Has KYW given up on HD? One hopes so.

[Bill Jacobs]

The other evening, I heard a pre-recorded legal ID on KYW that omitted the "KYW-HD" that used to be part of it. It just says "KYW and WIP-FM HD-2, Philadelphia".

And the HD signal is gone.

Now, I have a chance of getting 1050 from NYC at night if there's a hockey game on it.

WPHT is still broadcasting in HD. Why? Why?

Bill

 

[daddyoo]

KYW has been HD on occasion, on and off, one day last month they were HD, someone commented maybe they were using their HD auxillary that day. From my location I can receive HD on WPHT, WCBS, WINS and at night something on 810 and 1080. I was wondering can HD AM have subchannels, if so HD on AM might be worth it.

 

[davideduardo]

I was wondering can HD AM have subchannels, if so HD on AM might be worth it.

No. There is inadequate bandwidth even to do a good job with the analog audio simulcast.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

KYW has been HD on occasion, on and off, one day last month they were HD, someone commented maybe they were using their HD auxillary that day. From my location I can receive HD on WPHT, WCBS, WINS and at night something on 810 and 1080. I was wondering can HD AM have subchannels, if so HD on AM might be worth it.

No, AM HD cant have sub channels.. they're working on technology to allow it, but no radios are capable of hearing HD sub channels

 

[Bill Jacobs]

KYW HD

I noticed that it was on sometimes, off others. But now, the legal ID has been changed, suggesting permanence.

Bill

 

[daddyoo]

No, AM HD cant have sub channels.. they're working on technology to allow it, but no radios are capable of hearing HD sub channels

So what you are saying is the HD radios I have would not be able to receive AM HD subs, even though I can receive AM HD main channels. That would mean if a listener wants to receive AM subs they would need a whole new HD radio capable of receiving AM subs. Thats not good, I would think the AM subs would just pop up if you have an HD radio, like they do on FM.

 

[geostudent]

So what you are saying is the HD radios I have would not be able to receive AM HD subs, even though I can receive AM HD main channels. That would mean if a listener wants to receive AM subs they would need a whole new HD radio capable of receiving AM subs. Thats not good, I would think the AM subs would just pop up if you have an HD radio, like they do on FM.

In the interview linked below, Hubbard Broadcasting Senior Broadcast Engineer Dave Kolesar talks about the recent successful first ever test of an AM HD2 on WWFD (at a little over 59 minutes into the interview). So it can be done, but the station must be using the all-digital MA3 mode (due to bitrate limitations with the hybrid MA1 mode). However, both Kolesar and Xperi rep Mike Raide go on to say that the ability to decode an AM HD2 is a feature for future HD Radio receivers.

http://thisweekinradiotech.com/twi...-digital-am-with-dave-kolesar-mike-raide.html

 

[davideduardo]

In the interview linked below, Hubbard Broadcasting Senior Broadcast Engineer Dave Kolesar talks about the recent successful first ever test of an AM HD2 on WWFD (at a little over 59 minutes into the interview). So it can be done, but the station must be using the all-digital MA3 mode (due to bitrate limitations with the hybrid MA1 mode). However, both Kolesar and Xperi rep Mike Raide go on to say that the ability to decode an AM HD2 is a feature for future HD Radio receivers.

http://thisweekinradiotech.com/twirt-home/2019/12/6/twirt-470-all-digital-am-with-dave-kolesar-mike-raide.html

There is a rising objection to the idea of going all digital on AM. The main point is that consumers are not buying new radios, and further complicating the use of radio is not productive.

Most broadcasters see that today's AM and FM are in a sunset period, and the future will be found on multi-purpose devices such as phones and tablets or "digital assistants" like Amazon's friend Alexa.

Just because all digital AM is possible does not mean it is practical. File this one next to "videodisks" in "technology nobody needed or wanted".

 

[kevtronics]

File this one next to "videodisks" in "technology nobody needed or wanted".

If you're talking about RCA's CED (Capacitance Electronic Disc), they actually sold quite well when first launched, because they were the cheapest way to buy movies for home viewing. But the system was stymied by the unstoppable momentum of VHS, the technical superiority of Laserdisc, and RCA's own gross mismanagement and incompetence, which ultimately led to the downfall of the entire company.

If you have nothing better to watch on TV tonight, here's a detailed five-part documentary about CED: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0jwu7G_DFVP0SGNlBiBtFVkV5LZ7SOU

 

[JBraddock]

There is a rising objection to the idea of going all digital on AM. The main point is that consumers are not buying new radios, and further complicating the use of radio is not productive.....

Just because all digital AM is possible does not mean it is practical. File this one next to "videodisks" in "technology nobody needed or wanted".

I think it may be wanted by current AM owners who need to find a way to prop up their assets or sell out to someone who can.

The new receivers are almost exclusively in automobiles. The notion now is that AMs have to get a data display on car dashboards to achieve parity with FM RDS, HD and stream players. Other than something like DTS Connected Radio which pairs analog audio sources with separate data channels via a connected device, the only way to do that is HD. HD MA-3 (all digital, no analog audio) also has the advantage of bringing the audio quality closer to that of FM HD and streams. And we all know that hybrid HD on AM just isn't robust enough to do the job.

From that vantage point, outside of major markets where some analog AMs are still competitive, AMs don't seem to have any other good options other than going dark. Is it worth the cost to upgrade and maintain the AM transmission infrastructure required to go all-digital? Maybe in rural markets with poor cell service where FM, satellite radio and pre-downloaded content are the main competitors in the car; if some conglomerate can do the math and make it work, they might buy out analog AM operators in some markets and give all-digital AM a future.