Does HD Radio Really Work?? It's completely flakey for me!!

[radiopilot]

I know the Radiosophy is a great receiver and heard great reviews about the Sony. If the poster would have said one of those radios was subpar, that would have been plausable in that it's possible to have a lemon. The chance of both radios being lemons is a stretch, along the same lines of believing Simpson didn't kill Nicole and Goldman.

Exactly. Not only was he saying both of these radios that are widely reported to have above average analog performance were not picking anything up in this store, all the non-HD radios he tested were receiving everything with crystal clarity.

Likely? Not at all. Posted purely to misinform and deter potential buyers?

Putting words in my mouth will not get the Sony and Radiosophy radio to work in the Best Buy I went to, and I never said the other radios were 'crystal clear' ... too bad but no cigar for you!

I mentioned and please look it up again, that the other table radios and boom boxes as well as the Crosley imitation along with the car radios DID pick up broadcast signals but that the other 2 HD radios on display DID NOT PICK UP ANY SIGNALS - ANALOG OR HD (especially since there are no HD broadcasts in Savannah!).

Now back to your rant on HD radio and it's GREATNESS which alot of us have missed somehow!

Radiopilot

 

[Radioman100]

Putting words in my mouth will not get the Sony and Radiosophy radio to work in the Best Buy I went to, and I never said the other radios were 'crystal clear' ... too bad but no cigar for you!

I mentioned and please look it up again, that the other table radios and boom boxes as well as the Crosley imitation along with the car radios DID pick up broadcast signals but that the other 2 HD radios on display DID NOT PICK UP ANY SIGNALS - ANALOG OR HD (especially since there are no HD broadcasts in Savannah!).

Now back to your rant on HD radio and it's GREATNESS which alot of us have missed somehow!

Radiopilot

Whatever dude... DXers are buying these radios for their excellent analog performance. Gotta call your claim that they don't work as well as cheapie boomboxes inside a Best Buy store male bovine excrement.

Backpedal much? Your original post said these radios didn't perform as well "compared to the other table radios." Now you're claiming they didn't work as well as the car radios, which you DID NOT MENTION in your previous post.

I wouldn't expect them to work as well as the car radios since the car stereos at every Best Buy are CONNECTED TO AN ANTENNA OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.

Doh!

 

[Tom Wells]

Putting words in my mouth will not get the Sony and Radiosophy radio to work in the Best Buy I went to, and I never said the other radios were 'crystal clear' ... too bad but no cigar for you!

I mentioned and please look it up again, that the other table radios and boom boxes as well as the Crosley imitation along with the car radios DID pick up broadcast signals but that the other 2 HD radios on display DID NOT PICK UP ANY SIGNALS - ANALOG OR HD (especially since there are no HD broadcasts in Savannah!).

Now back to your rant on HD radio and it's GREATNESS which alot of us have missed somehow!

Radiopilot

Whatever dude... DXers are buying these radios for their excellent analog performance. Gotta call your claim that they don't work as well as cheapie boomboxes inside a Best Buy store male bovine excrement.

Backpedal much? Your original post said these radios didn't perform as well "compared to the other table radios." Now you're claiming they didn't work as well as the car radios, which you DID NOT MENTION in your previous post.

I wouldn't expect them to work as well as the car radios since the car stereos at every Best Buy are CONNECTED TO AN ANTENNA OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.

Doh!

That particular store may have more noise/steel shielding than some others, that's all.

Almost all radios seem hobbled in a typical retail building, and it has been this way, especially for AM for at least the last 36 years,
as I started auditioning radios in stores at age 10.

On the other hand, I feel sorry for anyone trying to buy a radio for AM dx since none of them tune any more....they select.
These radios offer no way to side tune to avoid a bad splatter on one or the other sideband.

If I had to dx with a BA Receptor, I'd go back to my one-tube regen blooper and headphones, thanks.
At least I can set it to critical regeneration and not wonder why it's deaf.

 

[RadioFixerCLE]

Whatever dude... DXers are buying these radios for their excellent analog performance.

Wait, even the Crosley "antique" repros? Actually, they're not bad on local stations -- at least they're not ultra-broadband :-\

But anyway. Getting any radio to work inside a huge department store is a miracle.

Take your standard-issue suburban Walmart, Target, Best-Buy, or even a US-Military PX. The roof is normally made of corrugated tin sheets, supported by iron beams. The walls are typically steel-reinforced concrete. Massive amounts of EMI generated by the fluorescent (or mercury vapor) lamps, air conditioning, cash registers/computer system, etc. don't help matters.

