• 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

How many AM stations still actively use HD Radio (AM-HD)? Are there any in your area?

CTListener said:
Can we agree that whatever promise HD once had -- FM or AM -- is dead?
Click to expand...
The AM-HD is a failure, even if Crawford & others still use it - so many AM stations had it and dropped it, that its a technological dead end, it started and kinda fell at the very first hurdle.

I would say that FM-HD has had a very roundabout type of success, IMO: they can simulcast the HD-2 & HD-3 signals on FM translators, giving more variety to those with traditional AM-FM radios: like how "Hot 102.5" exists as both the HD-3 subchannel of KTCZ Cities97, but also as K273BH 102.5 FM and most of the listeners come from the FM signal on K273BH, not the HD signal on KTCZ-HD3, most likely.
 
Radiopaw said:
So.. maintain an objectively worse experience? HD doesn’t harm any of their signals, they’re just the main broadcaster who commits to maintaining it for the cost as larger ones are shifting away from AM.

Analog AM is not good. Being a DXer or having rose tinted glasses are the only way you can say otherwise.
Click to expand...
On strong or close by stations like WCCO, KSTP, KTLK and KMNQ, it's almost like a 64kbps MP3 Podcast from 2011 quality, it's simply "good enough" for speech-based programming.

With Weak or Distant stations? I can start to see your point, but they're still usually listenable.
 
Wolfie770 said:
On strong or close by stations like WCCO, KSTP, KTLK and KMNQ, it's almost like a 64kbps MP3 Podcast from 2011 quality, it's simply "good enough" for speech-based programming.

With Weak or Distant stations? I can start to see your point, but they're still usually listenable.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the examples; it is interesting to see that we have different situations and I have to wonder why.

I don’t know if it’s just my location, but even the best stations had tended to sound poor. I used to live right by KDOW’s transmitter, and while it was better, I don’t think it reached the 64kbps mp3 level at all, it was under half that still I’d reckon.

That being said, with AM being such a low percentage of market listening in major markets, I have to wonder if there is qualms with audio quality.
 
Wolfie770 said:
I would say that FM-HD has had a very roundabout type of success
Click to expand...

I appreciate HD FM here because it helps with our terrain challenged region. Stations without it (basically, just 4 - KALW, KEZR, KBAY and KPFA) have “static” where as stations with very similar barely receive any noise. 92.7 KEXC immediately became more reachable, me being able to hold it 20 miles further on HD when before, on the same tower, it was drowned out entirely by multicasting pathing and was not even intelligible with analog.

In most of the US, it provides a slight audio quality improvement. I can easily tell when it’s on or off, for example. I also know some of the more traditional folks contest that though, but the digital bandwidth increase does help, but that likely doesn’t matter to the listener. I’m a .flac or hifi audio guy, most are fine with Spotify 320kbps AAC.

As for FCC rules, I agree about that type of success but that’s more so due to the rules they implemented.
 
HD Radio is dead since the big interests ( Iheart, Crawford EVP etc etc etc) lost control of it. Many FM Have HD sub on air but ZERO promotions and ZERO commercials. One time I had my own playlist at HD2.
 
Radiopaw said:
Appreciate the examples; it is interesting to see that we have different situations and I have to wonder why.

I don’t know if it’s just my location, but even the best stations had tended to sound poor. I used to live right by KDOW’s transmitter, and while it was better, I don’t think it reached the 64kbps mp3 level at all, it was under half that still I’d reckon.

That being said, with AM being such a low percentage of market listening in major markets, I have to wonder if there is qualms with audio quality.
Click to expand...
NP, my examples are always pretty Twin Cities specific, but it still works. One is close, three are Clear Channels.

Station Quality on AM and FM really varies, even KTCZ and KDWB, both iHeart stations, sound Worlds apart.

Only WDGY 740 now has HD, but I doubt I could receive it, I have weak reception on analog - even if my radio hadn't decided to just stop working on AM, analog or digital, completely.

WCCO is still the 10th most popular station here, the only AM station in the Top 10 as of August. Stations like KTLK & WWTC are very successful in their intended demos, but I wonder if more ppl listen to the 103.5FM & 107.5FM translators than the 1130AM and 1280AM signals, respectively. For that sort of stuff, a bit better than phone call quality is all one really needs.
 
Radiopaw said:
I appreciate HD FM here because it helps with our terrain challenged region. Stations without it (basically, just 4 - KALW, KEZR, KBAY and KPFA) have “static” where as stations with very similar barely receive any noise. 92.7 KEXC immediately became more reachable, me being able to hold it 20 miles further on HD when before, on the same tower, it was drowned out entirely by multicasting pathing and was not even intelligible with analog.

In most of the US, it provides a slight audio quality improvement. I can easily tell when it’s on or off, for example. I also know some of the more traditional folks contest that though, but the digital bandwidth increase does help, but that likely doesn’t matter to the listener. I’m a .flac or hifi audio guy, most are fine with Spotify 320kbps AAC.

As for FCC rules, I agree about that type of success but that’s more so due to the rules they implemented.
Click to expand...
We have very different terrains apparently, but I've noticed it most on Classical MPR - the FM signal has a lot of scratchiness and hissing that is really audible in the quiet parts of a recording - but the second the HD kicks in, all that goes silent, the quiet parts are quiet as intended.

KTCZ dramatically improves, despite having an HD-2 & an HD-3, both with Music Formats...whereas KDWB, also with an HD-2 & HD-3, running music formats, sounds just the same as the FM signal does, if it flips back to FM, I can't even tell and the subchannels sound terrible. These are both iHeart stations, you'd think there'd be more standardization than that, but apparently not.

I'm more a Spotify 320kbps Guy, but I do have some hi-res FLACs for esp. treasured albums. But I understand where you're coming from.

The FCC saw HD was a mediocre success at best and that AM was failing, esp. Class C and Class D stations, so they threw some FM translators both of their ways, and it just happened to work for both of them. It's very roundabout, but it works somehow?
 
A better question is how many AM stations are broadcasting in HD MA3? I heard there were several that wanted to try this.
 
Not music, but...

Cumulus-owned all-digital Talk Radio WFAS 1230 White Plains, NY - transmitting from Hartsdale, NY
(Westchester County, ~23 miles NNE from Midtown Manhattan, New York City):

www.wfasny.com

WFAS - AM 1230 Digital

New York's All Talk Station
www.wfasny.com www.wfasny.com
 
pjc1961 said:
Not music, but...

Cumulus-owned all-digital Talk Radio WFAS 1230 White Plains, NY - transmitting from Hartsdale, NY
(Westchester County, ~23 miles NNE from Midtown Manhattan, New York City):

www.wfasny.com

WFAS - AM 1230 Digital

New York's All Talk Station
www.wfasny.com www.wfasny.com
Click to expand...
Love this from cumulus! If only they brought AM HD into their San Francisco AM’s — not a clue why they’re so opposed. Half their cluster and likely going to fade away within 5 years. I’d be shocked if people used AM in its current state in 2030.
 
Radiopaw said:
Love this from cumulus! If only they brought AM HD into their San Francisco AM’s — not a clue why they’re so opposed. Half their cluster and likely going to fade away within 5 years. I’d be shocked if people used AM in its current state in 2030.
Click to expand...
AM 1230, nobody can hear it. The analog signal barely made it into Yonkers back in the 90s!
 
RadioFixerCLE said:
AM 1230, nobody can hear it. The analog signal barely made it into Yonkers back in the 90s!
Click to expand...

I think this is a case of no ones listening, and not no one can hear it. if you look at its near peel the paint local contour, youre looking at 75,000 people or so.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom