A more realistic review of the Best Buy Portable. THE LETTER from ALLACCESS.COM

[KB1OKL]

Here is a more realistic review of Best Buy's new wonder radio which may counter some of the more excessive hyperbole from some of the more desperate HD cheerleaders' Great Last Hope posted here elsewhere, it has already bombed of course. If you are considering wasting more money and/or giving HD another try (rememberone of the definitions of insanity is repeating the same thing expecting different results), you might want to give AllACCESS a read first. This was written by the Editor of AllACCESS.COM. All in all I think this column proves that (as the old adage goes) you can't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse no matter what you do. "Listening conditions: Clear day, driving along the freeway with line-of-sight to the Los Angeles antenna farm." The following are a couple more excerpts from THE LETTER from ALLACCESS.COM:



"So when the local Best Buy finally started to sell them, I fought through the mobs of excited HD Radio purchasers and...."

"Okay, there were no mobs. In fact, that's "Nobody Cares," Chapter 1: If you don't go searching for them, you will never find an HD Radio in the store. These were hanging on a forlorn pegboard all the way in the back of the store, next to the cassette and CD portables, which, sadly, is appropriate company. There were no signs. There were no other models. There was no attempt to educate consumers about the technology. They were just hanging there in the Ghosts of Technology Past department, without even a price sticker on the peg. I don't think the staff even knew they were there. All that stuff from the NAB and the Grand Exalted HD Radio Alliance about major marketing to get people to adopt, embrace, LOVE HD Radio? That's happening in another universe. I think they bought ads on the sides of unicorns. The first portable is out there, in the wild, and there's no marketing for it at all. Nobody cares."

//cut//

"A bigger "Nobody Cares" problem, and one especially acute for talk radio, involves those "multicast" channels. Here's what the HD Radio marketing doesn't tell you: Those channels cut out all the time. You can't listen for very long. And it happens under all conditions. Try this: Clear day, driving along the freeway with line-of-sight to the Los Angeles antenna farm. We had one of the HD-2 channels on, and it would drop out not only while driving under bridges, but every few minutes without any apparent reason. It turns out that HD-2 and HD-3 channels disappear behind any obstruction -- hills, buildings, trees, other cars, Andrew Bynum -- and become unlistenable. They also disappear when there's no obstruction. And the next time I get a press release trumpeting how an AM station is now available on an FM HD-2 channel, I'll know the truth -- you're not adding a thing. The "multicast" channels are unlistenable. Nobody cares."

Read the whole blog at:

http://www.allaccess.com/site/myallaccess/inbox/messages/bulletin/letter_073109.html

 

[RadeoEngineer]

Yep, like I posted earlier in another thread, the Insignia does a decent job in a stationary environment about twelve miles from the transmitter, but absolutely sucks in a mobile environment. Unworkable.

 

[mmnassour]

Absolutely nailed it....that's why mine went back.

 

[BRNout]

As I write this, I am in one of the most ideal environments for my Insignia portable: Salt Lake City/Midvale, UT. Why ideal? Well, because the market is full of C1 signals which broadcast from some 4000' AAT and have sticks within a clear line of sight of almost the entire metro. Plus, no other pesky signals sharing a channel with ANY of these signals for hundreds of miles. Basically perfect for HD.

And, furthermore, it's one of the few markets I've visited where there's actually some programming on HD-2 that is (to me at least) compelling. They include a 50s-60s 'real oldies' format and a classic alternative rock format ("Radio Radio") that features a great variety of alternative and new wave classics from the 80s and 90s. While it's true that both are jukeboxes, they're more interesting than most offerings on HD2's these days.

So, under these most ideal and unique of circumstances, I was actually enjoying my HD Radio (FOR ONCE). Well, taking a walk around, I was generally able to listen to the aforementioned HD2s with great audio. However, I still had the occasional drop out in walking around. Sure, it was less frequent than my experience in other locations, but I could SEE the towers and still would experience the drop outs. I'd literally turn around and look at Farnsworth Peak for a moment before it would kick back in. And, I am not speaking figuratively. I was outside and within sight of the towers. And still I'd turn my head the wrong way or bend down to tie a shoe and lose the HD signal. Amazing!

So, if I'm losing audio here - with a 10/10 signal - it's pretty much hopeless for anyone who lives in less than ideal conditions for this flaky HD technology. Sure, it's fun if it works. And it works better in this valley than it does in probably 97% of populated places. But in anything less than laboratory conditions, it's useless.

