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translator loophole and fmXtra

I phoned the FMeXtra folks last fall and told them what the FCC said about it not being a "Public Broadcast Service," thus, it is not eligible to be rebroadcast on a translator. The gentleman I spoke with (the name escapes me at the moment) told me that getting the FCC to change their mind would be the broadcaster's problem, not his. I asked if he thought that would actually happen, but I never received any real reply.

That seems really odd to me. I have my hands full in the day-to-day operation of a truly local radio station. I imagine that other broadcasters do too. I really don't have time to petition the FCC on behalf of someone else's product. That said, if it passed FCC requirements and allowed me to rebroadcast the FMeXtra on any or all of the three translators we can be heard on, then I'd be really interested in purchasing their product. As it is, I really don't have time to be part of the Beta Test and I really don't want to be a martyr for something that is not mine.

I'm beginning to think FMeXtra has some kind of "death wish." Perhaps they have other priorities, but being accepted as a "broadcast service" does not seem to be one of them.
 
Chuck, it's not a death wish. They just truly do not see the potential for what they have.

Now they're trying to sell it as TV. http://vucastmedia.com

It's a crying shame, but these folks are really lost.

Clouseau
 
I had been in contact with the FMExtra guys when iBiquity was being rolled out by the "big guys". Seeing FMExtra as a more flexible, cost effective, realistic approach to digital on FM, I tried to see where they were at in trying to compete with iBiquity. I was prepared to work at a deal to be a proponent and roll out their system on one or two of my FM's, and possibly more in the future, if they had the right answers.

Unfortunately, they had no vision whatsoever for FMExtra as a public, primary digital delivery system. They seemed to have no drive or desire to do anything than provide another transport mechanism for non-broadcast data and secondary SCA services. Sad really. With the right attitude, marketing, and word of mouth, they could've had a chance of wide adoption.

Of course, it's hard to say - those with mediocre technology but with the biggest marketing bucks and the means to donate to certain "political causes" seem to win adoption in this country.
 
From web site looks like that Vucast only wants to push data,video , and anciallary services on SCA ,and not as an option to IBOC. pity.
 
We had FMXtra gear in our booth at the NAB for a couple of years (thanks Lyle!), one time along with IBOC (thanks Ed!).

I did not personally set up either system, but as I watched I couldn't help but notice that FMXtra went in a lot faster, with fewer complications. And I was amazed at how good it sounded subjectively.

In a more perfect world, a mono analog with FMXtra occupying the rest of the spectrum with a single AAC+ stereo channel would be golden.

Kind Regards,
David
 
I wonder if anyone with the means could make an offer to buy the rights to FMExtra, then actually target it for main channel use.

I guess it's probably too late. Then again, iBiquity seems to be on life support, so maybe another window of opportunity will open in the not so distant future.
 
VoiceOfReason said:
I wonder if anyone with the means could make an offer to buy the rights to FMExtra, then actually target it for main channel use.

I guess it's probably too late. Then again, iBiquity seems to be on life support, so maybe another window of opportunity will open in the not so distant future.
Click to expand...
Why buy the rights? Invent something equal or better that uses the same SCA spectrum. This isn't the first method of playing music over the SCA spectrum & it certainly won't be the last.
 
BobOnTheJob said:
Why buy the rights? Invent something equal or better that uses the same SCA spectrum. This isn't the first method of playing music over the SCA spectrum & it certainly won't be the last.
Click to expand...

I agree. If it is possible to get digital audio down a 24K dial up Internet connection, It shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to get it down one of your SCA channels. It looks so me like an opportunity for a true "open architecture" digital broadcast service.
 
Incidentally, the FMeXtra system I demo'ed consisted of a Dell computer with a modified sound card. That's it. I can't imagine how the hardware cost much over $1000. That leaves a lot of headroom for the software to run it. Any good code writers out there?
 
If we could use a modem in a non error checking mode (or wegener unity technology) and send this via sca (or internet) would this be simple and use existing technology to marry up with sca or fm delivery?

Why can't we get rid of Ibiquity? This can't be that difficult. We already have the delivery system and a host of technology to deploy it.
 
While it could be fairly simple to start from scratch, building upon the FMExtra infrastructure would be infinitely faster. Think in terms of field tested, receivers already developed / prototyped, industry recognition (although small, we all know about it!) - these things take months and years and lots of money to build up.

If such a system is to overtake the multi-million dollar iBiquity influence, you have to get a foothold in a relatively short period of time.

Plus, the technology isn't THAT simple. You need to provide an adjustable raw data stream with error correction that works well with FM SCA propagation. You can then use software in the encoder and receiver to chop it up into whatever services you want to be available. There has to be a standard in the system to structure and flag data substreams so receivers can differentiate available (and future) stream uses, perhaps similar to the time slots in a T1 line, only in smaller chunks.

The devil is in the details - details which are already hashed out in FMExtra. Their market share and profit margin can't be all that huge that they wouldn't consider a very reasonable purchase offer. It's an opportunity for a radio-savvy start-up investor, or for an existing manufacturer like Telos/Omnia who could market it as a smart and synergistic companion to their existing lines. The key is keeping it cost effective as the temptation will be large for larger companies to quadruple the price or impose oppressive license fees (where have we seen that before?).
 
VoiceOfReason said:
It's an opportunity for a radio-savvy start-up investor, or for an existing manufacturer like Telos/Omnia who could market it as a smart and synergistic companion to their existing lines. The key is keeping it cost effective as the temptation will be large for larger companies to quadruple the price or impose oppressive license fees (where have we seen that before?).
Click to expand...

And iBiquity and its backers wouldn't retaliate, making it a losing proposition for the company with the technically superior appraich?
 
DanStrassberg said:
And iBiquity and its backers wouldn't retaliate, making it a losing proposition for the company with the technically superior appraich?
Click to expand...

Not sure how they would do that. The cat is out of the bag as far as iBiquity's expense and technical warts, so counter-marketing will do little to change minds. I guess the big broadcast companies could ban FMExtra from use, effectively limiting it's penetration, but then they're betting their future success entirely on a failed (thus far) system.

The only likely retaliation is further lobbying and pocket-padding to stall and sandbag any rulemakings or endorsements of FMExtra as a primary delivery system. In that case we just have to wait for the government to clean itself up. I'll make sure my great grandchildrens great grandchildren get back to me on that :) By that point we'll have 10.1 channel audio delivered by theta waves directly to our cerebral cortex and the DRM will resemble some creepy virtual agent named Mr. Smith whom we have to battle to listen to our music. "Mr. Anderson - I see you are trying to listen to the Rolling Stones Life Support Tour album." Sorry.... A.D.D. moment....
 
The “official” explanation for changing the name from Digital Radio Express (DRE) to VuCast was that they think word "radio" carries the unfortunate connotations of something passé, even outdated.

Maybe those guys have been reading Jerry Del Colliano’s blog!
 
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