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BREAKING NEWS! THE REAL REASON WHY WGN HAS DROPPED HD-AM
- Thread starter Savage
- Start date
I don't know about you guys, but I can't help but be kinda quietly awed by this little Stromberg-Carlson TV. I obviously don't know the story behind it - whether a proud TV pioneer bought it back in 1949 and suddenly died before he could unpack it, or if it was unsold and left boxed up at a distributor's. But you can't help but have respect for a receiver which was designed and built - what, 62 years ago or so? The lucky finder replaces a couple of dried-out paper caps, probably ramps it up to operating voltage with a Variac, and - presto - a picture appears. It's a true time machine, ready to serve its owner in 2008 as if you had just brought it home in your 1949 Kaiser or Studebaker.
This little TV definitely represented consumer electronics, reaching for the state-of-the-1949-art...point-to-point wired with fascinating engineering touches like the rack-and-pinion electromechanical slug-tuner. The "opera glass" feature is a hoot, although in retrospect one wonders about the practicality of this function. And the whole thing from chassis to cabinet hollers "quality," even down to the die-cut pre-install instruction cards over the controls. The whole product was obviously executed with great pride and care.
These attitudes are sorely lacking in today's broadcasting industry, IMO. And I think HD Radio is a sorry indicator about how corrupt lobbyists and a self-interested few are screwing up an entire service which has had a proud history, and which given the chance, might continue on its mission to entertain and serve.
Anybody want to guess whether a website will be paying reverent tribute to some HD receiver in 62 years?
Or, like me, do you imagine that HD Radios will be rare curiosities, kind of like CBS UHF-only color-wheel TVs?
At least 8-track tapes have kitsch-appeal.
This little TV definitely represented consumer electronics, reaching for the state-of-the-1949-art...point-to-point wired with fascinating engineering touches like the rack-and-pinion electromechanical slug-tuner. The "opera glass" feature is a hoot, although in retrospect one wonders about the practicality of this function. And the whole thing from chassis to cabinet hollers "quality," even down to the die-cut pre-install instruction cards over the controls. The whole product was obviously executed with great pride and care.
These attitudes are sorely lacking in today's broadcasting industry, IMO. And I think HD Radio is a sorry indicator about how corrupt lobbyists and a self-interested few are screwing up an entire service which has had a proud history, and which given the chance, might continue on its mission to entertain and serve.
Anybody want to guess whether a website will be paying reverent tribute to some HD receiver in 62 years?
Or, like me, do you imagine that HD Radios will be rare curiosities, kind of like CBS UHF-only color-wheel TVs?
At least 8-track tapes have kitsch-appeal.
R
rbrucecarter5
Guest
Savage said:
I think they will be in the same place all the cue-cats are today.
The Cue-Cat is a barcode scanner/privacy invader that Radio Shack provided to customers free of charge about 9 years ago. It's considered a major digital technology flop -- even worse than AM IBOC (if that's even possible). It was also ridiculed for its physical appearance, which bears a strong resemblance to -- well, you'll know when you see the picture.
Digital Convergence, the company which developed it, is long gone. However, some hackers figured out how to "neuter" the cat and turn it into a useful scanning device.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat
Digital Convergence, the company which developed it, is long gone. However, some hackers figured out how to "neuter" the cat and turn it into a useful scanning device.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat
Play Freebird said:
Like all interesting but useless inventions, the tech lives on while the original idea long since died.
In Japan I understand many cell phones can snap a picture of the square bar codes that are attached to stuff and it calls up related information, on the phone, off the internet. Of course in Japan, those bar codes aren't just on products, or URLs to commercial websites.
My guess is 10 more years from now, you'll be able to snap a photo of many objects, buildings and locations... And with GPS help, get info from the net, addresses, phone numbers, etc. Even leave virtual sticky notes for others to find!
10 years from now, radio will still be broadcasting in analog with digital sidechannels to who knows how many fewer people, while internet radio and (hopefully) some new form of satellite radio feed the masses.
The CueCat was invented by the Belo company for its newspapers and TV stations. The idea was that you would use a CueCat to scan special bar codes in the newspaper and then be able to get special offers and coupons online. The same device was supposed to listen to the audio from the TV and receive codes that way so that an advertiser could actually supply coupons over the air to viewers who had CueCats.Play Freebird said:
I worked for Belo at the time of the rollout.
It was done in partnership with Radio Shack because Belo is headquartered in Dallas, its flagship properties are the Dallas Morning News and WFAA television, and Radio Shack is just down the road in Fort Worth.
When I was in the Netherlands years ago I listened to a radio station that did essentially the same thing, but with no additional equipment. During commercials sometimes a 5-digit code would be displayed on the RDS stream and you could punch that into the radio station's web site to receive coupons and things. The European stations did a lot of interesting things with RDS that American programmers never really caught on to.
