THREAT FROM UNPROTECTED DAB IS ‘REAL AND IMMINENT,’ RIAA SAYS
Software recently introduced that allows consumers to automatically search the Internet for radio stations and to record songs as MP3 files is proof of the “real and imminent” threat of in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital audio broadcasting (DAB) without content protection, the RIAA told the FCC in a letter Mon.
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The RIAA said it has provided “extensive evidence” that unprotected IBOC “will enable consumers to record and retain large personal collections of sound recordings broadcast on DAB without having to pay for the content,” it told the Commission. Moreover, the association has argued persuasively that unprotected IBOC “will provide a better vehicle” than unauthorized P2P services for copying the same variety of music, it said.
As further documentation, the RIAA attached copies of an Aug. 3 news release trumpeting a software product called Audio Xtract. Besides the ability to automatically record Internet radio songs onto MP3 files, the RIAA said, the release shows Audio Xtract will eliminate and reduce overlap at the beginning and end of songs, play songs on a PC and burn songs onto CDs. Similar technology will undoubtedly be developed and used “to automatically cherry-pick DAB broadcasts for recording and retention of particular songs,” it said.
As for data sought by the Commission on DAB in the U.K., the RIAA said Eureka-147 service was designed to operate at a higher bit rate than the iBiquity IBOC system in the U.S. But it’s not clear that stations in the U.K. “are employing the full capabilities of the system, thereby reducing the quality of the broadcast transmission,” it said. Moreover, Eureka was deployed “some time ago” and iBiquity has been able to exploit recent advances in codec technology, it said. “As a result, the iBiquity system offers higher quality audio using a lower bit rate,” the RIAA said. “Given these 2 factors, it appears that DAB broadcasters in the United Kingdom have not offered the quality of signal that iBiquity promises and thus the impetus for equipment manufacturers to introduce DAB receivers/recorders was comparably reduced.”
Nevertheless, the RIAA didn’t backtrack from arguments, raised in its comments and replies, that there’s a rising threat to recorded music in the U.K. from the introduction of devices that would record and redistribute songs without authorization. “The problem of unauthorized recording of DAB content has been recognized by the BBC, which has committed to address the problem,” the RIAA said.