"Bridge Ratings: Sweat the cell phone and don't count on HD"

[PocketRadio]

"Bridge Ratings: Sweat the cell phone and don't count on HD"

"In other words, Bridge says interest in HD radio is decreasing even as your station works hard to increase awareness. What can I possibly add to this honest and bleak picture that I haven't said before? My well-intended warnings about HD's "premature death" seem to be rearing their ugly heads almost two years later."

http://www.hear2.com/2007/04/bridge_ratings_.html#comments

Maybe, this nightmare will be over sooner-than-later.

 

[Mike Walker]

Trellis Ratings: Sweat the toaster and don't count on the microwave!
Overpass Ratings: Sweat the can opener, and don't count on the Waffel Iron.

 

[dbdigital]

You can blow off the study but Bridge has no ax to grind with HD Radio.

"Bridge says that HD Radio is the "most disappointing" media covered in their study, as consumer awareness grows but interest in it is slowing. When asked about HD Radio, respondents said they had "little or no interest at this time" as their top answer, followed by "don't see a need" and "not aware of its benefits." Bridge has also adjusted its predictions for HD Radio, expected no more than 500,000 users by the end of this year and just over a million at the start of 2009."

http://fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=396533

Now maybe, in time, consumer response will change but you can't ignore these findings. Certainly CE manufacturers aren't ignoring them.

db

 

[radiopilot]

You can blow off the study but Bridge has no ax to grind with HD Radio.

"Bridge says that HD Radio is the "most disappointing" media covered in their study, as consumer awareness grows but interest in it is slowing. When asked about HD Radio, respondents said they had "little or no interest at this time" as their top answer, followed by "don't see a need" and "not aware of its benefits." Bridge has also adjusted its predictions for HD Radio, expected no more than 500,000 users by the end of this year and just over a million at the start of 2009."

http://fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=396533

Now maybe, in time, consumer response will change but you can't ignore these findings.  Certainly CE manufacturers aren't ignoring them.

db

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271699A5.doc

STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER DEBORAH TAYLOR TATE

Re:  Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems and Their Impact on the Terrestrial Radio Broadcast Service (MM Docket No. 99-325)

I am pleased that, in doing so, we allow the market to determine the pace of the transition and the stations to determine how to use their digital bandwidth.

I think this statement will show that the market will determine the success of HD IBOC radio and NOT the NAB or anyone here on these boards or any other boards, pounding the idea that HD radio is the way to go in the hearts and minds of listeners of the radio both AM and FM.

What we'll see by the end of this year or even next year is the tunes HD followers be will singing or for that matter what we'll be singing.

Radiopilot

 

[Mike Walker]

When has the NAB ever determined the success, or failure, of any commercial product? Ask someone in radio what the NAB does!

As for the Bridge Ratings, yep...I can "blow them off". In fact, I think I just did. Now those trellis ratings.....

 

[PocketRadio]

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-271699A5.doc

STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER DEBORAH TAYLOR TATE

Re: Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems and Their Impact on the Terrestrial Radio Broadcast Service (MM Docket No. 99-325)

"I am pleased that, in doing so, we allow the market to determine the pace of the transition and the stations to determine how to use their digital bandwidth."

I think this statement will show that the market will determine the success of HD IBOC radio and NOT the NAB or anyone here on these boards or any other boards, pounding the idea that HD radio is the way to go in the hearts and minds of listeners of the radio both AM and FM.

What we'll see by the end of this year or even next year is the tunes HD followers be will singing or for that matter what we'll be singing.

Radiopilot

Agreed - this HD Radio board will not determine the fate of HD Radio, but it does serve as an excellent repository for information on HD Radio. If you look at the number of daily hits on radio-info.com, it averages about 20 million, but there very few "views" of this board:

http://www.statsaholic.com/radio-info.com

Thanks for the link to the FCC commisioner's comments - although articles have referenced that the marketplace will determine the fate of HD Radio, it is reassuring to hear it directly from an FCC commissioner.

 

[Mike Walker]

Tunnel Ratings: sweat the subterraneans, don't sweat the above-grounders.

 

[dbdigital]

It may be too that this is not HD Radio's "time" for public awareness.

Looking at the DTV transition, the FCC is very concerned that so few are aware of the February '09 cut off for analog TV transmission. Only about 31% of the population know about the transition and are gearing up it. The push for getting the public's attention on anything regarding digital broadcasting will be focused on DTV.

