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FMExtra introduces...(drumroll)...CONDITIONAL ACCESS

M

Mike Walker

Guest
According to a story in the May 23 issue of Radio World, Digital Radio Express has demonstrated the ability to offer "conditional access" (as in pay-per-listen, services for the blind, etc) with their FMExtra SCA based digital radio system. Another reason for radio manufacturers to include BOTH HD and FMExtra in future products! If THAT happens, small market stations will have an inexpensive path to high quality digital radio, and big stations will be able to offer even more digital services! EVERYBODY WINS if this technology ALSO succeeds!
 
Mike Walker said:
According to a story in the May 23 issue of Radio World, Digital Radio Express has demonstrated the ability to offer "conditional access" (as in pay-per-listen, services for the blind, etc) with their FMExtra SCA based digital radio system. Another reason for radio manufacturers to include BOTH HD and FMExtra in future products! If THAT happens, small market stations will have an inexpensive path to high quality digital radio, and big stations will be able to offer even more digital services! EVERYBODY WINS if this technology ALSO succeeds!
Click to expand...

"Road-Testing the FMeXtra"

"The FMeXtra digital system, however, is of little value unless there are radios to receive the signal. DRE says it would have a tabletop radio with a satellite speaker available called the Aruba priced at $150 in November ( www.dreinc.com)."

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0049/t.463.html

Hey, do you ever get the feeling that consumers just don't care ? :D
 
Advantages/disadvantages

FMExtra has two advantages that should appeal to small stations...it's VERY inexpensive (no new transmitter, etc.) And there are no ridiculous, continuing licensing fees. Buy it, it's yours, case closed.

The one disadvantage is rather enormous...NOTHING COMMONLY AVAILABLE RECEIVES IT. Yet. I'm an optimist.
 
Maybe with China using FMXtra for the Olympics in 2008, Tuners/receivers with FMXtra will make it over to the US later this year or next. DRE has to do a better sales and promo job for what appears to be a good product.
 
I wouldn't get my hopes up. AM Stereo is phenomenally popular in Japan...nearly everybody has one. Other countries are, well, different. Which is why they have borders (I suppose) ;)
 
I'm optimistic that you will eventually see multi-function radios that can receive analog, HD and FMExtra. Some might even do Internet radio too. Why not? The technologies all exist; it is just a matter of putting it all in one box.

Has anyone noticed that the FMExtra "Aruba" radio looks a lot like the Tivoli HD radio? They are probably from the same plant in China, where until recently they all had romantic names like "Number 104 Radio Company" or "Beijing 797 Audio." They might not be all that different inside. Kinda makes you wonder….

In an unrelated technology topic, today I made the leap and purchased a wireless Internet card from my cell phone company. It’s $59.95 per month for unlimited access. I got it because I travel a lot, and I’m getting tired of being hit for $9.95 a night at some hotels (even though I try to stay where it is free). The first time you have to log on at DFW airport, they gouge you for another $10.00 even though you may only need the access for 10 minutes. I’ve spent well over $100 on some months on these “extra charges, so it makes this look viable. If I don’t like it I have 30 days to take it back.

Amazingly, this thing is getting throughput around the 300 K range. On the drive home from the store, I listened to my radio station via the internet, all the way to my house, which is in a rural area. I plugged my laptop into the aux in jack on my car radio, and it sounded quite decent. I did not expect it to work at all where I live, but it does, although at a lower speed than in town. It is still fast enough to listen to streaming audio. I’m impressed. It’s a technology that you can’t ignore. My guess is it will only get better.
 
That's great, Chuck. Another way for radio stations, even little ones, to deliver quality digital audio. If only the "boogie man" (ridiculous fees) don't bite us on the....
 
Hey Chuck - just curious, who do you have cell phone service with? I'm guessing Cingular. :)

Mike, as you know the costs of bandwidth go up with each new person hooked into a stream. Just another reason why HD and FMeXtra need to succeed. Even with HD's royalty payments, I bet it's cheaper than the bill for 4,000 streamers listening to your station day and night.
 
Zach said:
Hey Chuck - just curious, who do you have cell phone service with? I'm guessing Cingular. :)
Click to expand...

He's definitely not using the Sprint mobile broadband card.

I have one and it works great in town. If you get into a rural area or even smaller cities your speed drops to dial up or worse.
 
FMeXtra receivers exist and are available now for $199. It's a matter of not very much time before they're portable and under $50. It's a good technology with a future.
 
I really hope you're right, RadeoEngineer. Of course there's the matter of no stations....

Having two formats in the marketplace is tough, even if, as with HD and FMExtra, they're not really competitive...stations can choose either, or both. It's a kind of chicken-or-egg thing.

I know radios "are available" for FMExtra, but are they available at WAL MART? Best Buy? Radio Shack? Are they being promoted on the largest stations in the largest markets? I'm a fan of FMExtra, but the "other guys" do have some wind at their back! My hope is that the "perfect storm" of acceptance by small stations, AND the introduction of dual-format radios, will prevail. Honestly, doesn't it seem like a long-shot?
 
Zach said:
Hey Chuck - just curious, who do you have cell phone service with? I'm guessing Cingular. :)

Mike, as you know the costs of bandwidth go up with each new person hooked into a stream. Just another reason why HD and FMeXtra need to succeed. Even with HD's royalty payments, I bet it's cheaper than the bill for 4,000 streamers listening to your station day and night.
Click to expand...

It is with Alltel. I'm a recent convert from Cingular. One day I woke up to find my Cingular phone said "Emergency Service Only." Other than being able to dial 911, it was totally dead. It seems that with no warning, Cingular decommissioned 14 cell towers in my area, including the one I can see from my house. That left most of the people who live at Lake Cherokee (about 6000 people) with a choice of Alltel or nobody. Sprint is "iffy" here as is Verizon. Cingular is non-existent. They say they’ll be back in July.

I am totally blown away that the wireless card works at my house. I never expected that it would, but it does. I'd just figured that I'd be lucky if it worked in major cities and along Interstate corridors. (I'm 10 miles from the Interstate).

For what it's worth, Alltel says they have a working relationship with Sprint, so it also works on their network.

The real point is, right now, the system works better than I'd imagined. It will probably get even better.
 
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