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How Long Before FM Tuners Become “Typewriters”?

You do realize their are many more terrestrial radio collections besides next radio right?

Iheartradio
Black Planet
Collegeradioconnection (or collection or something)

are just a couple more. The internet thing has been going on a while now.

Also I highly doubt FM is going anywhere in near future. AM still exists and it hasn't been relevant for nearly 40 years now.
 
Drugolf said:
so unfortunately we all only like the non money making stations. That does not bode well.

Not many audio playing machines other than your automobile do much with OTR broadcast integration really anymore it seems. Most of the younger generation don't even have anything with a tuner in it and in their car they hook up their mP3 players or iPhones. Try buying a clock radio anymore that has a decent tuner in it! They have made FM sound so lousy that many think poor quality streaming or low rate files sounds good.
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Indeed. Hence, the folks at NextRadio are venturing to change this and unshackle FM from the confines of the car. Is it redundant? Will it succeed?
 
KentTeffeteller said:
As long as there is expensive and capped bandwidth on mobile devices (and it may be coming to Cable TV also) and IT departments block streaming and some care about sound quality, AM and FM tuners will be with us. I hope home theater dies.
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Well, that's what NextRadio is betting on. Although it's a bit late in coming, I do see it's merits for now and a very near future. I just feel it's on pretty thin ice going forward.
 
My Sansui TU-717 has been in a box in the closet for years.

The unit sounds outstanding.

Just can't handle commercials anymore.
 
It won't be. Data is not free. Royalties are not free. And if free, there will be as many or more commercials than regular radio has to pay for the infrastructure.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
It won't be. Data is not free. Royalties are not free. And if free, there will be as many or more commercials than regular radio has to pay for the infrastructure.
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Which means that Tuners won't go the way of typewriters for the foreseeable future. But the foreseeable future is not very long.

I don't think it will be long until there is free streaming just about everywhere and commercials will be so well-targeted (i.e. the advertisers will know way too much about too many people) that 1/10th the ads or fewer will have the same revenue value as all of the current ads. This scenario with the streaming bit rate up to 250 kbs and radio has a quick demise.

Also note that there is still a good niche business in IBM Selectric typewriters.
 
Reynolds531 said:
Can't yet get it free in my car.

I don't think that my 3 kids 18 -21 years old every listen to a radio. They do have a decent amp/speakers, headphones, car sound systems and they like music.
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Well if by "free" you mean without paying for a smartphone and an internet connection then that's a fair point. Do any of your kids have a smartphones? If so then that puts "free streams" most everywhere yes?
 
I still have 3 stations in Toronto playing my music and the broadcast quality is good. I am optimistic, but then again, I still use an IBM Selective II wide carriage and have some 5 dozen balls and also a portable Royal manual typewriter.
 
We haven't used a radio tuner at home in quite a while, instead listening to our local NPR and community radios stations' web streams via Roku Soundbridge or Roku Netflix box connected to the stereo. We are paying for broadband Internet anyway so might as well maximize the use. I really like being able to listen to WRTI, Radio Swiss Jazz, Radio Paradise, Soma.FM etc. instead of the awful conglomerate-owned stations. And, it seems that many stations send out the stream at a point prior to all the compression in the signal chain so that a 128 kbps stream sounds as good as most FM stations, and stations streaming at 192 kbps sound better than FM. I still use the FM radio in the car. Will FM be around in another 5 years? Yeah, but I wouldn't bet the house on 10 years.
 
onemug said:
Not in any of our lifetimes.
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I'll also agree with this. Turn your dial away from that great sounding classical, jazz, or college station for a sec and tune in to the local "current" music station. Listen for a few hours if you can. FM radio is still the king for advertising.

As long as the advertisers continue to fund the stations FM is here to stay.
 
Groovetube66 said:
it seems that many stations send out the stream at a point prior to all the compression in the signal chain so that a 128 kbps stream sounds as good as most FM stations, and stations streaming at 192 kbps sound better than FM. I still use the FM radio in the car.
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How can you determine the streaming rate? The local stations I stream sound far worse than my FM tuner. The Spotify 320 kbs sounds far better than the tuner, equivalent to CD to my ears. I suspect the FM streaming is 96 kbs or maybe 48? or something awful like that.
 
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Gush Dimbulb is rolling in cash on AM and NPR on FM has to beg for funding thanks to The Usual Suspects. NPR is the only reason I listen to FM, DXing locally produced quality programming on AM in the evening is the only reason I listen to AM. SQ on most non-NPR stations is typically garbage, NPR music is usually better than the voice programming which sounds generally data-budgeted to me. Net streaming is a non-starter for ala carte internet plans like mine, not ready for or interested in Sat yet if ever.
 
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bluesky said:
My Sansui TU-717 has been in a box in the closet for years.

The unit sounds outstanding.

Just can't handle commercials anymore.
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Too bad, my long-loved SAE TWO T6 recently went TI with a lightning strike power surge and I got to replace it with a nondescript Technics that sounds OK from a thrift shop. Perhaps you will get something worthy to listen on it within range sometime.
 
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