HD Radio News and Information
About HD Radio News : HD Radio News Home : December 2006 : 2006-12-25 to 2006-12-31
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Does HD really stand for Hugely Disappointing? December 26, 2006 09:42 |
I've been following the roll-out of HD radio for nearly 16 months now, and I have to be honest. It's been a disappointing and frustrating experience. Sure, more than 1,000 stations have converted to HD radio, but you still can't buy an HD radio at a decent price. So, who's really listening to those 1,000 stations? There was a lengthy piece in the Austin Chronicle the other day that said, among other things, "Despite the cooperation and anticipation, HD's emergence into the market has been a sputtering, jerky affair," and I certainly concur.
There are a number of HD stations in my market, but not all of them are multi-casting (HD2 channels) so what you get is about half of the HD radio pie -- great, clear sound but the same, formulaic programming and the same annoying commercials.
The article in the Austin Chronicle went on to say, "At the very least, it's fair to say HD is not generating any momentum – the Big Mo – which is considered essential for establishing a new consumer electronics product. Think of the enthusiasm and interest generated in the early days by the DVD format or the buzz created by iPods. In the midst of the holiday buying frenzy, there's almost no buzz over HD, despite the radio ads and general industry hype."
I'm convinced that HD Radio is the wave of the future but it seems to me that the big broadcasters could have done a much better job of explaining and selling this technology to the general public.
Click on the URL link to read the complete article. (Go to URL)
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Hot-diggity-dog! The BMW Series-3 Convertible will soon come with an HD radio December 27, 2006 10:10 |
Gosh, I don't know about you but I'm just overwhelmed to hear that BMW is racking up another industry first. It has announced the yet-to-be-released 3 Series Hardtop Convertible will be the world's first production car to offer a multicast-capable digital HD Radio.
I guess this means you can buy a car for like $45,000 and get an HD radio free. What a deal!
Now, if only iBiquity could talk, say, General Motors, Ford, Honda and Toyota into building HD capable radios into their cars. Then maybe we'd have something.
Click on the URL link to read the whole story, if you would actually care about the whole story. (Go to URL)
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