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FCC Approves Digital Radio, Kills Satellite Merger
n8willis writes "...Just saw this AP article on Excite news: the FCC has just approved the first upgrade in broadcast radio technology in decades. It allows "CD quality" digital signals to be simulcast by stations along with their traditional analog feed. The tech comes from some company called iBiquity, and unlike Sirius or XM satellite radio, there will be no charge for listening. Some radio buff want to tell us what they know about this concept?" And wiredog writes "The Federal Communications Commission has voted 4-0 to reject a $26 billion merger between satellite TV providers Echostar Communications and Hughes Electronics.
Dude, RIAA is gonna be the biggest fan of this... Only not. Will radios no longer come with tape decks? Line outs? Speaker connections? Perhaps they'll only enable the audio out if the proper DRM key is inserted? I like the idea, but in the current climate, something tells me this is going to have an uphill battle.
-k
CD quality music broadcast over wireless technology... for free?
Slashdotter are stupid and biased.
...but nothing comes without a price folks. Instead of paying out of your pocket, you'll be paying with your ears - by listening to commercials.
I can't that the RIAA is going to be happy with broadcasting Digital CD quality music for free without some sort of DRM provisions. Anybody know if the Digital Radio will include any sort of Broadcast Flag to disable recording? The article has Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy claiming that "We don't get many items where it's a win-win for everyone. There's no down side." From what I've seen, the RIAA sees a downside anytime there is Audio content that is digitized without protection.
Favorite quote from article:
Digital broadcasts use the same language as computers - a series of on and off electronic pulses.
Now that is insightful!
First Falcon-1 to orbit, then Falcon-9. Then I can die a happy man.
"The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to adopt digital radio technology created by iBiquity Digital Corp., a company backed by large broadcasters including ABC and Viacom. "
I don't have a lot of confidence that this new technology won't be tainted with nasty things like DRM, forced commercials, etc.
"The digital broadcasts will be free, unlike the subscriber services offered by Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings, which beam music and talk to radios from satellites."
Yeah, until they want to start offering "Premium" channels.
"Supporters say the new technology will bring CD-quality sound to FM broadcasts, an end to static for AM and new data features."
The term CD-quality gets thrown around to loosely. I'm assuming the stream uses a lossy compression scheme like streaming MP3, OGG, etc. It may be good, but probably not truly CD quality.
I think that can be sort of assumed.
I think that that receivers will not be the problem with market penetration - We've seen from the pricing of Sirius, etc. units that it won't be TOO bad.
The barrier to adoption will be the broadcasters. It's going to be an EXPENSIVE upgrade for them.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
...that I don't listen to the radio now that I have a CD-changer in my car. Certainly, I'm not the only one who despises the radio. I stopped listening because of too many commercial breaks, too LONG commercial breaks, inconvenient commercial breaks, and ridiculously short playlists.
Sometimes when i'm just driving to work, I get the tail end of a song and then 17 minutes of commercials. I hear one song, and then I'm at work. It's just not worth it.
The FCC should have at least chosen a different digital modulation scheme, that although may not be backwards compatible, would enable bandwith to open up. I would rather have 500+ channels from multiple local vendors than 20 ClearChannel/ABC owned station all broadcasting the same useless fucking Eminem/Nelly song over and over. Right now the FCC is not taking applications for any more FM radio stations (although thousand try to apply). The move to digital would have allowed more people to enter the market, but instead the FCC didn't open up bandwith using a different scheme.
Also, why a proprietary audio encoding scheme? Why not open source, royalty free Ogg Vorbis? And a good digital encoding scheme doesn't need to have fixed bandwitdh requirements, either - some channels could be 8kbps mono, while other channels could be full 1Mbps surround+data/video, all using the same decoder/tuners.
I think its time to drop AM/FM/VHF/UHF entirely.
sure, it's a "standard," but think about this for a minute. gm vehicles have been coming with xm for a while. what happens to the people that bought xm? what about people who want digital radio but have a radio they want to keep, or a high-end head unit that they bought for quality but can't get any models with digital? car radios need to be more like home stereos. we're dealing with products that are basically a closed system, no expandability which need to be replaced whenever we want a new feature. not to mention that of the few forays into this matter, only a few are truly useful, namely the car stereos with line inputs. screw the "xm ready" proprietary hookups. it needs to be more universal.
then again, i want a toilet made out of solid gold, but it's just not in the cards, baby. sorry for the rant.
