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.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.
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.
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 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?)
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.
May 31, 2007
Sangean Announces HDT-1X Component HD Radio Tuner with Optical Digital Output
Sangean will offer its second HD Radio component tuner in mid-June: The new model featuers SPDIF optical digital output, and improved receive sensitivity. The tuner can also be locked into analog-only mode when listening to stations that are on the edge of providing consistently interpretable digital information.
May 29, 2007
BusinessWeek Finds Directed Electronics HD Radio Receivers Falls Short
Directed makes Sirius satellite radios, and acquired high-end Polk Audio last year, but its HD Radio offering doesn't meet this reviewer's mark: BusinessWeek says that the radio has many flaws, including short included speakers cables, and a terrible interface for tuning, volume, and other functions: one dial that controls everything based on a mode! The reviewer notes of the sound, "the Directed radio's sound is high and tinny, with almost no audible bass and no equalizer to make adjustments." There's no remote control (it was pulled from the unit before the product was final), making tuning in a dark room impossible. At $250, it's hardly a bargain, either.
The reviewers notes that the radio has one neat feature: on multi-channel-enabled FM stations, it shows a program guide that lists the programming on each channel at a glance.
May 28, 2007
Sony Announces HD Radio Products
Sony will release a tabletop radio in July 2007 for $200; car digital unit for $100: The XDR-S3HD will have a cherry wood finish, and an auxiliary input for playthrough. The radio will have a wireless remote control and alarm clock feature. The HD Radio Ride allows Sony car radios to receive HD Radio broadcasts and pass along rich information, like an artist's name.
Sony's entry is big news. There are no other major manufacturers yet incorporated HD Radio into their product lines. It's still strange to me that only a single receiver or home entertainment center features HD Radio; perhaps Sony's move will signal a change there, too.
May 18, 2007
BusinessWeek Reviews Cambridge SoundWorks HD Radio Receiver
The reviewer thinks the sound is on the poor sound, but likes the ease of use: The 820HD from Cambridge Soundworks has the best reception of any radio that the BusinessWeek writer has tested; I have an 820HD that I'll be writing about soon. The reviewer didn't think the sound quality was that hot, with the higher pitches being drowned by bass, and equalization not offering any real improvement. That's a shame, but it's something I've seen in some other HD Radio receivers, too.
April 26, 2007
New HD Radio Rebate Program: $40 Off Most Radios
iBiquity has launched a new rebate program for digital radio receivers: The $40 rebate is valid for radios purchased April 29 to July 3, 2007. All HD Radio receivers excepting Yamaha's high-end home entertainment system appear to be on the list, including a number of radios not yet released indicating a lot in the shipment pipeline for this summer.
April 24, 2007
Onkyo Offers HD, Sirius, XM in Single Receiver
The $499 T-4555P tunes in every major digital network: It's a little pricey, but it's ready for XM and Sirius satellite as well as HD Radio. Ships soon.
April 20, 2007
Best Buy to Stock, Promote HD Radio Receivers
All 832 Best Buy stores will offer HD Radio education and receivers: The announcement, which iBiquity alerted me to in advance of its formal Monday release, is part of the growing effort on the part of the HD Radio Alliance, a group of large broadcasters, iBiquity, and radio makers to increase public awareness as more radios hit the market at increasingly lower prices.
Update: Here's the press release.
April 14, 2007
Directed Offers $250 HD Radio Receiver
The DHHD-1000 has two speakers that can be detached from the main receiver: Generally positive review at Radio World online, although the display is too bright, the bass lacks oomphf, and it's a little pricey. But it delivers good receive sensitivity plus the unrelated decoding of stereo AM. The reviewer would like it better at a lower cost.
Radiosophy Plans Near-Time $100 HD Radio
The firm that release the first transportable HD Radio says they will ship a $100 receiver in May: The price will be $120 after June 30. The new radio has several neat properties, including a compact size, and digital station scanning (omitting analog channels). Radiosophy took about 18 months longer than intended to ship their first HD system, but with such a short shipping date, that indicates a product well along in the pipeline. This radio will be the cheapest one on the market, and $100 less than the retail price of Radio Shack's Accurian HD, the second-most-expensive unit. (A $50 rebate until April 21 brings the price down.)
