Audio News for January 1, 2008

Record Industry Lawsuit Against Personal Music Use –  More than 20,000 lawsuits have been filed against consumers who find free tunes to download on the Net instead of buying physical CDs, but it has had little effect on digital music sharing of the decline of the sale of record albums. Now a new twist has been added in an RIAA suit against taking music sharing a step further – Jeffrey Howell in Scottsdale, AZ, transferred about 2000 CD music recordings he had purchased onto the hard drive of his personal computer. The RIAA, in its federal case against Howell, maintains that is illegal – never mind that he legally purchased the CDs and is only transferring them for his own personal use to make them more convenient to access. They are calling them “unauthorized copies” of copyrighted recordings.

A New York attorney representing clients sued by the RIAA said he couldn’t believe it when he read that.  He reports, “The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright.”  The RIAA’s own web site states that making a personal copy of a CD you bought may not be a legal right but usually won’t raise concerns if you don’t give the music away or lend it to anyone (let alone sell it).  But 69% of teenagers in a survey said they thought it was legal to copy one of their CDs and give it to a friend. More than half current college students download music and movies illegally.  In order for the “old media” to survive in the face of new technologies, they must adapt. The record industry is having a difficult time doing that.

Over Half of U.S. Households Have DTV Now – According to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), more than 50% of U.S. households now own a digital TV, and consumers are adding DTV to their homes at a record pace. Manufacturers will post an 11% revenue growth for 2007, and 13% is forecast for 2008. DTV and related products will be on center stage at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 7  – 10. Besides being prominent in the 2700 exhibits on the show floor, DTV will be the hot topic at multiple events and conference sessions.

Suggested New Year’s Resolutions for Electronics Manufacturers – 1) Furnish an actual owner’s manual with a component, not a CD-ROM or folded-up setup diagram. And have the manual written by your engineers checked by an ordinary outside user to discover where it makes no sense at all to the uninitiated. 2) Don’t call the same button/command different things depending on whether you are reading the remote, the front of the component, or the instructions.  Provide a vital glossary with translations of all the terminology used. 3) Pack the component well, but don’t overkill with styrofoam encasements that are four times bigger than the unit and immediately crumble anyway. 4) Make all remotes connected with video backlit so you can see buttons in the dark.  And please don’t make all the buttons exactly the same size.  5) If the unit needs a charger, wall-wart, USB or HDMI cable, include it – don’t make the new owner have to go out and buy such items before the component can be used.