April 9, 2008
Broadcasters Disagree over Increase in Digital FM Power
IBOC signals as currently regulated can't cover same area digitally as their analog counterparts: Despite what the industry has told me for years, a not-very-secret bit of information has come to the fore. The FCC limits IBOC (digital AM/FM as approved in the U.S.) to 1/100th the signal strength of analog. If you have a 100,000-watt analog transmitter, you can broadcast 1,000 watts of digital signal. I have been repeatedly over three years that this provides nearly the same footprint for digital coverage as for analog. Not so. The NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) is split over a proposal to ask the FCC for a 10fold increase in digital power. Some stations are concerned that portable devices with HD Radio built in, when they finally start to appear, will be unable to receive strong enough signals. Critics of the notion, which is still being tested by major networks and NPR, are concerned that the power boost would simply cause interference with adjacent or distant stations' analog signals. Many stations may lack the setup necessarily to power the higher signal, too.April 8, 2008
Clear Channel Starts Transmitting HD Tags
The Clear Channel network is now sending out HD Radio tags that work with special digital receiver and iPods: Over 340 of Clear Channels stations are transmitting the information that receivers made by Alpine, JBl, JVC, Polk Audio, and Sony can pick up and hand off to a docked iPod when a special tag button is pressed. That information is that synced with iTunes the next time you plug the iPod into its associated computer. The idea behind tagging is to let people note songs they're interested in and, apparently, buy them. Of course, if there were any portable recordable HD Radio receivers, then you could simply record the song and listen to it later. The recording industry has had long-standing complaints about digital terrestrial broadcasting, wanting to impose a broadcast flag that would overlay every song with information about whether it could be recorded, on what devices, for how long, and how many times it could play.March 25, 2008
XM, Sirius Deal Approved by Justice Dept.
The FCC still needs to approve the merger by the two satellite radio broadcasters, XM and Sirius: This merger has a few major impacts on terrestrial radio, especially HD Radio broadcasts. First, the merger presumes there's enough competition to make it reasonable to allow the two firms to join. The firms argued that Internet radio and HD Radio and "iPods" were enough competition to provide choices to consumers and keep prices lower. Without them competing with each other, they could focus more on making better, cheaper equipment and providing better programming. (It's true that the two firms' doomed themselves by spending ridiculous sums of money for exclusive sports deals--billions in all--without anything like the revenue curve from those customers to justify it.) The other impact on HD Radio is that the final agreements will likely require certain gimmes to the terrestrial radio world. I'm not sure what those will be yet, but it's likely that XM and Sirius will have to stay out of certain businesses and give certain assurances about their behavior backed by fines. Of course, the biggest irony of "satellite" radio is that so much of it is beamed from ground stations. Yup, that's right. The satellite operators are allowed to rebroadcast on the ground, and they do in cities where their satellite signals would be just barely above the noise threshold.February 4, 2008
HD Radio Sales Restated
Industry analyst says HD Radio sales were far lower than previously stated and projected: Mark Ramsay of hear2.0 and Mercury Radio Research writes in a blog post a few days ago that while iBiquity claimed 200,000 digital AM/FM equipped radios were sold in 2006 and 1m to 1.5m would be sold in 2007, the actual numbers were far lower: 40,000 in 2006 and 330,000 in 2007. The 2008 estimate is now 500,000.
This is not surprising but is disappointing. I was always dubious about the claim of 200,000 radios sold in 2006, because there just weren't that many models or radios out there. I spoke to all the manufacturers, and if 200,000 were sold, they've have been jumping up and down, even split over the four or five companies selling receivers (car and otherwise) in late 2006 when I reviewed five tabletop radios that were relatively new or about to hit the market.
The 2007 number seemed ludicrous to me; the 330,000 figure is much more likely because in 2007, you could buy dealer-installed HD Radio units for cars, and at least one decent inexpensive car radio (< $200) was available with HD Radio. The 330,000 figure is probably 70 to 80 percent automotive, I'd guess.
I'm not hearing any good news about HD Radio at the moment, despite more companies selling products, and the whole iPod integration into very specific system setups.
