No One Cares About Or Listens To HD Radio

[LKellerIII]

Based on the number of complaints and service calls BMW has recorded because of problems with their HD radios how much convincing do you think it will take for other manufacturers to follow suit?

I spoke yesterday with the service manager at my BMW dealer while I was in for a little mechanical issue... and she said that she had no record of any complaints on the HD module. And we are talking about one of the top couple of BMW dealers in the country in a city where there is a higher percentage of BMWs than anywhere else in the country.

I can't imagine what the complaints could be about. My replacement car stereo is a garden variety JVC unit. It only cost $120 (on sale) with 3 band FM+HD/HD2/AM/CD player & MP3. It's worked flawlessly for over 2 years now.

The reception on each HD2 channel within the metro area I live in (SF Bay Area) is generally equal to the HD1. In other words, where any particular station's HD1 drops off, or switches to analog, the HD2 will drop completely. But that doesn't happen very often, and it's usually just for a few seconds.

A few of the HD2 channels suffer from puny play list syndrome, but what else is new? I have so many more choices now, I can switch from one format to another often enough that it rarely gets boring. When I do get bored, I plug in my ipod.

 

[KMGX]

Let's look at the histroy of FM radio. The FCC authorized the current band in the late 40's. Nothing happened (nobody listening, lousy programming - simulcast) unitl the FCC mandated radios have FM built in. Still nothing happening. The FCC actually had to mandate that FM and AM have seprate programming in the late 60's before anything really ahppened with FM. So it took almost 20 years before anything really happened with FM. Now I won't go into how long it took for FM Stereo to be on radios and most stations to be FM Stereo. My conclusion. At this point in the developement cycle, it is way way too early declare HD a failure.

There's a key difference between the evolution of FM radio and "HD Radio". In the case of FM, there really wasn't any other game in town so to speak, once people discovered FM and it's superior sound quality (and once broadcasters started putting quality content on it) it took off. On the other hand, "HD Radio" arrived late to the party; iPods, CD's, Internet stations, satellite... these are all primary competitors... "HD Radio" is a bust so far and very likely will never have the success that FM Radio experienced, regardless of how much the NAB/Terrestrial radio lobbies the FCC to help it along. There are a handful of stations to chose from, versus nearly 200 with satellite radio and 20,000 with internet broadcasts.

 

[Carmine5]

I'm coming to the conclusion that even those who support HD Radio don't really believe in it.

I mean, where are the promotional give-away HD Radios? Where are the print and television ad campaigns for it? Where are the ads promoting side-channel programming--and I'm talking billboards, buses, bus benches, etc. Where is the money being spent to promote this technology and programming to consumers?

Sure, times are tough for the radio industry but consumers are not going to learn about HD Radio by osmosis or by means of some tepid "Time to Upgrade" freebee radio spots. Money has got to be spent promoting it. There is no getting around this. It's either that or fold up the HD tent and keep broadcasting in analog--which to my ears sounds just as good anyway.

c5

 

[K6JHU]

Listening to KUSC-HD east of the 215 on the 10 (Redlands). Solid lock on the HD signal. Maybe they have boosted the HD power.