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Insignia NS-HD02 Portable removed from Best Buy and Amazon websites

G

gosmith123

Guest
Hi,

I was looking at Best Buy's and Amazon's websites for the Insignia portable with Artist Experince, but it has been removed from both sites. Then, I came across this scathing review of the portable, so it is no wonder that it was removed. Also, I understand that VW is offering this "feature" in some of its vehicles, but it appears that it is fraught with technical problems. Haven't the automakers done any research on this flawed-technology?

http://www.radioworld.com/article/insignia-a-glimpse-of-artist-experience/211187
 
VW is offering HD, or HD plus the stupid artist experience?

I was taking my mother shopping for a new car this week and one of the CUVs she's looking at, the new Mazda CX-5 Skyactiv, had an HD radio in the upper trim level. Nice vehicle. I wanted to toy with the radio but it didn't have any way to run it with the engine off (it was keyless push button start).
 
VW has been offering HD, and supposedly offering the Artist Experience in 2012 models. Won't consumers be pleased. iBiquity must be parking their automaker showcase vehicles in some ideal spot in a Detroit parking lot - see, it works perfectly! :D
 
Most of the complaints about this product can be traced to problems with the underlying HD radio technology, which just does not work reliably. No matter how you try to dress it up with "artist experiences" it is still the same old same old. From the lousy battery life to the unreliable reception to the problem with stopping on the noise sidebands (see-- HD FM really does take up three radio channels), that's what you get with "digital" radio. Give me a good analog FM radio with a digital display any day!

I don't agree that over-the-air broadcasting is obsolete, however. It was and is and always will be the best way to reach large numbers of people. I wish that as an industry' we would stop shooting ourselves in the foot with this flawed technology and get back to the business of making radio sound great again.
 
audioguy said:
From the lousy battery life to the unreliable reception to the problem with stopping on the noise sidebands (see-- HD FM really does take up three radio channels), that's what you get with "digital" radio.
Click to expand...

I don't know that much about HD Radio, so I am a bit confused about "stopping on the digital sidebands". I know the basics of the IBOC design, so are you referring to HD radios stopping on the sidbands, instead of seeking the HD1 channels, first? In scan-mode, do HD radios skip over the analog-only broadcasters? I've read in HD Radio auto forums, complaints about how to disable HD Radio, so I'm wondering if this has been done on purpose? In scan-mode, do analog-only radios mistakenly stop on these digital sidebands? Overall, I'm wondering if iBiquity is trying to force analog-only broadcasters out of the dashboard - if so, should be grounds for legal action.
 
gosmith123 said:
audioguy said:
From the lousy battery life to the unreliable reception to the problem with stopping on the noise sidebands (see-- HD FM really does take up three radio channels), that's what you get with "digital" radio.
Click to expand...

I don't know that much about HD Radio, so I am a bit confused about "stopping on the digital sidebands". I know the basics of the IBOC design, so are you referring to HD radios stopping on the sidbands, instead of seeking the HD1 channels, first? In scan-mode, do HD radios skip over the analog-only broadcasters? I've read in HD Radio auto forums, complaints about how to disable HD Radio, so I'm wondering if this has been done on purpose? In scan-mode, do analog-only radios mistakenly stop on these digital sidebands? Overall, I'm wondering if iBiquity is trying to force analog-only broadcasters out of the dashboard - if so, should be grounds for legal action.
Click to expand...

I think most car radios and the Insignias have an HD-only scan mode that can be enabled, but it's not on by default.

I've never found a radio that stopped on the FM sidebands; on AM practically every radio I've tried will stop on strong sidebands. My OEM VW radio was stopping on WBBM's sidebands more than halfway to Springfield last time I was up that way. Just on the other side of Springfield, it started stopping on KMOX's sidebands.
 
I had no idea how bad things had realy gotten with supplies until my Radiosophy HD-100 clock radio died last week and I needed to replace it. The Sangean HDR-1 was my first choice, unavailable. The Teac and the Boston Accoustics, gone. Nothing in local stores and nothing on line except for adds that say out of stock. Is any clock radio available that will awaken me with square waves?
 
Yeah, just about any of them with beepers can! But if you're just going to use the beeper, why would you need a radio?
 
Well, when you click on the link at sangean.com, here's what you get:


Sorry, we do not search the product,

Please try again or connect to Website Admin, thanks you! (sic)
Click to expand...


So, I guess that's right. No more Sangean HD.

