Will radio receivers be available in 2030

[kwthom]

An option for whom? The maker or the consumer? We were talking from the consumer POV.

At a time not that long ago, a radio was an option...well, it was a delete option in what one might call a 'work truck'.

Today, maybe not so much.

 

[Mikey Radio]

ALL my music is now on CD. No CD player will definitely be a deal breaker for me...When did the CD player start disappearing from the dash, and have all automakers eliminated it by now? I usually buy used cars between 3 and 5 years old.

Problem is, CDs are becoming a thing of the past as well. My last 3 laptops haven't had a CD/DVD player (which caused me to get an external CD-ROM drive for all the work-related photos, drawings and schematics I still had on CD) nor does my most recent car. One suggestion would be to get an MP3 player that's intuitive to use and simple to select the music you want to play, and transfer all your CDs to that. Plug it into the USB or Aux in and you should be set.

 

[FM_Listener]

Problem is, CDs are becoming a thing of the past as well. My last 3 laptops haven't had a CD/DVD player (which caused me to get an external CD-ROM drive for all the work-related photos, drawings and schematics I still had on CD) nor does my most recent car. One suggestion would be to get an MP3 player that's intuitive to use and simple to select the music you want to play, and transfer all your CDs to that. Plug it into the USB or Aux in and you should be set.

It's going to take a while longer for CDs to go away. You should see how many CDs Amazon still has for sale, and many are brand new releases. The music companies are seeing that lots of people still like physical media. There is even a vinyl resurgence, which I personally find odd, but (not in huge amounts) new records are coming out, and turntable sales are up. That's not just a Covid thing either.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

The last 3 vehicles that my wife and I owned had terrible AM reception, and these are relatively new vehicles since 2017. The dealership did nothing to fix the problem, all they said is it’s because 75% of the vehicle is computer electronics and that’s why the AM reception is terrible.

It's probably at least partly due to the diminutive shark fin antennas, or in-glass antennas on most cars now. They depend on signal amplifiers and I don't think they're as good as the 30-inch whip antennas used to be.

 

[Oldie919]

Recently I replaced the "stub" antenna on my 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage with a 30" length of 10/24 threaded steel rod.....
It HELPED FM reception --- did next to nothing for AM ----but not a huge improvement overall.....
End of the day.....the radio stinks!
The best car radio I ever had was the Delco in my '78 Buick Skylark...cowl-mount antenna (retractable to prevent breakage in car washes.....!), excellent FM -- AND AM --- operation!

 

[Mikey Radio]

It's going to take a while longer for CDs to go away. You should see how many CDs Amazon still has for sale, and many are brand new releases. The music companies are seeing that lots of people still like physical media.

Perhaps so @FM_Listener, but one must admit that CDs aren't nearly as prevalent as they once were. Long gone are CD and music stores like Musicland, Sam Goody, National Record Mart and similar. One doesn't see a relatively large section of new release CDs in "big box" home appliance and electronics stores as was once the norm (though one can still find some at Walmart/Target), and many items that once included CD or DVD players as standard equipment (computers, surround sound systems, automobiles) no longer do. On the flip side, rather than having to buy a CD for $15 to get the one or two tracks one might be interested in, in most cases individual tracks can be purchased and downloaded from Apple, Amazon, etc.

 

[FM_Listener]

Perhaps so @FM_Listener, but one must admit that CDs aren't nearly as prevalent as they once were. Long gone are CD and music stores like Musicland, Sam Goody, National Record Mart and similar. One doesn't see a relatively large section of new release CDs in "big box" home appliance and electronics stores as was once the norm (though one can still find some at Walmart/Target), and many items that once included CD or DVD players as standard equipment (computers, surround sound systems, automobiles) no longer do. On the flip side, rather than having to buy a CD for $15 to get the one or two tracks one might be interested in, in most cases individual tracks can be purchased and downloaded from Apple, Amazon, etc.

Yes, agreed. I'm just amazed at how many are still available. But yes, way less prevalent than the CD's heyday.

 

[boombox4]

Music has left the purchase model and embraced the listen-for-free-and-endure-advertisements model, or the subscription model -- both based on streaming. Other forms of entertainment are headed the same way -- magazines, books, movies (bye bye DVDs) and the like.

 

[TheBigA]

Music has left the purchase model and embraced the listen-for-free-and-endure-advertisements model, or the subscription model

Which has in a way transferred the power industry from big broadcasters to big tech. It happens at a time when both sides of the political aisle wants to break up or make changes to big tech. So the question is how will those changes affect the usage of music and content? Streaming makes sense for Amazon and Apple, because they can justify the expense with other aspects of their business. It makes less sense if they're forced to spin it off.