C3SR, the broadcaster-funded organization with addresses located at a UPS Store, is questioning the decision-making process of the FCC. The group claims that the concessions offered by Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. "remain a mystery."That's, of course, because none of this is official yet. A point that is completely ignored by this well-connected, lawyer-infested "consumer group."
Julian L. Shepard of Williams Mullen, counsel to C3SR, says that "the entire FCC process is now unreasonably shrouded in secrecy." Shepard isn't too far from the shroud himself, having once been a former assistant general counsel at the NAB. Bah, mere details!
"Sirius and XM are trading on the secrecy of the highly confidential documents in the court of public opinion," Shepard continues. "They have refused to come forth with the facts. In public, Sirius and XM are denying the facts in the highly confidential documents, but they have not submitted any evidence to support their denial. Meanwhile, Sirius and XM are saying what they wish in private ex parte meetings with the FCC."
Wait, let me translate this legalese rollercoaster of a statement:
Sirius-XM are keeping confidential information... confidential. Meanwhile, Sirius-XM are keeping private meetings... private? And C3SR doesn't like that.
Maybe we don't know the highly confidential information contained in these highly confidential documents, but we do know one thing: that C3SR undoubtedly wouldn't be raising questions of the FCC's integrity - or the integrity of everyone else for that matter - if they sided with the NAB.
Possibly the funniest title ever to grace Orbitcast.
I think we should hold a series of FCC meetings and consider the matter further. Also, my Dog's hair dresser is considering an ex parte filing due to the fact that she hasn't been consulted with yet.
The C3SR are still just doing it's JOB. It's naive to think they would just roll over this morning and act like it is now ok with a "merge" just because of the new news.
BTW Mel and Sirius are former NAB members.
AC, care to back up that claim with a link? Mel (as chairman of CBS) was obviously involved with the NAB; but my understanding is that when he requested NAB membership for Sirius ("After all, we are broadcasters"), they were rebuked.
C3SR is apparently a non-entity in this process and should be treated as such. They are gnats flying around your ear, annoying. Don't give them any press here or on any other board. Don't mention them and they will eventually go away. They are looking for recognition.
Check out Gorman's take on Clear Channel, Fumbles and the continuing HD radio farce! Great stuff!
http://gormanmediablog.blogspot.com/
That horse has been beaten dead. You know it and I know it.
HD Radio. If you bought into it, forget it. You’ve been swindled. You were robbed. It was one of the biggest, most expensive con jobs in radio history. Take solace in knowing that you were far from the only victim in this fraud.
HD Radio - a waste of time, money, engineering, on-air time….need I continue?
Let’s switch subjects for a moment.
Have you bought your Blu-ray DVD player yet? Probably not.
Blu-ray DVDs feature high definition-quality digital video and can only be played on Blue-ray DVD players.
A Harris Interactive Poll showed that only 9 percent of respondents (87 percent of whom own a DVD player) planned on buying a Blu-ray player in 2009.
A study by the NPD Group on Blu-ray found that most respondents were satisfied with their current DVD player and had no plans to upgrade.
These studies were conducted prior to gas jumping over $4/gallon.
An editorial in this week’s Home Media Magazine admitted, “DVD is still the lifeblood of home entertainment, and most likely it will be for years to come.”
Then there’s this piece from Tuesday’s New York Times. Briefly, it explicates the growing pains of High Definition Television “side channels” and how a couple of programming service providers had already gone under due to those pesky financial limitations.
Translation: There was no money in it.
Just because you can have a HD TV side channels doesn’t mean they’ll do anything positive for your bottom line.
This brings us to the scam of all scams – the misleadingly named HD Radio, which is not high definition – and offers side channels of lesser-quality fidelity than an unprocessed analog FM.
Think about it. Most of those surveyed do not plan to upgrade their DVD player and the television industry hasn’t figured out how to monetize their side channels.
*
And we're lead to believe there is a demand for this no-thing called HD Radio?
*
In this parallel universe where wrong is the new right, the Capo di tutti capi of HD Radio developer iBiquity is Bob Struble or “Booble” as those he believes are his best friends call him behind his back. His supporting dumbbell is Peter “Sgt. Bilk-o” Ferrara. Credit them for knowing everyone’s price of protection to keep their HD Radio scheme alive.
