The market did not agree with the all-channel TV tuner rule from the sixties or the ban on analog TV receivers in the nineties either but they went along with both and that is what I meant about the government having to step in.
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The Beginning of the end for HD Radio
- Thread starter stewie
- Start date
Both of the TV changes were necessary and not optional to viewers.
In the case of UHF, the FCC realized they had run out of VHF channels and had to do something so that even smaller markets could have at least separate Big 3 network affiliates. So UHF was mandated on all TVs.
With analog to digital TV, there was an expiration date on analog broadcast, so there was no choice.
FM stereo did not require people to buy new gear unless they wanted to. FM itself had been around for 20 or more years at the time, so the window for "AM and FM" on every radio was not deemed needed so late in the game.
AM stereo did not change normal, mono AM reception. HD does not require listeners to buy new radios. The analog service continues unfettered.
The key thing about FM is the Armstrong patent expired in 1966. The family didn't renew. So electronics manufacturers could add FM to their radios without paying a royalty. The next year, RCA and other companies started offering AM/FM radios for only a few dollars more than AM only. Then the hifi boom happened, where people sought out home stereos, and FM radios were always included as part of the package. By the 70s, AM/FM radios were standard in all US cars. None of that happened for HD radio, and the technology is still covered by patent.
There is a "hidden" factor in the propagation of FM: the development of AFC. Prior to that, listening to FM could be rather annoying as receivers would drift due to temperature changes, even in increasingly available transistorized units. That had been one of the major issues with FM since the 40's and one that pretty much prevented FM being useful in the car where vibration and additional heat affected reception.
The change in royalty issues, the start of FM stereo and the introduction of AFC circuitry as well as the popularization of stereo 33 rpm recordings all made FM far more attractive. And the Stereo LP was the seed for home hi-fi systems that you mention.
There was another hidden benefactor: automobiles that only lasted a few years. Our current crop of cars you can easily keep for 8 to 10 years or more is vastly different from the cars that pretty much disintegrated after 3 or 4 years back then. So when FM became common in car radios, it only took a few years to become nearly universal. And, of course, then you could buy an FM converter at the car stereo shop (remember those?) and get FM even in your old car.
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The 8-Track fits in somewhere here, but I can't quite figure it out... sorta like the videodisk, I guess.
Correct, and seems to me it happened around the same time as the patent ending.
Yep. It was pushed by the ability to freely build FM receivers, so that became a quick fix, motivated by the market.
I never understood why Armstrong himself did not develop AFC. He was the genius behind superheterodyne AM reception and created FM, but I think his obsession with Emperor Sarnoff distracted him. We know how that ended, of course.
And where is RCA today?
Depends on which part of RCA. Consumer electronics division was sold to Thompson SA, and they continued to sell TVs and other products until 2007. They sold the RCA trademark to Audiovox, now known as Voxx. But that's just the electronics part. RCA Records is owned by Sony. RCA satellite is still owned by GE. RCA Labs is called the Sarnoff Center in Grovers Mills NJ (where the Martians landed).
The other big change, however, between 1966 and now is the electronics manufacturing industry is no longer American. Manufacturing began to move to Japan in the 60s, then Mexico, Korea, and now China.
One thing I didn't know until today is that Thompson SA just filed for bankruptcy citing COVID.
Proving that it did not take long after Sarnoff expired for the whole company to disintegrate. After he died in '71, the company continued strong for better than a decade, but the lack of vision prevented them from becoming dominant in video recording, the CD and later technologies. Without a vision and a dictatorial management style, all the synchronized "dancers" that made up the total company lost their synergy. And without new technologies, the brand deteriorated.
And you can add in Taiwan. My main system motherboard is from there, as well as my video card. The memory is from South Korea, and the SSD drives are also from there.
I tried to buy US made SSDs from Micron, but the speeds and capacity I wanted (8tb NVMe) only come from Asia.
Two words: Robert Sarnoff.
Yes forgot about Taiwan. The point is that once this country lost control of electronics manufacturing, things like HD Radio, that has no usage outside the US, became harder to get manufactured. We're at a point right now where there will be fewer companies making AM/FM radios as we move forward.