April 11, 2007
Consumer Reports Praises Sangean Component Tuner
The first component tuner for HD Radio gets high marks from Consumer Reports: The $200 tuner pulls in a good, clear signal. Consumer Reports didn't like the bright display (for dimmer rooms), and the lack of being able to lock a signal for analog only. In reviewing all the HD Radio sets available last fall, I found that none of them offered an analog lock--an irritating feature when a digital lock can't be reliably obtained.
Sangean's HDT-1 nonetheless should score quite a few purchases from people with home entertainment systems where they want to slot in a replacement radio receiver instead of having a standalone (and potentially overdesigned) radio or replacing other gear.
Right now, I'm only aware of a single receiver meant for home systems that tunes in HD Radio signals. I expect that we'll see a small explosion of digital AM/FM being added to those kinds of units.
April 9, 2007
Cambridge SoundWorks Ships HD Radio
The SoundWorks Radio 820HD was originally slated to ship last November: The $300 radio has no characteristics that I can see that warrant the price other than the current high price of HD Radio receivers. One expects that the speakers are of a higher quality than the RadioShack Accurian HD Radio, about which BusinessWeek just gave an extremely poor review. The 820HD from SoundWorks is probably closest to Boston Acoustics's $300 Receptor Radio HD. It does have an integral FM antenna (like the Sangean HD model), and acts as a alarm clock radio.
March 15, 2007
Polk Launches iPod, HD Radio Division
Polk Audio Designs will release iPod and HD Radio products: The folks at Polk think there's enough of a market to specialize. They're releasing a couple of iPod systems that will be sold via RadioShack and other channels. What's relevant to this blog, however, is that they also announced today an "audio shelf system" that will include HD Radio reception and a CD player. The HDX3 will list at $299 and sell in RadioShack. It's due out in May. The speakers are detached for better placement.
March 6, 2007
Walmart Decision to Carry HD Radios Bolsters Industry
The reaction to Walmart carrying HD Radio receivers seems a bit overblown: It's a significant move for the nation's largest retailer to offer HD Radio receivers, but prices still need to fall to couple mass availability with mass sales. Walmart is carrying just the JVC car radio for $190, and will offer the radio in about 2,000 stores in 85 markets--markets that receive HD Radio signals. NPR's Morning Edition offers this report on the move, too.
February 27, 2007
Radiosophy Radio Ships
About a year and a half after the first shipping date was announced, Radiosophy ships their portable unit: The $270 radio and speaker set allows the radio part to be removed and used in, say, a car with an optional inverter.
February 7, 2007
Sharper Image Carries HD Radio Receivers
The national chain of 188 Sharper Image stores will carry several models: The retail and online stores will feature the Boston Acoustics Receptor Radio HD starting immediately; Sangean's radio can be purchased online and will be sold in stores starting in April.
December 6, 2006
BusinessWeek Tries HD Radio
Stephen Wildstrom finds Polk better then RadioShack: My testing showed the opposite, but that's partly my bias towards uncluttered interfaces. The Polk has a lot of options, making it harder to use. And the unit I tested had muddy sound. The Accurian has quite clear sound that compared favorably with more expensive units.
Wildstrom notes, of course, that content is king, and that broadcasters aren't doing much that's interesting yet with the multicast format. Which is, of course, because they don't have listeners. I expect to see some stations ultimately experimenting with five or more multicast channels, but they have to--for now--receive specific FCC permission, freely granted, for each additional multicast station.
It's quite likely to me that after a year or two of HD Radio growth that the FCC will consider lower-powered digital-only stations in the interstices of FM broadcasts in various markets. If the signal strength is low enough, digital-only stations wouldn't interfere with stations on the same bands in adjacent markets, and could provide much more diversity of programming. This depends on the political winds.