January 7, 2008
iTunes Tagging Hits CES
The previously announced combination of iPod, iTunes, and HD Radio is all over the Consumer Electronics Show: iTunes Tagging allows radio stations broadcasting in digital FM to tag their songs with information that is then, in turn, grabbed by a receiver with an iPod dock and transferred to a docked iPod. When the iPod is connected with a Mac or Windows system, iTunes grabs the tagging details and lets you choose whether to preview or purchase the songs.
Alpine, JBL, JVC, Polk Audio, and Sony are all demonstrating iTunes Tagging at CES.
January 1, 2008
iBiquity Suggests Satellite Merger Requires HD Radio Requirement, End to Exclusive Deals
iBiquity has a neat card up its sleeve regarding the potential XM/Sirius satellite radio merger: The developer and licenser of HD Radio technology wants the FCC to require that digital AM/FM be a required part of new satellite radio receivers if the merger is approved. The company has no opinion on whether the merger itself should be approved or not, but they believe a merged entity would drown out HD Radio, if given the chance. They also want an end to exclusive automotive relationships that may have discouraged carmakers from adding HD Radio as an option.
December 31, 2007
New HD Radio Chips Should Push Portable, More Alternatives
Here we go, finally: EE Times reports that Samsung and SiPort will both offer new HD Radio chipsets to manufacturers of digital AM/FM receivers. These new chips will consume much less power than the chips used in current hardware, and that will, at long last, make it possible to embed digital reception into portable, battery-operated devices, as well as smaller equipment. SiPort's chipset comprises a single chip; Samsung's two.
I still have huge concerns about the AM radio reception problem, as that entire situation is still being evaluated--whether digital AM/FM from one station is interferring with others' analog signals during nighttime broadcasting--but the near-term availability of chips that will enable a next generation of products will at least move the industry further.
December 5, 2007
Digital AM Nighttime Interference Claim Filed
Radio World reports that a Rochester, NY, radio station has filed a complaint with the FCC over nighttime digital AM interference: Radio World reports this is thought to be the first such complaint. The complaintant, Radio Livingston, runs WYSL, while CBS Radio runs the station that's being complained about. WYSL uses just 500 watts at night (20 kilowatts daytime) while CBS uses 50 kW 24 hours a day. The complaint was filed in October. It's worth noting, as this article does, that WYSL's owner believes in-band, on-channel (IBOC) digital encoding for AM is "bad for AMs that remain analog."
December 3, 2007
HD Radio's AM Troubles: No Real Solution Ahead
Radio World offers a balanced look at the problems with early full-time AM radio deployment of HD Radio, but it's clear that the solution may be ugly: It's been known for some time that iBiquity's technology for digital AM radio was a compromise the outcome of which was unclear. Since the FCC approved 24-hour-a-day digital AM broadcasting--up from daylight hours only--more knowledge has been gained about precisely how much interference is caused to adjacent and distant stations.
Radio World doesn't conclude digital AM is busted, because, they note, "not enough [AM] stations have been transmitting HD Radio at night to provide a realistic evaluation of the consequences."
However, there's no question there's trouble. The consequence of the FCC intervening where interference is present and requiring stations to back off, or of iBiquity being forced to go back to the drawing board, is digital AM/FM as a whole would suffer a huge blow.
Without AM stations being able to deliver a higher-quality digital signal reliably across their coverage area at night, they're unlike to promote HD Radio much, and their listeners are unlikely to upgrade over time. It's serious enough that, Radio World writes, "Owners like Clear Channel and CBS reportedly are having to choose which AM HD stations to leave on at night and which ones they’ll turn off due to interference inflicted on more important co-owned stations."
If iBiquity is forced by broadcasters or the FCC--the latter being unlikely given the commission's full-on approval--to change AM encoding that would likely mean that all HD Radios sold up until that point would be unable to receive future digital AM transmissions. Radio World notes, correctly, that that wouldn't be a problem if updates could be performed via software. It's possible that the chips deployed so far have that ability and could be flexible enough--although only a few radios have an easy way to handle upgrades. (Some can be upgraded by dealers and manufacturers, I've been told).
But this is not good news.
