s why Executive Order No. 28 is clear about allowing pyrotechnics and encourages people to shift from firecrackers to pyrotechnics.

Clarification “fireworks” is both firecrackers and pyrotechnics; firecrackers’ main effect is sound and pyrotechnics’ main effects are lights.

7. The Philippine fireworks industry benefits an estimated 150,000 people with livelihoods connected to local manufacturing and selling fireworks nationwide.

8. The association appeals for support for this local industry, which has potentials for exports, but the domestic industry needs to survive and be given fairness. Examples of good local manufacturers is Asean’s biggest fireworks manufacturer the Dragon Fireworks of Bulacan province. This company is ISO-certified, it has represented the Philippines and won gold medals and other honors for the country in international competitions like those in Cannes, France; in the 2013 Berlin “Pyronale”; in Hanover, Germany; etc.

9. The association warns that any moves by local or even national politicians for a total ban of fireworks will just worsen public safety, because it will encourage unregulated small-scale and secret backyard producers and it shall encourage unregulated smuggling of imported fireworks with dubious or inconsistent quality. It will also encourage people to go back to using dangerous firecrackers instead of the safer pyrotechnics.

10. The Philippine Fireworks Association appeals to politicians in LGUs and the media for fairness, for support for this domestic fireworks manufacturing industry which provides many livelihoods, generates taxes, supports the Philippine economy and has huge export potentials.

Digital Transformation” is a buzzword taking over a lot of tech companies in the Philippines and all over the world, but the use of technology to revolutionize how companies reach their customers isn’t unique only to tech giants.

In celebration of Bancassurance month, BPI-Philam shares how fintech shouldn’t just be at the fringes of the business and the customer journey, it should lead it.

“Revolutionizing financial security and insurance is not only about improving products – it’s also about improving our customer’s experience every time they interact with us,” said Surendra Menon, BPI-Philam CEO. “People used to have to take ten or twenty steps before they get their hands on the policy that they want. Technology has helped us cut those steps significantly, and it has allowed us to fulfill our mission of making insurance easy to get and easy to have.”

Front-end automation

BPI-Philam saw the opportunity to modernize insurance selling practices through the Interactive Point of Sale (iPoS), a first in the life insurance industry. Every Bancassurance Sales Executive (BSE) is equipped with this technology to guide customers through the insurance process quickly and efficiently.

“iPoS was birthed to replace bulky equipment and reduce physical paper trail documents for prospects and their transactions,” said Christian Ventura, Head of Process and Systems Support for BPI-Philam. “Not only is the old way taxing for both BSEs and customers, it makes the customer journey difficult and riddled with error. This discourages insurance applications.”

The iPoS eliminates the need for physical application forms and papers. Every BSE in any BPI branch nationwide carries a tablet with the iPoS app. Through this app, the BSE can instantly access product information, assess the client’s need and risk profile, and generate a suitable proposal and policy number efficiently. Once the policy is submitted the BSE can easily track the status of a client’s policy application through a dedicated web portal they can access anytime.

iPoS also allows BSEs to capture, sign, and submit documents with ease through eSignature and ID Capture eliminating the need for photocopies.

“The iPoS shortened the usual transactions that used to be manually inputted through a computer and jotted down on paper,” Ventura said.

“Upon our adoption of the portal, we saw an 80% improvement on the speed of policy application reviewing process. This means that most transactions made went straight through with less error and delay.”

Ventura also said that since its use, BSEs reported experiencing fewer rejections as customers were enticed to commit to acquiring insurance policies because of the convenience it offered. They were not required to return to their bank’s branch nor were asked to repeat the entire transaction if there was a lack of certain requirements.

Aside from helping in sales, the iPoS also helps its BSE improve and outperform their targets through an embedded activity monitoring module.

Modern client servicing

The company followed this up with Interactive Client Assistance and Requirements eSubmission – (iCARE), an interactive iPad application which was engineered to aid BSEs in after-sales servicing. Through the app, customers can easily file for requests and other transactions regarding their policies with ease even offline. It also guides customers in telling them what necessary documents they need to submit at one point of the process.

Prior to iCARE’s adoption, there was an average 48% of unclean (incomplete, error-laced) policy transaction requests. Past 2016, this average dropped to a meager 6%. This means a faster rate of approval for new applications and any policy data change, providing customers with even more convenience.

Both the iCARE and iPOS utilize 256-bit encryption to strengthen security measures against data privacy risks.

Fraud is also minimized and deterred as transactions made by BSEs are tracked from start to finish.

“This makes our BSEs literal one-stop shops for transactions while helping them improve and sharpen their skills,” said Ventura.

Continual access even online

Extending the ease of access to insurance online, BPI-Philam also opened its first Facebook page to the public.

“For this year’s bancassurance month, we had surprises in each BPI branch for our customers, we’ve also recently launched a new platform through Facebook where we can reach them,” said Menon.

He underscored the importance of opening new channels to make themselves more accessible to customers and prospects who are digital natives and are expecting consistent customer care online.

“With these portals, better service with BPI-Philam simply means quicker, cost-efficient transactions secured across modern platforms for convenience,” Menon concludes

Experience ease in planning for the future, visit www.bpi-philam.com or better yet, drop by any BPI branch across the country to know more.

Need help in taking your first steps to financial success? Check out www.facebook.com/BPIPhilamOfficial for tips, you can also send a message for additional assistance too!