IBOC?

[BruBz]

I'm not clear on what all of you guys have against IBOC (HD Radio).
I have a new stereo receiver with an HD tuner built in and the HD sounds
better on most of the local stations that use it. WGUC-HD1 and WREW-HD1
sound great on a good sound system.
I'm not trying to start a fight I just don't understand the beef with IBOC.
It seems that hatred of IBOC is one of the few things you guys can agree on.

Bruce

 

[WCWalker]

Interference on the radio dial is one reason alone to dislike IBOC.

The following article notes a great sounding AM system that should have been implemented but wasn't do to politics.

http://www.rwonline.com/article/word-of-am-stereo-patent-holder-leonard-kahn’s-death-spreads-/214191

And even CQUAM which I listened to in the 80's on a couple of stations had a very rich, warm sound when compared to IBOC on the AM dial.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Interference is only a concern to those DX'ers.. (I am not talking about AM radio where IBOC does not work)... However for FM I think if the power can be increased a little more than the current limits and there is compelling programming (Not "new country" on a country formatted station) then I think IBOC still has a chance.. Like it or not.. I don't see IBOC on FM dying anytime soon.. [especially with the new game of folks like Clear Channel using translators to create new mini stations].

 

[microbob]

FM IBOC will only be used a method of feeding those translators as long as the FCC allows it. Consumers have given HD radio a thumbs down in the marketplace in favor of internet and satellite, which is why Clear channel has put its resources and marketing into their own platform I Heart Radio.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Interference is only a concern to those DX'ers..

Not true...WORX 96.7 Madison,Indiana (a town where people drive to greater Cincinnati to work) was once very listenable onto I-275 before 96.5 near Cincinnati added IBOC...now it's pure hiss--gone. Areas where WORX once was crystal clear in stereo (within 22 air miles) now receive stereo with a -20db noise floor. Real listeners no doubt assumed that WORX had reduced power or was simply not operating properly. When those listeners were forced to tune away every day on the way to work, how long before they simply didn't bother to come back at all? IBOC is destructive to the many listeners who tune in daily outside the oft quoted "protected contour". Those who strongly dislike this flawed technology often rightfully cite this reason. Now if it were being used as digital only and 100% of the signal stayed within the spectrum that analog currently uses, it would be a great technology. You simply can't put 10 pounds of flour into a 5 pound sack without making a big mess.