If your HD radio didn't work in the store it was because it needs to be hooked up to a roof antenna. The one I played with a month ago was hooked into...well, a coax cable going somewhere. And it did work as it was suposed to, at least on FM.

The question is...would it have worked in my apartment, with a piece of random wire dangling out the back - or even a dipole cannibalized from a TV set? :-\

 

[radiopilot]

Putting words in my mouth will not get the Sony and Radiosophy radio to work in the Best Buy I went to, and I never said the other radios were 'crystal clear' ... too bad but no cigar for you!

I mentioned and please look it up again, that the other table radios and boom boxes as well as the Crosley imitation along with the car radios DID pick up broadcast signals but that the other 2 HD radios on display DID NOT PICK UP ANY SIGNALS - ANALOG OR HD (especially since there are no HD broadcasts in Savannah!).

Now back to your rant on HD radio and it's GREATNESS which alot of us have missed somehow!

Radiopilot

Whatever dude... DXers are buying these radios for their excellent analog performance. Gotta call your claim that they don't work as well as cheapie boomboxes inside a Best Buy store male bovine excrement.

Backpedal much? Your original post said these radios didn't perform as well "compared to the other table radios." Now you're claiming they didn't work as well as the car radios, which you DID NOT MENTION in your previous post.

I wouldn't expect them to work as well as the car radios since the car stereos at every Best Buy are CONNECTED TO AN ANTENNA OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.

Doh!

Doh!

So you mean the HD Alliance is touting the 'Better than CD quality for FM' and as good as 'FM quality for AM' on these HD radios at the stores YET these same radios CAN be connected to that same ANTENNA on the roof and at least get the buyer interested in at least picking up a signal?

What idiot just buys a radio on the shelf without at least turning on the power switch and going through the motions to listen to a radio before he buys it, even if the radio does not pick up EVERY broadcast signal, at least several SHOULD be picked up to 'listen' to the quality of the radio... something I did not observe on these two radios ... not that I'm buying the HD radio but unless the person is frequenting these boards to KNOW that the radio does have to be bought home to try it before he casts a bad image on the radio...

I buy a TV in the same way as well as a laptop, car, etc. I don't just 'buy' the item, bring it home and then decide whether it's up to par... it better be 'up to par' at the store before I plunck down a cent on it, and I'm sure 95% of all shoppers feel the same way!

And YES, the Crosley replica did OUTPERFORM the two HD radios at picking up a signal at least legibly compared to the Sony and Radiosophy at the store, and that was with the small antenna attached to it as the HD radios had their antennas attached and hung up too!



Radiopilot

 

[RadioFixerCLE]

I buy a TV in the same way as well as a laptop, car, etc. I don't just 'buy' the item, bring it home and then decide whether it's up to par... it better be 'up to par' at the store before I plunck down a cent on it, and I'm sure 95% of all shoppers feel the same way!

Actually, a lot of people buy things "blind". When was the last time you could flip through the channel selector on a TV at K-Mart?

They've always been connected to in-house CATV systems showing whatever tape loop promo-ing the latest VHS/DVD releases.

 

[radiopilot]

I buy a TV in the same way as well as a laptop, car, etc. I don't just 'buy' the item, bring it home and then decide whether it's up to par... it better be 'up to par' at the store before I plunck down a cent on it, and I'm sure 95% of all shoppers feel the same way!

Actually, a lot of people buy things "blind". When was the last time you could flip through the channel selector on a TV at K-Mart?

They've always been connected to in-house CATV systems showing whatever tape loop promo-ing the latest VHS/DVD releases.

Stephanie, I get your point but when you stand back 3-5 feet from the TV you get an idea of the image quality, the tonal quality, the clarity of the screen, pixels, etc. IT WORKS...

This is the point I'm trying to get at, same as the laptops, it works right there at the store on the shelf, etc. When it comes to electronics you expect to 'try it out' before you buy it, the fact that it 'powers up and a screen shows up' does not denote 'quality or clarity' of what it is you are buying, it's the same whether you shop at Target, Walmart, Kmart, Best Buy, etc.

Buying things 'blind' is good for toasters, washing machines, phones, games, etc., but when was the last time anyone here bought a HDTV without at least looking and taking a few minutes to mull it's quality, just plunk down 2-3k on it without so much as looking at the image quality, etc.?

Radiopilot

 

[Mike Walker]

Come on, radios have never "worked right there in the store". I've been buying audio gear for nigh-on to four decades, and I could count on one hand the number of times that good analog fm stereo reception was available in a showroom. It didn't keep me, or others, from buying receivers or tuners!