And if you're going to talk about technology flops -- I am the proud owner of an AM Stereo walkman. You really can tell the difference. I think if AM stereo had caught on there would have been no point in AM HD.
They're called QR Codes and are essentially identical to the 2-d bar codes that UPS and other companies use. They're very common in Japan and other parts of Asia (I've seen them in Singapore and Hong Kong). Mostly they appear on posters and magazines. I've seen them in New York and other places in America. There are a number of American artists that are experimenting with them, too, not just businesses.Zach said:
Since the decoding software isn't built into most American cell phones there are web sites where you can upload your cell phone pictures and find out what is encoded in the QR code.
If you have an iPhone there are a half a dozen programs that will do this for you.
The old Marshall Field's department store chain did a quick experiment with something similar using Bluetooth. You could walk up to certain windows at its flagship Chicago store and "pair" your phone with the window display. Doing so would transmit a WAP URL to your phone. The problem is that MF did it many years too soon. At the time few phones had Bluetooth and even fewer had internet services.
Don't wait 10 years. I saw a press release a couple of weeks ago from a company that's putting out in the near future a program that will take your cell phone snaps and tell you where you're standing and what building you're looking at.
It is obvious that Randy M made a purposeful technical decision—NO IBOC ON 720 AM... Get over it IBOC fans – this is the man who cast-aside AM stereo back in the 80sin the interest of "quality"... I might disagee, but 
He obviously favors “good ‘ole monaural transmision”—the stuff that Tom Wells likes [much to my empathy, btw].
WGN sounds MUCH BETTER post “HD”... WLW would prosper from the same philosophy, btw. I couldn’t own an AM station that transmits that TRASH they currently pump out on 700... I agree with Tom W and Randy M... Bring back the band in all its glory
He obviously favors “good ‘ole monaural transmision”—the stuff that Tom Wells likes [much to my empathy, btw].WGN sounds MUCH BETTER post “HD”... WLW would prosper from the same philosophy, btw. I couldn’t own an AM station that transmits that TRASH they currently pump out on 700... I agree with Tom W and Randy M... Bring back the band in all its glory
KB1OKL said:
Ah yes, if we could only get everyone to listen to AM with 25% of the stations there are now, none of the RF noise and with an 80 year old radio with tubes and a 1 foot speaker....
Woulda, coulda, shoulda...
Again, KB continues to lament his lack of reception of WBZ-HD at his house, despite it not even being listed as usable service in his Zip Code on Radio Locator. It's all a Conspiracy. Oh wait, that's Konspiracy.
Sorry KB, my keyboard can't do the reverse "R" .
Clouseau
Woulda, coulda, shoulda? What exactly do you mean by that?
Youre admitting it was better and we dropped the ball?
You too could be enjoying a quality radio if you'd cared enough to get one when the getting was good.
KB, if you're ever gonna be in Chicago, you need to stop and hear the 1936 Philcos with 15 w push-pull class A 6A3 triode outputs.
There's one on either side of the fireplace, 4 drivers each! One 12" powered, one 12" passive, two 5" passive.
Then I've added piezo tweeters to each one. 20-15,000khz on AM makes FM sound "kinda wimpy".
In fact, I extend this invitation to any of the regular posters on the HD board, regardless of view or position.
Youre admitting it was better and we dropped the ball?
You too could be enjoying a quality radio if you'd cared enough to get one when the getting was good.
KB, if you're ever gonna be in Chicago, you need to stop and hear the 1936 Philcos with 15 w push-pull class A 6A3 triode outputs.
There's one on either side of the fireplace, 4 drivers each! One 12" powered, one 12" passive, two 5" passive.
Then I've added piezo tweeters to each one. 20-15,000khz on AM makes FM sound "kinda wimpy".
In fact, I extend this invitation to any of the regular posters on the HD board, regardless of view or position.
Tom Wells said:
What I mean by that is that times are different. Cars all come with FM radios standard. Traffic lights have sensors that disrupt radio signals. People don't try and hear their distant team on the radio, they buy MLB extra innings or Satrad. Different? Yes. Dropped the Ball? Opinions would vary...
You assume I do not have a high quality radio. Not true. I do know that expecting my audience to have one is a tough sell. One that isn't happening right now...
Clouseau
hipporadio said:It is obvious that Randy M made a purposeful technical decision—NO IBOC ON 720 AM... Get over it IBOC fans – this is the man who cast-aside AM stereo back in the 80s in the interest of "quality"... I might disagee, but
WGN sounds MUCH BETTER post “HD”... WLW would prosper from the same philosophy, btw. I couldn’t own an AM station that transmits that TRASH they currently pump out on 700... I agree with Tom W and Randy M... Bring back the band in all its glory
I disagree that WGN sounds better now ... it sounds heavily processed and LOUD, (IMHO_unpleasant to listen to) ... as new management probably wants it to sound ... LIKE CRAP! HD cessation had nothing to do with it! BTW, I hate HD!
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