When I was looking for new cars well into the 80s, AM/FM was not standard in American cars. This is probably part of the reason that there was such a big market for after market car stereos.
Maybe not ALL American cars, but by 78, they were standard in most full size and sports models. After market car stereos were higher quality than those initially offered by car manufacturers. We talked about the home stereo craze, and home stereo companies like Pioneer and JBL got into the car stereo business. I recall replacing my original equipment AM/FM radio with an Alpine AM/FM/CD in my 99 Toyota.
Ah yes, those Neo Workers' Paradise's.
HD is authorized in Mexico and Brazil, and in Mexico all new FMs under the AM to FM migration plan had to have HD.
Excellent point!
It's a problem with the market place needing adjustment. A commercial station taking out the overnight radio person may have seemed like a good idea in the short term, but these stations violated a trust that affected the loyalty of their listeners throughout the day. It hurt radio overall. Of course it's a little more complex than that, but just a little.
Ultimately, the stations with the better service will win. If a 7-eleven store can employ a clerk at 3 am to sell an occasional Slurpee, a commercial radio station can afford to keep a real person on duty to watch over their town at night. It's good business to do good business.
There's still time to change, and change will happen. If radio succeeds, we will have earned that success. If it fails, we will have earned that as well. Let's keep innovating!
"Violated a trust" are strong words. The rules these stations follow don't include such words. Does your license indicate such a trust? Radio stations are not required to operate 24/7, and in fact at one time many stations signed off after midnight, even though their license allowed for 24 hour operation.
The truth is that for the vast majority of potential listeners, the overnight hours are sleep time. Eliminating the overnight person will not be even noticed by most listeners. The fact is that if an actual emergency takes place overnight, appropriate staff could be called in on moments notice. If you call your doctor in the overnight hours, you will likely get told to call 911. What requires radio stations to provide services that doctors aren't required to provide?
Well said! That was too strong. A violation of expectation would have been a better choice of words. Innovation is the key. They don't have to be there 24/7, but perhaps it's good to know that they are. Radio stations make choices that will impact their listeners expectations. That's the choice we're all faced with in the world of business.
I never have to wonder if 7-eleven is open (covid-19 situation notwithstanding). So there's an expectation (perhaps a trust) that would be lost if they started limiting this service.
I often wonder -- if a 7-Eleven store, or a Denny's restaurant ever needed to close, who would still have the key to the front door??
Haha, thanks for keeping me in check
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Don't they all close for at least part of Christmas Day?
I once forgot to bring a carton of eggnog I had promised to bring to my brother's house on Christmas Day. I thought, "There's always 7-Eleven. " Wouldn't you know it -- they were open
Understanding the reason why many stations went on 24 hours a day helps know why many do it now but, also, why it´s not a necessity or obligation.
In a few markets, being on overnight back in the 50's was useful but, of course, produced no revenue. The main reason to be on was to be sure the transmitter was on at 6AM. All of us who had a call that went "Boss, the transmitter won't go on" learned it was better to stay on.
As FCC rules relaxed in the 60's, we were able to be on without an operator at the transmitter or even a First Ticket at the remote control point. So staying on the air was a safety measure. Now, with automation, we can do it with nobody there!
Most of those 24 hour businesses make enough money to cover costs. 24 hour radio stations, except a handful, don't bill at all.
In radio's "Golden Age" of the 30's and 40's, few stations ran 24 hours a day, despite there being no competition. It did not hurt the medium.
I can't argue with any of your points. It's true that most stations signed off at night. Some still do. Some are on automation at night (like ours) and some still employ an on-site staff. It's a choice that can't be explained away by rules or moral requirements. It's about what a business chooses to do that keeps the listener loyal in an ever broadening broadcast landscape.
Right or wrong answers on the future of radio won't be decided in this forum alone. The Denny's model might work for roadside restaurants, but not for local radio. A station might staff up at night and fail. But this dovetails into the amazing choices we have to move forward.
HD Radio, live overnight personalities, locally responsive content -- it all matters. My students sometimes ask if there's a future in radio broadcasting. I tell them, "There's a future in everything. Weather that future is good or bad depends on our ability to suppose, try, and adjust."
Then I remind them that I'm a music teacher. lol
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