March 29, 2006
Thumbs Down on Receptor HD FM Antenna
Phila. Daily News columnist criticizes Boston Acoustics antenna: The only tabletop radio on the market that receives HD Radio has an inadequate FM antenna, writes Jonathan Takiff. The columnist says that NPR wrote a "testy note" to Receptor Radio HD's maker because the receiver comes with a poor, short FM antenna rather than a slightly longer dipole antenna. The FM antenna can be replaced easily, but the included antenna is insufficient, Takiff writes.
In my testing of the Receptor, I found it a bit hard to get consistent reception, but I could ultimately string the wire out and receive all the HD stations broadcasting a few months ago in Seattle. Takiff says Boston Acoustics will swap out a hardly more expensive but superior antenna in a few weeks.
Update: Boston Acoustics points the finger at iBiquity's specifications and won't confirm NPR driving the requirement. But it did confirm the upgraded antenna. Those who have already bought a Receptor Radio HD can contact Boston Acoustics for a free antenna upgrade.
March 28, 2006
WPLN-FM Goes Digital
The Nashville station adds HD Radio and multicasting: The main analog broadcast is simulcast on HD1, the first HD Radio station in the tuner. HD2 features alternative programming includes the Diane Rehm Show, Performance Today, and Groove Salad.
March 26, 2006
WFAE-FM Adds HD2
The North Carolina radio station WFAE-FM multicasts: The station has been broadcasting its HD1 channel since spring 2005. They were an early station in testing multicasting.
March 22, 2006
Motor City Has 23 HD Radio Stations
The Detroit News weighs in on digital AM/FM: There's a direct connection between Detroit and HD Radio as the technology's owner desperately needs more cars to come equipped with receivers that tune analog and digital terrestrial stations. This report notes that BMW offers HD now, and that eight more automakers will offer it on 36 models over the next two years. This will drive one million HD Radio-equipped receivers into consumers' hands by the end of 2006, iBiquity forecasts.
iBiquity's head makes the strategically risky move of playing up next-generation receivers' features, such as a Buy button to purchase songs and digital recording, when the first-generation devices are in the hands of just a few people. And the broadcast flag issue is unsettled. If the recording industry gets its way with Congress--not a sure thing since members of Congress now own iPods--all current HD Radio receivers would stop working without a significant upgrade, and new receivers would have severely curtailed digital recording capabilities.
March 17, 2006
5.1 Surround at KUVO-FM in Denver
The Colorado radio station is using an advanced console and HD Radio to broadcast high-quality 5.1 sound: The station started broadcasting in 5.1 within two days of the Soundtracs DS-00 console's arrival. So far, there are no decoders for 5.1 sound on the market for HD Radio--I don't believe even the high-end 7.1 Yamaha receiver decodes that but its literature is unclear--but that will change as audiophiles interested in such things as this station's jazz recordings and live broadcasts make it worthwhile.
March 16, 2006
Consumer Reports Tests HD Radio
Consumer Reports has just started to test how HD Radio performs: They're not impressed with consistency but they do like the quality. They advise waiting to invest in HD Radio equipment, which is prudent given the paucity of options and pricing. They're optimistic about what's coming--both features and price--and will release reviews of the Yamaha RX-V4600 and Boston Acoustics Receptor HD units soon. I've tested both. The Yamaha is described by the magazine as one of the "only two products for listening to HD Radio at home." Which is a little like saying that, if you had a submarine and a rowboat, the submarine is one of two ways to get across a lake.
Radiosophy, Polk Audio Receivers Still Lagging
Boston Acoustics has managed to continue to be the first and only tabletop HD Radio on the market: Back last July, I expected at least three, maybe five tabletop HD Radios to be available by now. But it appears that the engineering issues are a little more complicated than previously expected. Boston Acoustics pushed their original delivery back several months, finally producing units for the market in December. Polk Audio and Radiosophy (pictured) slipped through small increments for some time, with March being a target for both companies by late last year.
Polk Audio now says summer on its site for the $599 I-Sonic; Radiosophy has taken the opportunity to be transparent and has a status log for pre-orders of its $269 MultiStream HD to see how the engineering issues are coming.
These delays are incredibly frustrating to radio stations, I have been hearing, because the expectation in January 2005 was that receivers would be available at early adopter prices by third quarter of that year. Now nearly into second quarter of 2006, there are no automotive deals for HD Radios to be built into every model of a popular car nor tabletop receivers in much abundance.