Not only that, I'd almost wager than NONE OF US have received a meaningful demonstration of a speaker system in a store...by that I mean a demonstration that give a hint as to what the damn thing would sound like at home. And a tv WILL NOT look anywhere near the same in a BRIGHTER-THAN-THE-SUN showroom, with tvs playing above, below, and to either said, as it would look ALL ALONE (sans flanking displays) in your home. Not only that, most TVs in showrooms are so grossly mis-aligned, that anyone caring about quality would be hard pressed to tell a damn thing about their quality. BAD EXAMPLE. REALLY BAD!

Yes HD Radios should work properly in a showroom. But so should every other piece of gear. Gear that actually is performing to peak (in a showroom) is RARE INDEED! Ever actually been able to record anything on a dvd recorder in a showroom? Me neither. It didn't keep me from buyin' a couple of 'em!

 

[RadioFixerCLE]

Come on, radios have never "worked right there in the store".

I remember when, as a young teenaged punk, I used to buy old (1960s) radios at the thrift stores. First time I did such, I noticed only "half of the stations came in" (pretty much everything above the 10 on the dial).

I still forked over the $3.00 and took the clunker home. Later on that day after I got home and set the radio up, I was amazed at all the stations that came in; including my favorites down in the "graveyard ". :

 

[radiopilot]

Come on, radios have never "worked right there in the store". I've been buying audio gear for nigh-on to four decades, and I could count on one hand the number of times that good analog fm stereo reception was available in a showroom. It didn't keep me, or others, from buying receivers or tuners!

Not only that, I'd almost wager than NONE OF US have received a meaningful demonstration of a speaker system in a store...by that I mean a demonstration that give a hint as to what the damn thing would sound like at home. And a tv WILL NOT look anywhere near the same in a BRIGHTER-THAN-THE-SUN showroom, with tvs playing above, below, and to either said, as it would look ALL ALONE (sans flanking displays) in your home. Not only that, most TVs in showrooms are so grossly mis-aligned, that anyone caring about quality would be hard pressed to tell a damn thing about their quality. BAD EXAMPLE. REALLY BAD!

Yes HD Radios should work properly in a showroom. But so should every other piece of gear. Gear that actually is performing to peak (in a showroom) is RARE INDEED! Ever actually been able to record anything on a dvd recorder in a showroom? Me neither. It didn't keep me from buyin' a couple of 'em!

See Mike this is why it's pointless to debate anything with your logic.

In your case when you bought your last HDTV, you didn't walk from one tv to the next, stand back, at angles, looked at the pixels on the screen, looked at the contrast and image quality to the other tv's on display, you just bought the first one that you came up to and bought it home to demo it there in the quality of the light in your room... gee at that rate you must have tried twenty HDTV's at your house having either shipped and installed twenty plus times before you got just the right one in your living room before you where satisfied... must be one tired salesman and delivery man!

Trying DVD's before buying one? I imagine you bought your own cassette tapes and VHS tapes too when you bought those units awhile back? Who are you kidding, we're adults here not children, bringing up such a subject is ill at best!

I don't know about you but I bought my speakers and stereo BASED on how it sounded at the stereo demo room at the electronics store, I didn't just drop the box in a shopping cart and hoped for the best when I got home!

Anyone want to chime in and claimed it worked great without a demo at the store, worked like a charm without testing it at the home?


Radiopilot

 

[Radioman100]

Radiopilot, you can keep selling your story about low end radios not connected to the store's master antenna outperforming these HD radios with widely praised analog performance. I'm not buying, and I doubt anyone else is either.

I did not say anything about the HD radios being attached to an outdoor antenna. I said the car stereos were after you backpedaled and tried to amend your story to include them. Naturally, the car stereo would perform better since they ARE on an outdoor antenna. If they're selling HD car stereos, or analog Pioneer car stereos that are based on an HD radio chipset, I bet they also worked great!

 

[radiopilot]

Come on, radios have never "worked right there in the store".

I remember when, as a young teenaged punk, I used to buy old (1960s) radios at the thrift stores. First time I did such, I noticed only "half of the stations came in" (pretty much everything above the 10 on the dial).

I still forked over the $3.00 and took the clunker home. Later on that day after I got home and set the radio up, I was amazed at all the stations that came in; including my favorites down in the "graveyard ". :

I buy old cameras this way too, hoping they work when I get home, but come on, if you're going to shell out $100 plus on a radio which most people aren't doing these days considering the alternatives, you expect some performance out of the unit, at least to pick up a decent signal (one or two to hear the quality 2-3 inch speaker these units have - no BOSE quality here mind you) regardless of the building, lights, walls, body odor of the person next to you at the store, etc.

Not much to ask is it?

