New alliance tunes into the 'net

Add another acronym to your collection of tech-industry alliances. A group of internet-media movers and shakers, including broadcast services and device makers, have joined together to form the IMDA, aka the Internet Media Device Alliance. As stated on the new alliance's website, IMDA's goal is to "develop and promote a set of …

[jake]

Radio Radio

It's a sound salvation.

You better shut up or get cut out

They don't wanna hear about it

It's only inches on the reel-to-reel ...

Thanks, Elvis ... Some of us got it decades ago.

There ain't half been some clever bastards ...

[Craig]

I notice...

..that there's a distinctly European accent to the group. A welcome voice on the Internet.

[Steve Green]

The BBC hates Internet radio

The BBC would much prefer it if Internet radio didn't exist at all - because it views Internet radio as a threat to its beloved DAB system.

The BBC is only getting involved in this so that it can influence Internet radio - i.e. hold it back if it gets going.

The BBC's "management" of its Internet radio streams over the last 5 years for instance has been grossly incompetent. They were using Real Player G2 codec with a bit rate of 32 kbps until last year, and they 'transcoded' the audio rather than spending £5k per annum on a leased line to avoid transcoding - at a time when they were spending £6m (now about £9m) per annum transmitting DAB.

Overall, the audio quality was unlistenably bad, which was just how the BBC wanted it, because it stopped pesky consumers from deserting their beloved DAB platform.

[Seán]

Uh

Well video killed the radio star and was then slaughtered in turn by Youtube. Radio in any form is about as valid as black and white TV. Except of course for the execrable aficionados. but broadcasting shows suitable for listening while watching planes take off and land is hardly profitable.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Sean

For radio to be viable, you'd need there to be hundreds of millions of people who regularly use a mode of transport where listening to audio broadcasts is practical, but where video or any level of interactivity is not. I'm just trying to think of one now...