HD Radio - Next Big Thing or Flop?

[admin]

HD Radio makes sense. Digital music with meta information similar to mp3, but with even more flexibility. As the digital transition looms nearer for televisions, radio - for the most part seems bent on staying analogue, even though the same fuzzy AM and FM radio has been annoying us for decades. HD Radio proved to change all that, but similar to HD DVD, there seems to be only one main technology player in town - iBiquity and they aren't exactly having adopters sign up in droves for a non-mandatory digital radio transition.


Discuss "HD Radio - Next Big Thing or Flop?" here. Read the article.

[TLS Guy]

I have done an installation with an HD radio. I also have experience with the European DAB. Both Ibiquity's HD and DAB sound worse than FM. They sound brittle and have the same audio defects as mp3 files.
A good FM tuner with a good FM roof antenna sounds significantly better than so called HD, which is not HD, it is LD. If there was a lossless codec then it would likely be satisfactory.

[markw]

but, it's not making much use of that potential.

And, their biggest selling point is that the "HD" in their product is mistaken for "High Definition" and, I'd venture to say that most people that fall for this can't even tell the difference. ("Dude, I just got me a hi def radio! It sounds gnarly!") ok, so I'm dating myself here

The sound is, well, acceptable for non-critical listening but that shouldn't be too much of an impediment for it. Lots and lots of people listen to crappy MP3 recordings and don't mind.

But, the availability seems to be the hang-up here. When other systems* came into the marketplace, the inventors/licensors went out of their way to make it palatable for manufacturers to include it in their products at little or no extra cost, thereby making it a "freebie" to he consumer. The more consumers that got the stuff, the more ingrained into the fabric of the system it became. Those pennies of licensing fees seem to add up.

At the heyday of cassettes decks, and even today, you're hard-pressed to find one without some form of Dolby NR or another and look where Dolby is today.

As I say, a lot of us audiogeeks aren't really ready to part with $$ for an inferior product of unproven nature and Joe Sixpack, who would be their most likely target, doesn't seem willing to pay a premium for it either, assuming that hardware was readily available, which isn't the case anyway.

Ibiquity is gonna have to wise up if it wants to be a playa.

Unless, of course, the government pulls a fast one on us like they just did for TV, but at least digital TV is a marked improvement over analog TV and they ARE mandating inexpensive converter boxes aand offering coupons to help the sting. "HD" radio isn't.

* like FM stereo, MTS stereo and Dolby NR for tape decks

[Midcow2]

If you listen to radio; I like talk radio in the car and sometimes at home then I think it has potential but it is in the beginning neophyte stage. More radio stations will have to add the format and it will evolve into AVRs; now it is just the higher end.

In the past receivers had very good AM/FM tuners. in most cases now it is an afterthought because everyone is interested in DVD and satellite (with Sirius XM) HDMI or PC Internet streaming and AM/FM are not really looked at that much.

I recently bough a AVR that had HD and I listen to it occasionally and it sound very good to excellent. I also recently bought a Sony XDR-S3HD radio and it sounds very good. But what do I know, I have a Bose wave radio that actually pulls in stations well and sounds good ( notice I did not say very good as with the Sony or 80002 HD).


I think you will see more and more HD radio in the future. Not that they are always the lead indiactor, but I noticed BMW and probably other car manaufacturers are offering their Harmon Kardon radio with HD now.

[Exit]

I listen to FM radio very little and generally in the car. I usually listen to CDs or MP3 CDs rather than the radio. At present I would not be inclined to add to my monthly bills or lay down the cash for initial purchase of a satellite radio. If I were a traveling salesman or something like that I probably would subscribe to satellite radio. I would be much more inclined if there was a lossless format. I have got candidate radios in my audio system and four cars. That would be a big investment and monthly bill. I will stick with free FM radio for now.

[Biggiesized]

The FCC should move to invest/support the newer DAB+ standard. I think that's a better way to go than the proprietary nonsense from iBiquity.

