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Full Digital HD Radio - No Analog

> If a radio station dumps its analog signal and goes 100%
> IBOC, can it increase the power of the HD signal so that it
> could be heard at the same range as the previous analog 40
> dBu contour?

It wouldn't matter. Shut analog off and you've lost all but a dozen listeners in any market. The ideal is digital only but there aren't enough receivers in use to support even one major market station. There won't be for decades to come.

Our grandchildren's grandchildren might begin to see analog go away. Even the IBUZ manufacturer has admitted analog is here to stay.

Rich
 
> > Jeff Littlejohn at CC says it could be 50 years before we
> > get there..I'm thinking longer..
>
> Little John does not realise how quickly the public is and
> will embrace the new technology as digital radios become
> cost compatible with older analogue models. Not everyone,
> but only enough peope have to go digital for it to be
> profitable to use that analogue bandwidth for digital
> service...I'm thinking a lot shorter.

Will your station be the first to sacrifice the mass analog audience for "only enough" digital listeners?

As a programmer, I wouldn't shut analog off until I was sure I could duplicate or increase my audience. Also, we have to be sure listeners know what they're listening to. The layered display is going to be a problem with listeners reporting secondary listening with the primary call letters.

Ad agencies will have to be assured they're paying for accurate reporting. WXXX-HD1 and WXXX-HD2 are going to be reported as WXXX. It's going to make it very hard to position each channel separately when the receiver displays common calls for both.

As most major market programmers do, go to Arbitron and look at the diaries. You'll be amazed at listeners' confusion over call letters, frequencies, slogans and personalities.

This goes much deeper than the technology. This is going to be a boon for Arbitron's PeopleMeter. Since it reports only a code it receives it can separate the channels. So far, I think only Philadelphia and Houston are using the meters.

One of the industry's largest media buyers, JL Media, has just signed on to use the data.

Since "the industry" hasn't accepted IBUZ (except the HD Dominion members) there will be many stations that will never go digital, so I think Jeff's prediction of 50 years is a conservative one.

Rich
 
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