[James Duncan]

On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:53:20 -0800, Laughing... laughing... LMFAO!!!
wrote:

http://feedback.pdxradio.com/topic/a...phy-is-out-of-
business

I won a Radiosophy H101 table radio in a drawing, and it's worth every
penny I paid for it.

Despite advertising claims to the contrary, the RF section is quite
insensitive. This sample may be defective, but it often freezes and
shows gibberish on its LCD display. The plastic case looks cheap, and
the audio from its two speakers is not so great. I put it back in its
original box where it has been for many months. Thought about selling it
on EBay but was worried about losing my 100% feedback rating. For
$29.95, this thing arguably might have been a decent enough value, but I
believe the original selling price was several times that much. On the
next Goodwill run I'll include it with other discarded household goods.

This company's mediocre products gave HD Radio yet another black eye.
Whether or not HD Radio is a useful service, the Radiosophy company
evidently sold crappy overpriced products and has justifiably gone out of
business.
--
Semper Factotal

[Laughing... laughing... LMFAO!!!]

On Dec 24, 12:58*pm, James Duncan wrote:
On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:53:20 -0800, Laughing... laughing... LMFAO!!!
wrote:

http://feedback.pdxradio.com/topic/a...phy-is-out-of-

business

I won a Radiosophy H101 table radio in a drawing, and it's worth every
penny I paid for it. *

Despite advertising claims to the contrary, the RF section is quite
insensitive. *This sample may be defective, but it often freezes and
shows gibberish on its LCD display. *The plastic case looks cheap, and
the audio from its two speakers is not so great. *I put it back in its
original box where it has been for many months. Thought about selling it
on EBay but was worried about losing my 100% feedback rating. *For
$29.95, this thing arguably might have been a decent enough value, but I
believe the original selling price was several times that much. *On the
next Goodwill run I'll include it with other discarded household goods.

This company's mediocre products gave HD Radio yet another black eye. *
Whether or not HD Radio is a useful service, the Radiosophy company
evidently sold crappy overpriced products and has justifiably gone out of
business.
--
Semper Factotal

"The ongoing tragedy of HD radio"

"It’s true that the RadioShack Accurian is the most affordable way
into the appealing new club that is HD Radio, but it’s costly for all
the wrong reasons. One look underneath the base of an Accurian
explains its $200 [now $150 on sale] price tag. There, a sticker
reads: “HD Radio Technology Under License From iBiquity Digital
Corporation.” Instead of developing a radio capable of superior sound
quality, I’m guessing that RadioShack paid iBiquity a fortune for the
license, cheaply put together a subpar product, and passed the
licensing cost on to consumers."

http://www.markramseymedia.com/2007/...y-of-hd-radio/

HD Radio manufacturers, retailers, and the automakers are all trying
to screw the consumers by passing along iBiquity's royalty fees.
Radiosophy, and the Radio Shack Accurian for example, now history,
were fine examples of this HD Radio scam playing out. Luckily,
iBiquity and the automakers are now under investigation. At some point
the non-HD broadcasters will file a class-action, too, and may include
the HD broadcasters who felt duped by iBiquity and Harris. I know some
broadcasters who are working with Keefe Bartels and have been asked to
testify. The litigation wll cost iBiquity/NAB and the automakers a
fortune. There is some much dishonesty involved with this system that
can be traced all the way back to the FCC and Congress. I believe Rich
Wood when he stated that this will make the Performance Royalties and
th BP litigation look like child's play. I can't wait for Bartels and
Wolf's discovery-phase. Hopefully, as the case progress in Federal
Court, the media will be alerted.

[SMS]

On 12/24/2010 9:58 AM, James Duncan wrote:

This company's mediocre products gave HD Radio yet another black eye.
Whether or not HD Radio is a useful service, the Radiosophy company
evidently sold crappy overpriced products and has justifiably gone out of
business.

Unfortunately, you can add extra features to both low end and high end
products. Perhaps iBiquity should be more selective in who it grants
licenses to, but the reality is that this is the first HD Radio receiver
that really sucks. It should not give HD Radio a black eye any more than
a crappy CD or DVD player, or an FM radio without HD would give those
technologies a black eye. Dolby licenses their technologies to companies
that make both good and bad equipment, and that doesn't give a black eye
to Dolby. In the case of both Dolby and iBiquity the royalty fees to
receiver manufacturers are so small that it has a very minor effect on
the retail price of the product.