I did not see the problem with a HD Radio signal breaking up in the way that Wildstrom describes on any of the five receivers I tested. When an HD signal wasn't strong enough and would fade in and out, the radio simply switched seamlessly back and forth between analog and digital. This happened infrequently: a station was mostly either good enough to receive digitally over the period of time the radio initially tries to get a lock and continued to be that good--or it wasn't. In a moving vehicle, I expect results to vary, but there's also much better reception outdoors.
Visteon HD Jump Shipping?
Today's Trucking Online says the portable HD Jump is out: The HD Jump would be the first portable HD Radio receiver on the market, as Radiosophy's module isn't scheduled to ship until Feb. 1 at this point. The HD Jump is designed to work with existing car radio systems, although the visual on the item is confusing as it looks like an entirely separate piece of gear. More elaboration as I receive it.
Update: I checked in with Visteon. The article is incorrect in writing that the HD Jump is available. The company still expects to ship in mid-January.
December 5, 2006
Big NY Times Round-Up on HD Radio Receivers
My spread in the New York Times on HD Radio is up: I spent a few weeks receiving and testing five tabletop HD Radios, and the results are now in print and online. I was able to get review units from Boston Acoustics, Polk, RadioShack, Radiosophy, and Sangean--apparently, I'm the only reviewer to get my hands on the Radiosophy and one of the few to have touched the Sangean at this point.
My takeaway is that all the radios have excellent qualities and fill different niches. The Accurian is a very fine radio, with its only flaw the decision to omit alarm clock features. Radio Shack dropped the holiday price to $150 before the $25 rebate, and I suspect the price will not go back up to $200 after the Jan. 14 rebate ends. The Polk i-Sonic that I tested had muddy sound, and I hope that's not the case for all units. The Polk lacks equalization features, so despite the bass and treble controls, I was unable to get a cleaner sound out of it.
The Radiosophy Multistream HD is rather cool--just 1.5 pounds for the module with nice rubberized buttons, and a nice look overall. I spoke to the company today, as they had expected to be in production by now and shipping in December. Unfortunately, they've had one more round of delays, and they now expect to ship by Feb. 1. If the unit is purchased (pre-ordered) by Jan. 14, the radio will still qualify for the $50 iBiquity rebate that's due in by mid-Feb.
I love the Sangean's styling. Only Boston Acoustics' design comes close, and it's a very different aesthetic. But Sangean should have invested more in its LCD display, which is oddly clunky looking. I expect that that's a relatively straightforward upgrade for them if they get enough feedback from potential buyers. The radio works very well with a built-in telescoping antenna, which makes the radio easier to move and makes tuning easier.
Equalization (EQ) is the only fault consistent across all five radios. I would expect that digital devices could have very inexpensive and good EQ. None did. The Accurian's EQ is quite awful, but the default, uncorrected sound is very good, so there's no need to use the EQ. (I also dislike the poor design of the icons that are supposed to indicate which EQ mode is in use--a crummy saxophone for jazz, for instance.) Other radios had just bass/treble, or strange preset EQs, and none of the options will please even the least-discriminating audiophile. Except for Polk's radio, the sound without manipulation is quite good for both analog and digital radio.
Another mild issue is antenna placement. I note in the article that HD Radio signals are rather faint by design and regulation. All but the Sangean radio come with external dipole FM antennas--T-designs in which a long lead split into two perpendicular arms. The better the antenna, the more likely you'll get a consistent signal. For some people, a powered FM antenna will be a necessity, and the benefit could be picking up quite distant HD Radio and analog signals on top of the local radio broadcasts. Update: I was informed that powered FM antennas only boost the center band for a station, which could improve analog quality and degrade digital! Time for new powered antenna designs.
The next big market to start expanding is component tuning. Several inexpensive component tuners are due out shortly; Sangean may already be shipping theirs, and Cambridge SoundWorks will have a component tuner and a tabletop radio.
Radio Shack drops price
Radio Shack drops price $50 til Christmas: The Accurian Tabletop HD Radio has a list price of $200 with a $25 rebate to drop it to $175 (through Jan. 14). Radio Shack had a Thanksgiving Weekend sale with the radio offered for $125, bringing the final price to $100. I guess price sensitivity means something for them, as they have a new sale on the radio through Dec. 24--$150 before rebate, $125 after. This is the best-priced radio if you don't need an alarm clock built in, and it's sound quality is very good, especially given the low cost.
