Month: August 2006

Today, USA Today has a color graph-free story about fidelity and media consumption. This use of the term fidelity addresses an inherent heirarchy in media consumption; viewing a movie in a theatre vs. viewing it via DVD vs. viewing it on a mobile phone. The basic premise is that consumers want the most pure experience possible, but they are willing to forego some of that fidelity in the pursuit of convenience.

PVR Wire had an article about this earlier this month, referring to an LA Times survey indicating that many more people are willing to watch video on their home computers, as opposed to the SMALL screen of the mobile phone. The participants cited cost and, of all things, low fidelity.

This line of thought was addressed when we looked at the blue film industry’s reluctance to upgrade to HD DVD and Blu Ray Disc.

The articles above dig further into the reasons of reluctance on the part of the consumer. The automobile record player goes to show that buy-in from car manufacturers does not equate mass market awareness or adoption. There is a happy medium in there somewhere, no pun intended.

Hear me out on this one.

Red Herring has a fascinating article about one of the industries that has led technological revolutions as they relate to sea-change format adaptation: the adult film industry. Just like Milton Berle sold TVs, purveyors of blue movies sold home projectors, VCRs and then DVD players. That final era was paralleled by the industry’s growth online. Producers used the advances of each media technology as selling points. Those same selling points were utilized in the mainstream.

The interesting thing is that some of these content companies are saying “no” to the latest technologies of extended resolution video: HD DVD and Blu-Ray Disc. This has to be a blow to the companies proffering said technologies to the public; the very industry that catapulted VCRs and DVD players into popularity and into every living room is turning its back on a new, arguably relavent, advance.

What does this have to do with radio? It is not enough.

Adult film producers are coming to the conclusion that some critics of HD Radio already have: there is not enough benefit from the technology to warrant any or further investment. Without clear benefits in a scattered media landscape, technologies will fizzle quickly. Many folks are quite happy with the resolution of DVD, just as they are happy with the sound quality of compressed audio on their iPods and internet radio stations.

It is the same “better isn’t better enough to matter” argument is sending Sony’s Super Audio CD (SACD) into obscurity. Sure, it is better, but it does not matter enough to the consumer. Having sat down in front of a HiFi system at a boutique stereo shop with a Super Audio CD of Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, I can clearly remember thinking “This sure is good, but will I buy it? No.” I would rather buy more regular CDs. And I have.

Content is king. I’m ashamed, but interested.

Link to Red Herring article.

The BBC has just announced plans for digital radios to “clip onto” the current crop of digital music players [iPods, other mp3 players].

This is a most interesting direction. With all of the discussion in the US radio industry about the HD Radio campaign, all of the technical problems, the holdup on FCC approval, and all related questions, I have yet to hear anyone over here say “Let us adapt to one of the most common manners in which people listen to things.” It has always been about completely new sets, mostly of the old-fashioned table-top variety. Nothing wrong with that per se, but it would seem that ushering in what is to be lauded as the biggest thing since FM via the table-top radio appears to be a bit more than behind-the-curve.

And, they are smart to make it something that would piggy-back on the plethora of portable media players already in circulation. Brilliant.

Link to the BBC story.

Much ado has been made about the Sprint announcement this week regarding a several billion dollar investment in a 4G [fourth generation] wireless broadband network.

Blogma at CNET News points out that Microsoft’s new portable iPod-killer Zune will have a WiFi connection, but that connection will not allow purchasing of music from Microsoft’s online store. There are no clear indications of how the device will handle podcasts or streaming audio in relation to the built-in WiFi connection. [Good to know that HD radio is not alone when it comes to being at least one step behind for the entirety of the race.]

There has been a great deal of speculation in many circles about what this means for broadcasters. Huge broadband connections without wires, devices with built-in connections in first generation, etc. Where will radio fit in all of this?

Fast Company has an interesting blog post about the Long Tail, and how it exists beyond the Amazons of the internet. Part of the discussion seems to indicate that the hits of the world will still be hits. Some folks at the Wall Street Journal missed that point in a couple of recent columns. [I would post them, but that would violate certain terms, and I cannot link to it as they are a subscription site.] This post references them.

What this blog post gets right on the money is that the small niche companies that don’t have hits on the major scale [like Amazon] can survive as well.

I came across a record label online, Kning Disk, the other day that does that very thing. This material is able to make it out of the door and into enough people’s hands to sell out. Granted, the unusually small quantities may be an extreme example [their editions number from 465 discs down to single disc editions.] However, that may serve to reinforce the point.

If this little company from Goteborg, Sweden can garner the attention of enough people to routinely sell out their entire pressing of artists as obscure as German acoustic guitar player Steffen Basho-Jungens, they are in a much different place than they would have been in 1986.

Link to the Fast Company blog post.

Whilst listening to KUNI-FM in Iowa this weekend, I was surprised to hear an underwriting spot for Acoustic Energy’s Wi-Fi radios. They are quite interesting little units, with the capability of providing access to online radio stations without a PC.

Why am I surprised? NPR is wasting time doing frivolous studies while offering devices online [and promoting them via underwrinting spots] that serve to fraction TSL on local stations.

Yet, NPR is taking underwriting dollars for the advertising of Acoustic Energy’s WiFi radios, and offering them for sale in their online shop. Just as the products I referenced last week, this item does not contain an FM tuner. Essentially, a radio without a radio in it. Sure, you can get internet radio stations from all over the globe, but you can’t tune into your local station’s free, over-the-air signal?

I suppose that listeners could tune into the web stream of their local radio station [if it is in a format supported by the Acoustic Energy device]. Doing so creates a potential fiscal draw on stations, as many acknowledge that it is the most expensive way to get the audio to the listeners. Not to mention that the audio quality is often a fraction of what it is in a standard FM radio.

There are some in the system that are adamently opposed to satellite radio, as it is seen as direct competition for their listeners ears. How do they feel when NPR is selling radios that give those listeners 10,000 options in lieu of their local station?