Re: Food For Thought
> > I will be devil's advocate for a second, and ask you to
> > rethink *how* you reply to people:
> >
> > A) You have a technical edge of the industry, and over a
> > majority of people so you have more knowledge on the
> topic.
> >
> > B) In the 60's compared to today, AM radio had competition
>
> > with FM Radio, 8 tracks, Reel To Reel, Phonographs, TV,
> etc.
> > FM was pretty much the cat's meow for fidelity which AM
> did
> > not have. Today, there are CD's, DVD's, online media
> > content, Satellite Radio, in other words, people can get
> > HIGH quality media, elsewhere, and for cheaper. Add in
> some
> > research showing younger demos *not* tuning it to
> > conventional radio, I am not saying HD Radio will fail, I
> > think you are overstating its guranteed success. It will
> > probably find its niche.
> >
> > If Satellite radio goes to commercials, HD Radio will have
>
> > an better edge. Also, the gear will have to become more
> > cheaper (in time), plentiful and feature rich. Looking at
> > the one Kenwood model, it does not even automatically
> > MultiCast from what I seen. *Why* buy for so much if it
> does
> > not even do what makes it so desirable in the 1st place?
> > Give the common (key word) user a reason (user friendly)
> to
> > really want to shell out for this, and get the ball
> rolling.
> > Add in a concerted effort on programming and HD radio is
> on
> > its way.
> >
> > Finally, 1 last thing that no one has touched on. HD Radio
>
> > has one BIG advantage. It is LOCAL. But, unfortunately a
> lot
> > of terrestrial radio are moving away from that aspect to
> > maximize profit. Hopefully this can be seen as an
> investment
> > to sustain itself and allow it to grow.
> >
> > This will grow or flounder like AM Stereo, depending on
> how
> > the industry embraces and rolls it out.
> >
> > Happy New Year to all forms of media!
> >
>
> I'm going to step in and "defend" k9ez for a moment.
>
> He and I both have a technical edge, since we both have
> installed HD for large stations owned by large companies.
> Because of this, we are privvy to a lot of inside
> information about the plans of HD rollout, marketing, and
> programming. We can see much further into the future than
> others.
>
> Large broadcast groups have invested lots of big bucks into
> the technical, programming, and marketing of HD. These are
> companies who see this as an infant technology, and have
> plans that span years into the future. Unlike AM stereo, we
> have settled on a standard, and have invested a lot more
> money into rolling it out.
>
> I have not heard anyone on this side of the HD project
> talking about making any money in the first few years. This
> is an investment in the future.
>
> And again, as it's been said over and over, the cost of the
> receivers is high now, but so is the first and second
> generation of ANY technical device. How much did CD players
> cost in their first generation? DVD players? VCR's? All of
> these things now are "throwaway" and cost next to nothing to
> own, yet were prohibitively expensive in their infancy.
> Remember how you used to have to buy a converter to hear FM
> on an AM-Only radio? Nowadays, you can't buy an AM-Only
> radio!
>
> HD Radio is a "chicken and egg" game - the only way the
> prices will come down is if someone, either the receiver
> manufacturers or the radio stations, goes first. We know
> there are very few people who have the radios now. That
> isn't what matters. What matters is that those first few
> people who get HD radios have something to listen to.
> Nothing worse than spending good money on a toy, and not
> being able to play with it! k9ez and I joke that we're the
> only ones listening to the other's HD signals. The hope
> though is that once we start promoting HD, there will be
> plenty to listen to.
>
> So that's why there are more and more stations turning on
> HD. Those who have the radios usually aren't disappointed,
> and we want to keep it that way.
>
> It does get frustrating when you spend so much time
> launching an HD signal (it ain't easy!) only to have someone
> who doesn't know much about the technology dismiss it with a
> simple "so what? It'll fail anyway!". k9ez and I are
> saying that if in a few years, HD fails to take off, we'll
> be the first ones here to talk about it.
>
> But let's not declare it dead before it's really even been
> launched!
>
> I have an HD radio, and I'll tell you...it really does sound
> great, and even better, there is more great content
> available. Those of you complaining about not having a
> Dance station in Chicago - you have one: WBBM-HD2, and it
> sounds awesome!
>
is there an 80s metal station? an 80s station? a 40s station? blues? real jazz?
album rock station? no? there is on xm!<P ID="signature">______________
note to the NAB..satellite radio..its worth paying for!!</P>
<P ID="signature">______________