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Satellite Radio Coming Soon (?)
elucidus sent us a story that talks about the current status of
satellite radio. Lots of issues to deal with, and some good stuff mentioned. Personally, I think this is just a baby step before we have full custom audio stream dropped in, but my guess is that it'll be awhile before we have the bandwidth to broadcast stereo audio, from space, customized for every car in America, and do it in such a way that it's reasonably cost-competitive with old-fashioned radio.
Surely satelite radio is a step backwards, because it would not provide local content, as it inevitably has an international footprint, and uses up priceless satelite bandwidth which could be better used for something else?
KTB:Lover, Poet, Artiste, Aesthete, Programmer.
KTB:Lover, Poet, Artiste, Aesthete, Programmer.
There is no
It's already here , checkout http://www.worldspace.com
:-)
and that too they stream as a 128kb mp3 stream
Nagendra
nagendra@SPAMMEPLEASEnagendra.com
Operating as VU2CLN somewhere on surface of the earth!
The only difference here is a factor of scale, and radio is so passe today...
No, Iridium was designed for low bit rate (2400 BPS), low fidelity, voice communications.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
A Satellite is an expensive appliance that only big corporations can afford.
If satellite radio becomes a standard then it is obvious small, independant radio will disappear.
Unless they are *given* an unlimited free broadcasting access, which should be a sign of democratisation of the media.
Until then, I will still see Eliott-Carver-ness whenever I'll access information.
--
Trolling using another account since 2005.
Although not really being pushed in the UK, it is in the Afristar footprint. Slightly less advanced than the system in the article, fixed position recievers with an antenna that has to "see" the sky (thick walls means no signal). Sound quality is fairly impressive through the optical out, with stations using between 16-128kbps, easily equivalent to FM stereo on the music stations.
They are also pushing some data applications on the website, but no sign of the need accessories yet.
Cheaper than any of the terrestrial digital recivers around at the moment (Sanyo was only 100 UKP), might make a nice replacement for that Multiband radio, that you take away on holiday.
Once high-speed mobile internet service becomes more common, I expect to see streaming audio superceding conventional radio. These satellite audio broadcasting systems won't deliver enough bang for the buck compared to what mobile high-speed IP offers.
-Isaac
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
This is a huge step in radio communication. This does mean however that a receiver will be required for radio broadcasts, and not a Sony 100W receiver, an actual box that will convert the satelite feed into audio. This means that they can put a price on the radio now, kinda like a cable company's music choice service.
This would be even better if there was a more forgiving way of picking up a satelite feed. Granted the mini-dishes of today are a hell of a lot better than the 10' tall dishes that people used to put in their yards..it would be nice to have a smaller recipticle, maybe something that could even work on a car (assuming the car wasn't in a bridge, or had a clear line of sight to the sky)
This also would mean that you don't have to listen to country music the entire duration of your road trip. I'm not sure how popular it will be as a pay per listen service though, people have come to expect free radio, but then again, who still uses an antenna to watch TV?
It should be interesting to see how this develops.
As someone who was involved with satellite application programming, I can say that the problems involved in creating satellite based applications for non-analogue streamed data are enormous. Firstly, to prove boolean associative arrays on a parallel output device mediator such as a satellite demodulator is a difficult thing to do...the easiest way would be to retrometricise closed set compatible software using the tried-and-trusted method of numerically programming diagonally matrixed queries. The only other way to do this would be to program imaginary integer specific diagramatics, and I think that most programmers reading this would agree that that's not a good idea, since it could lead to several complications - including the possible need to macrodesign boolean polynomial equation identifiers specific to the application in question - not a nice thought, especially if you're running multiple satellite channels - then it'll also be neccessary to quantify timed long integer paradoxes on top of everything else! The general rule should be: if you're programming multiple memory stacks over multiple satellite channels, then PLEASE be aware that you need to redigitize logically programmable theoretical pipes and hypothesize cutting pipe contrived radials, otherwise your program WILL NOT WORK VERY WELL. The most efficient way to deal with this problem is to virtually trivialize complex conjuction composed computer generated interfaces and conglomerate statically linked theoretical pipes. If you keep all of this in mind, your satellite application development will be flawless.
