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#48849 - 07/08/02 10:24 AM It was an interesting idea...
gonk Offline
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Registered: 03/21/01
Posts: 14054
Loc: Memphis, TN USA
It was certainly an interesting concept, but it looks like a bit of runaway corporate greed has taken a pretty nasty bite out of Internet radio. Oh, well.

Quote:
IR 1000 News

We are continuing development of our Internet Radio, the IR 1000, but at this time we are indefinitely postponing its introduction. Although the unit is technically ready for shipment, we are concerned that the outcome of recent decisions by the Librarian of Congress on royalty rates for internet streams may greatly reduce the number of "stations" available to potential IR 1000 owners. As an example, Yahoo has removed their re-broadcast of terrestrial radio stations, and other stations and streamers are threatening to "go dark" due to the economic impact of the latest rulings by the CARP.

Although we continue to be strong believers in the concept of internet radio, and despite pleas from our beta testers to hang on to their IR 1000 samples, before we charge anyone for a product such as this we want to make certain that it will be able to deliver long-term value from programming sources that are outside of our control. We sincerely hope that a compromise is reached that enables the internet radio business to develop, and we'll keep a watch on this to see if (and when) the timing is right to release the IR 1000.


Sorry, little IR1000. You tried...

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#48850 - 07/08/02 11:51 AM Re: It was an interesting idea...
Matthew Hill Offline
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Registered: 11/29/01
Posts: 1434
Loc: Mount Laurel, NJ
Perhaps they could recast the idea as some kind of "Ultimate Tuner." Take the device as it is, add some features for browsing tunes off a PC's hard drive a la Audiotron, add the AM/FM tuner from the 950, and add a Sirius or XM tuner as well. Sell it for $500. It would be the perfect companion to the 950's upcoming big brother, which of course will not include a tuner. :-)

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matt@idsi.net
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#48851 - 07/08/02 12:12 PM Re: It was an interesting idea...
psklenar Offline
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Registered: 03/01/01
Posts: 479
Loc: Southern New England, USA
Gonk,

I've not yet given up hope. The stations I've found myself listening to since the beginning of the beta test are still online with the exception of one MSN hosted "channel".


Matt,

While that would be a neat development, I don't honestly see how this unit could be "upgraded" to that level. I suspect that that would require a completely new design. Although ... I have been wrong before.


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#48852 - 07/08/02 12:24 PM Re: It was an interesting idea...
Matthew Hill Offline
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Registered: 11/29/01
Posts: 1434
Loc: Mount Laurel, NJ
Pat, it probably would be a new, or mostly new design. It just seemed like a neat idea to me and a way to make use of some of the engineering they put into the IR-1000.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net
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#48853 - 07/08/02 01:22 PM Re: It was an interesting idea...
psklenar Offline
Desperado

Registered: 03/01/01
Posts: 479
Loc: Southern New England, USA
Matt,

Oh, please don't get me wrong, personally I think that would be a very nice addition to the Outlaw line. However, based on various comments and posts by the Outlaws in the past, I don't really expect to see such a critter.

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email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair
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#48854 - 07/08/02 02:15 PM Re: It was an interesting idea...
gonk Offline
Desperado

Registered: 03/21/01
Posts: 14054
Loc: Memphis, TN USA
Oh, yeah, a "super tuner" would be a cool product. If it retained the IR1000 features and added traditional radio features, it would more clearly differentiate it from the Audiotron (make it more clear that it is a tuner rather than a digital music front-end). From what I was told, adding the ability to play files stored elsewhere on a LAN isn't something that can be added to the IR1000 as it is today, but I have wondered about making it be able to get to locally-generated streaming sources -- using one of the free MP3 streaming servers (or even getting creative with WindowsMedia Encoder to create a WMA stream) to create your own station. If nothing else, the IR1000 chassis would probably be a decent starting point for a pure "traditional" tuner if the Internet audio features had to be dropped entirely.

I agree with you, Pat, that it would be good to see the IR1000 make its way to market, and it isn't out of the running yet. It's just a shame that after all the work Outlaw and Arrio have put into the technology, CARP is throwing a wrench in the works. The poor ol' IR1000 gets left in obscurity at least a little longer (hopefully not forever) as a result.

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#48855 - 07/08/02 06:25 PM Re: It was an interesting idea...
Matthew Hill Offline
Desperado

Registered: 11/29/01
Posts: 1434
Loc: Mount Laurel, NJ
It's a shame that file-sharing can't easily be added to the IR-1000, as that is one of the best features of the Audiotron. A streaming server would be okay, too, but it would have to come in the box with the IR-1000 and run on Windows *and* Linux to be worth it. It would also have to be able to be remotely controlled from the IR-1000. On the other hand, the IR-1000 must also be able to be remotely controlled by a PC with a browser.

Oh, and it must handle MP3 and PCM at a minimum. QT, RA, and WMA if they want to throw it in. If it sounds like I want an Audiotron with a built-in AM/FM tuner and an Outlaw logo.... well, that's kind of what I want.

As far as CARP goes... Grrr...

But I also think that Outlaw shouldn't be trying to stick their finger in the wind quite as much as they are. I say, a good product is a good product, and if it becomes obsolete later, well so be it. I think many people would buy an IR-1000 as it exists now, and many more would buy an Ultimate Tuner, regardless of what CARP does. Yes, CARP may put a chill on Internet radio, but IR is here to stay (IMHO). There may be fewer stations, but I don't think there will be none. The big guys will survive. And I think that given time, copyright holders will have to come to their senses.

Plus, there will always be *ahem* underground stations.

For an Ultimate Tuner, however, software upgradability over the ethernet port becomes a *must*. Formats *will* change, and the device very well could be marginalized. Put all these features in one box... I'd buy it. Even if *every* IR station on the planet dries up in two years, I'll still be able to use it to play files off my HDD, and I'll still have a kick-ass AM/FM tuner.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net
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