I speculate that Boston Acoustics price drop from $499 to $299 for their Receptor Radio HD might be partially funded by iBiquity, which needs an affordable HD Radio on the market. This would be a good use of their money. Radio stations haven't slowed their plans, but this must be painful to be broadcasting to an empty house.
Crutchifield, by the way, has a deal on the Receptor Radio HD: $279 when you factor in an additional $20 mail-in rebate.
KUAF-FM Adds HD Radio with an HD2 Mirror
The University of Arkansas public radio station is on the air with one HD Radio channel: This summer, they'll bring a second channel online that will complement their main broadcast. When classical music is played on the analog and HD1 channels, HD2 will carry public radio talk and news programs; likewise, when news and talk are on the primary broadcast, HD2 will play classical music. They hope to add HD3 by year's end as commercial broadcasters in the area add digital AM/FM. There are a total of four HD Radio stations in the Little Rock area, the report says.
The story incorrectly lists Radiosophy and Polk Audio as shipping HD Radio receivers. I can't confirm all of the others, mostly car radio makers, but that's a little optimistic, too.
March 14, 2006
1 Million HD Radio Receivers by End of 2007
Bridge Ratings predicts 1.06 million receivers in use by the end of 2007: They see HD Radio reaching 2 million in 2008 and 8.84 million by 2010--and 46 million by 2020. The report says that Internet radio and HD Radio will slow down satellite radio's growth.
Audio Graphics Complains: Few HD Radio Samples Online
Audio Graphics notes that while HD Radio is being marketed like crazy, it's hard to hear a sample: It would make a lot of sense to offer some limited HD Radio feeds or downloads that would have actual digital broadcast quality to demonstrate to a potential buyer what they're going to get. But Audio Graphics came up empty, finding no streams. This might have something to do with the nature of digital rights: radio stations might not own the rights to stream music at the quality that HD Radio can offer--although plenty do offer 128 Kbps or 192 Kbps MP3 and similar streams which aren't far off.
Detroit Free Press on Digital AM/FM
The newspaper offers this report on HD Radio: Detroit is among the cities with the most and longest broadcasting HD Radio stations. The Free Press claims 30 stations have an HD signal in the greater Detroit area. iBiquity is quoted in this article noting a 3,000-station commitment nationwide. Radio stations hope that HD Radio as a built-in option for cars will jumpstart listenership.
March 13, 2006
WFAE-FM Multicasts
The Charlotte, N.C.-area public radio station offers HD1 and HD2 broadcasts: The HD2 channel will carry "XPoNential Radio, which showcases a blend of blues, rock, folk, alternative country and world music." That is, contemporary without genre barriers.
March 12, 2006
KETR-FM Adds HD Radio
Texas A&M University-Commerce's radio station KETR-FM has added digital signals: The station runs at 100,000 watts and serves the campus and beyond. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided funds the university matched. The article is fairly blunt: "Eventually, today's radio will be obsolete." Sure. Just in the way that eventually our sun will become a red giant.
March 10, 2006
WTCC-FM Back on the Air with Digital
The college-run radio station went dark for four days for a planned upgrade: Their HD Radio addition was paid for in part with a $109,000 matching grant from the US Department of Commerce. They're the first community college-run station to add HD Radio in the Northeast, they say, although this is a highly qualified claim.
March 3, 2006
Current HD Radios in Danger Due to Bill in Congress
The soon-to-be-referred to as former Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) introduced a recording-industry bill to cripple digital radio: BoingBoing's Cory Doctorow writes that this bill essentially turns over all current and future capabilities on digital radio receivers in the US to the RIAA. It also means, as reported weeks ago, that if this bill were passed, all current HD Radio receivers would require modification or perhaps be obsolete because they lack the encryption-based protections that this bill would mandate. A group in Ferguson's home state has already started a defeat-Ferguson campaign.
March 1, 2006
AM Stations' Distant Listeners Hear Static
The Wall Street Journal highlights a side-effect of digital AM using HD Radio: More distant listeners who used to get a clear analog AM signal now experience fuzz and his from adjacent broadcasters who have added HD Radio. This doesn't bother the FCC because the interference isn't heard in core areas, this article notes. But it does reduce listenership.
This article also notes that an anti-trust lawsuit has been filed by Leonard Kahn against iBiquity and Clear Channel because the only FCC-approved digital AM/FM technology is controlled by iBiquity which has a set of investors that include major radio firms like Clear Channel.