They’re turning off HD in Washington, DC

[Carmine5]

Whoa, looks like the Ibiquity roster of indentured stations just lost a few. Heck, it's practically an entire city!

http://www.rbr.com/radio/12018.html

Most interesting is RBR's observation as to why these stations in D.C. shut off their IBOC: "The most likely culprit is licensing fees. Just not worth it for some in tough economic times." They also site the poor propagation of HD Radio as another possible reason.

Say what you will, but you have to appreciate the brilliance of a scam that sells radio stations expensive boxes and software that will eventually have to be shut down.

C5

 

[TheBigA]

Say what you will, but you have to appreciate the brilliance of a scam that sells radio stations expensive boxes and software that will eventually have to be shut down.

I would suggest that the box and software were similar to selling you a cell phone with the requirement of the monthly service charge. The real money is in the monthly fee. Once that disappears, the initial payment no longer matters.

I agree with RBR's assessment: No point paying the licensing fee if they get nothing in return.

 

[pocket-radio]

Maybe management will flip the switch on when their listener calls to complain?
Actually that's bad.

When the atomic bomb finally goes off, unfortunately HD will be burnt and crispy a casualty and sad victim of war. In war its every man for himself, and only the strong survive, while HD looks good on paper, it doesn’t generate ratings or revenue. HD is dead weight, so for the good of the troops, HD will be left behind, food for buzzards and bottom feeders, while rotting on the road.

 

[Carmine5]

Say what you will, but you have to appreciate the brilliance of a scam that sells radio stations expensive boxes and software that will eventually have to be shut down.

I would suggest that the box and software were similar to selling you a cell phone with the requirement of the monthly service charge. The real money is in the monthly fee. Once that disappears, the initial payment no longer matters.

Not quite.

Unlike cellphone providers, I haven't read of any broadcast equipment supplier or Ibiquity offering discounts and incentives when purchasing HD technology nor is the cost amortized over a long term contract. Most of HD Radio's costs are upfront and steep, more so if a station has to upgrade its plant and tower.

If you read iBiquity's fact sheet, it clearly indicates that what a station is licensing is their software and that a station can't buy the hardware without first purchasing a software license since the two are tied together.

Quote:

"Licenses must be in place before a station receives broadcast equipment that contains iBiquity
Digital’s intellectual property from manufacturers or resellers."

C5

 

[KB1OKL]

Maybe management will flip the switch on when their listener calls to complain?
Actually that's bad.

Yes all three irate HD customers may jam the lines so bad all communications may be disrupted for entire days in a large metropolitan area like DC.

 

[Mike Walker]

"They're turning off HD"? Hardly! Why can't you guys at least be honest with your claims. Try "They're turning off AM HD". THAT is actually true! As for FM HD, the DC market is one of the most innovative. WAMU in particular is doing lots of creative things, including LIVE, local programming that's exclusive to the HD multicast channels.

 

[Savage]

Okay, Mike. here's the HD multicasting conundrum. Call it #434 on a list of things I don't understand about HD Radio.

Premise: we "need" digital audio broadcasting to improve audio quality over what was previously available via nasty old analog FM.

But: when multicasting kicks in, utilizing both HD2 and HD3 subchannels, the audio is degraded due to sampling reduction to 32 kbps stereo. When we burn client CDs here at the station the minimum mp3 sample we consider acceptable for MONO is 128 kbps. And most observers on this board and elsewhere agree: even given the most exotic compression algorithms available, there is a definite degradation of main-channel audio when all 3 FM-HD streams are in use. Essentially the main-channel audio is reduced to the quality of the HD2 sub.

So doesn't the much-ballyhooed "multicasting advantage" of FM-HD negate the main purpose of the digital broadcast in the first place? Sure - we can have multicasting. But it makes the MAIN channel - the one that generates 100 PERCENT of the revenue - sound lousy, even compared with a well-processed analog stereo signal.

Isn't this compromise another unacceptable one posed by HD?

 

[Tom Wells]

One of the many compromises made.

The engineer says, "There's only so much pie to go around."
The liberal politician says "Go make more pie".

