Whats up with this HD radio stuff...

madmax
madmax Posts: 12,434
edited October 2006 in Electronics
I'd like to get one but it seems they are all portables or car audio. I can only find one component one and it seems to be some sort of a pro model. No one makes a home stereo component version?
madmax
Vinyl, the final frontier...

Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited October 2006
    The I-Sonic is the best purchase I have made in a very long time.
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • fireshoes
    fireshoes Posts: 3,167
    edited October 2006
    Only one station in Des Moines that is HD, but it is one I like anyway. Definitely improved sound. I can't believe the lack of support for the home maket. Yamaha's RXV4600 did have HD Radio in it, but I think it'a gone disco. Was $2000 anyway,
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited October 2006
    HD radio definitly is the next step. It is an all digital signal where AM sounds as good as traditional FM, and FM sounds as good as a CD. You are right, it is mostly car supported, (in which it's a fantastic idea) but you do have the option of the I-Sonic. I have heard really good reviews on it and have been looking into it myself. If you live in an area that has a lot of radio stations, some to most of them should support HD. I live in Seattle and just about all of our do. I hope this helps!
    Jake
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  • bobman1235
    bobman1235 Posts: 10,822
    edited October 2006
    I know a bunch of the stations in my area have "sub" stations broadcasting on the HD channels. They advertise them all the time, and say they're commercial free (I don't know how they pull that part off).
    If you will it, dude, it is no dream.
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  • fireshoes
    fireshoes Posts: 3,167
    edited October 2006
    I believe Clear Channel stations that are multicasting are running commercial-free on the subchannel for the first year to try and keep people from listening to satellite radio. Don't worry, I'm sure it will be a commercial-fest in no time. ;)

    The MkII version of Onkyo's flagship TXNR1000 will have an HD radio card in it, according to the Onyko trainer in my store yesterday. The receiver is upgradable like a computer, with replacable cards to put in different inputs/connections.
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited October 2006
    HD Radio was a good idea that hasn't been implemented well at all...every sub-band reduces bandwidth (and thus, quality) by half...at best, its 128kbps MP3 quality. 4+ sub-bands, do the math. Ideas are being floated around to charge for these sub-bands as well. If it is still around in 2 years I'll be surprised.
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  • bknauss
    bknauss Posts: 1,441
    edited October 2006
    Toka78 wrote:
    HD Radio was a good idea that hasn't been implemented well at all...every sub-band reduces bandwidth (and thus, quality) by half...at best, its 128kbps MP3 quality. 4+ sub-bands, do the math. Ideas are being floated around to charge for these sub-bands as well. If it is still around in 2 years I'll be surprised.

    Misinformation in here...
    1. Sidebands (HD2 and HD3) do not decrease the bitrate by half. Broadcasters have the choice of how much to decrease the bitrate... so if you have talk on HD2, the broadcaster will probably put a bad bitrate on that channel while keeping the main channel at the better bitrate.
    2. Its not MP3 quality (its better) since its using a different compression algorithm.
    3. Right now there are not 4+ side bands. Some stations are testing the third sideband channel, but that's the max right now. And while we're on the topic, its up to the broadcaster if they want to even have sidebands.
    4. Premium content *might* be charged for in the future. For example, a concert might be broadcast entirely on an HD station. You would pay to listen to that program. Another possibility is that a station might charge users to listen to it. This does not mean the sidebands will all become pay-to-listen.
    Brian Knauss
    ex-Electrical Engineer for Polk
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  • Toka78
    Toka78 Posts: 192
    edited October 2006
    Concerning point 1, I was referring to stations that don't have talk on the sidebands, like music (Rock) stations. Two bands of music = less than 'normal' radio SQ.

    And Point 4 is the same thing I said ('ideas being floated' = 'might'), so I don't see how that is misinformation.


    It doesn't really matter, as its simply not all its cracked up to be, and the fact that you are hard pressed to even find a receiver for it doesn't help (yes, I know the iSonic has it, but go into 5 random stores and ask about "HD Radio" and bask in the glow of a blank stare). Its a desperate move by a reeling industry. And driving at the edge of a broadcast radius, finding/losing the HD signal and switching back to the (timeshifted) analog feed? Wow, fun. File this one under "AM Stereo" and "FM Quad".
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