HD Radio in the Marketplace

[Mike Sheridan]

In Charlotte, NC I looked at the JVC HD Car Stereo at Circuit City today. It looks like a nice unit. I had the usual problem trying to get it to tune rather than scan though the stations. I saw it under less than optimal conditions. When I mentioned the poor signals the sales guy blamed it on the building. It was more likely the modulator they were using to pipe satellite radio into all the car receivers but I didn't argue. WPZS went to HD and the progression was seemless and easy on the ears. The sound was good from what I could tell, that station doesn't have HD2. WFAE the NPR station and some of the others came through in stereo but there wasn't enough signal to go into HD.

I saw a note elsewhere that said Best Buy is showing very little interest in HD radio because it doesn't come with a subscription which they get a kickback on selling. Not my words, I have no idea if it's true but it sure seems like it. This was exactly the way AM Stereo was treated in the marketplace. You couldn't find it and then when you did it wasn't displayed to it's best advantage.

Note to CBS, Clear Channel, Cox, Radio 1 and the other large groups. The cute commercials for HD radio won't do the job alone. You need to buy a ton of the best HD radios you can find and put them in listeners hands. Once people see what HD radio can do you might have a chance in heading off satellite radio. Once again the retailers are not going to do it for you.

 

[PhilJSmith67]

I tried the JVC KD-HDR and returned it. I just didn't work well at all in a Grand Prix with that read-window dipole antenna. I had to practically be *in* Chicago to get a reliable lock on FM, and the AM was so horribly mismatched for that antenna that I could only get about 8 stations at all, in analog only. I am not about to run a separate coax and punch a hole through the fender, since putting the Blaupunkt back in "resolved the problem."

I don't think it was a unique fault of the JVC receiver. I've heard of several other after-market receivers that just don't fly with the GM on-glass antennas. Many people punch the fender and install a whip to fix it.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Thanks for the note on the window antenna. That's what I have on my Camry and I'm not about to punch a hole in the fender. The current radio works fine.

My first HD radio will probably be the HDT-1 Sangean tuner.

Mike

 

[Mike Walker]

Some money under the table, or hell...above it, will probably be needed to get big box electronics dealers more interested. Hell, they're not really able to demonstrate satellite radio at lots of Best Buy stores anymore. Plus Best Buy's salespeople are largely morons. They must have a screening process to make sure they get the dullest of the dull.

A guy in Best Buy's Hickory NC store once told me that a cd player was "better because it has 24 bits". After reminding him that "NO cd player can extract more than 24 bits, because the red-book cd is a 16 bit medium", I was told that I "didn't know what I was talking about, that lots of cds say "24 bits" right on the cover. Yeah and the FTC ought to look into that, as well...just as they did with amplifier power ratings in the 70s! Anyhow, why try to convince a moron? Life is short, right? Here's why...he's going to be giving mis-information to everyone else he encounters...like telling them they have to buy Monster brand "digital cables" or the new digital tv or dvd player just won't work right. Did I mention the FTC should look into some of this?

 

[davideduardo]

I saw a note elsewhere that said Best Buy is showing very little interest in HD radio because it doesn't come with a subscription which they get a kickback on selling. Not my words, I have no idea if it's true but it sure seems like it. This was exactly the way AM Stereo was treated in the marketplace. You couldn't find it and then when you did it wasn't displayed to it's best advantage.

I believe that the business model for retail includes a commission on the sale of the subscription (along with the radio) and additional commissions if the customer continues to subscribe. That's normal in any business... pay commissions on sales.

Note to CBS, Clear Channel, Cox, Radio 1 and the other large groups. The cute commercials for HD radio won't do the job alone. You need to buy a ton of the best HD radios you can find and put them in listeners hands. Once people see what HD radio can do you might have a chance in heading off satellite radio. Once again the retailers are not going to do it for you.

I agree about retailers. I don't recall seeing, ever, many retail establishments with actual XM or Sirius reception. THis is also usually seen in the auto department with GPS mapping devices. They are nearly all dummy devices, and you can not test them as they have no satellite reception.

 

[PocketRadio]

Once people see what HD radio can do you might have a chance in heading off satellite radio. Once again the retailers are not going to do it for you.

Or, consumers will find out what HD radios really can't do:

"HD Radio Effort Undermined by Weak Tuners in Expensive Radios"

http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,67227.0.html

 

[R.F. Burns]

Once people see what HD radio can do you might have a chance in heading off satellite radio. Once again the retailers are not going to do it for you.

Or, consumers will find out what HD radios really can't do:

"HD Radio Effort Undermined by Weak Tuners in Expensive Radios"

http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,67227.0.html

People aren't flocking to satellite radio. If it was such a success they wouldn't need to merge. XM & Sirius are in serious (pun not intended) condition.

