HD radio power onsumption

[Len14043]

I notice that the BA and Radiosophy were not designed to operate on batteries. I wonder if future HD radios will consume less power as new chips are developed, or is high power consumption inherent in the design of HD radio?

 

[davideduardo]

I notice that the BA and Radiosophy were not designed to operate on batteries. I wonder if future HD radios will consume less power as new chips are developed, or is high power consumption inherent in the design of HD radio?

The recent investment in iBiquity by Intel has as an objective the development of a better chipset that is less power hungry. There is a problem with all of this kind of radio, in that the DAC eats power. I have the XM protable Inno and it lasts only maybe 3-4 hours on a charge.

 

[w9wi]

I notice that the BA and Radiosophy were not designed to operate on batteries. I wonder if future HD radios will consume less power as new chips are developed, or is high power consumption inherent in the design of HD radio?

The recent investment in iBiquity by Intel has as an objective the development of a better chipset that is less power hungry. There is a problem with all of this kind of radio, in that the DAC eats power. I have the XM protable Inno and it lasts only maybe 3-4 hours on a charge.

Battery-operated digital radios are widely available in the UK:
http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/sto...d=0&criterion=dab radio&AtimeStamp=3334382931

While these radios use a different standard, I can't see where the standard should make a major difference in power consumption. (the DAC is common to all digital radios, so if it's the major consumer of power then all digital radios are going to have the same issue, whether IBOC, Eureka, or XM)

Of course these listings don't say anything about battery life. But reports have it this stuff is selling pretty well there (the company in the link reportedly no longer sells *analog* radios!) so the life can't be too horribly bad.

 

[I.B. Iquity]

"But reports have it this stuff is selling pretty well there (the company in the link reportedly no longer sells *analog* radios!) so the life can't be too horribly bad."

I wouldn't make that assumption. The I-Pod has pretty poor battery life. They've gotten better (as all technology does over time) but you don't get more than 4 or five hours and that's if you don't touch a thing. Just start the device and whatever source comes up is what's played. You can't hop around from song to siong because if you do you shorten battery life significantly and after all this time the I-Pod is still 399$ for the 60 Gig unit. Prices have not dropped.

 

[Chuck]

"But reports have it this stuff is selling pretty well there (the company in the link reportedly no longer sells *analog* radios!) so the life can't be too horribly bad."

I wouldn't make that assumption. The I-Pod has pretty poor battery life. They've gotten better (as all technology does over time) but you don't get more than 4 or five hours and that's if you don't touch a thing. Just start the device and whatever source comes up is what's played. You can't hop around from song to siong because if you do you shorten battery life significantly and after all this time the I-Pod is still 399$ for the 60 Gig unit. Prices have not dropped.

A lot of the price is simply because Apple figures it can get it. And they do get it. The thing is a marketing triumph and Apple is making a ton of money on it. It's not hard to find similar (but not iPod style design) devices for well under $100 at your local WalMart.

You are right about the battery life. I've had mine crap out about half way through a long flight on many occasions. I'm now carrying a seat power inverter to power all electronic stuff that seems to be in my briefcase. Can a multiple outlet power strip be that far away? ;D

 

[I.B. Iquity]

"The thing is a marketing triumph and Apple is making a ton of money on it. It's not hard to find similar (but not iPod style design) devices for well under $100 at your local WalMart."

Yes but only Apple has rights to AAC I believe. It's a much better codec then MP3. You're rigth, Apple can get list for this product but the point I was making is that peole would be willing to pay a price for something they want. Actually I'm on my third I-Pod. I have the 40 G click wheel and have had one fail another had a dead battery and another had an issue which I resolve. If you use any decent headphones with your i-pod the unit will go into pause because the metal (ground) of the headphone plug will touch the case of the I-Pod. By painting a little clear nail polosh around the headphone jack you will insulate the plug from the case and the unit will operate properly. As an aside Apple has the best user forum I have ever seen. Answers to questions are easliy found by searching their forum. Most sites are nowhere near as complete.

 

[vsa]

I.B. IQUITY WRITE: "Yes but only Apple has rights to AAC I believe. It's a much better codec then MP3."

It is a better codec than mp3, but Apple is not the only entity with rights to it. AAC & HE-AAC is part of the MPEG-4 audio standard.