Updated digital audio subchannels carried on low power WANN TV (32)

[wbz1030]

Sometimes it seems WANN changes their subchannel line-up by the day! Well, today the low power OTA digital TV station WANN (channel 32; RF 29) added additional audio only subchannels to their multiplexed signal.

The following new audio only, digital subchannels appeared:

32-101 WGST-AM (640AM) audio
32-102 WUBL (94.9FM) audio
32-103 WKLS (96.1FM) audio
32-104 WWLG (96.7FM) audio
32-105 WBZY (105.3FM) audio
32-106 WYAY (105.7FM) audio

However, all of these new WANN TV audio only subchannels are all carrying WKLS audio. The TV Guide PSIP information does show the labels for these stations. The digital subchannel that WKLS was formerly carried on, 32-13, has gone away (re-mapped to above).

Confused? It might change again before the end of the week with this TV station!

With the bandwidth that digital (ATSC) TV provides, this digital TV signal could carry pretty much the entire AM and FM dial in the Atlanta area in its digital stream of 19.39 Mbit/sec max. and still have room for low bit rate video channels. I bet when MobileTV (the mobile ATSC update) starts rolling out soon you will see a lot of this audio channel multiplexing. It might give AM and FM audio broadcasting some competition since HDRadio is going nowhere.

 

[trusty]

With the bandwidth that digital (ATSC) TV provides, this digital TV signal could carry pretty much the entire AM and FM dial in the Atlanta area in its digital stream of 19.39 Mbit/sec max. and still have room for low bit rate video channels.

Hmmm. Would WANN be able to help out the lousy nighttime coverage of Atlanta's AMs - even though it'1s a low power station?

 

[InSearchOfGear]

Regarding HD radio.

FM took almost 3 decades to get any significant penetration. Reason: Receiver manufacturers. Things move a lot faster these days, but I'm perplexed at why it's taking them so freaking long to roll this out. On a mass scale, the chipsets are pennies each, which could easily be passed down to the consumer in the retal price of radios.

HD radio isn't going anywhere. If you bought a new car and it was standard, you'd be listening to it. When the hardware is out there, it'll start making headway, assuming there's programming worth listening to.

The FCC once again dropped the ball, just like with AM Stereo, for not giving receiver manufacturers a mandate to include HD. They have the authority to do so. Letting the market decide is retarded. The market isn't going to demand something they can't hear.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Now...is this the real In Search of Gear or the impostor?

Whichever the case, I pretty much agree with you. In the late 1960's, the FCC actually took the lead in getting listeners over to FM by doing 2 things: 1) Requiring that major market stations broadcast separate programming on AM & FM and 2) Getting the manufacturers to agree to include FM's on their new radios. Then things started to happen, but it took probably another 10 years before FM's audience share was higher than AM's.

I agree that HD Radio will never get going unless manufacturers include HD on their new radios. (Where is the FCC these days?) However, I want to point out that, at least in my opinion, very little on HD in Atlanta is worth listening to. I enjoy Dave Roots but haven't found anything else that will pull me to HD. Better programming might come with more penetration, but right now I'd rather listen to morning radio in Charlotte.

 

[InSearchOfGear]

Now...is this the real In Search of Gear or the impostor?

Whichever the case, I pretty much agree with you. In the late 1960's, the FCC actually took the lead in getting listeners over to FM by doing 2 things: 1) Requiring that major market stations broadcast separate programming on AM & FM and 2) Getting the manufacturers to agree to include FM's on their new radios. Then things started to happen, but it took probably another 10 years before FM's audience share was higher than AM's.

I agree that HD Radio will never get going unless manufacturers include HD on their new radios. (Where is the FCC these days?) However, I want to point out that, at least in my opinion, very little on HD in Atlanta is worth listening to. I enjoy Dave Roots but haven't found anything else that will pull me to HD. Better programming might come with more penetration, but right now I'd rather listen to morning radio in Charlotte.

Wow! Finally someone on the same page as me about this. All this HD radio bashing is really getting old. You are exactly right! It will take the commision getting involved to kick-start the viability of HD, just as was the case with FM. Indeed it did take another decade for FM to catch up after the FCC intervened, but I believe that sociologically things move much faster these days. If the FCC follows the same course on HD sub-channels as they did with FM and require unique programming, that could be either good, or bad. Forcing a licensee to spend money might end up having the net effect of reducing the number of sub-channels for economic reasons. On the other hand, without innovative programming such as in the days when FM came into its own, the process could be slowed significantly.

All this nice clean digital real estate just sitting there. So much potential. Coverage has been increased to be on-par with FM analog. As HD comes into it's own, don't be surprised to see virtually every AM daytimer and those with limited night coverage give up the ghost and move to this new spectrum. If this does in fact end up happening, it may be just what the more powerful AM's need to resolve issues associated with AM HD. Less stations on AM means less stations to interfere with.

The future is bright. The late Todd Storz, the man who invented Top40, was not a believer in FM. One by one, his chain of powerhouse AM Top40s suffered agonizing deaths at the hands of FM. In later years he admitted he'd made a grave error in not embracing the new platform and looking to the future.

One more thing. In the early days of FM, many AM operators also owned an FM license, and many of them, in MAJOR MARKETS, ended up turning their FM license back into the FCC, only to regret it later. They REALLY regretted it when the platform took off. While it's a matter of operator individual choice as to how many if any HD subchannels they have, and there's no risk in losing the right to the spectrum, if they don't make good use of it when receivers are more widely available, they risk sabotaging the future of the medium.

