How many of you have an HD radio?

[OKCRadioGuy]

I have serveral . The best thing that ever came out of this whole HD thing though is that most HD radios are DSP radios that are much better analog radios too. That's the main reason I own them.

 

[317C50KW]

I got one of those cheapy 39 dollar FM only mini receivers last Christmas. I've played with it for a few days. I tried using it in my car, but there are just too many drop outs (I expected that). 99 percent of my listening is in vehicle so it sits in my desk drawer, waiting for a reason for me to use it.

I'll give you $5 for it.

Wait, I meant .50

My vintage Dell computer running Windows ME is worth more than that! That's because it works!

 

[JimmyJames]

Do you like it? - Yes

What do you listen to? - I travel, so varies by market. I like the multicasts of a lot of the pubcasters.

Do your friends know what HD radio is? - yes

If you had a choice, what would you rather have? HD radio or satellite? or your iPod? - I like some of the remaining stuff on satellite but I was a big XM listener pre merger, and don't like it as much under Sirius/Mel K. Still, for a few channels, I suppose satellite.

Do you think HD radio today is more successful than AM stereo was in the 1980's? - overall, I think it has more chance at survival

Have you ever considered reading a book instead of listening to radio or watching television? - I multitask.

Do you think I've asked enough questions? - No.

 

[oldmanradio]

from Inside Music Media , July 30. 2010:

Okay, it wasn’t a promotion in Hartford but it really happened.

Here’s a reader account:

“It's not just CC that is downgrading engineering.

"I bought a new HD clock radio for my wife because the CBS 50K AM in Hartford doesn't come in well where I am due to poor ground conductivity and interference. They stream the AM signal on their FM HD2. Last week, my wife said the radio didn't go on. I checked it and no audio. I checked everything, then tuned up to HD3 and it worked fine. HD1 also worked fine. Then I realized that there was simply no audio on HD2.

"Yesterday, about a week later, I checked again and still no audio. I called the station, was connected with someone in engineering, who first said he wasn't the engineer for that station, but asked why I was calling. I told him, and he walked over and checked, and said "Oh Yeah, there isn't any audio". Last night when I checked, the signal was back on HD2”.

It’s one thing if listeners don’t notice HD radio. They never really took to it anyway but it’s amazing -- no feed for a week and no one at the station noticed

 

[Kent]

I'm usually quick to get new gadgets but I heard about the reception problems with HD & didn't get one. I listen to talk radio mostly anyway & it doesn't require HD. Instead I bought an IP radio for the house that doesn't give me reception issues, plus 15,000 Reciva stations all over the globe. Nice trade-off.

I noticed the same reception related issues. I found a way to get a cheap HD radio from Best Buy a few years ago but opted against doing it because I couldn't get a single station in HD when I tried it at the store. When it comes to HD Radio and its recognition, I was surprised, but a couple of my friends had at least some concept of it. While he might not have known exactly what it was, one of my friends knew you could get three channels of the local NPR affiliate with HD.

I don't see mobile IP taking off if cell providers cap the monthly usage, like the new iPads & iPhone plans are getting now. At $25 per 2 MB, it wouldn't take much streaming before you have to get a second mortgage. Might be ok for other web apps but any kind of audio/video streaming would break the bank. I was lucky to get in under the wire, and got unlimited data. But when my phone croaks, so will my unlimited plan. Enjoying it while it lasts. ;D

I tossed my satellite radio in favor of streaming after Sirius/XM made a few more program changes that disappointed me. I have the iPod on my phone for backup. I have some issues with some channels when driving between home and work, but it's flawless around town. Pandora, for example, is flawless almost anywhere I go. I can literally listen to it on a six hour trip and never lose it. AccuRadio and Yahoo! Radio are pretty good, too. AOL Radio is terrible with constant Timeout Errors while Clear Channel's iHeartRadio usually does okay but is prone to crashing when you get to a gap in wireless coverage.

When it comes to usage and bandwidth caps, you'd be surprised at just how much you can really do. While I wouldn't want to be paying by the kilobyte, I've never come close to AT&T's or Verizon's "fair use cap" (5 GB/3 GB respectively) on the unlimited data plans. I exceed 2 GB about half-the-time, but I just barely go over that cap. I can't listen all day at work because I'm in a team environment, and I'd probably exceed the fair use cap if I could. However, I suspect most people have other ways to get IP radio at work. My company has WiFi in the building, and I know some of my co-workers who don't have paired work stations listen to internet radio over it.