 

[radioman148]

As I write this, I am in one of the most ideal environments for my Insignia portable: Salt Lake City/Midvale, UT. Why ideal? Well, because the market is full of C1 signals which broadcast from some 4000' AAT and have sticks within a clear line of sight of almost the entire metro. Plus, no other pesky signals sharing a channel with ANY of these signals for hundreds of miles. Basically perfect for HD.

And, furthermore, it's one of the few markets I've visited where there's actually some programming on HD-2 that is (to me at least) compelling. They include a 50s-60s 'real oldies' format and a classic alternative rock format ("Radio Radio") that features a great variety of alternative and new wave classics from the 80s and 90s. While it's true that both are jukeboxes, they're more interesting than most offerings on HD2's these days.

So, under these most ideal and unique of circumstances, I was actually enjoying my HD Radio (FOR ONCE). Well, taking a walk around, I was generally able to listen to the aforementioned HD2s with great audio. However, I still had the occasional drop out in walking around. Sure, it was less frequent than my experience in other locations, but I could SEE the towers and still would experience the drop outs. I'd literally turn around and look at Farnsworth Peak for a moment before it would kick back in. And, I am not speaking figuratively. I was outside and within sight of the towers. And still I'd turn my head the wrong way or bend down to tie a shoe and lose the HD signal. Amazing!

So, if I'm losing audio here - with a 10/10 signal - it's pretty much hopeless for anyone who lives in less than ideal conditions for this flaky HD technology. Sure, it's fun if it works. And it works better in this valley than it does in probably 97% of populated places. But in anything less than laboratory conditions, it's useless.

I wish they'd put back on a 50s 60s Realoldies format in Chicago even if it's an HD2 channel.

 

[BRNout]

I wish they'd put back on a 50s 60s Realoldies format in Chicago even if it's an HD2 channel.

Agreed 100%! At least out here, there are a number of alternative formats which are worth the trouble of buying an HD radio to get. Frankly, I haven't found that to be the case in Chicago (or in many other cities). Most of the stations in the largest markets seem to either offer AM feeds on HD2's or extensions of their regular formats. To me, that's a waste.

Even when I get the HD radio working ok at home, the only HD2 I end up listening to is WLS-FM HD2....because the little radio has no AM so that's the only way I hear the talk shows that are on 890. Here, I have spent a good amount of time listening to HD2 feeds for the music as well as talk (KODJ HD2 is a feed of the AM talker KNRS).

For once, I am actually USING my new radio!!

 

[XavierRenegade]

In the Los Angeles there are dozens of stations that have an additional HD signal. Out of all the additional stations Clear Channel offers the Erockster from 98.7 HD-2 and Pride Radio on 104.3 HD-2. 93.1 Jack FM has a station geared towards younger kids on its HD-2 channel. KROQ has a 80's rock channel on its HD-2 channel. The Wave 94.7 has a Kenny J channel on its HD-2 channel. There are plenty of HD channels but only a few I really like. 100.3 FM which is rock has a 3rd channel which suppose to be the Mormon Channel. I don't think many people even listen to the Mormon Channel.

I also found with the clear channel stations in Los Angeles I can listen to both Pride Radio and Erockster. That only makes up 2 out of the 24 HD stations Clear Channel offers. If you listen online with their IHeart Player you can listen to hundreds of stations plus the 24 HD stations. There is 2 stations for upcoming artists, There is a slow jamz channel and there is a station for 80's and 90's alternative rock. There is a station for 60's and 70's oldies music, plus 2 country stations in which one is for classic country music.

Clear Channel offers 24 HD stations. I found it so much easier on the internet to listen to these stations. If I tried it with the Insignia radio there are only 2 of those 24 stations I can listen to. There are maybe 3-4 stations in the Los Angeles area I like that would even justify buying the Insignia HD radio.

 

[Chuck]

I just purchased a couple of Sony HD tuners to be used in translator service. They are great analog radios, if you can live with some of their quirks.

They came from J&R in New York. In the box was their latest flyer, pushing "hot" merchandise. It is just two pages, tabloid newspaper size. To my surprise, it features three stand alone Internet radios. Most of the rest of the ads were for BluRay players, GPS devices, various car radios and in car DVD players. There was nary a mention of HD radio. I think that is interesting. Presumably, they are trying to market stuff that has some customer demand.

As I said, no menttion of HD... Buehler?...Buehler....Buehler?........

 

[K6JHU]

50's and 60's oldies in LA is on KRTH-HD2. And KKGO-HD2 is all classical for the middle ages top 40. It is going to take a while though before the HD-2 channels settle themsleves out.

