HD Radio - More dead than AM?

[ZLoth]

I know that AM radio seems to be fairly dead, but what about HD radio? I'm doing some car shopping, and I'm noticing that I'm more likely to see a car equipped with satellite radio receivers than HD radio.

[nexus73]

HD Radio has reception problems when in a vehicle.  Being at home you can get the same signal consistently but not so when driving around.  That's too bad as it sounded like a good idea.  A station could get extra channels to transmit on for around $50K, which is dirt cheap in the broadcasting biz. 

In Oregon the majority of HD Radio transmitters are on the PBS networks.  The adoption rate for HD Radio is abysmally low by consumers so there never was a solid push by commercial broadcasters to jump in. 

Rick

[Henry]

HD Radio has reception problems when in a vehicle.  Being at home you can get the same signal consistently but not so when driving around.  That's too bad as it sounded like a good idea.  A station could get extra channels to transmit on for around $50K, which is dirt cheap in the broadcasting biz. 

In Oregon the majority of HD Radio transmitters are on the PBS networks.  The adoption rate for HD Radio is abysmally low by consumers so there never was a solid push by cmmercial broadcasters to jump in. 

Rick

Well, there's always Pandora for those who'd rather not pay for satellite radio.

[realjd]

Digital radio took off in Europe but never did here in the states. I love my satellite radio though.

[Pete from Boston]

HD Radio has reception problems when in a vehicle.  Being at home you can get the same signal consistently but not so when driving around.  That's too bad as it sounded like a good idea.  A station could get extra channels to transmit on for around $50K, which is dirt cheap in the broadcasting biz. 

In Oregon the majority of HD Radio transmitters are on the PBS networks.  The adoption rate for HD Radio is abysmally low by consumers so there never was a solid push by cmmercial broadcasters to jump in. 

Rick

Well, there's always Pandora for those who'd rather not pay for satellite radio.

Pandora, the audio Nutrimat — giving you something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike actual culture. 

Your smartphone is a gateway to so many great DJs on so many independent stations who dig deep and work hard to put out interesting, creative, entertaining shows. 

The best computer program can't top a DJ that spends their week in the record library putting together a unique show with their listeners in mind.  I don't know about you, but my listening time is worth the trouble to track them down and tune them in.

[ZLoth]

On all of the vehicles that I checked (2013 car models), all of them had a aux input where you could hook up a 3.5mm cable and plug in your phone or portable media player. Many also have Bluetooth, although I don't know if that is a phone-only connection or a full-on connection. I'm more likely to listen to an audio book or some MP3 over satellite or terrestrial radio nowadays.

[SidS1045]

A station could get extra channels to transmit on for around $50K, which is dirt cheap in the broadcasting biz.

Only on FM.  There are no sub-channels in HD on AM.  And the cost is way more than $50k.  My company has built quite a few of these, and $50k doesn't even come close to paying for it. 

The adoption rate for HD Radio is abysmally low by consumers so there never was a solid push by commercial broadcasters to jump in.

True that, but in fairness the satellilte radio companies (yes, it was plural back then) "partnered" with the auto manufacturers to place satellite radios in cars and give the buyers three months free, although some luxury car buyers get six months free.  IOW, they bought their way into the dashboard.  HD had no such clout or money.

[Stratuscaster]

In the aftermarket head unit I put in my car last year, I made sure that it offered HD Radio (because the last car I had also had it), the aux jack, and a USB port.

And now I find myself just listening to the music on the 32GB flash drive I leave plugged in, mostly because radio sucks today. HD just means it sucks in better quality.

[mcdonaat]

I'm thinking of putting an aftermarket into my car, and I'm making sure I can get HD radio. The city I live in only has one station in HD, but New Orleans and Baton Rouge have TONS, so I want to be able to pick them up when I do visit.

[nexus73]

Well Sid, when I went into the office of a local radio station group I talked to them about HD several years ago.  They told me the figure was $50K for the gear.  That's what I heard so that's why I said what I said.  YMMV.

Rick

[MikeTheActuary]

I just bought a new car, which included HD and satellite radio.

One of the things that has struck me is just how much XM's audio quality has declined from my prior exposure to them...and how poor the FM-HD sound quality is on stations in/around Hartford and Boston.   The potential  sound quality is definitely there, but in both cases, it sounds like the audio streams are being over-compressed.  (I'm not an audiophile; if the compression artifacts are annoying me, you know it's got to be bad!)

I initially thought that I just didn't have good EQ settings on the car stereo...but music from my Android phone sounds perfectly fine to me.

It's doubtful that I'll keep the XM subscription when the trial subscription lapses, or start listening to broadcast radio.

[hbelkins]

The aftermarket radio I put in my truck has HD, but I honestly don't see the attraction. Plus, I'm never close enough to any HD stations to pick them up. I remember driving in the central part of the state a few years ago, listening to WHAS-AM, and the signal switching back and forth from HD to regular AM, and it was more of an annoyance than anything.

I don't get the attraction of Pandora. My experience with it has been underwhelming. Unless things have changed, after you have skipped so many songs it offers up, you can't skip any more for a certain time period. Plus, you have to rely on what it thinks you want to listen to. If I pick "Rush radio," for example, I don't want to have Yes thrown in the mix. They may both be considered "progressive rock" but they are nothing alike.

Spotify is OK, but I'm not going to subscribe to it to be able to play it on a mobile device.

I use iHeartRadio a lot to listen to my local radio stations while I'm traveling (that's how I listened to the UK-Wichita basketball game Sunday afternoon while driving back from Delmarva, through my iPad).

I have an XM subscription and have had it for years, but I'm going to let it lapse when it expires for financial reasons.