New Social Music Service Gives Control to Listener – Radical.FM Inc. has announced the beta launch of a new personal Internet radio service which combines tailored personal “stations” (like Pandora & Slacker) with on-demand playlist functionality (like Rhapsody & Spotify), adding also social networking and personal broadcasting capabilities – all in one integrated service. Their LiveShare feature permits personal music streams to be shared in real time and DeeJay allows users to speaker to all those who are listening to their LiveShare stream. Anyone can change direction of their music mix as quickly as their mood moves them, without ever hearing an unwanted song. Various genres may be blended for one’s perfect Music Mix, unlike competitive “intuitive” services. A similar service for independent artists called Radical Indie is expected to launch later this year. The services harness the Cloud to make all of the world’s licensed music available to anyone, anywhere. Though the player is currently web browser-based, development for mobile devices is underway.
The Radical Player presents a complete music delivery service to the listener. Founder Thomas McAlevey says personalized radio lacked the flexibility to adapt to a user’s changing moods, so he designed a service allowing users to change direction instantly. Its MyStation proprietary feature was inspired by terrestrial radio programming practices and an audio mixing board. It works with Blocked (Artists/Songs) to create unique personal stations, as well as with LiveShare to allow users to “host” their stations in real time with others. Radial stations do not attempt to guess what music listeners might like based on a few song choices and subjective computer parameters. Instead they divide their huge tune library into professionally-formatted genres similar to satellite radio. Users may blend as many genres as they like, assigning each one a value relative to the others. The result is exactly the kind of music the listener wants to hear at any given moment. A DeeJay function allows hosts to speak live to their audience via a mike on their computer or smartphone. Facebook integration is also available. This is so far only a by-invitation beta launch; the public beta launch will follow. Full Play-On-Demand functionality for a paid premium fate will be launched later this year, allowing subscribers to create personal playlists choosing from over 12 million tunes. Playlists automatically become available as genres for use on MyStation, providing ultimate control of a personal music stream.
Benchmark Tests Digital Audio Connection Between iPad and DAC1 – Using Apple’s low-cost “Camera Connection Kit” adaptor, owners of Benchmark DACs – whether USB or not – may stream 96K/24-bit audio from the Internet via their iPads – which may now become hi-res music servers. Many of the over 90,000 iPad apps now available have audio functions, and the combination of the iPad and the Benchmark DAC deliver studio-quality audio – far superior to the limitations of the iPad’s built-in headphone jack.
Philips Previews HD Net Connect – Philips has previewed a Wireless HD Net Connect set-top box solution to relay computer content wireless to a TV display. The Wireless HD Connect product is expected to ship late this year at $300 suggested retail. It is billed as a solution for transmitting all your content from a computer to a TV screen in up to full 1080p/60 resolution without any complicated hookup or software requirements. It uses the HDI protocol which is free of the interference that sometimes plagues Wi-Fi transmissions. Transmitter and receiver boxes connect to source and display devices via the HDMI ports. A dongle on the transmission end plugs into a USB port for power only. It will relay signals to the receiver from up to 23 feet away with no line-of-sight requirements – meaning the signal penetrates walls and floors. Viewers can access video service accounts from Netflix, Hulu and others using their computer to view content on their connected TV sets. The new Philips Blu-ray player model BDP3406, introduced at the same time, is a wireless-ready product with access to Netflix and Vudu HD movie services, fullHD 1080p output and an SRP of $120.