 

[ddsparxx]

In the Los Angeles there are dozens of stations that have an additional HD signal. Out of all the additional stations Clear Channel offers the Erockster from 98.7 HD-2 and Pride Radio on 104.3 HD-2. 93.1 Jack FM has a station geared towards younger kids on its HD-2 channel. KROQ has a 80's rock channel on its HD-2 channel. The Wave 94.7 has a Kenny J channel on its HD-2 channel. There are plenty of HD channels but only a few I really like. 100.3 FM which is rock has a 3rd channel which suppose to be the Mormon Channel. I don't think many people even listen to the Mormon Channel.

I also found with the clear channel stations in Los Angeles I can listen to both Pride Radio and Erockster. That only makes up 2 out of the 24 HD stations Clear Channel offers. If you listen online with their IHeart Player you can listen to hundreds of stations plus the 24 HD stations. There is 2 stations for upcoming artists, There is a slow jamz channel and there is a station for 80's and 90's alternative rock. There is a station for 60's and 70's oldies music, plus 2 country stations in which one is for classic country music.

Clear Channel offers 24 HD stations. I found it so much easier on the internet to listen to these stations. If I tried it with the Insignia radio there are only 2 of those 24 stations I can listen to. There are maybe 3-4 stations in the Los Angeles area I like that would even justify buying the Insignia HD radio.

Bonneville International is doing the same thing with WTOP Wash DC: putting the Mormon Channel on its HD-3 channel. I guess is because Bonneville is Mormon-owned.

 

[Play Freebird]

I just purchased a couple of Sony HD tuners to be used in translator service. They are great analog radios, if you can live with some of their quirks.

Chuck, the Sony XDR I'm using on one of our translators is still working very well. I modified the power supply several months ago to use external regulators fed by 13.8 VDC (with a floating gel-cell) and it hasn't had any problems since then. The stereo noise reduction just does a great job. Last week, I was at the translator site on a warm humid morning and noticed the signal level had dropped from 3 to 2 bars due to some atmospheric-related fading on the not-quite-line-of-sight path from the primary station. However, there was no apparent increase in noise on the rebroadcast signal.

By the way, if you're concerned, like I was, about compliance with § 74.1234(2) -- the rule that says "The transmitter shall be equipped with suitable automatic circuits which will place it in a nonradiating condition in the absence of a signal on the input channel" -- a $100 RDL "Stick-On" ST‑ACR2 Audio Controlled Relay (set for the maximum 50 second delay) does the trick. I have the ST-ACR2 input bridged across the left output of the Sony with threshold sensitivity set so that the LED goes out when the receive antenna is disconnected. (Of course, the LED should flicker whenever program audio is present.) Needless to say, this won't prevent the translator from rebroadcasting a distant signal that exceeds the tuner's muting threshold, but it does meet the letter of the law.

 

[jras20]

I wish on the Sony HD Tuner you can turn off the HD Signal and just use it as a analog radio it works great for analog. I like the RDS. But with it being HD it cuts in and out at my place 84 miles out of Houston. Analog works fine on it with a good stereo sound.

 

[Play Freebird]

I wish on the Sony HD Tuner you can turn off the HD Signal and just use it as a analog radio it works great for analog. I like the RDS. But with it being HD it cuts in and out at my place 84 miles out of Houston. Analog works fine on it with a good stereo sound.

A modification to force analog is described near the bottom of this page (not to be confused with the bottom of the listening experience) but it requires cutting a PC trace and adding a switch:

http://www.ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm

 

[Chuck]

By the way, if you're concerned, like I was, about compliance with § 74.1234(2) -- the rule that says "The transmitter shall be equipped with suitable automatic circuits which will place it in a nonradiating condition in the absence of a signal on the input channel" -- a $100 RDL "Stick-On" ST‑ACR2 Audio Controlled Relay (set for the maximum 50 second delay) does the trick. I have the ST-ACR2 input bridged across the left output of the Sony with threshold sensitivity set so that the LED goes out when the receive antenna is disconnected. (Of course, the LED should flicker whenever program audio is present.) Needless to say, this won't prevent the translator from rebroadcasting a distant signal that exceeds the tuner's muting threshold, but it does meet the letter of the law.

That is an interesting idea. I've been using a Sony on one translator for several months. It is modified to use a large gel-cell battery and AC charger for power back up. It has done very well so far. No power problems at all.