Only one of them understands physics and why there is still only so much pie, but the slices will be thinner.
How do we get to the point where political expediency pushes bad engineerig upon us?

 

[Carmine5]

"They're turning off HD"? Hardly! Why can't you guys at least be honest with your claims. Try "They're turning off AM HD". THAT is actually true! As for FM HD, the DC market is one of the most innovative. WAMU in particular is doing lots of creative things, including LIVE, local programming that's exclusive to the HD multicast channels.

The topic title is a copy and paste of the title of the RBR article. Don't blame me, blame RBR. Those are their words, not mine.

C5

 

[SUPERCASTER]

The title of this thread is great song title

They’re turning off HD in Washington, DC

Anyone here motivated to write the song?

 

[Savage]

Everyone please note the comment posted after the initial RBR article linked at the beginning of this thread.
The poster notes that the reason why five DC-area AM stations have bagged HD is because the system interferes with Arbitron PPM encoding.

"Let's turn back the hands of time....of time....of time." Let's turn back the hands of time to...2 WEEKS AGO, when your fearless reporter posted to that effect, regarding WGN in Chicago turning off HD.

Of course there was the usual chorus of derision from the two or three lonely pro-HD posters left here, but I insisted at the time that if WGN chief James Carollo wouldn't chime in and deny the story, we would consider it confirmed.

The posts regarding the Washington-market AM's turning off HD for this reason, combined with the thundering silence from Chicago, pretty conclusively settles it from my perspective:

HD RADIO INTERFERES WITH ARBITRON PPM ENCODING, PREVENTING STATIONS USING THE SYSTEM FROM RECEIVING APPROPRIATE LISTENING CREDIT IN RATINGS.

 

[scanman1]

I hope WGN keeps it off and the other stations here in Chicagoland follow suit. 8)

 

[Carmine5]

It should be reiterated that not only is HD-AM off in D.C. but so are the following FM stations:

According to RBR: "The FM list now includes 106.7 WJFK-FM (CBS Radio); 102.3 WWMJ-FM (Radio One); 104.1 WPRS-FM (Radio One) and 107.7 WWWT-FM (Bonneville)."

There may be other commercial FMs in the DC market that are broadcasting in HD. I notice that both WJFK-FM and WWWT-FM are running a talk format which certainly wouldn't require digital to sound clear.

C5

 

[KB1OKL]

Looks like the dominoes are starting to topple.

 

[Mike Walker]

Oh yeah, they're toppling. Just follow the shrinking numbers in Radio World twice a month. Oh wait, they're NOT shrinking. They're GROWING!

I think an FM talk station COULD benefit from HD, but only if in stereo. For some reason American talk stations think stereo is meaningless. They should listen (online) to some of the "spoken word" material on the BBC! We're (US broadcasters) INSANE not to use this readily available (and already installed in the rack!) tool (FM stereo) to enhance the realism of TALK (sports, news, etc).

Maybe I'm crazy, but when listening to things like NPR News on the 'net, I'll ALWAYS switch to a station with a higher bitrate, and STEREO! The stereo "wild tracks" (background sounds, music, ambience, etc.) really add to the realism. Even when it's mono, it's better when it's clean.

We've got to get it out of our heads that sound quality doesn't matter if we're broadcasting talk rather than music. God personally tuned our ears to be most sensitive to (the range of frequencies carrying) THE HUMAN VOICE! We can tell when something's not right with VOICE more quickly than music. Don't beleive me? Listen to an AM HD station. When they play "bumper music", or fully produced spots or promos with music, it's tough to hear artifacts. But wait until it's just ane talk host...voice alone, nothing in the background. There's no place for the artifacts to hide! TALK MUST ALSO SOUND GOOD! And stereo helps!

 

[jhardis]

It should be reiterated that not only is HD-AM off in D.C. but so are the following FM stations ...

There may be other commercial FMs in the DC market that are broadcasting in HD. ...

Yup. Reports of IBOC's death in DC are greatly exaggerated.