Everything is but a number spoken by itself.
Get a clue. My 800 watt microwave oven runs on 2.4 Ghz and doesn't break down the air. How many watts are you planning on receiving on your antenna. I don't plan to receive anything stronger than 1 millionth of what my home microwave oven produces. I would be suprised if my antenna received anything over a few microvolts.
The truth shall set you free!
The main advantage of normal radio is that it is extreemly portable. Stick a radio in your pocket and you can listen anywhere. I carry a pocket radio on the long bus journey to and from work, and also use it on a Saturday afternoon when leaving the football to find out how the other teams have done. How is sattelite going to work here?
Digital radio would be a lot better. Currently I have problems with co-channel interference when travelling back from work, meaning that I can't here my local radio station until about 6.45pm, missing essential news bulletins. Digital terrestial radio would make things better. It would also make Radio 5 listenable on an evening.
- technical discussions like Dr. Dobb's Technetcast
- Geeks in Space
- Financial planning programs like MoneyTalk
- Non-computer technical support programs like Car Talk
These programs could be aggregated by genre to produce a financial planning radio channel or a car maintenance radio channel. If you aren't used to listening to stuff like this, you may turn up your nose, but each of these programs have huge, loyal audiences, and would help make satellite radio commercially viable.--
Dave Aiello
-- Dave Aiello
A couple of people have mentioned Worldspace already. Worldspace is a satellite radio venture based out of Washington, DC, that aims to bring radio to developing countries, where many people live outside the range of conventional broadcast radio. In addition to the audio stream, there are data channels as well, opening some interesting possibilities for alternatives to traditional Internet access in the developing world.
Worldspace has two satellites in place and broadcasting, covering Africa and Asia. A third and final satellite, covering Latin America, either is about to launch or is about to begin broadcasting (I can't remember which).
The problem with Worldspace is getting a receiver. The low-end ones started at $350, which many people rightly pointed out was out of the reach of many of Worldspace's intended customers (though one often finds dirt-poor villages have at least one gigantic color television, so that was not necessarily an insurmountable barrier). The advertised prices recently came down to about $125-$175, which leads me to wonder if the company is in trouble.
I live in Cairo, which has been in the footprint of Worldspace broadcasts for over a year, but I can't get a receiver to save my life. I was willing to blow the $350, but the sets aren't sold here and the company is consistently unresponsive to queries about alternative sources. (I even ordered one online from their website, but can't get them to confim, deny, or fill the order).
The company claimed there were initial production problems, because the chipsets and everything had to be done custom. But the lingering distribution problems have not been adequately explained, and I can't imagine that bodes well for the venture.
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Give me liberty or give me something of equal or lesser value from your glossy 32-page catalog.
I just hope that it isn't a huge step backwards in terms of sound quality, like digital radio is. Despite interference, FM stereo is pretty good next to something that has all the sound quality advantages of a low bitrate mp3. It might work in a car, though. The ambient noise could be enough that you don't notice your music sounds like crap.
If you are modding me down because you disagree with me, use the "Flamebait" category, not the "Troll" one.
Actually, that's kind of the way that it's supposed to work now. You know, the listener supported thing.... You send them some money then they don't have to advertise for used cars everybody wins?
_____________
I don't want free as in beer. I just want free beer.
Asking folks to pay a subscription for radio just doesn't pass the common sense test.
;-)
Doesn't anyone remember the lesson of Iridium? Great technology isn't sufficient for success in the marketplace.
I hope this results in an IPO so that I can short it
This isn't all so great. You have exactly two licenses for US satellite radio systems, so there are only two corporations who will choose the programming. That's even worse than terrestrial AM/FM radio, which has been horribly consolidated. So what crap will satradio have? The 70's pop rock channel, the 80's pop rock channel, the Don Ho channel?
Terrestrial digital radio is likewise only a couple of licensees, so it too will offer all the variety of McDonalds. The cheese and no cheese channels.