Since the Inovonics translator receiver was still in place, I split the antenna input between it and the Sony. Then I took the MPX output from the Inovonics and ran it into a Via Radio RDS detector. If the RDS goes away, it mutes the system, kicks in a timer, and if RDS does not return within 59 minutes, it shuts down until the RDS signal is restored. I believe this complies with FCC requirements. The good news is it prevents it from being hijacked by out of market signals. Tropo ducting has been very bad this year.

The only problem is the Sony radio will work quite well, long after the Inovonics receiver and RDS detector think there is a problem. It can shut off prematurely, which aggravates lots of listeners. I've wasted many tanks of gas running around chasing my tail due to atmospheric conditions. A much better solution would be if the FCC would allow translators that are within 25-35 miles of the originating station to use the most reliable means available to receive the signal. That might be "direct off air" but then again, it might not. I understand and agree with trying to prevent huge networks of "satillators," but I think that horse left the barn a long time ago.

I may try your solution on the next incarnation.

Regardless, I still think this is one hell of an analog tuner.

 

[XavierRenegade]

I purchased the Insignia HD radio. One person had to go onto a Best Buy computer to find out how good it was. When I was at the checkout I was told by the Cashier the HD radio is on Best Buy's Hot list. If this item is on the hotlist it must be pretty good. I tried the radio and so far it works fine.

I haven't figured yet how to receive the HD signal. I had followed the instructions in the manual. I'm on 94.7 and I seek up or down on the the radio it will go to 94.9 or 94.5 and not the HD channel. I might be far enough away I can't get the HD signal. The HD sign on the radio isn't showing as being on so it might be I am too far away to receive the HD signal.

 

[Chuck]

I purchased the Insignia HD radio. One person had to go onto a Best Buy computer to find out how good it was. When I was at the checkout I was told by the Cashier the HD radio is on Best Buy's Hot list. If this item is on the hotlist it must be pretty good. I tried the radio and so far it works fine.

I haven't figured yet how to receive the HD signal. I had followed the instructions in the manual. I'm on 94.7 and I seek up or down on the the radio it will go to 94.9 or 94.5 and not the HD channel. I might be far enough away I can't get the HD signal. The HD sign on the radio isn't showing as being on so it might be I am too far away to receive the HD signal.

I think you are getting first hand experience about how well HD actually works in the real world. It frequently does not work in areas where the analog signal is just fine. I doubt there is anything wrong with your radio. Just enjoy it for what it is - a nice little personal portable that decodes RDS, and if you are close enough to a source of HD, then you may get that too.

 

[radioskeptic]

Here's another realistic review of the Insignia, this time from a more mainstream medium: The Los Angeles Times!
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hd-radio6-2009aug06,0,716211.story

 

[KB1OKL]

Another review of an over-hyped Next Great Hope HD radio that doesn't really work and will be relegated to the already large steaming pile of HD radio failures, here are some excerpts from the review:


"HD Radio, introduced amid much hype in 2004 as a way to digitally improve the sound of FM and AM stations, has never much caught the ears of U.S. radio listeners.

Special receivers-- most of which are relatively expensive, tabletop models -- have to be bought to pick up the HD Radio signals. And the sound improvement, while noticeable, is not all that startling on FM.

The very name HD Radio seemed to promise a lot in this era of high-definition television, better known as HDTV. But the HD in the radio technology doesn't stand for high-definition. In fact, it's such pure hype that it actually stands for nothing."

 

[KB1OKL]

I purchased the Insignia HD radio. One person had to go onto a Best Buy computer to find out how good it was. When I was at the checkout I was told by the Cashier the HD radio is on Best Buy's Hot list. If this item is on the hotlist it must be pretty good.

I usually turn on a radio to see how good it is.

 

[XavierRenegade]

I purchased the Insignia HD radio. One person had to go onto a Best Buy computer to find out how good it was. When I was at the checkout I was told by the Cashier the HD radio is on Best Buy's Hot list. If this item is on the hotlist it must be pretty good.

I usually turn on a radio to see how good it is.

I am about 45 miles away and about 45 miles to the west from the big radio towers are in Los Angeles. We have some hills and mountains that could possibly make it harder to recieve stations. We have the CLU station KPCC 88.3 and 91.1 KUSC which both are nearby and I can receive the HD singal. We are far enough away from the big commercial stations in Los Angeles that do broacast an HD singal its hard to receive anything but the basic analog signals. I did recieve Hot 92.3 which is the clear channel station that broadcasts old school R&B. I could receive their HD-2 station.