Any HD stations beyond HD4?

[Chad-Stevens]

WLTJ-Pittsburgh currently has an all-Christmas stream on their HD-4. I don't know of too many HD4's, but especially any that are not relays of AM stations.

Are there any HD-5 or beyond stations?

 

[tomservo]

None that I know of.

As you slice the limited bandwidth up further and further there's a law of diminishing returns, and pretty soon every feed sounds like Real Audio via dial up modem.

 

[satech]

Don't the FCC rules require the HD1 stream to be "equal to or better than analog FM quality"? Even with only 3 "HD" streams, many stations' HD1 stream doesn't meet that requirement already.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Don't the FCC rules require the HD1 stream to be "equal to or better than analog FM quality"?

No. They only require that one of the HD channels (they don't specify which one) has to be a simulcast of the analog audio.

 

[mgpt6]

Only full digital with no analog will we see HD 5 and higher. Right now bit rate would be 32+ 32+ 32 + 24 Kbps for HD1to 4.

 

[Ai4i]

Wrong. Stations can divy their bandwidth up however they choose. If they have an all traffic and weather channel, a county government channel, a language teaching channel, a bible thumping channel, and a high school sports channel, they could give each extremely narrow bandwidth and still have room for a couple of decent quality music channels.

 

[tomservo]

Wrong. Stations can divy their bandwidth up however they choose. If they have an all traffic and weather channel, a county government channel, a language teaching channel, a bible thumping channel, and a high school sports channel, they could give each extremely narrow bandwidth and still have room for a couple of decent quality music channels.

Decent quality by whose standards? Right now stations with 2 subchannels sound pretty ratty to me. Really only the ones running no subchannels sound half decent and that's being generous.

 

[jhardis]

Don't the FCC rules require the HD1 stream to be "equal to or better than analog FM quality"?

No. ...

Yes, sort of.

"We will, therefore, require radio stations to provide at least one free digital over-the-air audio broadcast service. Specifically, radio stations operating in a digital mode must provide one free digital audio programming service that is comparable to or better in audio quality than that of their current analog service." Second Report and Order (FCC 07-33) at 28. Note, however, that it doesn't have to be the "HD-1" (simulcast) channel.

 

[Ai4i]

I find that HD-2's are often the best because stations like to overly process their HD-1's to sound exactly the same as their overly processed anal ogue audio.
A few extremely low quality voice channels can still be added.