Thanks to Radio Ink's Eric Rhoads, I finally have at-home access to HD radio channels and have been checking them out for a few days.
First impression: The audio, generally speaking, sounds better than analog FM - only slightly, and most noticably when transitioning from a less-than-pristine analog signal. The lack of multipath and other distortion mixed with the audio signal sounds so nice. I think I can hear some digital distortion - fleeting - as a kind of shrill edginess that goes up & down with high frequency sounds, but it seems a minor price to pay for the otherwise cleaner sounding audio. At least on the HD1 signals that I've listened to so far.
HD2, at a slightly lower fidelity still sounds OK - and also absent of the usual FM fuzz and fritziness (multipath, mostly).
HD3, only found on: KITS - running the last.fm feed, in mono, probably to get the best sound possible from an even lower bit rate (48k?) -- and KMEL - no audio at all ... maybe testing or something?
Well, the reason I'm even bringing HD up is that I've noticed a few stations which might need to fix their HD2 info streams - the Title & Artist (or station name & slogan) stuff that appears on the little screen when listening to the station in question...
Star-FM (101.3) their HD2 shows "Every Word - Ercola / Danielle" regardless of what's actually playing.
BAND-FM (103.7) HD2 - "Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes" is the info, regardless of the actual song.
KFOG (104.5) HD2 - Only shows "KFOG's 10 @ 10 Station" - no "year" info for the individual "10 @ 10" segments being played.
KMEL (106.1) HD2 - "This Dj - Warren G." is the title/artist info regardless of the music playing.
KSAN (107.7) HD2 - slogan "107.7 The Bone Rocks!" - while slightly informative, has no song/artist info.
Also: I was checking KDFC's webpage for info on what had been playing on their HD2 channel - the only place I could get that was to go to their Listen Live player, then click on "Stations" and then scroll down to "KDFCHD2" where there was a short list of previously-played music. No reference to the HD2 channel or playlist info anywhere, that I could find.
I don't know how hard it would be to give more presence on a station's website to the HD2/HD3 channel info, but if it's not too hard, as a new HD Radio user, I'd appreciate it. I realise that the whole HD thing has yet to really take off, even given its creeping availability on various players and cars and even home type audio devices (radios, tuners...) but it seems to me that when new users go to check HD out, they shouldn't run into half-hearted efforts and presentations (web and player screen info errors/omissions).
I just heard a station's HD2 ID, followed by a voice saying, "Wow, you couldn't sound more bored!" I have a feeling there's a little more truth there than just the way the ID itself was delivered.
By the way, the radio I have is called "Mighty Red" - a limited edition version of Best Buy's "Insignia® - HD Radio Portable Player" ... apart from the name and the shiny red exterior it is the exact-same radio. Main difference is that it sold for $35 (vs $40 sale price at BB) and didn't come with the full manual. just the quick-start guide. Maybe that was because the intended target audience was radio people who might not need the full manual... except that Eric Rhoads suggested that these also be given as gifts (I gave 3 away) - The giftees are not "radio people" and might need more than just the quick-start thing.
...stepping off soapbox....
First impression: The audio, generally speaking, sounds better than analog FM - only slightly, and most noticably when transitioning from a less-than-pristine analog signal. The lack of multipath and other distortion mixed with the audio signal sounds so nice. I think I can hear some digital distortion - fleeting - as a kind of shrill edginess that goes up & down with high frequency sounds, but it seems a minor price to pay for the otherwise cleaner sounding audio. At least on the HD1 signals that I've listened to so far.
HD2, at a slightly lower fidelity still sounds OK - and also absent of the usual FM fuzz and fritziness (multipath, mostly).
HD3, only found on: KITS - running the last.fm feed, in mono, probably to get the best sound possible from an even lower bit rate (48k?) -- and KMEL - no audio at all ... maybe testing or something?
Well, the reason I'm even bringing HD up is that I've noticed a few stations which might need to fix their HD2 info streams - the Title & Artist (or station name & slogan) stuff that appears on the little screen when listening to the station in question...
Star-FM (101.3) their HD2 shows "Every Word - Ercola / Danielle" regardless of what's actually playing.
BAND-FM (103.7) HD2 - "Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes" is the info, regardless of the actual song.
KFOG (104.5) HD2 - Only shows "KFOG's 10 @ 10 Station" - no "year" info for the individual "10 @ 10" segments being played.
KMEL (106.1) HD2 - "This Dj - Warren G." is the title/artist info regardless of the music playing.
KSAN (107.7) HD2 - slogan "107.7 The Bone Rocks!" - while slightly informative, has no song/artist info.
Also: I was checking KDFC's webpage for info on what had been playing on their HD2 channel - the only place I could get that was to go to their Listen Live player, then click on "Stations" and then scroll down to "KDFCHD2" where there was a short list of previously-played music. No reference to the HD2 channel or playlist info anywhere, that I could find.
I don't know how hard it would be to give more presence on a station's website to the HD2/HD3 channel info, but if it's not too hard, as a new HD Radio user, I'd appreciate it. I realise that the whole HD thing has yet to really take off, even given its creeping availability on various players and cars and even home type audio devices (radios, tuners...) but it seems to me that when new users go to check HD out, they shouldn't run into half-hearted efforts and presentations (web and player screen info errors/omissions).
I just heard a station's HD2 ID, followed by a voice saying, "Wow, you couldn't sound more bored!" I have a feeling there's a little more truth there than just the way the ID itself was delivered.
By the way, the radio I have is called "Mighty Red" - a limited edition version of Best Buy's "Insignia® - HD Radio Portable Player" ... apart from the name and the shiny red exterior it is the exact-same radio. Main difference is that it sold for $35 (vs $40 sale price at BB) and didn't come with the full manual. just the quick-start guide. Maybe that was because the intended target audience was radio people who might not need the full manual... except that Eric Rhoads suggested that these also be given as gifts (I gave 3 away) - The giftees are not "radio people" and might need more than just the quick-start thing.
...stepping off soapbox....
