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 March 1, 2008 Moon on . . . HD Radio If you’re reading this in the US and you listen to FM public-radio stations, you’ve probably heard mentions from time to time of HD Radio, a new service that broadcasters hope will bring listeners who care about good sound back to terrestrial-broadcast radio.HD Radio -- the "HD" stands for "hybrid digital," not "high-definition" -- works on a concept similar to that of satellite radio, in that it’s fully digital. But instead of being transmitted via its own band, HDR programming is "piggybacked" on an analog FM or AM signal. You need a special receiver equipped to pick up the digital signal, and one of the problems with HDR is that few such models are yet available. Here in Cincinnati, Ohio, I have a lot of choices for HDR programming. One of the major suppliers of broadcast equipment, Harris Radio, is headquartered in a Cincy suburb, and Harris has encouraged local stations to climb aboard. Between Cincinnati and nearby Dayton, 18 unique HDR signals are available in at least parts of the Cincinnati metropolitan area: everything from jazz (my fave) to deep-cut classic rock to full-time hip-hop to alternative top 40 to 24/7 BBC News to cutting-edge alternative. (Re. the last category: Remember, in the 1988 film Rain Man, when Dustin Hoffman’s character kept repeating "97-X, BAM: The Future of Rock’n’Roll"? Thanks to HDR, that station’s digital successor is now available here.) But it’s not that different in many other larger markets -- thanks, primarily, to public stations and the so-called "Evil Empire," Clear Channel, which have hitched their stars to HD Radio. Clear Channel offers as many as 75 programming services from which the stations it owns can choose. (Though in this instance Clear Channel does supply national programming; its stations, contrary to popular opinion, are not programmed from a central point.) The marketing of HDR has been, in my opinion, abysmal. At first, the people in charge of HDR’s marketing pitched its superior sound -- which HD Radio can indeed have, when done right. But several industry research projects found that the typical radio listener doesn’t have a problem with the sound quality of regular analog FM. (The sound of AM radio is a topic best left for another day and another rant.) Finally, the marketers of HDR began (badly) a pitch that makes more sense, touting a whole new roster of radio programming that might not be available otherwise. Sure, you might be able to get such channels from Sirius or XM satellite radio, but that entails not only a new receiver, but a monthly subscription fee of $12 or more. HDR has a singular advantage: once you purchase the receiver, it’s free. The trouble is, as mentioned above, those receivers are few and far between. Go to your typical Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, or RadioShack and the salesperson won’t know what you’re talking about. It’s as if only the cognoscenti are permitted to buy HDR receivers. Boston Acoustics, the first company to offer an HD radio, has discontinued the model (no huge loss; it was overpriced, and didn’t meet what most radio operators felt was a reasonable standard of performance). The best HDR receivers seen so far have been made by Sangean: the HDR-1 standalone radio and the HDT-1x tuner. More models are coming, and the prices are dropping. Ford offers HDR as an option in its 2008 models, as do BMW and other auto makers. I’d hoped it would be standard equipment by now, but these days, most people get their HDR receivers as aftermarket (replacement) car stereos. The concept of HDR piggybacked on an FM signal is viable. HDR’s frequency response is reasonable, extending to 12-14kHz, thanks to an advanced digital codec. And this is only an early iteration of the firmware. We can expect improvements in the next year or so, at least for the FM variety. There are rumors, so far unsubstantiated, that the powers of the digital transmitters might be raised down the road. At present, HDR signals match the coverage of an FM station’s analog signal as receivable by a standard FM tuner -- in industry parlance, this is called the "60dBu" signal. The radio industry is hoping to convince the Federal Communications Commission that increasing transmitter power, to extend the reach of HDR signals to the limits of car-radio reception of the standard analog signal, is warranted. I love the additional programming afforded by HD Radio’s extra channels. I like jazz -- I crave it -- but I was out of luck until the local public classical station, WGUC, began offering jazz 24/7 on its HD2 channel. I missed WOXY’s alternative programming, until the local WVXU put that stream on its HD2 channel. And when I can get my tuner to pick up the signal -- it comes from a fur piece away -- I enjoy listening to news 24/7 from the BBC on WMUB’s HD3 channel.
A number of people in the radio industry consider HD Radio a bust. But remember one of the last technological breakthroughs of radio: FM stereo. The system we use today was approved by the FCC in 1961. A few stations jumped on the technology right away, but it was expensive, and FM radios were uncommon in 1961. It wasn’t till the development of progressive-rock programming, in the late 1960s, that people began demanding FM stereo. I wish the HDR naysayers would shut their traps. However, I admit that if you think of radio programming as it’s usually practiced -- highly formatted, with limited playlists, formulaic disc jockeys, and meaningless "positioning statements" ("The Best Music," "The Most Music," etc.) -- it might be irrelevant. The alternate offerings offered by HDR will succeed only if they’re truer to the music they play -- whatever it might be -- with less hype. I’m confident such stations are on the way. I advise you to search the Internet for HDR receivers, and pick up one on a 30-day trial. If you don’t find something more interesting than the typical radio programming, send it back. But I bet you’ll find something you like, and will want to keep your receiver. HD Radio may be growing in other nations. Recent reports have noted that Canada’s experiment with true, fully digital radio has not gone well. Broadcasters jumped aboard early, with some prodding by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canada’s version of the FCC, but manufacturers have been slow to offer actual receivers. Those same reports have mentioned that broadcasters may now give HD Radio a try, figuring that, eventually, the receiver makers won’t be able to ignore a market as big as the US and Canada. Those who consider HD Radio a joke tend to be pretty vocal, but I think you’ll find HD and the extra programming it provides wonderful additions to the FM band. ...Thom Moon
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He’s Thom Moon, a radio geek with more than 30
years in the business, and who specializes in audience research. He’s worked in radio
audience ratings (which determines who listens to what station), audience analysis, been
managing editor of a radio trade journal, and most recently edited a series of newsletters
for radio programmers and commercial-time salespeople for a major radio
research-and-promotions firm. He’s one part frustrated program director, another part
would-be general manager and recovering entrepreneur, and a part-time radio tech head.
He’ll be commenting regularly here on radio topics. One warning: Moon tends to fall
into the editorial "we," hoping that by so doing he won’t be the only one
blamed . . .