 

[arnoldevns]

My view: HD radio is a failure. There are few radios in the stores and very little demand for them. The stores that have them do not promote them well or know how to try to sell them. If you find an HD radio in a store, the chances you'll be able to hear something in HD are slim. If you get one in your car, it will drop out frequently.

It is just not a reliable technology. Many stations are starting to drop it altogether. I would not be surprised to see it entirely gone in 5 years......and in my view.. that's a good thing.

 

[ropertex]

I have had the Radio Shack Accurian since it came out in 2006...I think I paid $99 after $50 rebate. FM HD sounds good, and I get all the stations 30 miles from Cedar Hill with the included piece-o-wire FM antenna along the floor...AM-HD sounds nearly like FM, but the AM side drops to analog with the slightest signal dip or hash from a dimmer or computer. I have the AM loop antenna hung on a curtain rod near the ceiling. For some reason a birdie wipes out 1080 AM.

I like the Strip (100.3-2) and the Twister (96.3-2) but both have very limited playlists.

 

[charles123]

I have had the Radio Shack Accurian since it came out in 2006...I think I paid $99 after $50 rebate. FM HD sounds good, and I get all the stations 30 miles from Cedar Hill with the included piece-o-wire FM antenna along the floor...AM-HD sounds nearly like FM, but the AM side drops to analog with the slightest signal dip or hash from a dimmer or computer. I have the AM loop antenna hung on a curtain rod near the ceiling. For some reason a birdie wipes out 1080 AM.

I like the Strip (100.3-2) and the Twister (96.3-2) but both have very limited playlists.

When Platinum went off the air, they should've brought back the Twister. I think The Twister is now playing Red Dirt music, am I right?

 

[Lancer]

HDTV has similar reception issues but the public will tolerate because it's a fixed position & antenna can be adjusted accordingly, or if you already have cable/dish like most it's not even an issue. Transmit power is also much higher for HDTV than HD Radio.

HD Radio epic fails because of marginal power hitting a moving target. Even if they jack up the power, you're still not going to get the range you do with analog. You can listen to Cedar Hill sticks in Sulphur Springs, Waco/Temple or Ardmore with analog, good luck with HD. You can get a few more miles down the road with analog before tuning out. HD is all or nothing.

AM Stereo C-CQUAM really wasn't such a bad idea. At least there was no IBOC hiss to deal with, and the mono/stereo cutbacks were hardly noticeable.

 

[Steve Eberhart]

I agree with a previous poster. As soon as cars get devices that reliably pick up online stations - everything changes.

You can do it now with a smart phone plugged into your "aux in" and it sounds awesome.

 

[Chuck]

You can do it now with a smart phone plugged into your "aux in" and it sounds awesome.

I do that quite a bit, especially when I travel. I can find what I'd like to listen to on the Internet, rather than what someone at XM/Sirius or a local station thinks I'd like to listen too.

That's kind of sad though. With a place like Dallas having 80+ signals to choose from, you'd think I'd like several of them. Sometimes I do find something I like, but more often than not, I can't. It didn't used to be that way, and there were fewer stations to choose from. Maybe it is just another sign of old age.

I do know that it is simply easier to plug my smart phone into the aux jack than it is to surf through all the possible off air signals and wait through a 7 minute stop set just so I can figure out what the stations format is.

 

[MikeShannon914]

Jumping into this thread WAY late...but here's my little 2 cents:

YES, have an HD radio in the car, along with XM and other choices. HD is disappointing in general. Signal cuts in and out unless I'm in relatively good proximity of the tower. When the HD's coming in full strength, the sound quality is wonderful. If I'm on, say, KLUV-HD1 (regular ol' KLUV,) at least you've got old analog KLUV to fill in the gaps when the HD signal peters out. On HD2, you just get a dropout and dead air until the signal comes back.

Formats are ok, but I'm highly disappointed that all have decided to air spots. I thought that was one of the "advantages" and selling points of HD radios not so long ago, is that they'd be commercial free. Really, the formats all sound corporately homogenized..."safe" and proven songs and not much creativity. 100.3's lounge format is different and good, but very uneven and inconsistent. Hard to listen for long stretches, but, then again, that's the same as Jack is. :

I know I'm not using HD as much as I thought I would. I'd probably use a cassette player or a shortwave band more if those were my other in-car choices! ;D And HD's no real competitor for satellite radio--I know satellite's going to fade under long overpasses, but dropouts are the exception, not the norm. Can't say the same for HD. And you can see any given stations' commitment to their HD product by how many HD "slots" are NOT being used. Sheesh, how hard is it to program a hard drive with a music genre?