As of last Monday evening (when a couple folk on broadcast@radiolists checked) we found:

WAMU 88.5 HD1, HD2 (American University, NPR)
WCSP 90.1 HD1, HD2, HD3 (CSPAN Radio)
WETA 90.9 HD1 (NPR)
WKYS 93.9 HD1 (Radio One)
WTGB 94.7 HD1, HD2 (CBS)
WPGC 95.5 HD1, HD2, HD3 (CBS)
WHUR 96.3 HD1, HD2 (Howard University)
WASH 97.1 HD1, HD2 (Clear Channel)
WMZQ 98.7 HD1, HD2 (Clear Channel)
WIHT 99.5 HD1, HD2 (Clear Channel)
WBIG 100.3 HD1, HD2 (Clear Channel)
WWDC 101.1 HD1, HD2 (Clear Channel)
WTOP 103.5 HD1, HD2, HD3 (Bonneville)
WJZW 105.9 HD1, HD2 (Citadel)
WRQX 107.3 HD1 (Citadel)

- Jonathan

 

[jhardis]

The poster notes that the reason why five DC-area AM stations have bagged HD is because the system interferes with Arbitron PPM encoding.

I have no idea whether or not IBOC and PPM have issues together, but I don't attribute the recent changes in DC to this at all. 570 WTNT, 980 WTEM (formerly WRC/WWRC), and 1260 WWRC (formerly WWDC), all recently changed ownership from Clear Channel to Red Zebra Broadcasting, which is part of Dan Snyder's business suite. On one hand, Dan isn't as motivated as Clear Channel to roll out IBOC, and on the other, the money he saves can be better spent on free agents for the Redskins.

- Jonathan

 

[KB1OKL]

Oh yeah, they're toppling. Just follow the shrinking numbers in Radio World twice a month. Oh wait, they're NOT shrinking. They're GROWING!

I think an FM talk station COULD benefit from HD, but only if in stereo. For some reason American talk stations think stereo is meaningless. They should listen (online) to some of the "spoken word" material on the BBC! We're (US broadcasters) INSANE not to use this readily available (and already installed in the rack!) tool (FM stereo) to enhance the realism of TALK (sports, news, etc).

Maybe I'm crazy, but when listening to things like NPR News on the 'net, I'll ALWAYS switch to a station with a higher bitrate, and STEREO! The stereo "wild tracks" (background sounds, music, ambience, etc.) really add to the realism. Even when it's mono, it's better when it's clean.
TALK MUST ALSO SOUND GOOD! And stereo helps!

I don't know about the net but whenever I listen to an NPR station's news on the radio it's always in mono. Stereo does sound great, what's that got to do with HD? I get plenty of good sounding stereo FM stations here in analog, HD, umm? maybe, sometimes, and it doesn't sound any better in HD, in fact most of the time it doesn't sound as good. HD is a about as useful as a 5th wheel on a car. I'll take my thirty year old Marantz over an HD receiver any day. I hear artifacts on both AM and FM on voice and music, i think it sounds equally as bad.

 

[Savage]

Oh, I see. The fact that five DC-area AM stations have turned off IBOC (along with two major FM signals) is GREAT news for HD Radio.

You also left out 730 and 1500. They also turned off HD. Along with a Bonneville FM and two Radio One FMs. (Source, RBR article linked at the beginning of this thread.)

The poster commenting on the RBR article advanced the assertion that PPM interference caused the AM stations to turn off IBOC - not me. Since WGN recently turned off HD for the same reason, and since you admit you "have no idea whether IBOC and PPM have issues together," it's a little hard to see how you can conclude that had nothing to do with the decision to dump HD Radio.

 

[TheBigA]

I get plenty of good sounding stereo FM stations here in analog, HD, umm? maybe, sometimes, and it doesn't sound any better in HD, in fact most of the time it doesn't sound as good.

NPR stations don't necessarily use HD for sound quality, but for multi-casting. In Washington, WAMU is using one of their HD channels for a bluegrass service, which was popular when it was on the main channel, but didn't bring in enough money to justify the airtime. So the bluegrass fans can get the programming they want on HD2.