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Rock 92.9

the thing about HD radio, at least in my Toyota's is that say you land on WZLX, a couple of seconds later it locks into HD and you hear a noticeable difference in the sound, a lot more high's IMHO, but then in a little corner of the display I see a 1 2 3 which tells me there are HD sub carriers and I have to manually tune to get to them.... at that point I can save them as a preset, but unless you have a concept of HD subs and how to get to them, it doesn't matter that 50+ % of the cars come with the tuner, nobody knows how to use it.

Trust me NOBODY reads the owners manuals, the one for my radio is 600 pages ( no lie)

In comparison the Pilot Operating Handbook for a Cessna 172, which tells you everything you need to know about the specific plane to fly it is less than 400 pages
 
Wimmmex said:
It's not something for most that you have to "opt for a higher trim level".

Most new cars come with it standard now.

"More than half (52%) of all new cars sold in 2018 came with factory-installed HD Radio receivers."

And this was 2019....3 years ago. I assume the number is higher. Consumers are getting HD radio without even thinking about it.

Now....compelling content to drive the usage? I agree it's not there.
Click to expand...
Of the few makes and models I researched in 2019 (conincidentally) when I needed to buy a new truck or SUV (went with a truck), most needed to get a higher trim in order to get HD and Satellite Radio. All trims had Bluetooth capability and backup cameras. I ended up with the sport edition of the Honda Ridgeline. It has Bluetooth and analog AM/FM. No HD and no SiriusXM. But you're correct that things could be different in 2022. Now that I have unlimited data, I stream SiriusXM in my truck. I can't make a declaration of cars today, based on what I researched in 2019.
 
And don't forget that the years since 2019 have been poor for new vehicle sales, and that the average car on the road is 11 or 12 years old. It's going to take a long, long time for HD to gain any more than incremental traction. I wouldn't be surprised if its use in 2022 is closer to the 2010 number than the HD rooters here are guessing/hoping.
 
Least said:
Now that I have unlimited data, I stream SiriusXM in my truck.
Click to expand...

Now, if there was some worthwhile, compelling, relevant programming on the HD channels, you might be using them. ;-)

CTListener said:
I wouldn't be surprised if its use in 2022 is closer to the 2010 number than the HD rooters here are guessing/hoping.
Click to expand...

No "rooters"...just facts.

79% of U.S. radio listeners tune to stations broadcasting with HD Radio technology every week; the weekly cume of HD2-HD3-HD4 channels alone is well over nine million; and there are more than 161 million hours of in-car listening to HD Radio stations weekly in the U.S., based on the Nielsen Nationwide NRD database, Spring 2018.

Don't forget, may people are listening to HD-1's without even knowing it. ;-)
 
Wimmmex said:
Now, if there was some worthwhile, compelling, relevant programming on the HD channels, you might be using them. ;-)
Click to expand...
14 years ago, I would have. WBCN had Indie 104.1 and Free Form 104. WAAF had the live performance station. WZLX had Radio Mojo. Mix had the 80s Channel. WROR (if I'm remembering the right station) had the 70s Channel. WBOS had Local 92.9. Even (now) Hot 96.9 had the Irish Channel. In its infancy, HD had a wide variety in Boston.
 
Least said:
14 years ago, I would have. WBCN had Indie 104.1 and Free Form 104. WAAF had the live performance station. WZLX had Radio Mojo. Mix had the 80s Channel. WROR (if I'm remembering the right station) had the 70s Channel. WBOS had Local 92.9. Even (now) Hot 96.9 had the Irish Channel. In its infancy, HD had a wide variety in Boston.
Click to expand...

And it was great when Oldies migrated to an HD Channel as well....
 
Speaking of HD I had to explain to my mom who is in her 60s how to use HD radio. She wasn't sure if she had to pay for it. I said no. I said you'll see an orange HD logo next to the station's frequency and you touch the HD button on your radio and you can get other stations. She is about 45 minutes outside New York City in the mountains of New Jersey I told her the signal may not be so great depending on the station because HD radio stations have a smaller range of power than the regular FM frequencies.
 
The Greater Media HD2s were pretty good. WBOS had RadioYou, which had a fun college-radio feel. There was also Local 92.9, which was strictly local music, but the playlist didn't get updated after the guy who was running it left so it got super-stale. The Irish Channel on 96.9 was eclectic, but the playlist had been auto-generated for a decade before it got the axe, again, the guy running it lost interest. WROR's 70s Channel had some very cool deep cuts, and The Bone which replaced it was outstanding. Now that we are in the Age of Consolidation, those kind of vertical side-pieces have gone the way of the dodo.
 
The_Raven said:
The Greater Media HD2s were pretty good. WBOS had RadioYou, which had a fun college-radio feel. There was also Local 92.9, which was strictly local music, but the playlist didn't get updated after the guy who was running it left so it got super-stale. The Irish Channel on 96.9 was eclectic, but the playlist had been auto-generated for a decade before it got the axe, again, the guy running it lost interest. WROR's 70s Channel had some very cool deep cuts, and The Bone which replaced it was outstanding. Now that we are in the Age of Consolidation, those kind of vertical side-pieces have gone the way of the dodo.
Click to expand...
HD never got the necessary traction to generate any advertising revenue. Some companies were more patient than others, but all those "vertical side-pieces" requiring effort (and paying people) to program were doomed from day one. Remember, commercial radio's secondary mission is to entertain, its primary one is to make money.
 
CTListener said:
HD never got the necessary traction to generate any advertising revenue. Some companies were more patient than others, but all those "vertical side-pieces" requiring effort (and paying people) to program were doomed from day one. Remember, commercial radio's secondary mission is to entertain, its primary one is to make money.
Click to expand...
iBiquity had a truly hokey ad insertion scheme for HD2s for a few years. It was hideously unreliable, and when it did work it played the same Best Buy spots promoting HD radios over and over... to people already listening on HD radios... I don't think it turned Dollar One, not to my knowledge anyway. It made Jelli look like a well-oiled machine.
 
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