 

[mikl73]

While in DFW this past week I listened to lots of HD. 102.1 HD1 & 2 mostly & 102.9 HD2.
I paused on 100.3 HD2 a few times also.

 

[TheRover]

I have a tabletop HD Radio from Radio Shack. I also have an HD Radio in the car.

Sonically, I'm not overly impressed with the HD sound as processed, except for maybe listening to the quiet parts of something on WRR. Compressed "HD", is still compressed. (See this discussion over at the HD Board: http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=171673.0

I like the sub-channel option, mainly because while in the car, I can scan broadcasts from AM & FM stations that I like --- on the just the FM presets, because several sub-channels of FM stations have their sister AM broadcasts.

As for HD AM, I Hate it, and have no use for it, for any talk, news, or sports programs. The ONLY use I have for AM HD is for KAAM, but I can only get that in the daytime...

Musically, the corporate stations broadcasting Rock in Dallas, with the Digital Sub-Channels have not given me anything to be excited about.

Public TV has gone to a sub-channel.

I'm still waiting for Public Radio in Dallas to do the same. It's certianly being done by other Public Radio stations elsewhere!

 

[oldmanradio]

It is silly to display HD radios, yet not hooked them up properly so that you can hear the quality.

Several times at Fry's on Northwest Highway, I wandered to the HD radio section, completely deserted, of course. Playing with numerous radios, I probably heard three HD signals in the last couple of years.

Horrible job of promoting the technology. It could not have been worse if someone had sabotaged it.

The national spots that were running about a year ago touted all sorts of exotic programming almost none of which is available in Dallas.

 

[dfaulkner]

It is silly to display HD radios, yet not hooked them up properly so that you can hear the quality.

Several times at Fry's on Northwest Highway, I wandered to the HD radio section, completely deserted, of course. Playing with numerous radios, I probably heard three HD signals in the last couple of years.

Horrible job of promoting the technology.

That's been a question of mine. I don't think I've been in a Radio Shack or Fry's that had an HD set up where people could listen to it. I haven't heard one yet. Just read the stuff on this Board & decide it's not that urgent.

I did hear a promo yesterday for one of the CBS HD2's that was Vegas music (probably lots of Rat Pack) that would be fun.

 

[ropertex]

Ford is heavily promoting HD Radio for the 2011 models


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLtheUDmbCg

 

[JStigler]

I too have a Sony clock radio with HD. I really bought it to drop my iPod into but HD was in the thing. What the heck it was 30% off at the Sony store in San Marcus. So now I can ck out the sub channels and the RDS. More than I can do in my F150 PU.
JStigler

 

[Tom Wells]

I have two. A Kenwood I put into my wife's Hyundai, which she never tunes off of college stations with no HD, and an Accurian from Radio Shack, which I can't listen to because the AM cuts off all audio at 2-3 khz. Even worse, its IF response gets WIDER when siganls are weak, and throttles WAY down to narrow on strong signals, making speech almost unintelligible.
Music sounds just plain awful on it.

I have gotten more use out of the Accurian's outboard 12v power supply for temporary power than I have from the radio itself.
And why in the heck is the power supply outside the radio anyway? Another stupid modern convention that make no sense, except I get a useful power supply while the radio gathers dust.

 

[Megapsycle]

Ford is heavily promoting HD Radio for the 2011 models

Good thing they mention the HD reception will drop out, reverting back to the main signal or muting the audio completely if on an HD-2 or HD-3 and it takes a dump. Should take a little heat off the service writers at Ford dealers, having to repeatedly explain why the radio itself isn't defective. I can hear it now..."They all do that".

I can't even get 100% solid reception sittin' still with a home tuner! (Sangean HDT-1X) KAAM is the only AM I am interested in and the signal isn't strong enough in NW Dallas to get it in stereo. It's just barely strong enough for a mono digital signal. KAAM still shuts off the IBOC at dusk after the FCC gave the go ahead for night use. Not sure why other than they might interfere with adjacent channels at night on 750 or 790 kHz ???