November 28, 2006
Pioneer Press Puts HD Radio on Front Page
As receivers appear, so, too, does coverage in local newspapers: The St. Paul newspaper writes about what's available in the local market and looks briefly at receivers. Local stations are using multicasting to gain new listeners. I expect, as this Pioneer Press reporter does, that HD Radio will make people interested once again in listening to whatever comes across a radio instead of what feels to me sometimes like the obligation to handle my own programming on an iPod.
There's more in reporter Julio Ojeda-Zapata's blog about the four receivers that he tested and his reactions to their features.
November 23, 2006
$100 HD Radio over Weekend
Radio Shack is having a huge Thanksgiving weekend sale, halving the price of its new HD Radio: The Accurian Tabletop HD Radio, normally $200, will be just $125 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, whether purchased online or in stores that stock the unit. There's a $25 rebate that should still apply, too, bringing the price down to $100!
Update: I just went over to the local mall where parking was scarce, but all but department stores empty, and bought the last Accurian at Radio Shack.
November 22, 2006
Cambridge SoundWorks Takes Pre-Orders on 820HD
The stereo/clock radio with digital AM/FM from Cambridge SoundWorks is nearly out the door: The company will charge $300 for its all-in-one unit, putting above the cost of the Radio Shack Accurian ($200, but no clock radio features, just a clock), and at the same price as the Boston Acoustics Receptor Radio HD. The radio qualifies for a $50 mail-in rebate from iBiquity if purchased by Jan. 14, 2007. (Boston Acoustics buyers get $50 off, too, and Radio Shack Accurian acquirers, $25.)
The 820HD has two alarms, a clock display and a snooze bar; and it offers a mini-jack auxiliary input for playthrough as well as a standard jack for headphones.
The unit comes with an integral telescoping FM antenna--like the Sangean and Radiosophy receivers--but from the illustration, it's clear an external 75-ohm FM antenna can be attached as well. (Sangean's telescoping antenna unscrews; Radiosophy has a separate set of terminal to attach a 75-ohm adapter.) The radio comes in black and white--Onyx and Arctic White, rather. The firm expects to ship shortly.
November 20, 2006
Radio Shack Officially Launches Accurian HD Radio
While the radio was on sale in stores, according to reports I received, and on their Web site, Radio Shack now offers a press release to make it official: The company says the Accurian HD Radio (model 12-1686, but sometimes called the Accurian Tabletop HD Radio) is on sale at 2,400 Radio Shack stores. The company told me that they are selling the radios primarily in markets that have HD Radio broadcasts, which only makes sense. The chain operates about 6,000 stores in total. The radio lists at $200 and a $25 mail-in rebate from iBiquity (good on radios bought by Jan. 17) takes it down to $175.
November 9, 2006
HD Radios Start to Move Out
The tabletops are on the market, at last: Radio Shack started selling its Accurian Tabletop HD Radio in as many as 2,500 of its 5,000 stores either last week or this week for $200; it's eligible for a $25 mail-in rebate. Circuit City is now carrying HD Radio receivers in its stores, too. For a review for a print publication, I have four HD Radio tabletops in my office now with a fifth expected. Two more should be in channels later this month. More automotive HD Radio is coming as well, and JVC has dropped its in-dash HD Radio receiver to $200 and it's eligible for a $50 rebate.
October 28, 2006
Radio Shack Starts Shipping Sub-$200 Accurian Tabletop HD Radio
Radio Shack is shipping its $199.99 Accurian Tabletop HD Radio: The price drops by $25 via a mail-in rebate from iBiquity. This is only the third tabletop HD Radio, and the second (after the Boston Acoustics Receptor Radio HD) that's designed mostly as a radio. Polk's iSonic is a home-entertainment system that includes HD Radio. The system is all-in-one, as opposed to the Receptor's satellite speaker, which provides increased stereo separation. It's also upright (at a slight tilt) with no clock-radio feel to it. The Accurian isn't available in stores yet; I just checked at a nearby mall, where the Radio Shack store said they would have them next week.