I’m not saying Booble and Bilk-o are in the same league as gangsters, extortionists, cash-skimmers, witness and embezzlers. I am saying that anyone that fell for the HD Radio hype was robbed. Of course they’ll deny that. Will they settle for voluntarily robbed?
They’ll tell you that households will give up their gas budget to buy an HD Radio for all its wonderful and diverse choices.
They’ll also tell you that as consumers are forced to upgrade to High Definition television sets they’ll also upgrade their radio audio, too. Yeah, right.
They’ll even tell you that they would like me to perform an impossible act.
Face facts. There are too many terrestrial radio stations.
Some will go dark over the next 12 to 18 months.
Boobles’ latest scheme was to con a few pols and pals into buying into his proposal that, should the XM-Sirius merger get FCC approval, there would be a covenant for all manufacturers to make units AM/FM/HD Radio compatible.
Then Pioneer, one of the manufacturers of satellite radio units shot it down. They contend that that “the iBiquity conditions would limit the breadth of radio product offerings to consumers, limit which radio component supplier’s products be designed into radio, have the effect of decreasing AM/FM tuning performance, unnecessarily increase costs to consumers uninterested in HD Radio, and interfere with the useful and healthy free-market mechanisms extant in radio electronics purchases.”
Translation: It’s a dumb-as-they-come proposition.
Other manufacturers didn't even bother to respond.
A bit off-topic, but I'll bite.
Max,
Did you also take into consideration of BluRay players how many PS3s were sold in the same timeframe and if the person planned on buying a PS3 in the near future. The PS3 contains the latest in BluRay technology, as well as a awesome gaming system.
C3SR or NAB I hate to say it ,but they are right on this one! They Sirius and XM are trying to hide the truth!
C3SR or NAB I hate to say it ,but they are right on this one! They Sirius and XM are trying to hide the truth!
Wow there you have it Max's world of satradio fanboy ignorance. Big words from poor little Max. When will someone tell poor Max that Ibiq's HD Radio technology IS the technology selected by the Federal Communications Commission in 2002 as the only digital audio broadcasting technology for AM and FM broadcasting in the United States. As of May 2008, more than 1600 AM and FM stations are broadcasting with HD Radio technology, with more than 700 FM stations offering more than one digital channel per FM frequency. HD Radio has a nationwide rollout of HD radio technology
HD Radio is considered an attractive alternative to satellite radio, which charges a fee for its use. Even more so these days with satradio jumping the shark with Mel's "merge" scheme. Talk about the past compared with the future in radio, HD will be here long after satradio is a footnote in wiki.
More of poor little Max's grand ideas....
"This is the last time I am responding to you a little turd like you. When Ryan wants to restore the quality of his site, I'll be back. It's his to lose. If you had any brains or decency, you would just STFU and crawl back under the rock you came from.
Have a nice day, putz."
Posted by: Max | June 14, 2008 9:19 PM
[edit] Reduced quality concerns
Promotion for HD Radio does not always make clear that some of its capabilities are mutually incompatible with other of its capabilities. For example, the FM system has been described as "CD quality." The FM system also allows multiplexing the data stream between two or more separate programs. However, a program utilizing one half or less of the data stream does not attain the higher audio quality of a single program allowed the full data stream. Indeed, the FCC "decline[d] to require broadcasters to dedicate a minimum level of digital bandwidth to provide a high quality digital signal," however "one free over-the-air digital stream [must be] of equal or greater quality than the station’s existing analog signal."[39] (If the FCC ever allows stations to discontinue analog simulcasting, each station will have over 300 kbit/s bandwidth available, allowing for CD or even Surround Sound-quality audio together with multiple sub-channels.)
Another such conflict arises from the extra "fFREE" programs available today. iBiquity is seeking FCC approval for "CONDITIONAL ACCESS," that is, enabling the extra programs to be available only by PAID SUBSCRIPTION (on future models of HD Radio). NDS, a maker of digital media encryption technology, has a deal with iBiquity to provide HD Radio with an encrypted content-delivery system called RadioGuard.[40] NDS claims that RadioGuard will "provide additional revenue-generating possibilities." iBiquity has stated that RadioGuard will become a standard feature of the HD Radio system.
