[BC] Seedy Quality in IBUZ Ads

[Robert Orban]

At 07:35 PM 8/25/2006, you wrote:
>From: "Thomas G. Osenkowsky" <tosenkowsky at prodigy.net>
>Subject: Re: [BC] Seedy Quality in IBUZ Ads
>To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
>Message-ID: <008801c6c89e$0817c000$39d4fc40 at frontdesk>
>Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> > Near CD quality.  IBUZ is as near CD quality as Earth is Near the the next
> > planet with intelligent life.
> > Beam me up Scotty.
>
>Depends on your definition of "CD quality". Put a scope on
>the output of your CD player. Play track 3 "Promiscuous"
>by Nelly Furtado from her "Loose" CD. Or the Enhanced
>CD (Australian Import) with the Radio Edit. Just listen to
>the song. Whoever said you can't put square waves on a
>CD? There is the proof you CAN! Other tracks on the
>"Loose" CD are the same way. Extreme distortion, yet
>it's #1 on most music charts.
>
>I know, it's not the CD technology, it's the mastering and
>HOW the raw material was pressed onto the Master. Too
>many songs today suffer from this kind of horrific sound.
>Compounding this is the conversion to .mp3 from which
>many stations are forced to download from the Internet
>due to non-existent CD distribution by the music companies.

The HD Radio spots didn't claim "CD quality." They claimed that HD Radio 
"sounded just like a CD." I remember the wording because I was surprised to 
hear such an unqualified extraordinary claim.

"Sounds just like a CD" actually means something. It means that human 
listeners cannot distinguish CD-originated program material from said 
program material's being passed through the HDC codec. Two pretty rigorous 
listening tests (double-blind) that were done comparing HDC with a source 
CD -- one commissioned by the NRSC and one by NPR. The public rated the HDC 
codec as being quite good when compared to CD, but the results of these 
tests made it clear that HDC at the bit rates being used in HD Radio does 
not "sound just like a CD."

However, I have to add that my brief audition of the Polk radio made the 
crossfade between FM and properly processed HD very noticeable -- when the 
HD channel turned on, HF distortion decreased, the highs opened up, and 
transient definition and impact increased noticeably.

Bob Orban