The bottom line is that broadcasters love the IBOC concept for digital
radio in general, and HD Radio in specific. It's a win-win-win-win
scenario for broadcasters, transmitter manufacturers, receiver
manufacturers, and consumers. The fact that around 2000 radio stations
have added HD and there has not been a single instance of interference
being proven says a lot about how well the technology works. Luxury auto
makers don't add new technologies to their vehicles unless they are
robust, and most luxury cars now offer HD Radio. It's slowly filtering
down to lower cost vehicles, as is often the case with new technologies
that appear first on higher end vehicles.

In 2011, hopefully we'll see more radio stations increasing their power
levels for HD Radio, and perhaps some of the smaller radio stations will
decide to move forward with HD Radio.

[James Duncan]

On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:58:08 -0800, Laughing... laughing... LMFAO!!!
wrote:

I’m guessing that
RadioShack paid iBiquity a fortune for the license, cheaply put together
a subpar product, and passed the licensing cost on to consumers."

http://www.markramseymedia.com/2007/...y-of-hd-radio/

I never took a look at the iBiquity fee structures. I just now went
online and did that. I didn't immediately find the $50 chipset royalty
for radio receivers but did find the broadcaster license fees. Wow.

I installed a Pioneer HD Radio receiver in my car. The Pioneer adapter
was $100, and I guess half that was the royalty. Geez. The device's FM
section works pretty well but isn't nearly as good as the "Supertuner" in
the main receiver chassis. As well it works very poorly on AM -
unacceptable. I complained strongly to Crutchfield, and they sent me a
replacement, but that sample was also lousy.

Creatively, I arranged a Motorola Y adapter and pigtail so that I can use
the Supertuner for analog radio and only use the HD Radio adapter when I
need it.

The Pioneer system and the full length car antenna does receive HD Radio
pretty well on FM, but now I realize that if I couldn't have come up with
the Y cable arrangement, I'd again have a crappy radio overall since the
Pioneer adapter is poorly nuanced compared to their analog tuner.

When I lump my experience with two HD Radio receivers - the Radiosophy I
got free and the Pioneer auto receiver - with knowledge of this evidently
outrageous iBiquity fee structure, I see that HD Radio is DOA as a
product.

HD Radio manufacturers, retailers, and the automakers are all trying to
screw the consumers by passing along iBiquity's royalty fees.

This is all quite a marketing bummer and blunder. It's a real jaw
dropper.

Actually, I don't use the HD Radio in my car anymore. I plug my DroidX
phone into the Pioneer's audio jacks and listen to streaming audio from
the Internet. Maybe I'll just remove the HD Radio kludge from the car
since my Y-adapter slightly degrades the analog FM performance.
--
Semper Factotal

[James Duncan]

On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 17:26:38 -0800, SMS wrote:

Unfortunately, you can add extra features to both low end and high end
products. Perhaps iBiquity should be more selective in who it grants
licenses to, but the reality is that this is the first HD Radio receiver
that really sucks.

I point out in another post that my Pioneer HD Radio car receiver also
has a number of problems. I've had 100% poor luck so far as a consumer.

It should not give HD Radio a black eye any more than
a crappy CD or DVD player, or an FM radio without HD would give those
technologies a black eye.

Yes, but there's a vibrant marketplace for CD/DVD players. Thousands of
them are available in the competitive marketplace. If there are only a
few HD Radio models available, and a significant percentage of them may
have problems in addition to high cost, then you've got a black eye
marketing scenario for radio in general.

The fact that around 2000 radio stations
have added HD and there has not been a single instance of interference
being proven says a lot about how well the technology works.

The basic technology seems to work OK based on my own car listening
experience, but in a larger context I now understand that the product is
a stiff, particularly since I found that I can plug my DroidX phone into
the car radio's audio jacks and listen to Internet streamed audio while
driving. It works surprisingly well.

In 2011, hopefully we'll see more radio stations increasing their power
levels for HD Radio, and perhaps some of the smaller radio stations will
decide to move forward with HD Radio.

I have to ask if by any chance you are an iBiquity shill? I'm glad I'm
no longer a broadcast engineer and only would have to deal with these
issues as a consumer.
--
Semper Factotal

[[email protected]]

The operative word/term/ignitials is DOA = Dead On Arrival.
cuhulin