Will internet radio take over AM/FM?

[Glenn]

what exactly is HD radio? I've seen that advertised.

I find it sounds better than regular radio on my aftermarket headunit. However, if the station hasn't sync'd (I'm not sure on the correct term) their HD and their regular radio, you get an annoying back and forth. I find the HD lags a few seconds. So when it fades in and out, it gets annoying as hell in short order.

As far as paying for free internet radio...that is debateable. Sev brings up a good point. You're already paying for the internet...or your phone and data plan. In VT, we pay $20 a month for cable interweb. That bill gets paid no matter if we use the internet for 10 minutes on a weekend...or for 16 hours a day for two days straight of streaming music.

I find Pandora isn't that bad for commercials. Slacker was getting really bad. Plus, they had that darn "nag" screen asking you if you were still listening every hour. That was weak when we had the radio on inside and were listening outside doing yardwork. Pandora now has some commercials, but I find they're not nearly as frequent as Slacker.

 

[dmc]

If Howard Stern leaves Sirius - I gone too...

 

[drjeff]

If Howard Stern leaves Sirius - I gone too...

Gonna be interesting to see what happens with Howard and if he wants to sign another contract here real soon.

I just love with satellite how 1 second I can be listening to Stern, then another second I can be listening to live play-by-play each NFL/MLB team that may be playing at that time, then the in car feed from a NASCAR race, then the next second as far a right or left political commentator as you want, then........

 

[bvibert]

If Howard Stern leaves Sirius - I gone too...

Stern is what brought me to Sirius, the music channels are what's keeping me there. I haven't even listened to Stern for more than a few minutes in months. Every time I tune in it's the same stuff over and over again.

 

[dmc]

Gonna be interesting to see what happens with Howard and if he wants to sign another contract here real soon.

I just love with satellite how 1 second I can be listening to Stern, then another second I can be listening to live play-by-play each NFL/MLB team that may be playing at that time, then the in car feed from a NASCAR race, then the next second as far a right or left political commentator as you want, then........

It is awesome... I like it because of the amount of travel I do...
Nothing like waking up in Korea and listening to Stern playback...

 

[deadheadskier]

I have limited experience with internet radio outside of using Pandora at a friends place. We pretty much use the ipod at home.

However, tomorrow I'm expecting an new Pioneer receiver in the mail that's supposedly has excellent inputs for hooking up lap tops etc for such purposes.

Looking forward to checking out more of it.

 

[jaywbigred]

To answer the original thread, yes. Eventually. Not now, and not as long as the older generation holds on to the older technology. The internet is still in its infancy as a technology, and WiFi and mobile coverage even more so.

However, to get there, you need not only technological development, but the ability to employ that technology from a legal standpoint. Laws that hinder the development of technology are common and often become entrenched by large corporate lobbyists.

We had a professor in law school whose niche was "technology and the law" and it was fascinating. One of his favorite subjects was the contrast between elected officials/judges, generally older people who do not always fully understand/do not use/do not readily accept and adopt new technologies, and their position as the lawmakers in charge of regulating the new technologies, which are often developed by/more readily adopted and implemented by younger users.

Some of the most amazing things he showed us were from important legal cases that set precedents that shaped the course and progression of technology. Some of the judges' quotes were scary, things like "I don't know what a automobile/VCR/mp3 is but doing ______________ with it sounds illegal."

Nonetheless, I do think both the technology and regulatory framework will evolve to someday allow for the internet to replace things like broadcast radio and land line (and even cellular) phones.

 

[dmc]

On my drive back from Atlantic City after the Halloween Phish show - We listened to the concert rebroadcast using the Phish IPhone app all the way home. It was pretty cool.. Only went out a couple times on the Thruway.

 

[WWF-VT]

If Howard Stern leaves Sirius - I gone too...

Is Howard Stern still relevant ? Since he's gone satellite he's non-existent compared to his days on FM radio.

 

[mlctvt]

I haven't listened to regular AM/FM in over 8 years. Not even a single minute.

When XM came out I got four units. We loved it, we used it in the cars, at home and at the ski condo. When Serius bought XM they ruined the stations we listened too. They cut the song selection on one station from over 4500 songs to about 800 songs. I heard this was to save money on royalties? I love variety this sucked.

