HD Radio Blog

Two interesting weekend posts March 2, 2008 09:48

I think this guy may have nailed it! March 3, 2008 10:30

 
I found this post earlier today and thought it was so funny, I couldn't resist passing it on. The author is Jim Wilhelm

"Listen up iBiquity. I know how to get HD Radio sales up. Combo-
units! You know - HD Radio-toaster combos, HD Radio-microwave combos,
HD Radio-piggybank combos. The list is endless. Trust me on this. This is gonna work.

"This way you'd have REAL sales numbers and can justify the $400
million already spent."

Saturday musings March 8, 2008 13:02

 
I've been monitoring news about HD radio and blogs that have something to do with HD radio, but haven't found much worth posting.

I did see that iBiquity has admited that only about 330,000 HD radios were sold in 2007. And that's after like $200 million in advertising. However, keep in mind that the advertising consisted, in the main, of unsold commercial space. In othe words, if a station didn't sell commercials scheduled to run between 6:00 PM and 6:25 PM, it would just plug in an HD radio spot. Also, the spots I heard were pretty weak. I heard a lot about crystal-clear, HD radio, but not much about why I should care.

And to be honest, I don't think the broadcasters have done much yet with the HD2 channels. For example, where I live, there is just one HD2 channel that's really different and interesting and I have a hard time getting it - wouldn't you know.

I did find one post that I thought was worth mentioning. It appeared on a site called The Infinite Dial (click on the Go to URL to see the complete story).

The writer's point was that "there will be digital radio in the future, and nearly everyone will have it. After all, while HD Radio has been a favorite whipping boy for a lot of pundits, I don't think anyone can argue with the simple assertion that radio cannot remain the last analog holdout amongst major media channels."

The author went on to point out that HD's programming efforts have been focused on music offerings, and many of those geared to non-mass appeal audiences. And that none of these music-focused offerings provide HD Radio with its best chance for rapid, mass adoption.

The answer? Well, you'll have to read the post to get the writer's answer because it's too long and too complicated for me to publish in its entirety.

(Go to URL)

CNET reviews the Cambridge SoundWorks i765 and finds something missing March 11, 2008 08:16

 
Steve Guttenberg and John P. Falcone of CNET recently reviewed the Cambridge SoundWorks i765. They gave it an overall rating of 7.3 (very good) but said that the bad was “Expensive, no video output for iPhone, lacks HD Radio (italics mine), satellite radio and network audio support, remote and front panel controls could be more intuitively arranged.”

On the good side, they said “The i765 has a large, easy to read LCD display; dual alarms with unusually flexible snooze/volume options; auxiliary line-in for connection to non-iPod devices; supports iPod video output; RDS text support; superior sound quality (for tabletop radio); excellent FM reception; 24 station presets.”

The reason I found this review worth noting is that the radio was marked down because it did not include digital HD. I think the underlying assumption here is that today, for a high end radio to score really well, it must include digital HD.

If you'd like to read the whole review, just click on the Go to URL link. (Go to URL)

HD radio appears set to go mobile March 12, 2008 07:45

 
I found a news item today that I found to be encouraging as one of the problems I've always had with HD digital is that it's not portable. You can listen at home or in the car but, unlike normal radio, you can't take it to the beach of your backyard.

But that will soon change. A company named Tensilica has announced in a news release that a processor "designed into the baseband processor in Samsung EM’s HD Radio™ chipset. The baseband processor, based on a design by iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer and licensor of HD Radio technology and a Tensilica processor reseller, integrates the memory, SDRAM and flash in a system-in-package measuring just 9 x 9 mm. Including the companion RF (radio frequency) chip, this low-power chip set’s total power consumption is 150 mW, making it ideal for a wide range of battery powered portable devices capable of tuning and demodulating AM/FM radio broadcast in both analog and HD Radio digital technology."

When you strip all the techie talk out of this, what the news item means is that portable HD radios are on the way – and not in the far distant future.

If you're rally into techno-speak, click on the Go to URL link to read this whole article. (Go to URL)

Is it iBiquity that's holding back HD Radio? March 18, 2008 08:23

 
I found a post yesterday on a blog titled Gravity Medium that really made me think.

The blogger pointed out -- and rightly so -- that HD radio is a closed-source model. That's a fancy way of saying that everyone who wants to manufacture an HD radio, or broadcast HD, has to get a license from iBiquity.

Good news for iBiquity, not-so-good-news for consumers.

Here's the way Gravity Medium put it: “So yes, HD Radio has many problems, but the biggest barrier to consumer adoption is probably the cost of licensing the technology itself. iBiquity, the owner of the HD Radio intellectual property, decided long ago their path to riches would be paved with licensing fees for each HD Radio sold, and they’ve priced mildly curious consumers out of the market.”

