Audiovox held a press conference today during Press Day at CES 2009, and while the company covered many other areas other than satellite radio, the recent partnership with Sirius XM warranted a visit.
The most interesting part was a last minute unveiling about a live in-vehicle mobile video partnership, which allows for TV programming in the car.
Audiovox showed off many new wares, including items for the DTV transition, an new multi-device remote for home connectivity, and a digital camera by their RCA brand that connects direct to the web.
And while the company quickly glossed over it's partnership with Sirius XM (slides pictured above), the most interesting aspect was their announcement to partner with MediaFLO, allowing for in-vehicle live video.
MediaFLO has already partnered with the likes of Verizon and AT&T, but those were for the distribution of live video to mobile devices. In this partnership with Audiovox, the FLO TV service is now being introduced to a new distribution channel: to vehicles.
The case that the two companies are trying to build is that most car trips are short ones (20 minutes or so), not the long-trips that warrent 2 hours movies. Couple that with their research that shows that children tend to watch live television at home a majority of the time - not DVDs. So it's a logical step to combine the two activities together.
The 1st gen module will have the capability to turn any factory or aftermarket in-vehicle video system into a live TV using the FLO TV service.
The live mobile TV technology will be available for under $500, require no satellite dish or visible antennas, and will be available at an "affordable" monthly cost.
Launch date is Q3 of 2009.
The details are still being worked out, but this looks to be a direct competitor to Sirius Backseat TV.
And while the company quickly glossed over it's partnership with Sirius XM (slides pictured above), the most interesting aspect was their announcement to partner with MediaFLO, allowing for in-vehicle live video.
MediaFLO has already partnered with the likes of Verizon and AT&T, but those were for the distribution of live video to mobile devices. In this partnership with Audiovox, the FLO TV service is now being introduced to a new distribution channel: to vehicles.
The case that the two companies are trying to build is that most car trips are short ones (20 minutes or so), not the long-trips that warrent 2 hours movies. Couple that with their research that shows that children tend to watch live television at home a majority of the time - not DVDs. So it's a logical step to combine the two activities together.
The 1st gen module will have the capability to turn any factory or aftermarket in-vehicle video system into a live TV using the FLO TV service.
The live mobile TV technology will be available for under $500, require no satellite dish or visible antennas, and will be available at an "affordable" monthly cost.Launch date is Q3 of 2009.
The details are still being worked out, but this looks to be a direct competitor to Sirius Backseat TV.
My kids and I love the Backseat TV and was hoping this would be a post about the expansion of that technology. It seems like Sirius is neglecting the Backseat TV service, hopefully now that there will be a direct competitor they'll actually show a little interest in expanding the Backseat T and offering more programming options.
Mel Karmazin has actually said that they have no interest in expanding backseat TV at this time, and that they did it basically to satisfy Chrystler.
Perhaps now that they are partners, Sirius will get their name in with Audiovox's Flo TV and will use their feeds to power Backseat TV, and use their own spectrum for something more profitable.
any pictures of this new Radio?? MiRGE?
http://investor.sirius.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=358155