New Radio Format

[kfbkfb]

Well...Gaming, Movies, TV shows (broadcast/cable/satellite/streaming) all now offer surround sound (usually a Dolby Labs system), radio is alone in offering at most stereo.

Dolby Labs resurrected quadraphonic sound from the ashes of ~1977 and brought it back in ~1983 by renaming it surround sound and linking it to movie soundtracks, maybe they and/or Sony could help radio move to surround sound too.


Kirk Bayne

 

[TheBigA]

Dolby Labs resurrected quadraphonic sound from the ashes of ~1977 and brought it back in ~1983 by renaming it surround sound and linking it to movie soundtracks, maybe they and/or Sony could help radio move to surround sound too.

The same Dolby Labs you're talking about has their own current sound system called Atmos:

Dolby Atmos - Official Site

Take your music and entertainment to the next level with Dolby Atmos, a revolutionary spatial audio technology for the most immersive sound experience.

www.dolby.com

I've been to a demonstration of Atmos (in conjunction with LucasFilm) and it is spectacular. But it's also a bit impractical.

BTW at no time during the demonstration did anyone talk about FM radio.

 

[kfbkfb]

Dolby Labs has a range of surround sound systems, their original Dolby Surround could be used for stereo radio, their newer Dolby Pro-Logic 2 music mode encoder could also be used to provide surround sound within a stereo radio signal.

Sony 360 reality surround sound content could be downmixed to Dolby Pro-Logic 2 music or the much older SQ quadraphonic matrix as another option for providing surround sound via stereo radio (if there's a problem with directly broadcasting Sony 360 reality content).

Home Theater System/Surround US household penetration 2012-2016| Statista

The statistic shows the household penetration of home theater systems/surround sound systems in the United States from 2012 to 2016.

www.statista.com

^^^
(although ~5 years old, the trend is clear, maybe radio could take advantage of the ever increasing number of homes w/surround sound)


Kirk Bayne

 

[TheBigA]

(although ~5 years old, the trend is clear, maybe radio could take advantage of the ever increasing number of homes w/surround sound)

Unfortunately most of those systems don't have FM radios attached to them.

Here is another study for you:

Radio's Hardware Problem: How does Radio compete if consumers don't have radios?

Last week at the RAIN Summit Orlando I stood in front of a crowd and presented this video: The purpose of this awesomely-bad B-movie trailer is to get everyone thinking about a world without radio. As ridiculous as the premise seems, if some catastrophic event took out radio transmitters, what...

www.edisonresearch.com

Where Have All The Home Radios Gone? – WJJY 106.7

Do you have a radio in your home? Here at Hubbard Radio, we hope you do. The fact is, the number of radios in households across America continues to fall.

1067wjjy.com

 

[ZantennaG1]

Unfortunately most of those systems don't have FM radios attached to them.

Or the stereos that actually do sport FM have a horrible antenna or reciever. I remember trying one out at Conn's furniture in Fort Collins, and even KRKA struggled some. Also, there is a potato chip warehouse in Cheyenne that has a stereo radio and a regular portable radio. The stereo picked up a grand total of like 5 stations, and you couldn't hear any translators at all. Even KRRR, despite 25kw, and being maybe 2 miles away, was staticky. And then, on AM, it was even worse. Comapre that to the portable boombox they had in a different room, and it's night/day. Dozens of FM's and plenty of AM to go around. Apparently to them hearing even one station with the best sound quality in the world is somehow good enough, but it wouldn't kill them to put a decent wire antenna on there.

 

[TheBigA]

Or the stereos that actually do sport FM have a horrible antenna or reciever.

Keep in mind that at one time, technology companies owned radio stations. But by 1990, all of them had gotten out of the radio station business.

Today's technology companies have radio stations, but they don't involve towers or transmitters. They're all online. If radio companies want to compete or want to be in the discussion with today's technology, they need to have an online strategy. This conversation about surround sound is all being directed to online transmission. That's unregulated radio.