[Other Topic] Time for an HD Radio Allocation Plan?

[bluegras]

http://www.radioworld.com/article/time-for-an-hd-radio-allocation-plan/277355


Digital in-band, on-channel (IBOC) radio, commercially known as HD Radio, has grown from its beginnings in the first decade of this century into a significant broadcast medium. The FCC’s Media Bureau lists 1,835 FM and 240 AM stations authorized to transmit the digital audio broadcast system, and the website of iBiquity Digital Corp., the technology’s developer, reports that every 4.5 seconds, a new car is sold with an HD Radio receiver. Listeners increasingly use HD Radio, and in dozens of radio markets, drivers depend on HD Radio to receive live traffic data. For radio multicast (HD-2 and HD-3) programming, over-the-air digital reception is essential.

This importance to broadcasters and listeners raises the question: “Is it time for HD Radio to receive allocations protection by the FCC?” This article describes the real technical effects on HD Radio reception and the potential impact on the current, analog-only allocations system. I will also describe the technology to adequately measure and report this impact, which was developed over several years with public projects supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program.

Read the rest at http://www.radioworld.com/article/time-for-an-hd-radio-allocation-plan/277355

 

[radio]

Oh, come on. Give it up. The really SAD part is that car owners don't have the choice to DISABLE the flawed system permanently. Uconnect (Chrysler/Jeep RAM) needs to do it, the inclusion of HD ruined analog reception of 10khz wide QUALITY analog AM. I know this for a fact! I own a station broadcasting a full sounding AM, and I own the car with that issue. The HD attempts to kick in on analog signal and shreds our great analog sound. Flawed, Flawed FLAWED and a big FAILURE in deployment. Uconnect won't even TALK to our station engineer about how to disable the HD via software! They literally KNOW the problem exists and are ignoring it after muultiple documented communications.

So the cars are sold with HD...so what! They're sold with Satellite, too...but many people don't renew when the "free" subs are up in many cases. Just because something is IN the car doesn't mean it's wanted by the consumer which is what the article's excerpt implies. ( "listeners increasingly use HD radio") Where are the facts? Don't see any quoted beyond car sales, which they need to pad their press-release with! I didn't WANT the Uconnect (with HD) in my new Jeep, but I'm stuck with it because it controls the car!

How about putting the energy you do in re-posting HD press releases into supporting your local ANALOG AM or FM station? How? Make it a point to shop more with THEIR advertisers, by letting them know when they carry programming you enjoy, and by supporting more broadcaster involvement in your local communities! (regardless of the size) More local involvement by broadcasters means more dollars in advertising revenue back TO them, which means more money to put TOWARD good engineering, which, by the way, leaves out the subject of Hybrid-Dud. Too strong? How about "Hardly Desirable."

 

[harshness]

Does the marketplace remember that HD Radio exists? It seems like the only time I hear about it is during the holidays when some of the HD Radio subchannels transition to carrying all holiday music.

HD Radio seems to be to be a most excellent way to compromise audio quality so that the stations may run more ads per hour. By compromise, I mean squeezing dynamic range and what sounds to my ears to be a noticeable reduction in stereo separation.

I see that Best Buy is still offering their house brand receivers and another outfit named SPARC offers portables but who wants to pony up for an expensive radio ($60+ for a simple AM/FM/HD single speaker model or an even more expensive AVR with or without an adapter) as broadcast radio programming is fairly steadily losing relevance due to budget slashing.

 

[Art7220]

Why should radio still be analog? I'm surprised they aren't using Digital Radio Mondiale. Have a tuner, haven't found any DRM stations in Cali.
At least they are still using AM and FM. For instance, on LW 345 khz, there's just this beeping. Yes, that's right nothing else. SW I can't find any Hip hop or Jammin' oldies stations. BBC World Service I used to get in 1989 disappeared too. Plus censoring of some songs on FM.

 

[radio]

Why should radio still be analog? (you ask.) .....well....because on AM and FM it's the LAST of the mediums not b-b-breaking up during heavy rain, heavy clouds, and heavy storms. ....It's still listenable at a distance (even with some minimal but still "listenable " noise increasing at a distance....)...and the word 'digital' should not be synonymous with "better." Analog punches through where digital does not. Where AM is concerned, AM is at it's "highest and best" use, and reaches masses over distances, and gains nothing from going digital except more noise and interference amongst signals of the same frequency at night with the ionosphere bouncing us around. How about the concept being adopted, "if it isn't broken, don't fix it!"

 

[Mr Tony]

Time for an HD Radio Allocation Plan?

HELL NO!!

 

[Mr Tony]

Does the marketplace remember that HD Radio exists? It seems like the only time I hear about it is during the holidays when some of the HD Radio subchannels transition to carrying all holiday music.

Usually during the holidays is when you start hearing all the commercials for it too ("HD" radio)

 

[Mr Tony]

Oh, come on. Give it up.

sadly you know he won't. He hears the word "HD" and thinks its the same as TV. The thing is he gets on something and will continually post about it or ask about it, even when the answer has already been given he will still ask again.

