Why 8 seconds?
The 8-second delay is required because of the HD Radio "blend" requirement. In a nutshell:
- The HD radio component is digital (duh). The audio has to be reconstructed by the receiver from a digital stream and it takes a certain number of samples to reconstruct a decent amount of audio.
- The analog component is, of course, analog (duh again) and requires no such reconstruction.
- Both analog and digital components are transmitted using the same carrier, so when you tune in, the analog audio is available immediately while the digital audio is buffering in your receiver.
- Because of this, the analog audio has to be delayed 8 seconds before transmission so that it can be sychronized with the digital audio - otherwise there's an audible and highly annoying "jump" of audio when the HD Radio receiver switches from the analog to the digital audio.
Having said all that, I stand by my original statement. KIIS' problem is NOT the fact that they're broadcasting with HD Radio. This makes absolutely no difference to the analog program you're hearing. The problem is that a person who has the authority to do so changed audio processor brands at KIIS, after many years of using another brand of processor that had been extensively "dialed in" by KIIS' chief engineer. THAT's where the problem is - not the HD Radio broadcast.
- Doc