Radio Shack has been a big seller of the Boston Acoustics unit as its only national non-specialized retail bricks-and-mortar channel. A Radio Shack spokesman told me that because stores have very little storage space for inventory, that stores were frequently selling out of the three to six units they kept in stock. This may have suppressed sales slightly.
The Boston Acoustics is currently $300 (okay, $299.99), with a $50 mail-in rebate from iBiquity.
October 16, 2006
The Radios Are Coming! The Radios Are Coming!
HD Radio is about to finally make a splash: In speaking to radio manufacturers this last week in preparation for a print magazine article, I can firmly state that at least five new HD Radio-equipped tabletop receivers, will be in stores and available online before Christmas. One model will ship as soon as next week for $200 with about $50 worth of rebates bringing the price down to $150. Other models will cost $200 to $400, but will be widely available in the coming weeks. This blast of new products, being produced in large quantity, will finally start people listening to the best radio they've never heard.
Also today, iBiquity said they've crossed 1,000 stations broadcasting in HD Radio format with 400 of them offering multicasting (second or more digital-only channels). They expect 1,200 stations up and running by the end of 2006. More stations will certainly pile on in smaller markets as HD Radio receivers actually wind up in the hands of listeners who will start pushing stations to improve their quality.
October 12, 2006
Mass-Market HD Moves Closer as Rebate Program Indicates
iBiquity is offering $25 and $50 rebates on a host of HD Radio gear out and expected out: The list is impressive, but only a small number of the devices are currently on the market. Many are expected very soon, however. The rebate is $25 or $50 depending on which device you purchase. The rebate is available from today tunil products purchased by Jan. 14, 2007.
September 21, 2006
$99 Radios by Christmas
iBiquity will back three $99 receivers for radio stations to market: They will have manufactured a tabletop radio, a car converter kit, and a component tuner that will start at $99 plus shipping. Broadcasters would ostensibly link to iBiquity to lure their listeners to buy one of these units--or would broadcasters purchase these items in bulk and give them away as part of a promotion? Still unclear.
September 19, 2006
Logjam Starts Breaking on HD Radio Receivers
Sangean announced to day that they'd ship two HD Radios by Christmas: The tabletop radio (HDR-1) will cost less than $250 and includes optical digital output, as well as alarm clock features, equalization, and tuning tools. The $200 component tuner (HDT-1) has just regular RCA-style stereo outputs and a rather stripped-down front panel.
September 13, 2006
Cambridge SoundWorks Offers Two Home HD Radio Options
The company showed off at a trade show two $300 HD Radio options aimed at home users: The SoundWorks Radio 820HD is a stereo tabletop receive for AM and FM in regular and HD Radio flavors, with specifically designed antennas for better HD Radio reception, along with an input plug to pass through sound from MP3 players and other devices. The SoundWorks Tuner 850HD is a component tuner with two digital and one analog outputs, designed for rack-mounting. Both units will ship in November.
August 22, 2006
Polk Audio Ships I-Sonic At Last!
The second tabletop radio featuring HD Radio reception ships: Polk Audio finally releases this unit after more than a year of delays, although they told me back in January that it had nothing to do with HD Radio, but rather the number of systems they were integrating. The I-Sonic is a stereo radio that retails for $599 and includes HD Radio tuning and a slot to insert a $49 XM Radio module for that subscription service.
But it also includes a CD/DVD reader that can handle audio CDs, MP3 CDs, and other formats, and play back DVDs, via a video output port. It can accept other audio inputs, too, through two sets of input jacks.
August 15, 2006
Leaves May Turn Gold before Radiosophy Ships
Radiosophy now looks likely to ship its units perhaps in fall: They were targeting fall most recently, but their Web site now says (as of Aug. 15) that they are nearing the commencement of certification, after which "several weeks" will be required to manufacture units, and units ordered today will take two to three weeks to ship after the first ship date. So that seems very likely to put us well into fall.