So, I think HD Radio, for now at least, will have to endure getting lost in the shuffle of the great DTV migration.

After 2/2009, who knows? As I keep saying, if iBiquity doesn't mind practically giving it away, then I think HD-R will achieve a level of consumer penetration, especially has they replace older electronic gear. The new Onkyo receivers which have Satellite and HD-R could spell the future for the home stereo market.

db

 

[Mike Walker]

My receiver (a Pioneer) in my home theater system has some "bugs"...volume will suddenly start increasing, as if someone were turning the knob. This hasn't happened in a few months, but happened fairly frequently during the fall. There are some other occasional "quirks", all leading me to believe that the dsp circuitry is somewhat haywire, and will one day die. I've been looking for what to replace it with. My wife is not a big surround fan (and I fancy it less as time goes on), so I've been thinking of a Harman Kardon receiver...stereo, with video switching. But HDR in an Onkyo, as well as XM (I've been a subscriber for about five years)...well, that's worth looking into.

People who are so zealous about HD "faling" fail to notice that HDTV didn't exactly take of flike a rocket! New technology takes time. There are a few hundred thousand hard-core radio geeks in this country, and I'm SURE they're most of what's driving HD Radio sales so far. Most people still have no idea what it is. These things take TIME. LOTS MORE TIME than many may imagine. The first PCs were sold in the mid 70s. Microsoft and Apple came to be in the late 70s. But who (other than universities, government, large businesses, and geeks) had a PC before the early to mid 90s? It was the internet, and a user-friendly graphic interface that finally convinced "average people" that there was a home for one of those damn beige boxes. It took nearly TWO DECADES before computers were in the average home. As has been pointed out numerous times, FM radio took the better part of four decades from the introduction of the first "new band" fm radios after WWII, until FM reached audience parity with AM about 1984. And it wasn't sound quality that sold FM...it was PROGRAMMING. That's how it has been with HDTV, and will be with HD Radio's new multicast streams. (University of North Carolina Public Televison has put McLaughlin Group on a damn digital channel, so you HAVE TO HAVE A DIGITAL TV TUNER to receive the damn show. ARRGH! But that's what it takes!)

Want to print HD Radio's obituary? Or it's success story? Check back in a decade or a decade and a half. It took that long before anybody had a real idea whether AM Stereo would succeed of fail. THESE THINGS TAKE TIME. Sorry, but it's true.

 

[PocketRadio]

People who are so zealous about HD "faling" fail to notice that HDTV didn't exactly take of flike a rocket! New technology takes time. There are a few hundred thousand hard-core radio geeks in this country, and I'm SURE they're most of what's driving HD Radio sales so far. Most people still have no idea what it is. These things take TIME. LOTS MORE TIME than many may imagine... Want to print HD Radio's obituary? Or it's success story? Check back in a decade or a decade and a half. It took that long before anybody had a real idea whether AM Stereo would succeed of fail. THESE THINGS TAKE TIME. Sorry, but it's true.

"In-Stat: Digital Radio Set to Take Off"

"In 2006, 73 percent of respondents to an In-Stat U.S. consumer survey were aware of HD Radio on some level."

http://radiomagonline.com/eyeoniboc/instat-digital-radio-set/

"IBiquity Digital's Make-or-Break Point Approaches" February 28, 2005

"If we had this conversation seven years ago and you were to tell me that in 2004 this company would still be private and raising funds, I'd probably have keeled over," said Thomas Uhlman, a managing partner at iBiquity's largest shareholder, New Venture Partners LLC."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58846-2005Feb27.html

How much longer do you think this charade can go on ?

 

[PocketRadio]

When has the NAB ever determined the success, or failure, of any commercial product? Ask someone in radio what the NAB does!

As for the Bridge Ratings, yep...I can "blow them off". In fact, I think I just did. Now those trellis ratings.....