I've been concerned from the beginning of my coverage of digital AM/FM about the paucity of AM stations broadcasting in HD Radio format. I was told that the lack of 24-hour broadcasting ability was the big reason. But I was also told about the compromises that led to the AM specification being adopted.
The more widely spread the knowledge among consumers (and retailers) that digital AM is up in the air, the less likely receivers will be sold.
November 28, 2007
Volvo Commits to HD Radio in Nearly All 2009 Models
Volvo will include HD Radio tuners in most of its 2009 models: The auto maker confirmed that they'll make this a standard feature.
October 24, 2007
Pushback on HD Radio in AM: Citadel Turns off Nighttime AM
Criticisms of problems in using HD Radio encodings for AM stations date back to the earliest days of the technology: The FCC approved nighttime broadcasting of HD Radio over AM a few months ago, but there are still relatively few AM stations using HD Radio, and thus problems are only starting to emerge. At night, the so-called D region of the ionosphere changes character and reflects rather than dissipates signals in the AM radio range. AM radio signals already travel thousands of miles further than intended at night, and both hobbyists (DXers) who enjoy tuning in far-off stations, and regular radio listeners could be affected by digital signal skipping.
I've had a mixed opinion on this front, expecting that if there were real problems, then the FCC wouldn't approve nighttime broadcasts, that broadcasters wouldn't deploy such signals, and that lawsuits would be filed. I don't mean to be naive about the money involved, because broadcasters are equally concerned about interference that prevents their own stations from being heard.
Radio World reports that Citadel Broadcasting, which has HD Radio enabled on 16 of its 66 AM stations, decided to turn off the 10 stations that were broadcasting digital signals at night due to reports of interference. The problem occurs when listeners hear "hiss" and stations on nearby channels hear noise.
There have been rumors all along that AM digital encoding is inadequate and will need to be entirely rethought--that is, the underlying encoding replaced with a superior one. This would require replacement of all the HD Radio sets on the market, except those that have upgradability through various means (USB ports and discs that can upgrade firmware) almost certainly, as any solution would likely require new silicon.
We'll see what happens here. It's possible that in production HD Radio won't be able to work at night; that's always been a concern, and now they have to tweak parameters while still maintaining compatibility.
September 27, 2007
JVC Adds Transportable HD Radio
The KT-HDP1 can be used in a car or at home with separate kits: The $150 receiver requires two separate $60 kits to use with a car and at home. The former comes with all the modules to tie into an FM receiver and auxiliary input for automotive audio, along with a stand for dashboard mounting; the latter, a stand, AC adapter, and some audio cables.
September 26, 2007
Ford Expands HD Radio to Most Product Lines
HD Radio is now part of a dealer-installable option on most Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury cars: Also, older cars back to 2005 models can have a digital AM/FM receiver installed. This is a bit of a move in the right direction, but it's nothing like a factory-installed option, where more people would choose a model of car that happened to include HD Radio.
1,500 Stations Broadcasting HD Radio
HD Radio reaches a milestone of sorts: Perhaps 10 percent of radio stations in the U.S. now broadcast in HD Radio format. Now, if anyone were listening, that might appear more significant. We're still waiting for mass penetration of the consumer audience with digital AM/FM receivers.
September 17, 2007
Why Digital Radio Succeeded in England
Washington Post's Marc Fisher explains HD Radio's failure to catch on: In the UK, digital radio has had the largest success of any market in the world with about 6m receivers sold. Fisher notes that only a few hundred thousand HD Radio capable receivers are in consumers' hands in the U.S. The reason? Broadcasters in the UK provided "new and live content on digital stations." He notes that WAMU-FM in Washington, D.C., will shift all its bluegrass and acoustic Americana music to a digital-only offering, plus give up to 1,000 HD Radio receivers free to previous station donors. They'll leave NPR news and talk on their main station, and put BBC news and additional NPR programming on a digital-only station, too.
Fisher thinks this kind of move could finally jumpstart HD Radio. I think that the real reason for its failure to gain a foothold is a combination of stale programming outside public radio and a lack of affordable receivers, as well as no integration into non-tabletop models. The fact is, until HD Radio is built into integrated receiver/amplifiers, found in most car radios as an almost-basic option, and available in portable form or as a plug-in to MP3 players like the iPod, it's unlikely to find a mass audience.
