But Kevin referred to HD2s and HD3s, which are already accessible for free on any HD radio receiver. That genie is already out of the bottle. I suppose a day could come when HD radio could be encrypted. But who's going to pump money into an encryption technology for something that requires new HD receivers? Theoretically, Analog FM could also be encrypted for subscription. But that still begs the point -- who would buy a newer technology, encrypted FM receiver? I don't see FM or HD's situation changing to subscription -- there already are numerous online, streaming subscription services for probably most commercial uses. Every grocery, box and drug store I walk into that has music is using one. Even pubs and taverns have internet jukeboxes, which isn't much different.
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HD Radio’s History of Innovation and Future of Growth
- Thread starter rbc
- Start date
McMartin was a (relatively speaking) large provider of SCA tuners. It was pretty easy to hack one of those 'McMartian' tuners to make it frequency agile. I probably still have one in my basement somewhere. Most of the Muzak tuners were built by Toa.
Radio Reading Services for the blind were another common consumer of SCA's, which I always thought was one of the better uses. The problem was, if the listener lived in an area with excessive multipath at the host station's frequency, the crosstalk from the main carrier was pretty intolerable. Considering the table top units had cheap telescoping antennas, it was always a challenge trying to keep the SCA listeners happy.
With the McMartin receivers, just install a capacitor in place of the crystal and adjust the tuning slug to change the frequency of the receiver. I've done it.
K
Kevin
Guest
If there’s ever a pure digital mandate for HD Radio, it will be the end game for over-the-air AM and FM radio. So if there’s an analog sunset, that will be the final coffin nail for free radio.
Where would it come from? What would the justification be? It sounds like wishful thinking.
K
Kevin
Guest
Not wishful thinking, just stating the strong possibility.
The FCC will never mandate a system which is patented and requires payment before the station can use the technology.
It's zero possibility. The entire foundation of the Communications Act is free reception of radio and TV.
K
Kevin
Guest
That’s my thinking as well. Granted the television thing was selling spectrum to the telecoms.
Because, as Frank said, they would be giving the owner of the HD Radio trademark a windfall profit.
It also makes hundreds of millions of AM & FM radios obsolete and useless, destroying the EAS system.
HD Radio is not free shareware. It's a copyrighted and trademarked technology that users must license and pay for.
No one has said "HD Radio is the future." It's another outlet among many other platforms. What radio owners are doing is combining AM, FM, HD, and streaming together. That is the future. Give consumers options and let them pick.
So it's a marketing ploy. That answers my questions. The FCC has no power over it?
Only to make sure that the system meets the RF mask regulations. Once approved, the FCC has nothing more to do with the matter.
What do you mean? What is a marketing ploy? The FCC regulates all broadcasting.
There is no value in AM or FM spectrum as there is with VHF. Read up on your physics.
No. HD radio is not free to use. It's sold for a profit.
It seems to be stuck in limbo. Did the FCC consider this a fad and would never get wide adoption? Could they have pushed it further if they wanted to?
They approved it for use and let the marketplace decide. As they did with AM stereo. No mandate.
There never was a mandate for FM either. It took 35 years to gain acceptance in the market.
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