Radiopilot

 

[RadioFixerCLE]

BOSE quality

Those are two words I'd never expect to be seen in the same sentence. ;D ;D

 

[radiopilot]

BOSE quality

Those are two words I'd never expect to be seen in the same sentence. ;D ;D

You're right Stephanie, but I think you get my drift that these radios don't feature the latest Infinity, Bose, JKL speakers or anything close to it... so what the sense of even having the unit on the shelf? Why not just have the boxes there on the shelf instead?

They should be flying off the shelves...

Radiopilot

 

[radiopilot]

Radiopilot, you can keep selling your story about low end radios not connected to the store's master antenna outperforming these HD radios with widely praised analog performance. I'm not buying, and I doubt anyone else is either.

I did not say anything about the HD radios being attached to an outdoor antenna. I said the car stereos were after you backpedaled and tried to amend your story to include them. Naturally, the car stereo would perform better since they ARE on an outdoor antenna. If they're selling HD car stereos, or analog Pioneer car stereos that are based on an HD radio chipset, I bet they also worked great!

Back peddled? Read my original reply that the car radios on display worked along with other stereos and radios on display including the Crosley, I'm sure the car radios are attached to the roof antenna but I and others don't know that for sure.. it's your words... aren't they?

YES the HD car radios did work picking up broadcasts, and I said that, even if there were no HD broadcasts in Savannah.

http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,87737.0.html

Just to jog your memory.

Radiopilot

 

[semoochie]

Just for the record, it's no longer necessary to spend 2-3K on an HDTV. We recently purchased a 42 inch 1080p LCD with lots of bells, whistles and connections for around $1,500.

 

[radiopilot]

Just for the record, it's no longer necessary to spend 2-3K on an HDTV. We recently purchased a 42 inch 1080p LCD with lots of bells, whistles and connections for around $1,500.

That's a bargain, but really did you just walk to the TV aisle, pick up the box and drop in a shopping cart and take it home, or did you and your spouse (girlfriend) examine the myriad of tv's on display and carefully selected the unit based on sight and sound (not so much sound maybe) but based on image quality, contrast, pixel definition, plasma vs LCD, etc., to the different brands and sizes?

This same logic is what I'm trying to convey with the HD radios BestBuy had on display, I don't see why this has to drag any further!

Photos of the display do it justice!

Radiopilot

 

[KB1OKL]

Actually Dude, the opposite is true. Digital and analog signals are plentiful in urban areas, and much easier to receive. At the risk of being sexist, some of you guys "argue like a girl". Maybe I should say "argue like my wife". When you're losing on one front (coverage area SUCKS), you CHANGE THE SUBJECT! "Well, it works only in rural areas, not bovine-deficient urban areas". HEY! Charlotte is hardly rural. It's a top 30 market, teaming with stations. And HD works just fine in that market. Ditto the other large markets in NC (Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, Raleigh/Durham, Wilmington, Asheville). Got any REAL arguments, 'cause these smell kind of like some of the pastures in rural NC!

My, my, don't we get nasty when we are on the losing end of an argument. I have a hard time believing in consistent 100 mile reception anywhere as everything I've read indicates the opposite. If you are a pro and also pro-IBOC, are we supposed to believe 100 mile receptions? And yes of course my post was tongue in cheek, a nice 100' high Yagi might do ok to get that light lit occasionally.

 

[clouseau]

Actually Dude, the opposite is true. Digital and analog signals are plentiful in urban areas, and much easier to receive. At the risk of being sexist, some of you guys "argue like a girl". Maybe I should say "argue like my wife". When you're losing on one front (coverage area SUCKS), you CHANGE THE SUBJECT! "Well, it works only in rural areas, not bovine-deficient urban areas". HEY! Charlotte is hardly rural. It's a top 30 market, teaming with stations. And HD works just fine in that market. Ditto the other large markets in NC (Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, Raleigh/Durham, Wilmington, Asheville). Got any REAL arguments, 'cause these smell kind of like some of the pastures in rural NC!

My, my, don't we get nasty when we are on the losing end of an argument. I have a hard time believing in consistent 100 mile reception anywhere as everything I've read indicates the opposite. If you are a pro and also pro-IBOC, are we supposed to believe 100 mile receptions? And yes of course my post was tongue in cheek, a nice 100' high Yagi might do ok to get that light lit occasionally.

Bob,

I don't belive Mike has claimed routine 100 mile reception. 60-70-80 yes, but I don't recall 100.

Just what I recall.

Clouseau

 

[semoochie]

I'm not disagreeing at all. I just didn't want people to not buy HDTVs because they think they still need to spend 2-$3,000! My wife bought a small one with built in DVD player for an additional $500!