Analogue & HD-1

[Ai4i]

Any reason why HD-1's are all simulcasting their analog programs?If I had a station, I would be tempted to use all my digital bandwidth for additional program content. After the hybrid phase ends, plenty of digital bandwidth will be freed up for the analog stream program.

 

[autopaint]

The entire point of IBOC as opposed to one of the non compatible forrms of digital bradcastingf is that stations audio can switch between HD 1 digital and analgue modes without much disturbance to the program. At this moment a single station can transmit 3 different digital programs on a single carrier. Most stations aren't broadcasting on their HD 3 channels and there are still many analogue only stations owned by large broadacsters such as CBS Radio or Clear Channel, in markets like NY and LA who haven't activated IBOC on all their stations allowing even larger format choices to a particular market.

 

[HD_Ready]

It would sound funny if your HD radio was blending back and forth with different programming on each.Its like trying to listen to a no "time aligned" HD station while driving in the fringe area of the digital.

 

[SUPERCASTER]

The "blending" or switching between digital and analog is necessary as way to cover up the coverage differences between the digital and analog signals. When the digital disappears, the analog is still there as a backup. The shorter, spottier coverage of the digital signal is explained in the NPR Labs report.Link below:http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,39163.0.html

 

[Ai4i]

So, why not just leave out the stream labeled HD-1? If you lable your streams HD-2, HD-3, HD-4, their would be no switching issue. Wait a moment here, I am confused. We know that the analog audio chains are rediculously overprocessed on most commercial stations and I think the HD audio chains are supposed to sound unprocessed, so if the radio keeps switching between analog and digital, won't the difference in volume levels drive the listener crazy and want to force the thing to stay in the analogue mode (if their is a switch for that)?

 

[autopaint-1]

"So, why not just leave out the stream labeled HD-1? If you lable your streams HD-2, HD-3, HD-4, their would be no switching issue."Labelingb has nothing to do with this. the system is designed so that the HD1 channels will switch back to analogue when you lose lock."Wait a moment here, I am confused. We know that the analog audio chains are rediculously overprocessed on most commercial stations (Oh do we?) and I think the HD audio chains are supposed to sound unprocessed (where'd you hear this?), so if the radio keeps switching between analog and digital, won't the difference in volume levels drive the listener crazy and want to force the thing to stay in the analogue mode (if their is a switch for that)?"The procesing on digital and analogue is different but in any properly designed audio chain the differences in proccessing between analogue and digital should be negligable. Whether you prefer stations who only do peak limiting (and no commercial station in the NY area that I know of doesn't use some compression) the proccessing of the digital chain and analogue chain should be similar. If you've ever attended a mastering session for a commecial pop recording you'd realize that compression and limiting are standard rceording practices and not just used in broadcasting.

 

[Ai4i]

You have addressed a question I have had for a long time. Thirty years ago, FM stations sounded clean and lightly processed. Today, they are loud and have accentuated bass and trebble (reduced midrange). There are no quiet parts of the music. Are you saying it is the same with HD? My standard test is this: How will Roberta Flack's "First time ever I saw your face" sound on a typical HD stream? It is not tolerable on most FM stations, today.