Mine was a tongue and cheek reference to another thread where the OP was asking why they could hear some distant AM stations better as they got closer to railroad tracks. Bonus coverage.
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Hubbard Testing All-Digital AM on WWFD
- Thread starter rbc
- Start date
Mine was a tongue and cheek reference to another thread where the OP was asking why they could hear some distant AM stations better as they got closer to railroad tracks. Bonus coverage.
There is one station in all digital in a very small market on the outskirts of Washington, DC. That is hardly "traction".
There is a lot of talk about it on the industry websites and in industry publications. That's mostly because those sources are principally or totally supported by equipment manufacturer's advertisements.
The general public has no interest. They can get thousands of different digital streams, podcasts and music services on their smartphone or streaming device, with no need for dedicated, single-purpose "radios" that can only get a few all-digital stations in limited areas.
Why would anyone think that there is traction based on a lot of chatter from equipment sellers and exactly one operating radio station?
Because there is a growing choice of AM digital capable radios already in production and policy work is going on to authorize digital-only transmission for any broadcaster that wants to use it. It's not just an experiment anymore.
Why would any consumer buy a "radio" when they get such a wide, wide variety of audio services on their computer, tablet, smart phone or Echo device?
Just like many I know, I have replaced radio-only devices with Amazon Echos in the kitchen, my home office and in the bedroom/bath area. The only working radios in the home are a couple of battery devices we keep in a drawer in case of an earthquake or other emergency.
One of the biggest issues is that in the top 100 markets, there are less than 200 AM stations that cover at least 80% of the market day and night. AM has many more problems than just the fidelity of the content.
No consumer is going to buy a radio, AM or FM, but many will have HD capability in their next car. In order to meet the expected fidelity and have some graphics on the dashboard, AMs are going to have to have a digital component.
We all know that AM analog-digital hybrid (MA-1) HD is deficient, and the sound quality and interference handling of analog AM is horrendous. That leaves AMs with three options:
- turn off the AM and program the FM translator as a standalone (requires FCC action that can't be too far away),
- decreasing returns on deteriorating programming options on the way to extinction for analog (or MA-1 HD) AMs without an FM, and
- adoption of MA-3 digital
Left with those choices, broadcasters with funds might well consider the pure digital option.
Consolidation. Allow owners to own an unlimited number of AMs. Owners can buy and shut off the under-performers and open up the signals of the higher-powered properties. All this is going to take FCC action, money and time, but considering the alternative - extinction - the pure digital option is likely to appeal to some able operators especially in areas with less reliable cell reception.
Judging from the 5390 reviews of the Panasonic RF-2400D on Amazon, I'm not sure I'd call portable/table radios dead just yet:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00007KDX6
Only 600 of the reviews are from the USA and they date back up to five years.
compare that to about 30% of households that have Alexa as a new friend.
There still are sales of radios like that. Some folks keep them for emergencies when the Internet services may be diwn. Others have them for locations where they find the Internet inaccesible such as outdoor work locations. There are situations where there is no connectivity or it is still too slow or costly. But that is declining.
they still sell short wave receivers, too that does not mean that that service is still viable.
Fair enough. I do agree with previous posters about car radios being the primary source of radio listening.
Since the adoption of the PPM in most of the top 100 markets, we know that diary entries don't always reflect the whole truth. What's the percentage of non-vehicle listening in PPM markets?
How are these ratings respondents listening to radio at home and work if no one's buying radios? Devices other than radios?
Device listening is counted as streaming in PPM markets (different encoding than the over-the-air signal). We see the ratings for some stations' streams in PPM markets, but they're minuscule.
The PPM is in 48 of the top 51 markets. There are absolutely no plans, due to cost, of extending it to smaller markets.
There is no "non-vehicle" PPM data. PPM has "at home" and "away". "Away" includes any location out of the home, such as in a car, at work, in a park, etc. The PPM has no way of knowing if it is in a car or other vehicle, specifically.
The PUR (Persons using radio) which used to approach 20 (meaning 20% of people on average were listening to the radio) is now down in the 6 to 8 zone in most PPM markets. That means that due to the greater precision of the PPM and the reduced listening to radio, the levels are off by about two-thirds.
Part is due to people using alternatives, including conventional streaming, telling Alexa to play music, or paid services.
The problem here is that a lot of streaming listening is done with ear buds and the like, and is not picked up by the PPM.
My bad. I meant to say "in most of the top 50 markets."
That would appear to be a big problem. Is Nielson proposing a solution to that issue, perhaps a headphone pass-through version of their meter? With wireless (Bluetooth) headphones gaining in popularity, that might be an insurmountable obstacle. As with modern day telephone-based surveys, it's getting harder to accurately measure the populace.
They may have been doing some additional tweaks to the MA3 transmitter. I know Dave has been experimenting with a second digital audio stream on WWFD, like an HD-2, which is the first for an AM Band MA3, let alone AM HD station.
WWFD Analog Test
I missed this on The Gamut's FB page yesterday:
Heads up, 820 AM listeners! On Thursday (October 22nd) from 10 AM - 4 PM, we will be broadcasting with an (old-fashioned) analog signal - and while this means that the sound won't be as clear and there won't be song data on your radio, we have a good reason. In coordination with the National Association of Broadcasters and Xperi Corporation (the inventors of HD Radio), we will be testing the performance of a standard AM signal versus a digital AM one in electric cars. The knowledge gained from this experiment will help vehicle manufacturers make decisions about their entertainment systems. We may run the experiment again another week with some more cars, and we will let you know if the signal will be disrupted again. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for listening!
https://www.facebook.com/thegamut/posts/1469790983230082
I monitored the WWFD analog broadcast in wideband (10KHz; Superadio 3). The analog frequency response didn't sound quite as good as WKCW, an analog AM music station out of Warrenton VA, but it wasn't horrible either.
I missed this on The Gamut's FB page yesterday:
Heads up, 820 AM listeners! On Thursday (October 22nd) from 10 AM - 4 PM, we will be broadcasting with an (old-fashioned) analog signal - and while this means that the sound won't be as clear and there won't be song data on your radio, we have a good reason. In coordination with the National Association of Broadcasters and Xperi Corporation (the inventors of HD Radio), we will be testing the performance of a standard AM signal versus a digital AM one in electric cars. The knowledge gained from this experiment will help vehicle manufacturers make decisions about their entertainment systems. We may run the experiment again another week with some more cars, and we will let you know if the signal will be disrupted again. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for listening!
https://www.facebook.com/thegamut/posts/1469790983230082
I monitored the WWFD analog broadcast in wideband (10KHz; Superadio 3). The analog frequency response didn't sound quite as good as WKCW, an analog AM music station out of Warrenton VA, but it wasn't horrible either.
I'm still hoping someone can get a direct off the air recording of the digital signal, not just recording video with a phone's crappy microphones or something. I have heard a few AM HDs over the years and most sound pretty terrible. I am skeptical that the full digital is any better based on the very limited quality video I saw of someone receiving this station.
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