These competing capabilities mean that purchasers of early models of HD Radio have no guarantees of continued broadcasts of either high-quality audio or extra channels. Audio quality will suffer as broadcasters decide to subdivide their streams into extra "HD-2" and "HD-3" channels. And if the extra channels become subscription channels, they will become invisible to older radios without RadioGuard (and to those unwilling to pay for them).
Reduced analog signal
Radio stations are licensed in the United States to broadcast at a specific effective radiated power level. Adding HD Radio to the modulation envelope reduces the amount of power available for the analog portion, though initially this will only be one percent of the signal power.
Emergency information
If the FCC ultimately approves digital-only channels, those channels will no longer provide emergency information (such as through the Emergency Alert System) on existing analog-only receivers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio#Reduced_quality_concerns
W S U X……… (H)ARDLY (D)IFFERENT Radio !!!!
Up next on WSUX an extended commercial break after these words from our sponsors.
Are you tired of music, news and talk interfering with your favorite commercials? Then HD Radio is for you! We can offer up to three low quality channels of your favorite commercials on one station. Do overpowering radio signals annoy you then HD Radio is for you! Our digital signal is only 1% the strength of our analog signal. Whither you crave multiple low quality sideband channels or one crystal clear digital channel to hear your favorite commercials then HD Radio is for you! Can’t find HD radios in stores? Then try a dumpster behind any local electronics liquidator!
HD Radio commercials make it “FEE”
Today on WSUX H2: Top 1000 commercials followed by ADvice the talk show where advertisers tell you what to buy OVER the PHONE?!?! How’s that for original programming?
And don’t forget, on H3 it’s the top rated “Who Gives A SH*T show. Tonight’s topic HD Radio: How do you polish a turd? We’ll be talking to famous NAB shill Anonymous Coward he’ll share his favorite POO polishing techniques (Whether you want him to not) Hint: It involves a lot of tongue wagging and web nagging.
IF CP3O (or whatever) really gives UPS store addresses out, is it possible that it's really UPS that's behind this shite? .... If it is, I'm switching to FED EX for sure.... No more bubble wrap on Saturday nights ... no more "fragile" stickers.... no more hot little girls in tight brown shorts!!!!
AC - It may be true that HD radio will out live sat radio, but not because HD radio is/was a better medium. Sat radio may collapse because of other technologies or because it spends itself into the ground. Calling HD radion an alternative to sat radio shows ignorance of sat radio -- there is no comparison. Once you have sat radio, listening to AM/FM/HD Radio is like banging your head on the wall.
HD Radio is still FM programming, still bloated with commercials, shallow playlists and the blah blah blah of untalented DJs.
@ Joe:
"Max,
Did you also take into consideration of BluRay players how many PS3s were sold in the same timeframe and if the person planned on buying a PS3 in the near future. The PS3 contains the latest in BluRay technology, as well as a awesome gaming system."
Except games are not a form of broadcast media, which is what Gorman covers and what this forum is about. What Gorman is trying to say is that once HD-DVD bit the dust, Blue-Ray was supposed to take off like a rocket. It hasn't. And the reason is that people are perfectly happy with the quality of their standard def DVD's and have no interest in spending more on equipment or a stiff premium for the media itself. The lesson is that even a "monopoly" on a technology hardly gouges anyone, since people have the right to just walk away. The lesson should not be lost on those who oppose the merger because of the phony rubrics of "monopoly," "localism" or whatever dogshit the NAB can scratch up.
@ Hartlieb: C3SR or NAB I hate to say it ,but they are right on this one! They Sirius and XM are trying to hide the truth!"
Unless you have concrete proof of this, I would stop slandering people. This is getting ridiculous.
Max, I think he was referring to the fact that the PS3 is actually a Blu-Ray player.
Let us not forget that DVD did not take off overnight either. Hell I didn't buy one until '98 or '99 and that was my parents.
