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Question about WTAK's 106.1-2 HD channel.

B

BlueWanderer

This topic probably belongs in the HD board, but I figure very little people would know or care about this WTAK channel over there. So does 106.1-2 (or whatever it's officially called) actually play alternative rock or not? I read on some websites where it lists the various HD channels in Alabama and it said this, but I can't verify it since I don't have a HD radio. Also, how does it sound compare to regular radio and should I even bother with it at all at this early in the game? :-\

I promise this will be the last mention of new rock since I'm getting bored talking about it so much lately. :)
 
Good luck finding someone with an HD radio up there to give you an answer. :p

As for sound, it'll be a commercial free jukebox, with a tinny low-bitrate mp3 sound quality. If they're playing what you want to hear, though, it should be just fine.
 
Zach said:
As for sound, it'll be a commercial free jukebox, with a tinny low-bitrate mp3 sound quality. If they're playing what you want to hear, though, it should be just fine.
Click to expand...

In my experience there's nothing wrong with the audio quality on an FM HD2 channel. (but I'm way out of range of WTAK-HD so it's possible they're doing something wrong)

The question will be whether Blue can receive the HD signal at all. With WTAK's 5.4kw power I'd guess the indoor antenna coverage will be on the order of 10 miles; if he's further from the tower than that, a rooftop antenna may well be necessary.
 
w9wi said:
Zach said:
As for sound, it'll be a commercial free jukebox, with a tinny low-bitrate mp3 sound quality. If they're playing what you want to hear, though, it should be just fine.
Click to expand...

In my experience there's nothing wrong with the audio quality on an FM HD2 channel. (but I'm way out of range of WTAK-HD so it's possible they're doing something wrong)

The question will be whether Blue can receive the HD signal at all. With WTAK's 5.4kw power I'd guess the indoor antenna coverage will be on the order of 10 miles; if he's further from the tower than that, a rooftop antenna may well be necessary.
Click to expand...

I was just going on the very very few samples of HD-2 I've heard on other radios. While the SQ was a little better than satellite radio, it still left a lot to be desired. I reckon if he gets a good, clean, hiss free signal, the HD should be a viable option.

From what I've seen on the HD board here, the HD signal is usually good to the 60 dBu contour. That (theoreticlly) covers a lot of Huntsville.
 
I think I'm going to pass on it due to being way outside of range and the low-bitrate mp3 sound quality. Perhaps in the near future, HD radio will be better. I guess I'll stick to Rocket for now and avoid it when football coverage is on.

Thanks and have a merry Christmas! :)
 
Does anyone else get an echo with wtak's hd signal? My hd radio seems to have an echo with wtak, but its only with the hd signal. The analog signal works fine. It works fine with other hd stations. ??? Does this happen to anyone else?
 
b2b2b2 said:
Does anyone else get an echo with wtak's hd signal? My hd radio seems to have an echo with wtak, but its only with the hd signal. The analog signal works fine. It works fine with other hd stations. ??? Does this happen to anyone else?
Click to expand...

Is it a constant echo all the time? If so, it may be processing-related. If it just comes and goes, maybe the HD and analog signals are out of sync, and you're hearing that as the HD drops out.

BlueWanderer: As a followup, I wanna say I got to hear some more HD radio at a Memphis Best Buy last week. The sound quality of some of the stations was actually decent - if I were you I'd try to get a demo somewhere and listen for yourself. You may find the quality more acceptable.

The one station that didn't sound very good was their NPR affilite, WKNO. They were running three streams, with all classical on the HD-2 and BBC World Service on HD-3. The BBC sounded better there than on XM, but the classical was... Ugh.
 
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