FM isn't much better at all than some of these digital formats. I called up one of my local CC radio stations and I was surprised to learn that they broadcast music in the 128 kbps MP3 format. Yuk!

[pereze]

I have HD radio in my car. I installed it almost two years ago when I was upgrading my stereo and wanted to have a few different options. I like listening to the radio sometimes and I had a little money to blow (if I remember correctly it was about $150). At the time, we were looking at some homes that would have given me a good size commute, so I thought having HD radio may be good to have.

One of the biggest draws was not that it was high quality, but that I could get multiple stations from one frequency. One of the more popular radio stations in Atlanta, 99X, just moved to an online/HD format only so you can't get it with a normal radio. I would not describe myself as a typical consumer, but I am not completely an audioholic. I appreciate audio quality, but I can also listen to an alarm/clock/radio and enjoy myself too.

The quality of the signal can be great at times. At other times, it can be a bit “compressed”, which I would say is better than the hiss of a typical analog station. Some stations are better than others. One of my biggest gripes is that the analog and digital broadcast can be out of synch and if the radio has a hard time locking in on the HD it is obnoxious because it will switch back and forth between the two.

Otherwise, I am happy with my purchase. This is the only thing I have ever bought that would be considered "cutting edge", but I feel it was a good purchase.

Now I am going to go listen to my HD2 station that you can't hear.

Eric

[PocketRadio]

“Is HD Radio Toast?”

“There are serious issues of coverage. Early adopters who bought HD radios report serious drop-outs, poor coverage, and interference. The engineers of Ibiquity may argue otherwise and defend the system, but the industry has a serious PR problem with the very people we need to get the word out on HD... In other words, everything you can find on the regular FM dial... The word has already gotten out about HD Radio. People who have already bought an HD Radio are telling others of their experience (mostly bad) and no amount of marketing will reverse this.”

fmqb.com/article.asp?id=487772

"Renowned Cambridge SoundWorks HD Radio Designer Explains HD Radio"

"HD Radio broadcasts require a consistent, stronger signal than analog broadcasts... Below the minimum required signal le vel, the HD Radio program switches back to the analog signal... There is a limit to how far you can be from a transmitter and still receive an HD Radio transmission. For flat land with no obstructions, this limit could be as far away as 20-25 miles. For hilly terrain, the limit may drop to 10-15 miles. For the strongest signal within 20 miles of a radio transmitter, the user should position the provided 30 inch dipole antenna either horizontally or vertically along a wall or window."

hdradio.com/the_buzz.php?thebuzz=87

"Questions About High Definition HD Radio"

Q: Why do I get drop-outs or silences on the HD2 Services?

A: This is a sign of marginal signal strength at your radio. It is important to remember that the HD Radio multicast channels (HD2, HD3, etc), unlike the HD1 channel, do not have an analog signal for the radio to 'fall-back to' when digital reception is lost. So a listener with marginal reception that is losing the digital signal will experience periods of silence until the signal is regained.

wpr.org/hd/hd_faq.cfm

Of the automakers listed, Volvo, whose sales are doing poorly along with most of the automakers offering HD as just an option, is the only one offering HD standard. HD/IBOC jams on both FM and especially on AM. It's range is 1/3 to 1/2 of analog. Consumers have zero interest, and who buys radios anymore, except for radio-geeks. Chrysler and BMW are offering in-dash Internet this Fall, so other automakers will have to follow. HD Radio would just be a downgrade.

HD Radio is all about lies:

hdradiofarce.blogspot.com

[10010011]

There is a limit to how far you can be from a transmitter and still receive an HD Radio transmission. For flat land with no obstructions, this limit could be as far away as 20-25 miles. For hilly terrain, the limit may drop to 10-15 miles. For the strongest signal within 20 miles of a radio transmitter, the user should position the provided 30 inch dipole antenna either horizontally or vertically along a wall or window."

This is my main problem with HD radio and the digital TV transition. I live too far from any major cities to get any HD radio or any digital TV OTA. I can receive a few analog TV channels and plenty of analog radio.

[Biggiesized]

What kind of antenna do you have for digital OTA?