 

[jabba17]

In the late 1960's, the FCC actually took the lead in getting listeners over to FM by doing 2 things: .... 2) Getting the manufacturers to agree to include FM's on their new radios.

How and when did the FCC do that? AM-only car radios were still standard equipment into the 1980s. Nevermind that they were usually upgraded, either on the option sheet or aftermarket. Radio Shack was still selling AM-only "Flavoradios" around the same time as well.

 

[jabba17]

Didn't WAKE or some ATL legacy AM station have an FM license that never got used, and turned back in to the FCC just a few years before FM became viable--resulting in a famous (but not viable OTP) local-channel 1kW AM top 40 station dying as a result?

What is the cheapest price for which someone could make an FM HD radio, in a portable/Walkman-type format? Or a clock radio? Alternatively, what is the cheapest price for a "radio on a chip" that could be stuck in a cell phone or low-end radio set? An FCC FM HD mandate (I'd leave AM HD support optional for now, until the bugs get worked out) would do the trick, but would get a lot of resistance if it added a lot to the price of cheaper sets. Maybe only impose the mandate for sets retailing for more than, say, $50.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Didn't WAKE or some ATL legacy AM station have an FM license that never got used, and turned back in to the FCC just a few years before FM became viable--resulting in a famous (but not viable OTP) local-channel 1kW AM top 40 station dying as a result?

What is the cheapest price for which someone could make an FM HD radio, in a portable/Walkman-type format? Or a clock radio? Alternatively, what is the cheapest price for a "radio on a chip" that could be stuck in a cell phone or low-end radio set? An FCC FM HD mandate (I'd leave AM HD support optional for now, until the bugs get worked out) would do the trick, but would get a lot of resistance if it added a lot to the price of cheaper sets. Maybe only impose the mandate for sets retailing for more than, say, $50.

I think the AM & FM separation deadline was January 1, 1967 in markets of 100,000+. You're correct that car radios were often AM only, but virtually all portable radios had both bands starting about the same time as the non-duplication rule.

 

[One Who Knows]

Didn't WAKE or some ATL legacy AM station have an FM license that never got used, and turned back in to the FCC just a few years before FM became viable--resulting in a famous (but not viable OTP) local-channel 1kW AM top 40 station dying as a result?

What is the cheapest price for which someone could make an FM HD radio, in a portable/Walkman-type format? Or a clock radio? Alternatively, what is the cheapest price for a "radio on a chip" that could be stuck in a cell phone or low-end radio set? An FCC FM HD mandate (I'd leave AM HD support optional for now, until the bugs get worked out) would do the trick, but would get a lot of resistance if it added a lot to the price of cheaper sets. Maybe only impose the mandate for sets retailing for more than, say, $50.

I think the AM & FM separation deadline was January 1, 1967 in markets of 100,000+. You're correct that car radios were often AM only, but virtually all portable radios had both bands starting about the same time as the non-duplication rule.

And by the early 1970's, there were $19.95 FM car converters on the market that you could easily hook up to a car radio and get, at least, Mono FM broadcasts. I bought one when I started driving in my heap o' junk Nova. Used it for about 2 years till I could afford an AM/FM car stereo.

Roddy's information is on target, however FM penetration varied city by city. In Dayton, Ohio...for instance, Cox had a significant adult audience on Beautiful Music formatted WHIO-FM by 1965 or so (it had been on the air since the late 40's)...In 1964, WDAO-FM came on the air as an R & B formatted station that played a lot of crossover Top 40. It was striking ratings paydirt by around 1968 or so...by 1970-71, WTUE-FM was a full blown standalone Top 40 FM that became #1 in teens and tied #1 18-34 by, maybe, 1972?

But, Dayton was probably a unique case, as many stations embraced FM earlier than many stations did in other markets.

 

[agentUrge]

The only thing that has me wanting to get an HD compatible device is the desire to hear what the HD channels are playing..but last I checked, you can listen to the HD channels from the web, so what's the point? Programming seems key but so does the actual need to get it. I'm not saying that all stations should just kill the internet feed of those HD subs, but maybe cut the number in half? Question for the industry insiders: If the FCC is was so willing to push the DTV conversion, why not HD radio?

It looks like the after market manufacturers are putting out head units that have HD capability but they're still limited. I did a search on Crutchfield and found 14...9 of which are under the $200 mark. That number goes down, of course, if you're a user of other forms of media like me. The kicker is that clearly some after maker radio manufacturers see HD radio as a great option and others, like Alpine would rather make it too costly to get into. An add-on device is about $200....probably another brand of radio in my future.

I like the idea of getting those channels through my HDTV, though..I just can't get them right now..I guess the signal is strong enough to tease that they're there, but too weak for actual audio. Grr.

 

[upstate29651]

The FCC once again dropped the ball, just like with AM Stereo, for not giving receiver manufacturers a mandate to include HD. They have the authority to do so. Letting the market decide is retarded. The market isn't going to demand something they can't hear.

I couldn't disagree more. Why do we LOVE Gov't intervention so much? If anything, we need LESS involvement from them!

Where did AM stereo & HD radio fail? Lack of proper marketing (and the CC spots just didn't cut it). If you have a compelling product, it will sell!

G