I guess I'm asking, could the FCC have taking the reins and controlled the whole process of HD Radio? Developed the technology themselves and licensed it?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
HD Radio’s History of Innovation and Future of Growth
- Thread starter rbc
- Start date
That's not the job of the FCC.
Wasn't the FCC in charge of the Analog TV conversation? They could do the same for radio.
If we lived in a socialist country where the government controls the entire economy. But we don't. Free market.
The FCC controls the airwaves.
You keep bringing that up. It's not the same thing. HD TV was not a copyrighted technology. VHF spectrum can be used for cell phones. None of that is true with AM/FM. It took an act of Congress to make the TV conversion.
The FCC does NOT "control the airwaves." It licenses the airwaves. Two different things.
Please read and learn:
Digital television transition in the United States - Wikipedia
It's another option.
It could be mandated only if the US government purchased the technology and released it to the public for free use. As long as the technology is privately owned and controlled, the growth, if any, will be slow.
K
Kevin
Guest
It’s also what I call broadcasting’s weakest link. It will go the way of AM stereo, the Betamax, the 8 Track player, the Mini-disc, VCR Plus and any other failed technologies from through the years.
I had such high hopes for the mini-disc. It would have survived too if not for the iPod.
Whatever. The technologies worked just fine. A lot of people bought them. The only thing that failed was widespread public acceptance. That's a marketing failure, not a failure of technology.
Had iBiquity given the HD Radio technology away, it would have received more widespread acceptance. But they insisted on getting paid up front, and the electronics manufacturers didn't want to pay. That's not radio's fault. Today, most of electronics are made in China, and they see no value in paying US license fees.
Not really. Many "regular" stations have FM translators that exist because they simulcast an HD channel. In many, many markets a well located translator can cover the market well, in fact.
So as long as an owner has one of those translators dependent on an HD channel, the HD will continue. Same with several hundred HD channel foreign language and ethnic services which cant economically justify buying an AM or FM.
So there are likely a thousand reasons why HD will continue. Yes, as an excuse for a "real" FM, but necessary and useful.
Keep in mind that some of the things you mention had lengthy periods of success. The 8-Track lasted quite a while until the cassette took over. The mini-disk outside of the US was even used instead of cart machines in Latin America and Africa at radio stations. If you look at it, even the CD only had about a 115 to 20-year vigorous life span.
K
Kevin
Guest
HD Radio might be good for some broadcasters but as far as the consumer is concerned HD Radio doesn’t even register, most people think it’s Satellite Radio.
Last edited by a moderator:
You might be right. Many of our listeners probably don't even know they're listening to us on our digital service. They just like what they hear. They see a curious orangey HD logo and some cool graphics show up on their radio. They listen to a few more options.
"Wow! Your station really lights up my radio!"
"Yup, we broadcast HD!"
If you look at the trend of audio recording, broadcasting and other distribution, digital has really taken over what was once an analog domain. HD Radio may or may not be the future of radio, but it's already become a part of the conversation. For now, HD Radio is here. It'll be around awhile. It'll work until it doesn't.
One day we'll have a clear understanding of how this will all play out. That's about the time a new technology will pop up. I can't wait to see what's in store!
I love this forum's speculations, both negative or positive, about the future of radio technology so long as it's respectful.
It usually is
Keep challenging and encouraging!
And especially ---- have a safe and happy new year!!
Just think , in a few days we'll all get to say, "Hindsight is 2020!" 😆
Ralph
K
Kevin
Guest
Ralph, the same to you and yours have a safe and a Happy New Years. For everyone on this board, I hope and pray that everyone will have a better 2021, stay safe everyone.You might be right. Many of our listeners probably don't even know they're listening to us on our digital service. They just like what they hear. They see a curious orangey HD logo and some cool graphics show up on their radio. They listen to a few more options.
"Wow! Your station really lights up my radio!"
"Yup, we broadcast HD!"
If you look at the trend of audio recording, broadcasting and other distribution, digital has really taken over what was once an analog domain. HD Radio may or may not be the future of radio, but it's already become a part of the conversation. For now, HD Radio is here. It'll be around awhile. It'll work until it doesn't.
One day we'll have a clear understanding of how this will all play out. That's about the time a new technology will pop up. I can't wait to see what's in store!
I love this forum's speculations, both negative or positive, about the future of radio technology so long as it's respectful.
It usually is
Keep challenging and encouraging!
And especially ---- have a safe and happy new year!!
Just think , in a few days we'll all get to say, "Hindsight is 2020!" 😆
Ralph
The smaller the city or market, and the less band clutter, the better, with translators. In large markets, the frequencies may be duplicated two or more times in the same market. Those translators are just about useless, unless there is a concentration of unique demographics within a few miles of the translators.
Really, the FM band is getting much more cluttered than AM ever was with all the translators and IBOC sidebands. Really, there should have been separate bands for digital and translators. A small number of MHz, even two, could accommodate 1000 or more translators at 1 kW/100 meters. I figured it out. I came up with a set of rules. I'm sure no one at the FCC would listen.
Really, the FM band is getting much more cluttered than AM ever was with all the translators and IBOC sidebands. Really, there should have been separate bands for digital and translators. A small number of MHz, even two, could accommodate 1000 or more translators at 1 kW/100 meters. I figured it out. I came up with a set of rules. I'm sure no one at the FCC would listen.
But then consumers would have to buy new radios that would pick up those additional bands, and that would mean the new bands would be reaching no one. Plus the fact that the electronics business is based in China, not the US. This is also why DAB is a non-starter.
All I can say is "so?"
Those stations find a niche for their services and if they are profitable they continue. For example, how many non-Armenians in Los Angeles know there is an Armenian service available on an HD channel. Same goes for non-Persians who would have no need for a Farsi service.
Back around '95 I bought a package at Egghead called "Internet in a Box". I installed it on my office computer, and several people asked, "what is that good for?".
It's all a question of focus and usage.
Your point about China is eminently valid.
Manufacturers don't want to offer products that only work in one country. They want a continent or region. Radios in Europe have DAB because many / most nations are transitioning or working on a transition. HD is pretty much just North America, so the market is limited.
But the main issue is that nearly nobody buys a single purpose radio today. Our phones do a dozen or so different things, from being an alarm clock to an appointment calendar to an audio or a video source to messaging, web brousing, book reading, game playing and even talking ot other people!!
- Status