My local NPR station has been using the HD format for about as long as any station, and still has a very small listenership. They haven't particularly promoted the format because, I believe, the lack of receivers that average listeners might want to purchase. I've tried most HD Radio tabletop models on the market, and while I have complaints about this or that in each unit, the primary problem is that they solve a problem most people don't have: most people don't need a new radio. They buy a radio for a new home or to replace one that dies.
So far, HD Radio hasn't given people a reason to replace their sets as an upgrade, as the folks with satellite radio did, by convincing listeners that satellite radio had so much more variety than commercial. In the end, satellite radio's variety is more about range than actual variety. There's not that much different on satellite, there's just more of it in one place.
September 6, 2007
iPod, iTunes, and an HD Radio Receiver with a Dock: Tag, You're Bought
Something new under the HD Radio sun: Interesting announcement today from Apple and iBiquity: iTunes Tagging. This will allow you when listening to a song on a properly equipped HD Radio receiver to press a hardware button--the Tag button, naturally--and have that choice recorded to a docked iPod or iPhone. Then, when you sync that iPod/iPhone to iTunes, the program will tell you which songs you were interested in. (Most, ostensibly, will be in the iTunes Store's huge catalog.)
To use the Tag button, you'll have to get an HD Radio receiver that has both an iPod dock and this special button. Part of today's announcement was that Polk Audio's second generation i-Sonic would forgo its DVD playback capability--via an external jack--and replace that with an iPod dock. iPod audio can be played through built-in speakers, and iPod video via S-Video and component outputs.
Radio stations also have to get in on the action to make iTunes Tagging work. They'll have to broadcast the tag information. The HD Digital Radio Alliance said that hundreds of their HD Radio broadcasting stations will participate in tagging initially, with more to follow.
What's neat about this is that it's the first step in tying together two different kinds of digital music listening. What's also cool is that it shouldn't leave college, independent, and alternative stations out in the cold as previous technologies that alleged to offer this service did. (Sony eMarker, I'm talking to you.) I don't know right now whether Apple or iBiquity will charge fees or share revenue with radio stations for broadcasting tags.
The price is $499, $100 less than the first i-Sonic, but this unit omits DVD playing and the slot for an optional $50 add-on XM satellite radio module.
(For some reason, Polk decided to mock up the iPod screen that's in their promo image: what, they think we've never seen an iPod before and wouldn't notice?)
September 5, 2007
iPods Won't Have HD Radio Tech Today
Some reports have indicated that iPods expected today would include HD Radio tuners: That's tricky, given that the chips to embed in portable, battery-powered devices do not, to my knowledge, yet exist. They will, but we won't see products based on them until perhaps spring 2008, based on the timetable that I'm aware of.
August 15, 2007
Gizmodo Reviews Sony XDR-S3HD
Gizmodo got ahold of the radio first, and while they like the styling and sound, they hate the interface: The quick review of the $200 tabletop radio says that the sound is fine, but you have to switch to a special mode in order to scan to find stations. Presets require pressing a preset button and then using a knob to pass through them. The review doesn't mention the remote control, which looks to make it easier. It's an alarm clock, and has a simulated cherry wood finish. You can preset 20 AM and 20 FM stations.
August 13, 2007
Dice Adds $199 Tabletop HD Receiver
Dice Electronics will ship its stylish radio this month: The $199 radio with an optional $49 second speaker is an alarm clock AM/FM system with HD Radio tuning. It has auxiliary input for passthrough playing. There are now approaching umpteen tabletop radios from $100 to $600, but there's still no truly cheap or portable system on the market that will offer a real breakout for home HD Radio reception.
New chips are coming soon. That'll likely mark the turning point if anything does, as the chips enable more compact and cheaper products.
July 26, 2007
Washington Post on HD Radio
Not much news here: The article contextualizes HD Radio within the arguments made by XM and Sirius that digital terrestrial radio is one of the competitors to satellite radio, along with Internet radio and MP3 players like the iPod (but not the Zune; couldn't resist).