More local involvement by broadcasters means more dollars in advertising revenue back TO them, which means more money to put TOWARD good engineering, which, by the way, leaves out the subject of Hybrid-Dud. Too strong? How about "Hardly Desirable."

how about Horribly Done?

 

[satjay]

I know that Chevrolet had pulled HD Radio from there cars, recently purchased a Silverado and I had never really messed around with HD, I was informed that with 2015 they were pulling that out

 

[Mr Tony]

When I had an aftermarket "HD" radio (add on) in my truck what bothered me is when a station would constantly flip between on and off with "HD". Now these are 100kw FM stations that are 25 miles away. Also the "HD" feed is not in sync with the analog feed (obviously to reprocess it) so when listening to a sporting event you'll miss parts when it goes from on to off (due ot the delay when its on)

It ruins the stations that are "just far enough away" to constanly flip on and off yet on analog it plays just fine.
Best thing about it? When I took it out of the truck

 

[bobvick]

I have one that came in my 2015 TLX, I have used it once or twice. When you get 30-40 miles away from the transmitter, it doesn't pick up. I can get clear radio from Birmingham, Florence, and Tupelo where I live, some 65+ miles from the transmitters. That is one reason we don't need mandated digital FM radio.

 

[harshness]

I know that Chevrolet had pulled HD Radio from there cars, recently purchased a Silverado and I had never really messed around with HD, I was informed that with 2015 they were pulling that out

Chevrolet offers HD Radio in the Tahoe and Suburban and GMC offers it in the corresponding Yukon and Yukon XL.

Either way, GM's actions should not be considered a mandate on the technology just as BMW's omission of AM capability in their electric cars isn't a mandate on AM radio.

Here's an article from August 2014 that raises more questions than it answers:

http://www.radioworld.com/article/gm-drops-hd-radio-from-some--models/272067

 

[satjay]

Well from what some have told me that have HD radio, I am not missing much.

 

[Willh699]

and with the rise of wireless & high speed internet technology (smart phones with 4G and Wi-Fi, car radios with GPS and internet capabilities, computers, smart TVs, tablets, over the top streaming devices, ect.) HD Radio is consider out of date as now you can get that good high quality better then AM/FM sound from a webstream online. Plus with the internet, you get to listen to stations from other markets and internet exclusive stations too.

 

[Art7220]

>Why should radio still be analog?
Avoiding the LW SW question?

 

[navychop]

Let me beat this to death. HD radio is NOT digital. It is a mishmash, a proprietary abortion of a system that should be outlawed.

IF there was any use for pure digital in the AM or even FM bands, there should be a world wide standard, with frequency dedication. Non-proprietary, of course.

Not much need, and even less chance of such agreement.

 

[radio]

>Why should radio still be analog?
Avoiding the LW SW question?

You didn't ask anything specific regarding those bands. You rambled-on without specific question except for the Opening "why should radio still be analog" which WAS addressed.

 

[Mister B]

My experience with "HD" radio was also rather disappointing. I was so curious about radio stations that I was not receiving and had seen some lists of what is available in my area. Only the most expensive home receivers include this feature and the only other alternative in new equipment at the time was the above mentioned table top radio from Best Buy.
The first disappointment was the sound quality. It is a small radio and I suppose one can only expect so much from about 2 inch speakers. However, I even connected the headphone output to my home receiver and it sounded like a transistor radio plugged into a stereo receiver.
So, I decided fine, at least I can pick up some new stations and would just use it at the kitchen table. First of all, there were not near as many "HD" stations in the El Paso area as I had read on-line. There were also several from across the river in Mexico which played some classic oldies. Most of the time I just left it on the classic rock HD-02 that is supplied by the El Paso hard rock station. At first I thought it was great, but after listening to it about 30 minutes a day, I started to hear the same songs on a regular basis. Also, the local soft rock station had an -02 broadcast that is called "Beatles and Friends". The problem with it was that the volume was extremely low and mostly out of one speaker. I e-mailed them about it but of course no response or improvement.
Then, the classic rock station went off the air. After about a month I saw 2 DJ's from the hard rock station doing a live broadcast in-front of a car dealership and stopped to ask them about it. They were not even aware the HD-02 was off and went to their truck to confirm such. It did come back on after that and the Beatles station was on and off.
The final insult was that the little radio was a terrible battery hog. After I went through a pack of AA's I bought a charger. Then the problem was that I had changed the batteries so many times that something went wrong in the battery compartment and I had to roll the batteries around to get it on.
I just gave the thing to a neighbor who like to fix such devices and donate them to the poor in Juarez. If a new car had "HD" I am sure I would play with it some, but other than that, the experiment is over.

 

[harshness]

So the answer to the question is another question: why would anyone support standardizing on a proprietary (and apparently rather expensive) iBiquity (now owned by DTS) technology that is currently being treated as a left-handed, red-headed stepchild?

That the FCC was bamboozled into thinking it was a path to digital radio is not surprising. They act like bureaucrats rather than stewards most of the time.

 

[Art7220]

OK, let's try this then:
Why aren't you radio guys putting stuff on LW and SW other than beeping and W W V?