HD Radio Opinions

PolkThug

Our local rock station claims to have an HD broadcast, but I don't have an HD compatible radio. Does anyone have any experience with HD radio yet?

thehaens@cox.net

It is still in its infancy, so the receivers and tuners.....some receivers have the tuner built in for car use, are pricey. They claim to get CD quality over FM radio, and FM quality over AM. Personnally I don't see a problem with Sat. Radio, be it Sirius or XM. I pers. use XM in the Car and Home. Just seems like another standard to take more money out of your pocket. Plus you still have all the commercials over HD Radio....

Right now there is only one station in my area (San Diego) that is broadcasting HD, and it is AM 600....I only listen to 690...and 640 in the morning. So it really doesn't make sense to me to buy just yet..or ever for that matter.

To check how many stations are being broadcast in your area you can look at:

http://www.ibiquity.com/hdradio/hdradio_hdstations.htm

Good Luck
Scott

edit: I bet in the next 10 years or so, the FCC will require all stations to broadcast HD, or some digital format....

PolkThug

Thanks, we've actually got 5 that are on air in the KC area.

thehaens@cox.net

WTF....how can K.C. be leading San Diego...? I thought we were at the tip of the spear:o

gmorris

HD Radio is a big joke... The terrestrial radio stations know they have a BIG problem on their hands with Satellite radio.

I for one will not spend a dime on satellite radio or HD radio. I just got an iPod (after 6 days, it has 1476 songs on it). I will eventually get an aftermarket CD player for my car, with an iPod interface. Once that happens, I will never listen to the radio again. I may attempt to tune in a traffic report, but honestly, when was the last time a traffic report told you anything you didn't already know, you're stuck in traffic!!

My point is terrestrial radio now has competition. Savy consumers like myself are creating their own means of entertainment, with digital music collections, CDs, satellite radio, whatever.

For example, in the Cleveland market, there are 4 rock stations, 3 of which are Classic Rock. The other is "Extreme" radio, which is hours of Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Stained and the like. If you are a rock fan, Cleveland has the WORST radio station choices, but they don't care. They only compete against themselves. BUT NOT ANYMORE!!!!! GO satellite radio, GO!!!

HD radio is a LAME attempt by a failing industry to try to win back listeners. For me, the worst thing about terrestrial radio is the commercials and the TOTAL **** BAG DJ's. I can deal with a lack of variety, but the endless commercials and the inane drivel of DJ's is unlistenable.

They only thing HD radio has going for it is the fact that it is free. But you may have to buy a new car stereo or tuner to hear it. SO, if you're going to spend the money, why not just get Satellite radio? All HD radio will be is the same **** radio you're used to hearing now, with less static and better reception.

thehaens@cox.net

Amen GMo.....my sentiments exactly.....except I did go with Sat Radio.....It has cut down my "tere" radio listening habits to 1/2 hour in the morning, (still listen to Bill Handel on the way to work)........other than that, I stream XM on the PC at work, home, and plug it in the Home Stereo when it isnt' in the car.

gmorris

Originally posted by thehaens@cox.ne
Amen GMo.....my sentiments exactly.....except I did go with Sat Radio.....It has cut down my "tere" radio listening habits to 1/2 hour in the morning, (still listen to Bill Handel on the way to work)........other than that, I stream XM on the PC at work, home, and plug it in the Home Stereo when it isnt' in the car.

I had been on the fence about whether to get Satellite radio, or the iPod route. I chose the iPod because in the end, I ultimately have more control over what I listen to. Cost, in my opinion, is a wash. If Satellite radio is ~$180 a year, I'm going to spend that much on CD's/music downloads anyway.

My opinion? DO NOT INVEST IN HD RADIO EQUIPMENT. If you buy a new car and it comes with a stereo with HD radio capability, good for you. In my case, the Alpine car CD player I'm looking at getting for use with the iPod also happens to have Satellite radio connectivity (with optional add-on module) and HD radio. So, by matter of circumstance, I'll be getting HD radio, but I won't be using it, because my iPod will be set on random, playing MY choice of 1500 songs.....

I have chosen, at this time, to not pursue Sat. radio. But, I hope it succeeds, and I hope terrestrial radio goes down the pooper, never to be heard from again.

billbillw

Geez. I feel so uninformed. I had never heard of HD radio until this thread.

Looks Atlanta already has 15 stations that are broadcasting HD.

Gmorris, you must not live in an area with traffic problems.
In Atlanta, catching the traffic report can mean the difference between a 25 minute drive and a 55 minute drive!
I listen to traffic reports continuously on the TV before I leave the house, and for at least the first 10 minutes of my drive. The drive home is the same way. I have a few choices when it comes to my commute route, but after the first 10 minutes, I'm commited to whatever route I've chosen.

thehaens@cox.net

Originally posted by gmorris
But, I hope it succeeds, and I hope terrestrial radio goes down the pooper, never to be heard from again.

