The National Association of Broadcasters in January joined other industry groups advocating an optional power boost for HD Radio, but the increase would nearly double the interference with analog FM radio, according to an extensive study by NPR Labs.The NPR study estimates that 41 percent of public radio stations would lose one-third - or more - of the automotive radios their analog signals can reach. With the power increase, HD Radio's interference with terrestrial analog radio would nearly double, affecting 26 percent of listeners in vehicles.
NPR still backs HD Radio as an advance in radio technology. "However," Mike Starling, NPR chief technology officer and head of NPR Labs, wrote in a memo introducing the report, "we cannot responsibly support boosting HD Radio power [to] 10 percent en masse to the detriment of existing FM analog signals."
The study spans nearly 2-years of testing receiver performance, developing a formula for predicting analog/digital coverage, field testing at 10 stations, and mapping coverage for 850 public radio stations under several scenarios.
NPR Labs and the Association of Public Radio Engineers will present the findings of the report for station engineers at a day-long seminar on September 16th in Austin, Texas. The seminar will precede the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Show.
[Current.org]
Thanks Karl!
Surprise, surprise. The NAB supports boosting HD radio signal to the detriment of others but they cry and whine like a little b@*%h over the FM transmitters in sat radio units. What goddamn hypocrites.
Is this the chickens coming home to roost? Heh.
the red in these pictures if this was a doctors exam I'm afraid the prognosis might not be so good.. same for HD radio...
Maybe terrestial radio should consider broadcasting thier signal from satellites. No, that won't work, SIRI XM has the only license for that.
Well, couldn't happen to a nicer group if you ask me.
OK.. HD radio is an advanve in tech.. why hold it back.. however.. with so many cars on the road and so many of them about to loose their signal.. I say .. go right ahead and boost the signal NOW! Why? cause people like me who live 40 miles from NYC.. when I can no longer receive the FM stations from NYC.. I'll buy some sort of Radio service... may it be HD radio, Mobile internet, Boradband, Slacker or Sat Rad..
All this will do is kill the FM stations. Once these FM stations are dead.. they will have to run commecials on their HD stations... Again helping all other forms of Audio entertainment.
So once again.. Bring it on HD radio.. Bring it on!
The NAB conducted a secretive study concerning the 10db power increase for FM-HD, but did not reveal its study to its membership - they piggybacked the study onto Docket 99-325 to avoid public comments in a new Petition for Rulemaking. Also, the upgrades are extremely costly for a power increase, requiring in some cases new transmitters and antenna systems - LOL! HD Radio is already dead from zero consumer interest, but without a widespread power increase this should be a final nail in this fiasco. Trying to mandate HD Radio into Satrasd receivers will probably fail as such demands have run into problems in the Court of Appeals in the recent past as the FCC has only limited jurisdiction over such manufacturers. Complaints have already come into BMW dealerships about HD Radio dropouts, hissing, and failures of the HD units (chipsets). My comments are a reflection of what can be found in my blog.
My problem with HD is signal degradation- have you seen HDTV lately? when your signal is not strong enough, you get the black screen... and I bet the HD radio would be the same. So the real push here is to kill all over the air, no profit, stations. Jeff is absolutely right ... Long live the greed: have you seen where it brought Wall Street lately?
My problem with HD is signal degradation- have you seen HDTV lately? when your signal is not strong enough, you get the black screen... and I bet the HD radio would be the same. So the real push here is to kill all over the air, no profit, stations. Jeff is absolutely right ... Long live the greed: have you seen where it brought Wall Street lately?