Five different Internet/WiFi radios, though! ;D

One more thing about Sangen, it has an extremely interesting line of "correctional" radios, that is, radios with clear cases designed for use in jails, etc. I certainly hope I never need one :eek:, but a radio with a clear case would be a cool thing to have.

http://www.sangean.com/products/product_category.asp?cid=13
 
Last summer I was curious as to what's available on HD so I bought an Insignia NS-HDTUNE tuner. When I took it home I quickly realized that not much is available that's different or exciting. A few weeks ago the tuner stopped decoding HD signals and it was then that I found out that the warranty was only 90 days. I also found that that the repair cost would be far more than what the tuner cost. So I tried something crazy as there was nothing to lose. I put the tuner in my freezer for half an hour. After it defrosted, the HD decoded like new. I've heard of being given a chilly reception.
 
So, exeunt from the Neverland of HD Radio: Boston Acoustics. Radiosophy (RIP.) Radio Shack - Accurian. Jensen. SONY. Leaving:

SONY-for-losers COBY. Insignia, a bottom-feeder BB store brand. And a handful of head-end units for the disappearing aftermarket car audio market, by JVC. And that's it.

No worries, though, both of you stubborn remaining HD Radio fans: iBiquity is manipulating the car-radio front, trying to sneak HD into as many $3000+ entertainment packages as possible, so there IS a future! No, wait - the future is BRIGHT!. Of course, a huge percentage of people drive their BMWs and Jags etc. around with the HD function defeated so they can get reliable radio reception, but....hey, the only thing that matters is that the thing is installed, right? Never mind that nobody actually wants the freakin' thing.

I haven't seen the FM numbers lately, but I would willingly wagered that if there have been any new HD installs, they're fewer than a dozen in the past year. On the AM side the pop-count continues to slowly sink.

GREAT success story, HD Radio. It makes our industry look totally clueless. ::) :p
 
Savage said:
iBiquity is manipulating the car-radio front, trying to sneak HD into as many $3000+ entertainment packages as possible, so there IS a future!
Click to expand...

Any ideas how iBiquity is getting into the dash, with the automakers aware of the complaints associated with HD Radio? Do you think it is some sort of financial arrangement, or just outright lies and deception? The majority of the testing is probably done in the Detroit area, where no doubt, the HD Radio signals are as pristine as possible. I remember reading how iBiquity injects themselves into stations' tests to minimize any perceived interference to adjacent-stations. I think that iBiquity really caught Ford with their pants down. Also, I wonder if VW did any testing on the Artist Experience?
 
Well, Darth, it's certainly true that consolidation was a short-term blessing - and a long-term disaster. But a lot of us didn't participate in the Greed-A-Thon and actually are still enthusiastic about this industry and our constituencies, the advertisers and listeners. We emerged unscathed.

But HD screws everybody. At least consolidation had an upside - a lot of smaller operators with good facilities at least got to cash out and get a career payday. HD is scorched-earth. HD was over four years ago; why do you think receiver manufacturers and most broadcasters either ignored it or have bailed? Why are radio's "leaders" the only ones who don't get it?
 
gosmith123 said:
Any ideas how iBiquity is getting into the dash, with the automakers aware of the complaints associated with HD Radio? Do you think it is some sort of financial arrangement, or just outright lies and deception? The majority of the testing is probably done in the Detroit area, where no doubt, the HD Radio signals are as pristine as possible. I remember reading how iBiquity injects themselves into stations' tests to minimize any perceived interference to adjacent-stations. I think that iBiquity really caught Ford with their pants down. Also, I wonder if VW did any testing on the Artist Experience?
Click to expand...

I think that automakers are now adding HD because it's an opportune time to do so, in the midst of rolling out glass-dashboard "infotainment" systems. The driver for this redesign is internet connectivity - adding HD functionality just gives these systems another piece of bling. Sort of a passive uptake kind of thing. It would be interesting to know just how much of a difference this makes to iBiquity's revenue stream - it can't hurt, but is it meaningful or sustainable?

It will be interesting to see if the "turn it off" TSBs proliferate through the industry as more makes/models put it in their infotainment systems.
 
iBiquity does receive royalties for each automaker HD Radio sold. I was reading how JD Power wacked Ford from 5th place all the way down to 23rd in reliability because of problems with MyFordTouch/Sync, where HD Radio is either standard in upper-end vehicles, or optional (Sony HD Radio system). So, it appears that this is an appropriate home for HD. I've been reading complaints in automaker HD forums, and it will be interesting if Ford eventually releases a TSB for a product they have invested in. Dealerships have a 45 minute video that is shown to customers about MyFordTouch/Sync - I wonder if they have one on how to tune HD? :D
 
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