HD Radio Blog

The HD Radio Alliance Changes Its Tune April 1, 2008 11:36

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.

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.
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