Sure a lot of people waited to find out which one would take off before they start to upgrade.
Is the FCC finally going to approve this merger?
iband,
Somewhat agree but then how on the other hand can HD radio be used as a excuse for "merge" when it comes to satradio competition?
"Calling HD radion an alternative to sat radio shows ignorance of sat radio -- there is no comparison. Once you have sat radio, listening to AM/FM/HD Radio is like banging your head on the wall. HD Radio is still FM programming, still bloated with commercials, shallow playlists and the blah blah blah of untalented DJs."
Posted by: iband
Oh poor Max your continued ignorance comes yet again back to get you...
In poor little Max's world the PS3 must only be capable of playing blueray game disks? Wow because in the rest of the world, educated consumers know the PS3 is a full blown BluRay player. Sony and the retailers are using the PS3 to hasten the adoption of the BluRay format MOVIES and GAMES by getting the players into the consumers homes.
"Some analysts believe that Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console played an important role in the format war, believing it acted as a catalyst for Blu-ray Disc, as the PlayStation 3 used a Blu-ray Disc drive as its primary information storage medium. They also credited Sony's more thorough and influential marketing campaign. More recently several studios have cited Blu-ray Disc's adoption of the BD+ anti-copying system as the reason they supported Blu-ray Disc over HD DVD."
As for the "merge" scheme it is a monopoly (since there will only be one satradio company, giving consumers no choice) but then again that bit of truth only seems to be available to educated consumers. The "merge" scheme will not only take away the consumer freedom to chose between 2 directly competing satradio companies, but it will also cut down on content, and talent, and raise prices since we'll be getting less for the same of more money. Poor little Max think's "people have the right to just walk away" as they do and will since quality will go down without direct competition, that and that little anti-consumer issue of supporting a "merge", a scheme, a monopoly, one not done to benefit the consumer, one not being done to benefit the satradio industry, one which the uneducated bought into hook, line and sinker.
Ignorance DEBUNKED
--------
Except games are not a form of broadcast media, which is what Gorman covers and what this forum is about. What Gorman is trying to say is that once HD-DVD bit the dust, Blue-Ray was supposed to take off like a rocket. It hasn't. And the reason is that people are perfectly happy with the quality of their standard def DVD's and have no interest in spending more on equipment or a stiff premium for the media itself. The lesson is that even a "monopoly" on a technology hardly gouges anyone, since people have the right to just walk away. The lesson should not be lost on those who oppose the merger because of the phony rubrics of "monopoly," "localism" or whatever dogshit the NAB can scratch up.
Posted by: Max | June 17, 2008 8:00 AM
More of thoughts of little Max.....
"This is the last time I am responding to you a little turd like you. When Ryan wants to restore the quality of his site, I'll be back. It's his to lose. If you had any brains or decency, you would just STFU and crawl back under the rock you came from.
Have a nice day, putz."
Posted by: Max | June 14, 2008 9:19 PM
@ another thought: "Max, I think he was referring to the fact that the PS3 is actually a Blu-Ray player."
Not germaine to the conversation. People are NOT buying Blu Ray players for their home enterntainment needs, borne out by a DROP in sales since HD-DVD folded. No is going to buy a gaming device for the purpose of watching movies, except as incidental use. Check out BkuRay movie DVD sales stats if you have any doubt- they're not moving off the shelves. That was what Gorman was writing about.
"Let us not forget that DVD did not take off overnight either. Hell I didn't buy one until '98 or '99 and that was my parents"
Correct, because the price point came down enough to bring it to the mass market. Now you can get a respectable player for less than $75.00. But that is the story with every electronic device from flat screen TV's to MP3 players.
Wow poor little Max whats so bad to prove he doesn't know anything consumer electronics just like he's proven he knows nothing about satellite radio or how competition is a important park of the economic market.
PS3 driving Blu-ray movie sales
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/02/05/ps3-driving-blu-ray-movie-sales-outpacing-hd-dvd/
"Sony (is) proud that allegedly 90% of PS3 users have watched a Blu-ray movie.