"Terrestrial Radio:The Old Dog is Resilient"

"Only HD radio can make satellite radio look good at this point. Our latest study indicates that just about every consumer whom we asked whether they were interested in purchasing an HD radio in the next six months said they weren't because they couldn't see the benefits of it. HD radio is almost still-born and the radio industry continues to invest heavily. Good news this week was that Best Buy would stock HD radios in all of their nationwide stores. That's a positive step. Only one problem: no one cares. So, we're experiencing the flattening of satellite radio which will continue to experience growth but at a much slower rate than previously expected and we're seeing almost non-growth for HD radio."

http://navigatethefuture.blogspot.com/2007/04/terrestrial-radiothe-old-dog-is.html

This was just posted by Dave Van dyke - what I found interesting in his latest study, is the lack of consideration for in-dash iPod jacks, considering 70% of new cars will have this as optional/standard equipment; considering that most of terrestrial listening is in-dash during commute times, I wonder what affect this will have ? Dave is wrong on one point - lack of distribution for HD radios is not the problem. Van dyke has downgraded his estimate of HD Radio for 8 million purchases by 2020 - I suspect, that is charade will be long-dead by that point, and it certainly will never be terrestrial radio's great savior.

 

[Mike Walker]

Are you under the impression that the above addresses the question of mine you quoted? The question was, "when has the NAB ever determined the success, or failure, of any commercial product?"

Hint: this is a "when" question, so any possible answer would be a DATE, not another long, rambling quote of someone else's (usually unrelated) words!

 

[Mike Walker]

How much longer do I think the "charade" can go on? For HD to be a "charade", it would have to be proven to NOT WORK. The fact that you won't even admit that it DOES work in most situations (by work I mean provide solid digital signal, with a codec that's capable of sounding better than analog if engineered properly).

But I'll bite. I think HD can last the rest of my life...perhaps 50 more years. And even that won't be as long as analog FM stereo!

 

[PocketRadio]

How much longer do I think the "charade" can go on? For HD to be a "charade", it would have to be proven to NOT WORK. The fact that you won't even admit that it DOES work in most situations (by work I mean provide solid digital signal, with a codec that's capable of sounding better than analog if engineered properly).

But I'll bite. I think HD can last the rest of my life...perhaps 50 more years. And even that won't be as long as analog FM stereo!

HD/IBOC is a charade all-around - on both bands, especially on AM, it causes adjacent-channel interference and has only 60% the coverage of analog. Audio quality on FM is not "CD quality" (whatever that means) and the HD channels consist of under-funded, robotic, bland programming that can be found else where on the dial. This whole scam is an attempt at a money-maker by the HD Radio Alliance and iBiquity - too bad, it is going to fail.

 

[Mike Walker]

"60 percent the coverage area of FM"? Oh really? Would that be FM STEREO, or FM MONO? Because surely you're aware that clean FM stereo has LESS than 60 percent the coverage area of FM MONO! And one point which eludes you...HD stations and FM stations being received in mono have EXACTLY THE SAME COVERAGE AREA, because ALL HD radios will fallback to mono when conditions deteriorate, just as stereo radios will fallback to mono. HD is "scalable" in that way. The new technology compliments the old, rather than replacing it.

However, the digital radio technology, unlike analog fm, WILL IMPROVE WITH TIME. NOBODY, except for perhaps Magnum Dynalab and Fanfare...people whose tuners cost THOUSANDS is researching improved analog fm stereo. It's gone as far as it's going to. Sad, because it actually SOUNDED BETTER 20-30 years ago. But we ain't goin' back.

 

[PocketRadio]

"60 percent the coverage area of FM"? Oh really? Would that be FM STEREO, or FM MONO? Because surely you're aware that clean FM stereo has LESS than 60 percent the coverage area of FM MONO! And one point which eludes you...HD stations and FM stations being received in mono have EXACTLY THE SAME COVERAGE AREA, because ALL HD radios will fallback to mono when conditions deteriorate, just as stereo radios will fallback to mono. HD is "scalable" in that way. The new technology compliments the old, rather than replacing it.

However, the digital radio technology, unlike analog fm, WILL IMPROVE WITH TIME. NOBODY, except for perhaps Magnum Dynalab and Fanfare...people whose tuners cost THOUSANDS is researching improved analog fm stereo. It's gone as far as it's going to. Sad, because it actually SOUNDED BETTER 20-30 years ago. But we ain't goin' back.

HD Radio is not a done-deal - the FCC has left it up to the marketplace to determine the fate of HD radio. Both consumers and the auto industry, outside a couple luxery models where HD Radio is a $500 option, are not interested in HD Radio. Seems, that the marketplace has already determined the fate of HD Radio.