Paul writes:
Remember that HD radio does not stand for high definition radio, rather for hybrid digital radio (i.e. digital radio co-existing with analog).
Secondly, the trend towards full digital radio (not hybrid) cannot be stopped. China is on its way to role out HD radio with many more features and better performance than what we have here. What this means is that we will adapt too and the HD radio you see now may very well turn into something else in 5-10 years.
Third, if anything, the US is suffering from being an early inventor and early adopter of this technology. No doubt there are problems, but give it time, and think evolution ...
Yeah, I'm still a skeptic. In fact----the more I watch "high def" television, the more I realize we were bamboozled with that nonsense too. I've seen the sharpest, clearest, newest Samsung products----and in my opinion, they are only marginally better (if at all) than my 12 year old Sony Trinitron 32 inch. What a scam that all was. Converter boxes for surviving TVs----and millions of serviceable television sets in landfills. What a crock. And frankly, the "movie screen" ratio isn't that great either. I preferred the old format.
Posted by: Angelo | January 12, 2013 at 07:00 PM
You are correct that HD radio doesn't stand for high definition. Although I'm sure they chose that name based on HDTV, which was coming on at about the same time. In the same way, DVD stands for... DVD, officially. Just some letters.
We already have fully digital radio coming on line. It's called Internet Radio and it's everywhere, including more and more car radios set up for Pandora (or Aha if it's a Honda you drive). I don't like it. It's a terrible waste of data capacity. But I'm like the old hippie standing on the curb screaming at people to take the bus instead of driving their personal cars. Nobody listens to old hippies who say that, and nobody's going to listen to me when I say that radio is a more efficient data stream than a million individually streaming cell phones either.
Evolution led us from analog TV to digital, but evolution had help there. I'm still using my analog TV because I'm on a cable system, and so never had to change it. I understand the majority of TV viewers in the US were in a similar position.
Radio is going to be different. Almost every radio in the US is portable, either as an actual portable or at least as a shelf or table top unit that is easy to relocate when you want. You could use your old TV with a digital converter, but such a complex multi-part setup is not going to cut it with radios you want to move often.
So going to fully digital radio means abandoning every radio we already have. Many of which- and the ones most often used- are built into the dashboards of our cars. Therefore requiring not only expensive new equipment, but tearing apart our beloved automobiles to install. I don't think people will go for that.
But finally, if one of the articles that the earlier Herculodge post about HD's problems is correct, Ibiquity charges a $50 licencing fee for each HD radio receiver. I can't believe that's true because it's so stupid. But if it is true, that's the nail in the coffin. Right now I can buy a modern equivalent of a transistor radio for $10, or a little FM receiver for even less. All of a sudden the price of the cheapest possible radio goes to a minimum of $60, probably more... which is getting to the contract-subsidized price of a feature phone (or even a basic smartphone?) that can stream Pandora. What do you think is going to happen?
Posted by: Bill | January 12, 2013 at 07:10 PM
Bill: I think it will all be driven by people standing to make enormous profits off any change----and the politicians they control. Again----the move from analog TV to digital was about more than giving us a "higher quality TV watching experience." That's the silliest claim ever. Ridiculous. But it did manage to sell a hell of a lot of equipment people suddenly had to have.
Posted by: Angelo | January 13, 2013 at 06:14 AM
China is not rolling out HD Radio, and extensive tests in Brazil recently rejected HD Radio and DRM for poor results. HD Radio is junk-technology and has no future.
Posted by: Greg Smith | January 14, 2013 at 09:18 AM