The post went on to say that “iBiquity is a classic massconomy player that will meet with an ugly demise in the years to come if they don’t change their approach. They’ve tried to control every angle of HD Radio and tried to make a buck at every turn. Their goals were not to bring communities together around shared content or interests. The goal was simple: invent a revision to radio, own the technology, promote the technology to transmitter makers and buyers, create an illusion of market needs, prime fears of satellite radio and then soak everyone — right down to the last consumer — for every possible dollar along the way.”

That sounds a bit on the harsh side but I agree that by creating a closed-source model – instead of giving away the technology freely and without restraint – iBiquity may have stunted the growth of HD Radio.

For that matter, the players behind iBiquity (Beasley Broadcast Group, Bonneville International Corporation, Citadel Communications Corporation, Entercom Communications Corporation, Clear Channel, et. al.) may not even care if HD really succeeds, so long as they can keep harvesting those tasty licensing fees - which are estimated to be $50 per radio. Ouch.

Sirius-XM merger seems a sure thing but what about HD Radio? March 25, 2008 08:31

 
The Justice Department's Anti-Trust Division has approved the merger of satellite radio providers Sirius and XM.

In releasing this news, the Anti-Trust Division's lawyers said, “The evidence does not demonstrate the proposed merger of XM and Sirius is likely to substantially lessen competition, and the transaction therefore is not likely to harm consumers."

You think? I mean, can you name one monopoly that hasn't upped its prices at the expense of the consumer? I didn't think so.

We're from the government and we're just here to help

As you may remember, iBiquity has been pushing the FCC to include a requirement that all satellite radios would have to include HD Radio.

That would be great for iBiquity as it gets a licensing fee estimated to be as high as $50 for every HD radio sold. So just imagine. By a stroke of the pen, our government could force us to pay an extra $50 for every satellite radio we buy, whether we wanted HD or not.

We have no idea as to whether or not the FCC will make such a requirement as part of its approval of the merger but we will stay tuned to see what develops.

And don't for get that third lie, “we're from the government and we're just here to help.”

Why the XM-Sirius merger may fail March 28, 2008 08:57

 
I found an interesting post in the Motley Fool which gave five reasons why this merger may fail.

I won't bother you with all five reasons, as you can go to the article and read them for yourself (see URL link, below). However I thought #3 was interesting. Note: I'm paraphrasing here a bit to save space but here's the gist of it.

3. HD radio is here. HD radio has been slow to take off, principally because you need special receivers to hear it and because automakers have been mostly reluctant to add as a standard feature or option.

HD radio has also been knocked around for the nondescript HD tag in HD radio. It does provide better sound quality than conventional terrestrial radio, but it's not high definition as the HD seems to imply.

However, where HD radio really shines is its ability to provide different content on the same FM or AM frequency. So a single channel -- say 98.7 on your FM dial -- can provide country-western, death metal, and baroque music on the same frequency. This example may be a bit on the extreme side, but it will give things like a single news station the chance to offer all-traffic and all-weather channels, too, eating into some of the strengths of satellite radio's dedicated stations.

If you'd like to read the entire Motley Fool article, be sure to click on the URL link below.
(Go to URL)

It ain't easy being iBiqity (or cheap, either) March 29, 2008 09:01

 
If you've been following HD radio for any amount of time, you know how mightily iBiquity has worked to sell this technology.

It would appear the job is not yet done, as the partnership has gone for another round of venture capital financing to the tune of $15 million. The new partners (investors) include Grotech Partners (Timonium, MD), J.P. Morgan, New Venture Partners (Murray Hill, NJ), and Pequot Private Equity Fund (Westport, CT).

This was reported in a post I found on a site called VentureBeat. The post went on to point on that “The company (iBiquity) has had a long history in trying to bring high-definition digital sound to the free radio airwaves.  It started as a joint venture, USA Digital Radio Partners, in 1991 between CBS, Gannett, and Westinghouse. It won the support of 15 broadcasters in 1998 and in 2000, iBiquity was formed through a merger between USADR and Lucent’s digital radio business.”

It also pointed out that “It’s not clear whether this (iTunes Tagging) is enough to make HD Radio appealing. There are more than 1,500 radio stations now broadcasting in HD, so the choices for consumers are growing. The company has raised an estimated $115 million in three earlier rounds.”

With only 330,000 HD radios sold last year, it seems to me that a lot of money has been spent without a lot of results. But then, maybe my glass is just half empty.