If you're not familiar with HD Radio, it's the new digital technology that's being pushed by radio broadcasters as the next big thing and the savior of terrestrial radio.
The Good
First, the good news. HD Radio does sound better than standard radio. In fact, HD AM sounds almost as good as FM radio, and FM sounds almost as bright, clear and clean as if you were listening to a CD. And because HD is digital, broadcasters can crowd more signals into the same frequency. This allows them to broadcast different programming on what they're calling HD2 channels. For example, an oldies station could program tunes from the '70s and ''80s on its normal frequency, and classic rock from the '60s on its HD2 channel.
More good news is that fact that, depending on who you believe, there are now either 1,300 or 1,500 stations in the U.S. broadcasting HD Radio.
The difference? It's that he HD Radio Alliance claims there are 1,500 HD stations, but the FCC has only 1,300 licenses on file.
The Bad
While HD Radio may sound great and while there at least 1,300 stations broadcasting HD Radio, you can't hear it. That is, not unless you buy an HD radio. And HD radios tend to be expensive. There is only one, low cost, entry-level tabletop available, the Radiosophy HD100 at $99.95. The next step up is RadioShack's Accurian HD Radio, which usually sells for around $199 and a Sony unit at $199.95. After that, there is the Sangean HDR-1 with a manufacturer's suggested retail of $249 and then it's pretty much into the stratosphere of $300-plus.
Want HD radio in your car? The situation there is even worse. There are very few HD car radios available and the majority of them are just tuners and must be connected to your existing factory radio - a kludge of a solution at best.
The Ugly
The ugliest part of HD2 channels is that the programming -at least so far - is hardly good enough or innovative enough to warrant buying a HD radio.
What makes it ugly is that the broadcaster could be using HD2 channels to do something really creative as broadcasters have in Great Britain, where digital radio has just skyrocketed. Unfortunately, here in the U.S., most broadcasters have chosen to use their HD2 channels as just "variations on a theme," or variations of their normal programming (see rock station example, above).
So, what's the future of HD Radio? At this point, it doesn't seem bright, especially when you compare it to satellite and Internet radio. But as they used to say, "stay tuned for more" because, well, it could get better.
Douglas Hanna is the editor and publisher of the highly popular website, http://www.hd-radio-home.com, which he calls the Internet's number one site for fair and balanced HD radio news and information. He is a long-time radio listener and unabashed radio fan who has been following the ups and downs of HD Radio for more than two years.
Source: www.articledashboard.com