Probably for the same reason that there are numerous vacanies in the Federal Judiciary: Senate Democrats are not bringing any of Bush's appointments to a full Senate vote, choosing instead to kill off every nominee in committee.
Try searching for example /. for "CD quality", just in the "stories" part this string is matched hundreds of times. When did "CD quality" become the standard for excellent sound quality. And why? Is it because you can call anything to be of "CD quality" - if your quality prooves to be crap, then just select a lousy CD.
Although this might sound like a joke, it would be interesting to back-trace whether someone or some organisation started marketing this standard actively some time in the recent history. Or is just an accident?
Unless this is going to be a nationwide digital radio network using stations to broadcast there signal on SCA for a nominal fee (there are currently analog networks like this, and some digital content (stock tickers, news feeds, etc) that broadcast on these subcarriers. ;-) Whatever would we do without our nationwide radio monopolies!? Thanks Telecommunications act of 1996! Before it was much more confusing with dozens of companies owning the different stations.
There currently is a nationwide network that broadcasts the same thing in every major city. It's called Clearchannel Communications. Go to Cleveland, Chicago, New York, L.A., Orlando, Seattle, and Dallas and you should be able to find a clearchannel station that is basically playing the same format and same playlist as in the other markets.
Yeah, the Dish PVR really sucks, doesn't it. It runs Linux, it's completely hackable, is standards complient, and you don't have to pay $10 or whatever for a monthly subscription just to get your program listings. What a lame product. Yes, the early versions were a little buggy, but it's mostly worked out now. The TIVO was bug-free from day 1?
If ANYONE really thinks that preventing this merger is in the public interest, I'd really like some of whatever they're smoking. The FCC is bought and paid for by the CATV industry, as we've seen before with the must-carry rules for satellite and local rebroadcasting rules. Let's look at the facts:
1) Without a merger, it is not cost effective for either company to rebroadcast local channels is ALL markets. This means the cable companies will continue to have a monopoly on local content in these areas (yes, a lucky few can use an off-air antenna, but I don't know anyone that can get a decent signal this way). Echostar has committed to provide local service to ALL US markets within two years if the merger goes through.
2) Echostar has committed to having a flat pricing model across the US. This means that in order to screw the rural customer, they would have to raise their prices so much that they would be much higher than CATV in markets where it is available. Since the the vast majority of wealthy markets (big spenders on PPV & movie channels - where providers make the big bux) are well covered by cable, it would not make economic sense to screw the poor rural customer to lose the rich suburban customer.
3) An argument has been made that DirecTV users will need to shell out for new equipment. Echostar has stated that NO ONE will need to buy new equipment to receive the same services that they currently receive. They will provide new equipment for people that subscribe to services that are moved to DVB from the proprietary mess that DirecTV uses.
4) Neither Echostar or DVB have subscriber bases big enough to compete with cable companies for program purchases. This means that they pay more for programming that they resell, and have a harder time keeping costs down. That said, they are STILL well below most cable pricing.
People need to understand that although a merger will create a monopoly for DBS, it will create competition for TV providers - which is what really matters to joe consumer. Until satellite can deliver LOCAL broadcasts into all markets, they can't reasonably compete with cable - most people are not willing to give up local news and local used car dealer ads.
The cable industry already has a monopoly, and they have lobbied the FCC very hard to keep it. This merger would ruin the monopoly they have had over the majority of american households for 50 years.
Who honestly believes that anything the cable TV industry is FOR (preventing this merger) is in the best interest of the public?
I find it funny that ATT/comcast merger is allowed even though it will create a company who has a virtual monopoly in each of its markets and will control > 50% of all cable customers. Yet, this merger would have 2 companies with a national charge (that is one price no matter where you live). This new company would have a better chance of competiting against the cables and providing lower costs.
It is amazing what payola to the right person can do.
