• Registered: 2009-12-11
  • Posts: 3

Topic: How do we get unlimited internet radio services?

Don't get me wrong....Chumby is amaaazing.  My very
best wishes to Chumby and all the good people responsible
for it.

But how come the best internet radio I've ever had is
limited to feeds for which someone has prepared a widget.
Can't we get the amazing Receiva service and other great
internet radio sites without waiting for someone to
program a widget?  I know...I can slowly type in single
sites...but I'm talking about those handy sites that have
tasty and useful directories.  Can there be a single
widget that does the job? 

The display on the Chumby, small as it is, is much better
than most dedicated internet radios, and very much contrary
to comments I've read, the sound quality is amazing and
very satifying for such a small unit.  I have powered speakers
on the same table as the Chumby. My wife asked if she was
listening to the powered speakers.  She couldn't believe
that the Chumby sounded so good.

Any thoughts on "unlimited" internet radio will be appreciated.

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
  • Offline
  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: How do we get unlimited internet radio services?

These are the typical issues:

1) Unsupported audio formats - many sources use proprietary codecs that incur substantial license fees, if they're licensable at all under terms that are compatible with the device, or the business model.  Note that many patent holders impose different licensing terms on embedded devices than they do with desktop computers.  There are some codecs we could license, but only under the conditions that we completely close the device from modification by users.

2) DRM - some music sources still use protection schemes that are difficult or illegal to implement.

3) Label restrictions - some of the music sources have terms from the music publishers that restrict the use of the music by device type, region, etc.  In some cases we'll ask if the chumby can be supported, and the response is that they're not allowed to support anything other than desktop computers.

4) Exclusivity arrangements - in some cases a music service will have a deal with another company that prohibits providing the same or similar service on other devices.  In some cases, some music sources would not license to us unless we eliminated another music source they considered competitive.

5) Legal requirements - in almost all cases,  providing the source requires a contractual relationship with the source - we can't unilaterally provide the service without a deal.  In the current offerings, you're seeing the result of many man-years of negotiations.  In some cases, during the negotiations the deal terms become so onerous on us or the users that we walk away.

6) Some music sources are simply uninterested in supporting the device.

7) Someone has to code it - that's usually the easiest part.

Duane's Website