Chriss Scherer of Radio Magazine Dispels Myths About HD Radio

If you read this Business Week article about the uncertain path radio takes toward HD radio or WiFi Internet radio, you'll see a comment by Chriss Scherer, editor of Radio Magazine, who writes that "HD" is a proprietary name by its company, not a technical definition, and that "HD" provides less than 10% of signal information and therefore does not deserve the name "high definition."

Comments

[PocketRadio]

Your link to Radio World uncovered this quote:

"The big news from CES for HD Radio was that a portable chipset was finally unveiled – at least for FM. This is one significant part of the HD Radio rollout that has been noticeably absent. Once implemented, it will provide a necessary element for HD Radio acceptance, putting a digital radio receiver in just about any portable device."

They are talking aout the new Sansung chipset - BUT:

"HD Radio"

"Until now, portable HD Radio receivers have been unavailable because the chipsets needed by this technology required too much power to be practical for a battery-operated device. However, in January 2008 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas iBiquity unveiled a prototype of a new iPod-sized portable receiver. It is based on a new chipset developed by Samsung. Although portable, it is still a relatively power-hungry device (it will run on an average set of alkaline batteries in about two hours, according to an iBiquity engineer)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio

"Sirius Satellite Radio"

"Sirius Stiletto 100 - the first portable Sirius radio that allows subscribers to listen to live Sirius programming... The unit's batteries give the user approximately 30 hours of life."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius_Satellite_Radio

Isn't going to happpen. And, from the Business Week article:

"The main problem with HD is that the radios are expensive, between $500 and $1,000 now, though the prices will go down"

BUT:

"Are you waiting in line for your HD radio?"

"If you lower the price enough, folks will buy the radio. That's the belief about HD radio that is being stoked in our industry."

http://www.hear2.com/2006/11/are_you_waiting.html

[Jeff McMahon]

Thanks for the info. I had HD radio a year ago and I was less than impressed. I ended up selling the radio, a well made Sangean.

[paul vincent zecchino]

Right. The 'Sangean' side of the Sangean HD Radio is fine. Sangean manufactures beautiful receivers. The trouble lies on the HD side.

Here's the juice: HD is an ill conceived, shoddily executed, disingenuously promoted, long obsolete, serially superseded, hammered-to-fit, rushed-to-market fatal solution to Radio's non-problem.

HD jams public airwaves at the express insistence of BigRadio, who hopes to jam competitors off the air and listeners into submission.

One problem: The Rotten90s are over. People now know a 'carny shill' when they see it. Listeners rejected HD.

Isn't injecting HD into a receiver tantamount to injecting spirochetes into able bodied seamen Within a short time, doesn't vitality devolve to disorganized dysfunctional?

HD is over. Listeners didn't want it in the first place. Now that iBLOC/HD jams their favorite stations, rampant consumer apathy ferments to endemic rejection.

What a sad, pitiful, noisome waste of resources. What a farce.

Paul Vincent Zecchino
Manasota Key, Florida
20 April, 2008

[Jeff McMahon]

BTW, Sangean is supposed to have a super AM-performing radio, based on high demand in the Japanese market, coming out in the next few months. I'll keep updates.