We defected to Slacker radio. Initially we used Slacker portables so we could listen in the car without internet access, just had to refresh the radios every few weeks via wifi.
Lately we're using the slacker Android app so we can still cache the stations music to the phones memory, no need for internet or phone access. The ability to make your own radio stations means I'd never go back to Satellite radio even if they did improve.

 

[dmc]

Is Howard Stern still relevant ? Since he's gone satellite he's non-existent compared to his days on FM radio.

More relavant then ever to his fans...
He's unfettered and free to say whatever he wants..

So relevant that if he leaves Sirius - people are concerned the company will go under...

 

[mlctvt]

I had a bad experience with Sirius, in a nutshell I had put the service on hold for 5 months, at the end of that they had sent me an e-mail saying they were going to cancel my service unless I reinstated it, I replied to the e-mail (didn't say do not reply) to please cancel my account. About 3 months later I get a bill from them for 3 months of service, which I didn't even know had been activated. According to the e-mail the default was cancellation, not activation. Unfortunately I could not find that e-mail but when I contacted CS they were a bunch of pricks and told me there was nothing they could do to eliminate the months they charged me for which I didn't know I had and didn't use. Escalating to manager etc. they just stonewalled. I paid the bill and told them the worst thing that happened was the merger with XM as they now were a monopoly.

Even though I really like Sirius, (I also love listening to the comedy channels on the long drive to K) I won't go back on principle

I had a similar situation. I had pre-paid for 2 or 3 years via credit card. When it was time to renew I cancelled via email a month before the renewal date. A month later I get numerous calls to call them about a problem with my account. Never a real person just a recording. When I call back I can't get through I'm just put on hold waiting for someone to pick up, after 15+ minutes I hang up. Then I get a mailed invoice for "past due" account. Now I'm getting calls from a collection service, they can screw..

I noticed that they are listed at the top of the "terrible customer service rating lists" everywhere. I wonder why.

 

[Edd]

Is Howard Stern still relevant ? Since he's gone satellite he's non-existent compared to his days on FM radio.

The show on Sirius has been a huge improvement over the terrestrial shows he did. He's less of a spaz than he used to be. He is getting older after all.

In addition to being uncensored they have greater control of the pace (when to have commercials). The interviews can go over an hour with no interrruptions and, IMO, are the best interviews anywhere.

I grabbed a lifetime deal from Sirius about six years ago and haven't paid a monthly bill since. You do pay a $75 fee when you choose to switch hardware which I've done only once.

 

[Glenn]

I haven't listened to regular AM/FM in over 8 years. Not even a single minute.

When XM came out I got four units. We loved it, we used it in the cars, at home and at the ski condo. When Serius bought XM they ruined the stations we listened too. They cut the song selection on one station from over 4500 songs to about 800 songs. I heard this was to save money on royalties? I love variety this sucked.

We defected to Slacker radio. Initially we used Slacker portables so we could listen in the car without internet access, just had to refresh the radios every few weeks via wifi.
Lately we're using the slacker Android app so we can still cache the stations music to the phones memory, no need for internet or phone access. The ability to make your own radio stations means I'd never go back to Satellite radio even if they did improve.

That's a pretty cool story right there. Can you cache on the free version of Andriod Slacker or the paid version only?

 

[bvibert]

Can you cache on the free version of Andriod Slacker or the paid version only?

Looks like it's only the paid version:

With a Radio Plus subscription, you can listen even when you are not connected

http://www.slacker.com/everywhere/mobile/android/

 

[mlctvt]

Looks like it's only the paid version:


http://www.slacker.com/everywhere/mobile/android/

Yes you must get plus to cache on an Android. If you sign up through the market on the phone you won't have to prepay the entire year it will show up on your Phone bill as a $3.99 month data charge each month, at least that's how Verizon does it.

If you find a Slacker G1 or G2 device you can cache with the free version of Slacker. I've never heard a commmercial on G1s we had either, just a slacker 10 to 15 second anouncement once every few hours. I wouldn't recommmend the G1 though,we had trouble with the 2 we had. I understand that Slcker has gotten out of the hardware business and they're concentrating on the phone apps now.