Digital AM

[PTBoardOp94]

Are you saying that the vast majority of HD radios don't include AM, because the total I just read was over 50 million on the road?

AFAIK all HD radios in that have AM tuners are capable of decoding HD AM, including MA-3.

But some of the radios do not have an AM tuner at all, and therefore no HD AM, including the Insignia unit I own.

 

[TheBigA]

Are you saying that the vast majority of HD radios don't include AM, because the total I just read was over 50 million on the road?

The total I gave came from iBiquity back when they owned HD Radio, so it's probably 5 years old. I haven't seen an updated list.

What's troublesome to me is that even if there are 50 million units on the road, they haven't translated into any ratings success for any HD-FM station that isn't hooked up to a translator. So that might be predictive of what we can expect from AM digital.

 

[tested]

Even if that exaggerated figure were true, that is only about one in every 6 vehicles.

And less than half of radio listening is in the care. There are somewhere less than zero home and workplace HD radios.

AM is on the decline in every market, and very few people under 50 ever listen. I don't believe that improved quality will help much, particularly given the fact that in the top 100 markets there is an average of less than two stations that come close to full market coverage and in many markets there are none.

Creating interest in AM when most people are listening on new media devices like tablets, smartphones and smart speakers is just not going to happen.

I generally agree with this. I think the station owners are desperate to try something, ANYTHING, that might boost listening to their AM stations.
I think you could make the same argument about FM too. Streaming is so easy on phones, tablets, in cars, smart speakers, etc that all broadcast stations are threatened by those services.

But aside from that, I'm all for letting AM stations go all-digital. In many cases, they quite literally have nothing to lose. If it prompts them to program the stations with music and promote them better, maybe it will help some stations. I would be interested to hear how it sounds with a good music format.

 

[KeithE4]

And less than half of radio listening is in the care. There are somewhere less than zero home and workplace HD radios.

Really? I own two of them. I love all that HD content all to myself.

(Yes, I do understand your point. There aren't a lot, but there are some.)

 

[anotherguyTN]

There's also the factor of areas like where I am there are no stations doing anything with HD, or the HD signal doesn't reach where I am. If that's a problem with digital AM as well I don't see the point of getting a radio that will receive digital AM.

 

[brian marchand]

Yes, that is a problem John for people living outside of major cities. Rural areas have very few HD radio stations. Radio station owners have mostly only invested in HD radio in the big markets. Where I live in the state capital of Illinois there are only 2 HD radio stations. Same with Peoria. Only St.Louis and Chicago in the state of Illinois have multiple HD stations.

AM HD radio does sound very good when I have heard on KMOX from St. Louis in Springfield, IL. So I am a big fan of HD radio on AM and FM and is most of what I listen to. I have 15 HD radios. Most are old that I bought on ebay so could get a discount price. This year I bought a 1996 Toyota Camry. It did not come with a factory HD radio so I spend about $600 to replace the radio with a Toyota factory radio with HD off ebay.

HD radio is a must for me because I listen to classical music and most of the classical music radio stations in Illinois are on HD sub-channels.

 

[kf4rca]

I've heard that all the HD radios that are out there will also decode CQUAM. Is that true?

 

[billmich]

Here is an interesting list:

http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/station-list.html

 

[Kelly A]

There's also the factor of areas like where I am there are no stations doing anything with HD, or the HD signal doesn't reach where I am. If that's a problem with digital AM as well I don't see the point of getting a radio that will receive digital AM.

If you buy a new car, chances are better than even it will already have an HD radio tuner in it. That tuner will also receive full-digital AM.

 

[anotherguyTN]

If you buy a new car, chances are better than even it will already have an HD radio tuner in it. That tuner will also receive full-digital AM.

I bought a new Hyundai Elantra earlier this year but it had the basic radio and no HD. It will probably be a while before I get anything else except a portable radio.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Here is an interesting list:

http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/station-list.html

I looked at this list the few stations in my area that ever had IBOC have turned it off, and none were anything I wanted to listen to anyway. Unless digital AM causes major improvements and format changes to something I like (Not likely) I don't know of any reason to get an HD radio.

 

[kf4rca]

I remember attending an SBE meeting by an Ibiquity representative a while back. When the presenter got to the royalties payments discussion, several engineers walked out (including myself).
To run HD2,3 the station has to pay 3% of ANNUAL REVENUE to them.
So that may be why some stations have simply abandoned it.

 

[TheBigA]

To run HD2,3 the station has to pay 3% of ANNUAL REVENUE to them.
So that may be why some stations have simply abandoned it.

Maybe. HD Radio equipped stations pay a one-time licensing fee for converting their primary audio channel to iBiquity's HD Radio technology, and 3% of incremental net revenues for any additional digital subchannels.

"Incremental" is different from annual. It means additional revenue derived from HD radio. If the channel doesn't make money, there's no incremental revenue.