I hope this doesn't happen, otherwise satellite radio will no doubt start getting greedy and putting ads all over the air...

maggiefan

Radio is simply making the transition from analog to digital. Higher quality is the main benefit. AM is raised to FM quality and FM is raised to CD quality. Unlike TV, the digital signal will be sent on the same frequency as the analog signal. It should be a smooth transition.

thehaens@cox.net

Originally posted by maggiefan
It should be a smooth transition.

Except for the fact that it requires extra hardware to receive it.

Skynut

My understanding is that Sat. Radio is allready loosing money and is thinking about putting some comercials on. I think in no time the only benifit of Sat. will be signal strength. You won't loose the comercials when you are going through the mountains.

thehaens@cox.net

You are right....they are losing money, but I think they will just raise their subscriptions accordingly....at least I hope that is what they would do. XM has already raised their rates recently. I would rather pay more in my subscription rate, than to go back to commercials...JMO

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P116156.asp

http://www.forbes.com/facesinthenews/2005/05/16/0516autofacescan06.html

Polkersince85

Many of you may not be old enough to remember but there was a time when this new thing called cable tv came out and was advertised as being commercial free......for a while. They all will get greedy for ad dollars. Mark my word.

gmorris

It's all about programming, and Satellite will win out in the end. Terrrestrial radio SUCKS in terms of programming. HD radio means NOTHING. All you are getting is the same, unoriginal **** programming over and over. Does Clear Channel mean anything to anyone???

Tune in any Classic Rock station in the country, and listen to it for a week. I guarantee you, you will hear AC/DC's Back in Black 28 times, Jethro Tulls Aqualung 15 times, and any number of Lynard Skynard tracks 1257 times. Now, don't get me wrong, I like all those bands, and actually own CD's from all those groups, but I don't need to hear it every day, day in, day out.

Satellite has them beat hands down. 60 some channels of commercial free music. Now THATS variety.

About 8 years ago, at my first job, we were allowed to listen to the radio, but only stations that were not offensive to anyone. So, we'd put on 106.5 (out of Cleveland), which was Pop music, '80's & '90's. Some of us started detecting a pattern, so we started writing down the songs. It took us about 4 days to realize that the station was on a 30 hour loop. The same songs played over and over, repeating every 30 hours, so you wouldn't hear the same song at the same time every day. How's that for variety? You could listen to satellite radio for a month and never hear the same song.

swerve

I have an XM Myfi and play basketball outside often... so it really suits me well. If the antenna isn't working on it I can click over to my stored 5 hours as well. I tried to call and cancel the other day because I haven't used it as much... they gave me a free month to sway me... I took them up and used it for the first time in about 4 weeks yesterday... I forgot how great it really was.

As soon as I get my other cd player in hopefully I can get the direct link thing so I don't have to FM modulate anymore... lol

I'm for Sat. Radio... and Opie and Anthony used to kill me in the morning.

-adam

bknauss

I'll stay out of commenting on the content on radio these days since HD radio isn't attempting to change the quality of content. When talking about quality of sound, there is an enormous difference. The way HD get's its signal is that it will first grab the analog signal, then transition into the digital signal. During this, you'll hear the different between the analog and digital. Much more clear and the sound stage opens up.

It isn't CD quality, and it should be labeled as "near CD quality".

Also, the cool thing with HD is that there will be other side carrier stations similar to what's going on with HDTV local stations. You'll be able to get weather, traffic, etc on these extra broadcasts.

2 cents from someone who has had experience with the stuff...

Mjr7531

What's wrong with HD radio? If I'm not mistaken, they still broadcast in the old-style "low-fi" signal. They've upped the signal so it sounds better, but it's optional, we (as of now) Don't have to upgrade, it's our choice.

And another thing, have we forgotten something? It's free! No monthly fees! That's a big deal to many people, which is why many people just aren't catching on to Satillite radio, which is the same reason we still have local broadcasts on TV; some people just don't want to or can't afford to pay the extra monthly fee.

IMHO, the radio is a great way to listen to new musics, just listen at night, and listen to the CD player during the day when you're driving.

As for radio programming? There's been a recent trend, some radio stations have gotten the point that people are getting tired of having the same stupid commercials and songs on all the time. So a few radio stations sprouted up with playlists that aren't 400, but 4000. And DJs that know of the music which they are playing, and they cut all the hype contests, etc. If you listen to these stations, you'll notice that they play 5-10 minutes of commercials to every hour whereas the mainstream commercial stations still cling to 15-20 mins an hour.

The result? These new stations have been catching up. Very quickly, and as a result advertisers want to pay more for the commercials because people will sit through the commercials.

To wrap-up this (long-winded) post, there are plenty of great stations out there, even in ole' Cleveland here. You just gotta try other stations, College and the like. Have you guys listened to College radio recently? Not only do they play great music, but it's funny to listen to them talk when there isn't music.

Lastly, what do I listen to? NPR (89.7 - WKSU) and a Classical Radio (104.9 - WCLV) station that has long adopted this "new" format.

*whew*

EDIT: I found the link to the story
NPR - All Things Considered - Neo-Radio
Check it out, it's actually pretty neat.