Radiosophy is the cheaper of the two HD Radio units currently expected to ship next, and that have been expecting to ship since last summer.
August 2, 2006
Radio Shack Will Offer Private-Label Receiver
Buried in a background story on HD Radio is a note about Radio Shack: The retailer currently sells the $300 Boston Acoustics Receptor Radio HD, but near the end of this Associated Press article, a spokesperson for the chain notes that they'll offer a $200 unit in the fall. Hey, the logjam may be about to break. I was predicting a break by now (because of new availability of next-generation chips and modules this last spring), but it's still taking longer.
July 5, 2006
iBiquity, HD Alliance Split Roles, Sites
iBiquity has converted its Web site into an industry-facing one; the alliance now serves consumers: iBiquity is retreating a bit from the consumer eye on the Web, with the HD Digital Radio Alliance--a consortium of broadcasters--pushing the high fidelity message out to those buying receivers. This will provide a one-stop shop for information about products and stations.
The station listings are a bit problematic. Click HD Digital Radio and then the HD2 City Search, and select a market. You stay on the HDRadio.com Web site and see only stations that are part of the format-coordinating alliance's network. Click HD2 State Search and you see a list not just of HD2 stations, but all HD stations broadcasting or multicasting in that state, and you're over at iBiquity's site.
Clearly, this needs to be resolved.
Click the Available Products link, and you'll see the next problem. Three national retailers listed, a very sparse regional retailers list, and then links to five companies "making" HD Radio receivers for the Home/Office category. (Kenwood is not on this list for some reason, which I find bizarre, given that they had the first receiver of any kind with HD Radio built in.)
Of the firms here, they're all well known. Boston Acoustics remains the only shipping tabletop manufacturer. Radiosophy is saying "any day now," which they've been saying for a year, but they continue to document how the product is developing. Polk Audio, despite having said recently it would ship recently, now just says "Buy It Soon," and offers a mailing list sign-up so that they can "tell you when it's done!" Rotel has zero information on its site about HD Radio, which is consistent for them after a long-ago public announcement.
And Audio Deisgn Associates are listed under Home/Office even though their only HD option is for rack-mounted equipment designed specifically for broadasters.
This is getting a little depressing, but I still expect the logjam to break soon.
May 12, 2006
Clear Channel CEO Looks to Cheaper HD Receivers for Lift
The head of the massive radio station chain says that HD Radio will take off as devices become much cheaper: The owner of 1,200+ stations told Reuters that HD Radio receivers need to be embedded in more devices, like iPods and mobile phones. Of course this requires tinier, lower-powered chips with greater discrimination, as early reports indicated that the first-generation chips and modules--soon to be superceded--required quite a lot of engineering to get good reception.
Mark Mays of Clear Channel wants a $99 price point to see a boom in shipping units. We're still looking at a market with just the $299 Boston Acoustics Receptor Radio HD as the only tabletop model. Even with rebates and further discounts, it runs at least $229 and isn't appropriate for every listener or market niche. Polk and Radiosophy recently stated they'd be shipping around summer, but they said that last year, too. We'll see.
I do expect more receivers with the new chips and modules now available to manufacturers. Those who had sat in the bullpen waiting for better silicon, such as Eton, should now produce radios in a reasonable timeframe.
It's essentially ridiculous to see a product announced in January 2005 that hasn't shipped 18 months later, and that's the case with Polk Audio and Radiosophy; Boston Acoustics took nearly a year. These delays can't be explained simply by engineering problems. Fundamentally, something was wrong, and it's being fixed.
May 9, 2006
Polk To Ship in August
Radio World reports Polk Audio's all-in-one radio/CD/DVD player with HD reception ships in August: The company has had numerous delays. When I wrote a short article on HD Radio for the New York Times last July, Polk expected to ship in September 2005. Just a year off. I saw the demo unit at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, and they had some key engineering problems they said were unrelated to the HD Radio reception. They'll ship the device for $599--I sort of doubt it will have a street price that high--by Aug. 1. The I-Sonic is XM Ready, meaning that a $50 module will add the satellite service with no additional antenna or other gear.