I wouldn't want the government to mandate that I must use an HD radio. I am not in favor of a technology that works badly and causes interference. Now if they came up with a new digital technology that improved on the performance of analog AM and FM because it actually sounded better, was more robust, and did not interfere with other stations, then I would be interested.
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- Thread starter Savage
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audioguy said:
The mandate would not be that you must USE an HD radio. But rather that it must be included in any radio sold. Like the HDTV mandate. You can buy a flatscreen HDTV and simply not choose to pay the monthly HDTV fee. But this would also apply to the other discussion about an additional digital band.
audioguy said:
Then you have nothing to worry about. The FCC has clearly and repeatedly said that it will not mandate ANY digital technology for radio. That includes HD but it also includes creating a new digital-only radio band. There will be no digital mandate for radio. OTA radio will remain an analog device forever.
However, if they were to change their mind, alls ya gotta do is not buy a radio. It's pretty simple. They're not going to fine you for not buying radios.
Zach said:
Actually, there are scant few satellite receivers in homes. Have you ever tried to listen to satellite in a home without an outside antenna? You can't, unless you live very near one of the terrestrial repeaters.
Which brings us to satellite radios in cars. Most of those millions of installed satellite radios came with new cars, but you did not pay for those radios. Sirius and XM (now Sirius/XM) and the car manufacturers did, in expectation of future revenues. And there truly is a payback... when a free subscription converts to paid, the auto industry participates in the revenue stream. sirius/XM call this "acquisition cost" and it is detailed in their financials. That's an advantage of subscription radio: there is consumer based revenue which will pay for the radio and for an incentive to car companies to equip vehicles with the receivers.
DavidEduardo said:
I was going to suggest that iBiquity do the same thing but then, it's free to the consumer. Whoops. I still think iBiquity should be in the business of creating radio growth, not profiting from an additional scheme. HD radio would be a lot further along if the main players paid to put it in cars and phones and anything else they could think of, instead of charging license fees for everything.
But that's no way to make money.
At least in the short term.
They would make more money than they're making now. Behold yet another example of the myopia and greed of iBiquity. Not only does HD Radio's engineering suck - the economic model is amazingly stupid. How they thought the radio industry was going to fall for this smash-and-grab is anyone's guess.
K
kenglish
Guest
As my former DOE put it....
Anything that's not In-Band, On-Channel (IBOC) will be rejected by most broadcasters, because no one wants to pay licensing fees for additional spectrum, just to put a free broadcast on.
Sounds like we're stuck with either a hybrid, or trade in the analog for all-digital.
Now, if the FCC would give us all a "loaner" digital channel (simulcast for ten years, then either trade in the analog, or give up the digital, or buy the second spectrum), and make all receivers capable of all digital formats (including IBOC and DRM), we might get somewhere.
Anything that's not In-Band, On-Channel (IBOC) will be rejected by most broadcasters, because no one wants to pay licensing fees for additional spectrum, just to put a free broadcast on.
Sounds like we're stuck with either a hybrid, or trade in the analog for all-digital.
Now, if the FCC would give us all a "loaner" digital channel (simulcast for ten years, then either trade in the analog, or give up the digital, or buy the second spectrum), and make all receivers capable of all digital formats (including IBOC and DRM), we might get somewhere.
What's so bad with staying analog? Even the U.K., where the proliferation of digital (DAB) receivers is much higher, keeps delaying their analog radio sunset. First they said analog FM would be shut down in 2015, then by 2017, and now they're not even going to schedule a date until DAB coverage reaches 90% of analog FM coverage.
kenglish said:
. . . or maybe we could just stay with the analog system that works so well, until something ACTUALLY better comes along? I know that forgoing Artist Experience might be tough, but audio that sounds great with no dropouts, time-shifts, or interference will have to console us in the meantime. Analog is not a dirty word; the best things in life are analog.
satech said:
Nothing, except that consumers aren't buying analog radios anymore, and the CEA isn't motivated to create new radios any more. There hasn't been a product like the Walkman in 25 years. So the entire process has stopped cold. Meanwhile consumers are buying lots of digital products. It's nice to stick with the past. Henry Ford had lots of people ask him "What's so bad about staying with horses?"
Don't mistake this for a defense of HD. But something needs to change, or radio will be something you see in museums.
Had a business trip last week. Stayed at a very nice Hilton. Clock radio? No. Just digital alarm clock. No radio in the room anywhere. This isn't the first time I've noticed this happen.
And then there's the alternative other hotels are providing: An alarm clock with an iPod/iPhone/smartphone dock so you wake up to your own music.
This year, I'll spend only about 10 days in a hotel room on business. So the amount of radio exposure for me that this affects will be minimal.
But I have to wonder how these sorts of things are affecting the radio industry. TSL has been dropping, hasn't it, if only by small percentages.
At least all of the airport shuttle drivers had their radios tuned to traditional terrestrial stations on my trip. ;-)
And then there's the alternative other hotels are providing: An alarm clock with an iPod/iPhone/smartphone dock so you wake up to your own music.
This year, I'll spend only about 10 days in a hotel room on business. So the amount of radio exposure for me that this affects will be minimal.
But I have to wonder how these sorts of things are affecting the radio industry. TSL has been dropping, hasn't it, if only by small percentages.
At least all of the airport shuttle drivers had their radios tuned to traditional terrestrial stations on my trip. ;-)
radiophiler said:
In the era when I traveled frequently my first action upon waking would be to turn off the radio and turn on the local news on TV - if nothing more than for the weather. Unless I was in San Francisco, where I was familiar with the local dial, the radio was pretty useless in the morning.
radiophiler said:
Speaking specifically of out-of-town hotel guests, keep in mind that whatever they listen to is not included in the local ratings.
Listening while traveling, if recorded in a diary or detected by the PPM, is credited to the market where the person lives, not the one they visit.
And then there is the leap of faith as to whether a traveler who is in a PPM household would carry the PPMs while on a trip.
I haven't found a hotel room without a radio yet, but my stays tend to be in the, er, more budget end of the scale.
Those clock radios are useless for all but the most robust local signals, especially on AM.
The ideal solution I've found is select hotels using a clock radio with no actual easily decipherable dial. Just preset buttons with paper labels: Rock, Talk, County, Urban, Gospel, etc. Travellers usually don't care what the call letters or frequency of the station is, and that type of radio makes it irrelevant. The presets were also band agnostic, so AM talk could be preset right next to the FM rock station. Kind of a smart idea when you think about it.
Those clock radios are useless for all but the most robust local signals, especially on AM.
The ideal solution I've found is select hotels using a clock radio with no actual easily decipherable dial. Just preset buttons with paper labels: Rock, Talk, County, Urban, Gospel, etc. Travellers usually don't care what the call letters or frequency of the station is, and that type of radio makes it irrelevant. The presets were also band agnostic, so AM talk could be preset right next to the FM rock station. Kind of a smart idea when you think about it.
Kent said:
Every so often a far off station will show in another market's book... due to a family vacation or something similar.
The first time I witnessed it was when, in, IIRC, the Winter 1979 NYC book WZNT from San Juan showed up right at the MRS minimum. The reason, of course, was the common case of Puerto Ricans from NY visiting family in PR at the holidays.
Happy hour arrives early today! McLarnon reports the AM-HD pop-count has slid a little more: we're down to 197! ;D Go to http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/station-list.html and behold the sea of "green" entries.
Savage said:
I told someone at the iBiquity booth at NAB today that HD was the worst thing to happen to AM radio since Leonard Kahn sued to stop AM Stereo.
They did not think that the comment was amusing.
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