HD radio question

[tattoo_Dan]

I have a ONKYO 876,and I listen to FM alot,and I like the HD radio,there are 2 stations I listen to,they are both owned by the same company,and are local,and broadcast locally,for a long time they both received in HD,now only one does,and the other is good reception but does not get HD anymore,
they are the eagle and kssj from here, http://www.entercom.com/markets.php , they tell me it's my equipment,but how could it be if I still get the eagle 96.9 in HD but not kssj ?
all these stations,like 6 of them are all in the same building,exact same physical location.

do I need a better antenna ? I have a middle of the road TERK ,

has anyone ever experienced this type of problem ?

 

[Lordoftherings]

Your equipment is fine.

Sometimes, radio stations change frequencies or whatever.

Perhaps, just a new reorientation of your antenna could help.
Also the weather can affect reception, or even other type of interference, like construction, cell phones, etc.

I would not worry about my 876.

Bob

 

[TLS Guy]

I have a ONKYO 876,and I listen to FM alot,and I like the HD radio,there are 2 stations I listen to,they are both owned by the same company,and are local,and broadcast locally,for a long time they both received in HD,now only one does,and the other is good reception but does not get HD anymore,
they are the eagle and kssj from here, http://www.entercom.com/markets.php , they tell me it's my equipment,but how could it be if I still get the eagle 96.9 in HD but not kssj ?
all these stations,like 6 of them are all in the same building,exact same physical location.

do I need a better antenna ? I have a middle of the road TERK ,

has anyone ever experienced this type of problem ?

Yes, you probably do need a better antenna. The HD signal is only allowed by the FCC to be 1% of the analog signal. This is because the HD signal interferes with the analog signal on the fringes, especially in cars. At my location I could not get the Sony unit I was testing to go to HD with an indoor antenna. I had to provide it with a signal from my roof Yagi-Uda array.

You likely will not solve your problem with an indoor antenna. It will require a roof or at least loft antenna. For good FM reception roof antennas are the way to go. In a simulcast analog/HD situation, if a good HD signal is not received, then the default is analog FM

Remember, if it is simulcast analog and HD, the analog FM is the better quality by far. The iBiquity/IBOC system only provides a miserable 96 kbs data stream and that is Low-Fi in my book.

From my investigations with my system, simulcasts are of no benefit whatever. The only possible advantage of this iBiquity/IBOC system that I can see is the broadcast of stations not available in analog FM on the HD2/HD3 sidebands.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

Yes, you probably do need a better antenna. The HD signal is only allowed by the FCC to be 1% of the analog signal. This is because the HD signal interferes with the analog signal on the fringes, especially in cars. At my location I could not get the Sony unit I was testing to go to HD with an indoor antenna. I had to provide it with a signal from my roof Yagi-Uda array.

You likely will not solve your problem with an indoor antenna. It will require a roof or at least loft antenna. For good FM reception roof antennas are the way to go. In a simulcast analog/HD situation, if a good HD signal is not received, then the default is analog FM

Remember, if it is simulcast analog and HD, the analog FM is the better quality by far. The iBiquity/IBOC system only provides a miserable 96 kbs data stream and that is Low-Fi in my book.

From my investigations with my system, simulcasts are of no benefit whatever. The only possible advantage of this iBiquity/IBOC system that I can see is the broadcast of stations not available in analog FM on the HD2/HD3 sidebands.

so you're saying that the HD stations in HD not analog are not as good of a sound ?


and yes,the classic rock station here has a HD2 channel that I love,it's 24/7 commercial free blues.

and your studio is amazing !


and thanks for the info BTW

 

[TLS Guy]

so you're saying that the HD stations in HD not analog are not as good of a sound ?


and yes,the classic rock station here has a HD2 channel that I love,it's 24/7 commercial free blues.

and your studio is amazing !


and thanks for the info BTW

Yes, I'm saying that the sound quality from a good FM tuner receiving a high quality analog signal will be significantly superior to a 96 kbs digital bit stream. By the way 96 kbs is the maximum bit rate, the broadcaster has the option of going as low as 42 kbs and many do! Lower bit rates means they can squeeze more channels in the allotted bandwidth.

In my view this iBiquity/IBOC system is another example of the race to the bottom, in this pop geared audio world. In other words the stations can get away with it broadcasting over produced and compressed pop music, but for the sort of fare I listen, to a 96 kbs stream is not a pleasant experience.

Thank you for your kind comments on my studio.

 

[tattoo_Dan]

Yes, I'm saying that the sound quality from a good FM tuner receiving a high quality analog signal will be significantly superior to a 96 kbs digital bit stream. By the way 96 kbs is the maximum bit rate, the broadcaster has the option of going as low as 42 kbs and many do! Lower bit rates means they can squeeze more channels in the allotted bandwidth.

In my view this iBiquity/IBOC system is another example of the race to the bottom, in this pop geared audio world. In other words the stations can get away with it broadcasting over produced and compressed pop music, but for the sort of fare I listen, to a 96 kbs stream is not a pleasant experience.

Thank you for your kind comments on my studio.

thanks for explaining that to me

 

[tattoo_Dan]

well all is good again,I finally talked to the "engineer" at the radio station,he maintains both stations I listen to,and he said that they are having known issues with the HD broadcast on the one station,so to my relief it's not my antenna or AVR.

and btw,I do like the sound of the HD broadcast better,whether or not it's technically better or worse,it sounds better to me ,

 

[Lordoftherings]

Good news mate. Thanks for the info.

well all is good again,I finally talked to the "engineer" at the radio station,he maintains both stations I listen to,and he said that they are having known issues with the HD broadcast on the one station,so to my relief it's not my antenna or AVR.

and btw,I do like the sound of the HD broadcast better,whether or not it's technically better or worse,it sounds better to me ,

Hey Dan, that's good news man. I knew that it was a bad deed from a reception problem that had nothing to do with your 876. And it was in fact the radio stations themselves. Happens all the time with any type of radio, analog or digital.

I wish that they will broadcast HD radio in my area, but it ain't just so.
Maybe in about 5 years from now...

Cheers man,

Bob

Note: And don't get too many tattoos over some sensitive areas, if you know what I mean.

 

[TLS Guy]

well all is good again,I finally talked to the "engineer" at the radio station,he maintains both stations I listen to,and he said that they are having known issues with the HD broadcast on the one station,so to my relief it's not my antenna or AVR.

and btw,I do like the sound of the HD broadcast better,whether or not it's technically better or worse,it sounds better to me ,

Just like 128 kbs mp3 downloads.

iBiquity/IBOC has a max streaming rate of 96 kbs, and most stations employ a lower streaming rate. These heinous digital artifacts are changing peoples perceptions of good audio, and that is cause for concern, grave concern.

I'm not surprised that the station is having trouble, that is another issue with that lousy system, iBiquity's equipment is lousy to boot.

This whole system is one bad idea that should never have seen the light of day.