 

[Mike Walker]

PocketRadio, with all due respect (which, sorry...is none) that's bs. People who actually have the radios, hence know their rectal orifice from a depression in the Earth's surface, enjoy great reception, and from surprising distances. Heard my HD demo from the least expensive unit on the market, with an INDOOR antenna? Check where Wilkes County (NC) is on a map compared to Charlotte, Davidson, and Greensboro NC, then tell me if the radios are "weak". Know something before lecturing. Geez!

http://www.theproductionroom.net/hd.wma

 

[PocketRadio]

PocketRadio, with all due respect (which, sorry...is none) that's bs. People who actually have the radios, hence know their rectal orifice from a depression in the Earth's surface, enjoy great reception, and from surprising distances. Heard my HD demo from the least expensive unit on the market, with an INDOOR antenna? Check where Wilkes County (NC) is on a map compared to Charlotte, Davidson, and Greensboro NC, then tell me if the radios are "weak". Know something before lecturing. Geez!

http://www.theproductionroom.net/hd.wma

This was an unbiased test of three HD radios, under different conditions - all three HD radios failed miserably. I didn't expect that HD Radio supporters would agree with the results. Too late anyway, this article has started to spread - just more bad press for HD Radio:

Google search:

"HD Radio Effort Undermined by Weak Tuners in Expensive Radios"

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...uners+in+Expensive+Radios"&btnG=Google+Search

 

[Chuck]

Some money under the table, or hell...above it, will probably be needed to get big box electronics dealers more interested.

<snip>

...like telling them they have to buy Monster brand "digital cables" or the new digital tv or dvd player just won't work right. Did I mention the FTC should look into some of this?

The normal way to make inroads into the consumer electronics biz is to offer a "spiff" to the sales people. That's instant cash in the salesman's pocket for each sale. Just sell a two year cell phone contract, and the sales guy sticks some cash in his pocket. A good salesman can make more on spiffs than he may be paid in salary.

Monster Cable is a great example of a questionable quality product that makes tons of money for everyone in the electronic sales food chain. The stuff looks cool so the customer likes it and believes the hype. The salesman usually makes a spiff on every Monster Cable he sells, so naturally, he recommends the product to anyone who will listen. The dealer makes a couple of hundred percent mark-up, which helps make up for the fact that he sells amplifiers, TV’s , speakers and other commodity products for only 5-15% gross profit margin. It takes about 30% GPM for a store to keep its doors open. You have to make it up somewhere.

It is also traditional for various manufacturers to offer sales incentives like gifts of gourmet food, electronic toys, tools, TV’s camcorders and even trips. I’ve been on several Caribbean cruises courtesy of Audio Technica, went to Europe with Electro-voice, got a nifty Seiko watch from BGW, and lots of other plunder from various other well respected companies. It is the way business is done.

If people want have success with HD in the market place, they need to do it the old fashioned way. Buy it.

 

[R.F. Burns]

In Charlotte, NC I looked at the JVC HD Car Stereo at Circuit City today. It looks like a nice unit. I had the usual problem trying to get it to tune rather than scan though the stations. I saw it under less than optimal conditions. When I mentioned the poor signals the sales guy blamed it on the building. It was more likely the modulator they were using to pipe satellite radio into all the car receivers but I didn't argue. WPZS went to HD and the progression was seemless and easy on the ears. The sound was good from what I could tell, that station doesn't have HD2. WFAE the NPR station and some of the others came through in stereo but there wasn't enough signal to go into HD.

I saw a note elsewhere that said Best Buy is showing very little interest in HD radio because it doesn't come with a subscription which they get a kickback on selling. Not my words, I have no idea if it's true but it sure seems like it. This was exactly the way AM Stereo was treated in the marketplace. You couldn't find it and then when you did it wasn't displayed to it's best advantage.

Note to CBS, Clear Channel, Cox, Radio 1 and the other large groups. The cute commercials for HD radio won't do the job alone. You need to buy a ton of the best HD radios you can find and put them in listeners hands. Once people see what HD radio can do you might have a chance in heading off satellite radio. Once again the retailers are not going to do it for you.

Mike I can't see broadcasters such as the ones you mentioned subsidizing HD radio. First there are over 100 million listeners to terrestrial radio, compared with what, maybe 10 million and that's a big maybe subscribers to both satellites. They claim many more but first, the numbers are inflated by those give away subsciption. The churn rate (numbers or short time subscribers) is enormous. If life was so profitable for the sats they wouldn't be looking towards a merger and all the deals in hopes that people will subscribe. Satellite TV is very successful, satelllite radio, not so. the key is to get HD into cars. If they could get them into rental cars that would be a great promotion.