"people are buying PS3s to play PS3 games and watch high definition Blu-ray movies. For $399 you get two in one."
Max = DEBUNKED
In Max's world:
"People are NOT buying Blu Ray players for their home enterntainment needs"
"No (one) is going to buy a gaming device for the purpose of watching movies, except as incidental use."
Posted by: Max | June 17, 2008 11:08 AM
-----
"This is the last time I am responding to you a little turd like you. When Ryan wants to restore the quality of his site, I'll be back. It's his to lose. If you had any brains or decency, you would just STFU and crawl back under the rock you came from.
Have a nice day, putz."
Posted by: Max | June 14, 2008 9:19 PM
Yeah everybody knows people rushed out to buy PS3’s to watch the handful of Blue ray titles available. Sony ALLEGES their units are used to watch movies and that was during the HD DVD wars against Toshiba. That’s what a PR firms does when they have no proof they allege. Allegations debunk nothing DOUCHE! There have only been 4.2 million PS3 units sold in the US since its introduction Standard DVD player sales were nearly 35 million for the same time period. Blu-Ray will suffer the same fate as HD Radio (extreme consumer apathy). The poor state of the economy won’t help matters either.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/cemadvdsales.html
Blu-Ray no sale
You guys have apparently been listening to our warnings about not jumping into the Blu pool just yet. NPD says that even after HD DVD stopping peeing in it and lied down to die, not only have Blu-ray sales have only jumped a meager two percent (after falling 40 percent from Jan.), but they're so bad, they won't even release the actual numbers. NPD pegs price as one major factor, with the wait for BD-Live players as another. Course, it's more likely the deeply feared DVD problem: For most people, it's still good enough. [Yahoo, NYT]
http://gizmodo.com/385925/hd-dvds-death-hasnt-helped-blu+ray-sales-which-are-so-bad-npd-wont-talk-about-em
Nice to start the day with a mongoloid getting p@wned. Nice work BLUIS
And that doesn’t include the 20 million DVD units included in the PS2 units sold during that same period that makes for about 55 million DVD units sold. Not only that but just recently the PS2 was outselling the PS3 much to Sony’s chagrin. Try google search on “PS2 outsells PS3” you’ll get over half a million hits.
Sony’s (SNE) full year financial results, for the period ending March 31st, 2008 make interesting reading. During this period the company sold 13.73 million Playstation 2 units and 9.24 million Playstation 3 units.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/77768-sony-playstation-2-outsells-playstation-3-what-does-this-mean
Hey AC,
SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO MAX HE"S RIGHT AND YOUR WRONG!!!! The game attach rate for the PS3 system is comparable to the other systems on the market while the BR movie attach rate is less than one per player!
“As part of a wide-ranging meeting with GameStop's management, Janco Partners' Mike Hickey discussed why the Wii and PS3's 5-game-per-console attach rates are still behind the Xbox 360's 8.8, suggesting that Guitar Hero and a theorized Rock Band release for the Wii will increase high-margin sales for the retailer.”
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17099
“However while one Sony spokesperson from SCEE confirmed that Blu-ray was a success, a spokesman for Sony Pictures confirmed that PS3 gamers weren't impressed with the new movie format.
"3.3 millions discs have sold to date with 1.4 million of those this quarter", the spokesman confirmed, suggesting that the pick up rate is less that one per Blu-ray player sold (Sony announced that it has sold 5 million PS3 consoles in Europe).
The comments come just days after the NPD Group retail sales tracking data show sales of Blu-ray standalone players have decreased drastically since the beginning of the year”.
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/14455/15479/sony-ps3-blu-ray-poor-sales.phtml
One movie per player!?!?!? That better be one hell of good movie!
@ IS WRONG
I know I may be wrong most of the time but I have to speak from my PR firm’s list of talking points or I don’t get paid. These talking points are compiled directly from our client’s press releases and PR departments so my hands are tied. I mean just because the PS3 is in third place in the current game console market doesn’t reflect on the Blu-Ray it’s because of that damn Wii who would have thought an “impulse buy” would shatter all expectations! Man I took a drubbing in every kids Nintendo blog on the planet but it did pay the bills.