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Edited by Jamie Latshaw
Satellite Radio Launches
Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, the two competing digital radio broadcasters, will offer subscription packages for $9.95 a month that will include as many as 100 separate stations. The content of those stations will be your deciding factor between the two services. Some programmers are working with both companies, such as the BBC and National Public Radio, while other programs are currently only one or the other.
The report noted that the PVR may mark the death of scheduled TV channels as more consumers rely on locally stored programming. As the size of hard drives increases, the ability to store hundreds or thousands of hours of programming may make channel surfing obsolete. Users will be able to create their own personalized virtual channels that contain only those programs and commercials they choose to watch.
Looks like 2001 will be a digital radio odyssey, as companies are launching satellites to begin service for digital radio.
Digital radio will be a subscription-based service that will provide nationwide programming, hence the initial advantage will be cross-country road trips with the same, clear signal always available.
At the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, several companies showed working models of digital satellite radio receivers, most for the car, but a few companies were talking about home receivers. With more satellites launching to support the nationwide service, products nearly ready and programming nearly finalized, digital satellite radio is closer than ever to a reality for the consumer.
TDK Moves Further Into CE
TDK is making further strides in becoming a manufacturer of consumer electronics products and new consumer technology.
TDK is promoting its MultiLevel Recording technology (dubbed ML for short), a recording process for CD-R and CD-RW that allows for three times the information stored on conventional CDs. The technology was developed in partnership with Calimetrics, Inc., and can increase the data capacity to 2 MB for a standard CD size and 650 MB for 80mm CDs. While the cost and manufacturing requirements of drive makers would not significantly change, ML technology will only apply to ML-enabled CD-R and CD-RW discs, which in turn will not be compatible with current CD and DVD drives or players. Current recordable CDs will work with ML drives but not at the increased capacity.
TDK said it does not see ML as an end-all-be-all technology but rather a bridge to DVD recording, which the company believes will eventually become the dominant method of storing digital data. It expects to have a retail-ready internal PC-based ML drive for the third quarter of this year but did not yet release a price. Currently, Sanyo Electric Co. is the only other consumer electronics company to join what TDK is calling the “ML Alliance.”
Portable Perfect (?) Match
If you see someone pointing a small card at you on the street and you have no idea what it’s all about, remember, he or she may be the love of your life. The card is the so-called Singles Smartcard that uses a MatchUp technology to store your data, organized in six categories, such as habits, achievements, interests, energy and your take on sex and family, to let you meet the person of your dreams (of course, you have to look only among other MatchUp owners).
You can point the Smartcard at another Smartcard owner, press the button and see how your data matches with that person’s. The Smartcard is compatible with Windows 95, 98, ME and 2000 and costs $24.95 with a PC software bundle. The MatchUp technology can also run on the Palm. We can only imagine what an ice-breaker this could be.
PVRs Mark the End of Channel Surfing
Since the market launch of personal video recorders, such as TiVo, Replay and DishPlayer, they’ve become one of the most coveted new items in video. According to Durlacher, a London-based technology investor, PVRs will supplant server-based video-on-demand systems over the next few years. The company also predicted a battle for control of PVR functions between broadcasters, content creators and technology firms. By allowing users to digitally record programs for later viewing, PVRs create a threat to traditional advertising methods but create opportunities for targeted and opt-in advertising, said the report.
Hard drives are already being integrated into other video products, including DirecTV receivers and digital cable boxes. Eventually, TVs will include built-in hard drives as a standard feature.
A Concert E-Goer
You used to stand in the cold for hours, if not days at a time to get tickets to the opening night of the RUSH concert. You were a loyal, committed fan.
Today, kids anxiously wait to point their mouse to the “buy” button the very second the virtual ticket window opens.
The Yahoo! Outloud music tour is visiting 20 cities, headlining Weezer, as an online/offline music experience. Tickets to the event are simply purchased online and shipped to the concert goer. Where’s the thrill in that?
While that may seem to take the fun out of the concert-going experience as a whole, the Outloud tour is adding other interactive features that make the experience all encompassing. For example, Weezer fans voted on the band’s Web site for who they would most like to see selected as a support band on the tour.
The concert series will also include interactive kiosk with connections to the Internet, in case the live music isn’t enough.
The Outloud microsite will have Webcast chats with the Outloud bands and will auction off merchandise and paraphernalia from the bands.
Rules in Motion
Half of the drivers on the road can’t even change the radio station without swerving into on-coming traffic, and now we’re installing in-car theaters? While the purpose of these products is to entertain and distract only the passengers in the car, the Consumer Electronics Association is worrying about our safety while we’re behind the wheel and has developed recommendations for safe installation and use of video devices in cars.
For instance, CEA recommends that the LCD panel used for TV, video or DVD viewing be available only when the car is parked or when the parking brake is set, or the display should be mounted out of the driver’s view. It’s okay, CEA said, to use the monitor for displaying car information, system control and navigation to the rear and side observation of the driver. These devices should assist the driver and not distract.
As most rules and recommendations are, it’s common sense, but it’s still shocking how many people think they should be able to watch Gladiator while driving 60, 70 miles per hour.
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