Here's a fun ongoing trend: organizations that are willing to accept the burden of responsibility - in the name of "public interest" - by asking the government to mandate that they get a piece of the Sirius-XM action.
First we had U.S. Electronics and Georgetown Partners, either of whom want "open network access" or a chunk of the bandwidth, and now iBiquity - the folks behind HD Radio - has joined the fray.
They conveniently ask the FCC requires that HD Radio be included in all satellite radio receivers, and that a merged Sirius-XM terminate all exclusive agreements with suppliers, retailers, and the OEMs. How generous of them.
Mark Ramsey sees this as a sign that HD Radio is hurting in its efforts to garner support from Detroit. It also might be a signal that the merger opposition from the NAB is coming to an end.
Satellite Radio TechWorld points out that Sirius and XM worked their respective asses of to build that OEM support, and that approving this would be unfair to the satellite radio industry. "iBiquity appears to want a free ride."
And the discussion is even more heated over in the Orbitcast Forums.
It seems to me that HD Radio/iBiquity needs to move more towards the "if we can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude, and try working with satellite radio. If iBiquity wants to be embedded in all satrad receivers - maybe they should try a different approach.
Obviously HD Radio isn't something the public wants, but they have another asset that Sirius and XM want: bandwidth. Maybe it's time for less vinegar, and more honey.
[Satellite Radio TechWorld, Hear 2.0]
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
I hope that HBO demands that Apple include HD TV reception in all iPods.
What a bunch of loons...
Funny acording to Business Week Mel is on the IB Board.
That HD map is a joke they may have stations but not the coverage that map would have you believe. AM stations that went HD have cut down in the coverage area and sound quailty of the analog signal so that they could fit in the Digital .
The only way i see HD surviving is turning off the analog and going all Digital. That is what i think is planed. What should have happened is using a little of the 700 Mhz for Digital radio.
That coverage map was made up, had to be.
thj
Wow, that would be cool! I've been wanting to get an HD radio sometime. I would love having XM, Sirius, and HD all in one receiver. I'd definately be one of the first to buy one of these. I know many here are terrestrial radio "haters", but personally I don't care. I could care less where the content comes from, I just want all I can get.
You know, HD sounds great hear in the boston area, and I don't mind listening every once in a while, but with the new Sirius radio I got, and my XM Inno, I'd rather listen to them.
The ONLY PROBLEM with HD radio, REALLY is you can't get it in a 10 dollar radio! I don't know if it is how it is licensed, or what, but come one folks, you want to SELL HD, then make it affordable!!!!
Merry Christmas everyone! :)
LOL!
Now that i have had a couple of drinks and can think cleary Sat radio should demand the same thing of ALL HD radios and not subsidize the chips or any part of the Sat Radio in the HD radios. Two can play this Game. HD radios cost so much now a higher price would be a good thing for Sat Radio.
Well, why shouldn't they?
It's such a bad deal for the consumer, SOMEBODY should benefit from it...besides Melvin and Howard, that is.
"Mergers fail to lift media stocks"
"Despite consolidation in the sector, media stocks underperformed the broader market in the first half of 2007. The worst media stocks of 2007: XM Satellite Radio -20.0%, Sirius Satellite Radio -14.7%"
http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/29/news/companies/media_firsthalf/index.htm
"How Sirius & XM Would Look As a Merged Company (Revision)"
"The balance sheets represent a huge problem. Sirius has almost $1.1 billion in long-term debt. At XM that number is over $1.3 billion. Sirius has cash and securities of $350 million. XM has $285 million. So, combined debt would be $2.4 billion against about $600 million in cash. Payables and accrued expenses of the combined company would be over $500 million. To have a significant value to shareholders, the combined business would have to pay down at least $200 million in debt per year. None of the debt is due until 2009, but the majority is due by 2013. The combined company would be able to partially use cash on hand and could go to the capital markets with a new debt issue with the sole purpose of refinancing that amount due in 2009 (and with convertible debt if they were smart and/or able)."
http://www.247wallst.com/2007/02/how_sirius_xm_w.html
"IBiquity sees digital radio signaling changes to come"
"The company has yet to turn a profit and does not expect to do so in 2007 or 2008, Struble said... Mass marketing and consumer adoption is the last hurdle, Struble said... Representatives of investment firms that have spots on iBiquity's board of directors could not be reached for comment, but Struble said they are excited about the progress the company is making. The focus is not on exit strategies yet, he said."
http://tinyurl.com/3don5y
Even if iBiquity weasels HD Radio in-dash with satrad, the long-term outlook for iBiquity, Sirius, and XM are bleak.
"Regarding the Technical Aspects of the SDARS Providers XM and Sirius"
"There are significant differences in certain technical aspects of the two SDARS systems as deployed by XM and Sirius. The systems as currently deployed are not interoperable. That is to say, an XM receiver cannot receive the Sirius signal and vice versa. Thus, as is true today, if the proposed merger of XM and Sirius were consummated, consumers would still need to purchase a new interoperable receiver in order to receive the signals of both providers. These differences in system operation, function, and structure make the design and implementation of a single unified and interoperable receiver both complex and expensive. In fact, both XM and Sirius have been working in a joint venture to develop an interoperable radio since 2000. At this time, no interoperable radios have been introduced into commercial production."
http://tinyurl.com/2kek8t
iBiquity's request is not only ridiculous, but technically impractical.
HD radio is a sham...sound is MAYBE a little better on FM stations, but there's a weird echo effect if you're on the edge of the HD signal's range (the analog signal seems to reach much farther). Like a quarter-second delay.
Then again, I only listen to it because my new car stereo came with HD built in, and the service is free. But I wouldn't go out and buy anything strictly because it had HD radio capability.
HD radio is a sham...sound is MAYBE a little better on FM stations, but there's a weird echo effect if you're on the edge of the HD signal's range (the analog signal seems to reach much farther). Like a quarter-second delay.
Then again, I only listen to it because my new car stereo came with HD built in, and the service is free. But I wouldn't go out and buy anything strictly because it had HD radio capability.
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