Never mind the fact that Bush is nominating far right wing folks, knowing full well the Senate won't confirm any of them. Then he gets to point the finger at the Democrats for obstruction. Karl Rove is a damn genius. Does it bother anyone else that he runs the country?
-B
"You still get to listen to the same crappy programming."
But it will be free (as in beer) crappy programming. I won't buy Schaefer but if someone hands me one I'll drink it.
Arrgh. Must proofread TWICE next time.
4) should read:
Neither Echostar or DTV (DirecTV)
To make this post worthwhile, here's a glossary for the uninitiated:
DVB - Digital Video Broadcast. The worldwide standard for digital satellite TV. Echostar (Dish Network) uses this standard. Video is MPEG-2, audio is generally Layer 2.
CATV - Community Antenna TV. An old term for Cable TV, from the days when they simply rebroadcast a signal from a big antenna on mountaintop, without no special programming.
DSS - Digital Satellite System. The proprietary standard that DirecTV uses for video broadcast. If the merger goes through, this will likely be replaced by standards-complient MPEG2-DVB equipment over a few (many) years.
TV - TeleVision. Probably the largest single reason 60% of americans are fat and lazy.
compromise Pronunciation Key (kmpr-mz)
n.
1.
1. A settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions.
2. The result of such a settlement.
2. Something that combines qualities or elements of different things: The incongruous design is a compromise between high tech and early American.
3. A concession to something detrimental or pejorative: a compromise of morality.
Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
I call bullshit! The Republicans did the same thing to Clinton for six years. This is simply what happens when the White House and Senate are held by different parties. You can't expect Dems to approve the conservative right to life'rs that Bush sends up there. Toward the end of his term, he will send up a load of more centrist appointees (with hidden right-wing gems mixed in) to try to get some seats filled prior to a dem taking over. It happened with Clinton and Bush the First, it'll happen again. Don't sweat it too much.
_damnit_
It's my job to freeze you. -- Logan's Run
What's Digital FM really about?
Here's all you need to know:
(Yes, the article is about LPFM.)
"What it comes down to -- again -- is money, pure and simple. If an LPFM station takes a slot on the FM dial, then it's one less corporate FM station that can make money off of that allotted frequency. Another argument posed by NAB was that, with the appearance of digital FM, corporate radio stations need all the bandwidth they can get because digital FM takes twice the amount of bandwidth needed by conventional FM broadcasting [emphasis added]. Corporate FM wants to give you, the listener, "CD quality" sound. Digital FM has failed to produce the desired effect, thus making "hogging the FM dial" another groundless NAB contention.
"With Kennard out of the way, the current FCC Chairman Michael Powell is considerably less tolerant of LPFM. And why not, since the NAB is one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, DC, and can pretty much whip out its wallet and buy whomever they want."
"You must try to forget all you have learned. You must begin to dream." -- Sherwood Anderson
Cellphone bandwidth a non-issue? If the cell phone spectrum was big enough already why did operators pay billions in the PCS spectrum auctions in the 90s? Why do you that the FCC is planning to have a 3G spectrum auction in the not-to-distant future? Even with the CDMA-based/spread spectrum 3G tech that's on the horizon, we're gonna need more frequencies. You're not gonna be able to get a 1.5Mb/s data connection when everybody else in your cell wants to use it too.
"The Federal Communications Commission has voted 4-0 to reject a $26 billion merger between satellite TV providers Echostar Communications and Hughes Electronics."
Hughes and Echostar were saying that such a merger would give them the hardware to give more areas access to local stations through the satellite signals. Now that that's fallen through, it seems the only way I'll get decent reception for Enterprise is by paying ~$12 a month to Cox for their lifeline service.
Or does anybody know of a decent low-profile VHF/UHF antenna?
KCBS is only 20 kHz away from the local 50-kW blowtorch, KDWN. There's also a mountain range between here and there that the signal has to bounce over.
I did that with a 50-year-old RCA tabletop radio, a smallish plastic five-tube (!) radio with the antenna in the back cover. (The circuit design is what was called the "All-American Five.")
Analog radio can be received with the simplest of equipment...an antenna, a ground connection, a coil, a capacitor, a diode, and high-impedance headphones can pick up an AM signal. I doubt that you could pick up a digital signal with something anywhere near as simple.
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.