The consumer boom in digital music presents immediate and future challenges for the technology, design and function of vehicle audio systems. A new report from telematics specialists SBD maps out in detail the current trends and assesses the options open to manufacturers to meet user requirements and expectations. The research, Trends and Challenges for In-car Audio in the Digital Age, provides an independent and informed guide to the most effective short and longer term strategies for developing vehicle systems to provide digital compatibility and improved sound quality.

SBD expects the European market for portable digital music players to become a $3 billion industry in 2005. Consumers increasingly expect to be able to access their personal music collection wherever they are. This raises expectations of what a vehicle audio system should be able to provide, beyond the established format of an analogue radio tuner and CD player that features as a minimum in almost all new vehicles today. SBD shows how some manufacturers are already responding to the market by providing systems which can play digital files stored on compact discs or by providing an auxiliary input to link personal music players, such as iPods and MP3 players, to the vehicle's speaker system. Options to use memory cards and USB flash drives are also being introduced.

Looking ahead, the report explores the technologies required to develop more flexible systems with greater capacity in the next five to 10 years. These include wider provision of USB ports, the engineering of hard disc drives (HDD) to store music files and provision of wireless links for portable music players, for example through a Bluetooth connection.

The report also investigates crucial issues affecting the provision of digital radio tuners in vehicles and looks at advances in sound reproduction with the introduction of the first in-car true surround sound systems, designed to achieve the quality found in home theatre systems.

This research is supported by extensive data tables and illustrations to provide a comprehensive picture of how vehicle audio systems have developed, the initiatives being pursued by specific manufacturers and how new technologies work.

Press Release: November 2005

Music industry measures to control the use of downloaded material are slowing development of in-car digital audio systems. A new report from leading automotive telematics consultants SBD reveals that Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection, designed to block unauthorised file sharing, can prevent downloaded tracks from being played back through a vehicle?s sound system.

"Vehicle manufacturers have started to enable motorists to connect memory cards and USB flash drives to play their own digital music through their car's audio system, but we expect quite a few are going to be disappointed as the limitations imposed by DRM become apparent," said David Bell, SBD Managing Director.

"Files they have bought from on-line shops may be unplayable, unless their car's system can support DRM. This is difficult for manufacturers to achieve, as a number of different DRM technologies have been created and these are regularly updated as new security loopholes are exposed."

"For this reason our advice to manufacturers is not to adopt DRM software for in-car systems. The lack of a single, static DRM standard will continue to be a major obstacle for the motor industry for the forseeable future."

The past five years have witnessed a transformation in the personal audio market. The introduction of portable, compact and high quality digital music systems, such as MP3 players and Apple?s iPod, have raised customer expectations of accessibility to music and sound reproduction quality.

This year, SBD predicts the European market for digital portable music players will soar to $3 billion. In the short to medium term, it identifies opportunities for car makers to adapt existing equipment to enable motorists to link up their personal equipment while driving. But in the longer term, it identifies more sophisticated strategies that will need to be adopted in order to meet higher customer expectations.

"At the moment, manufacturers are focusing on ways in which motorists can integrate their personal music players with a car's audio system, through providing an auxiliary input socket, and on adapting CD players to read and play MP3 or other digital music files on disc," said David Bell.

"However, this approach will only address basic customer needs. In the next three to five years we expect more vehicles to enable memory cards and USB flash drives to be connected, while in the longer term in-car hard disc drives (HDD) could provide even greater capacity."

The report, Trends and Challenges for In-car Audio in the Digital Age, records how Mercedes-Benz and Mazda have unveiled the first European models to feature HDD technology. SBD expects most manufacturers to follow their lead, primarily to develop more sophisticated navigation systems but with associated benefits in other areas, including enhanced versatility.

Where radio tuners are concerned, DAB equipment is only slowly being introduced for in-car systems. SBD predicts the rate will increase in the next two to three years, but will be dependent on wider consumer awareness and interest across Europe, crucially in the high-volume German market.