[BC] Creating the right sound on HD

[James Somich]

Rah, Rah, Rah.
Check out WJR when you are in The Motor City. ecchh!
Processing will always make or break a station: analog OR digital.
The processing may be different (and it is) but it is still very, very
important.
I have a gut (feeling) that in 20 years we will have forgotten all about
analog radio.
The BIG question is whether terrestrial broadcasters can transition to the
new digital world.
I have some doubts.
If I thought HD radio sucked, I would be the first person to knock it.
I have already pointed out how it has ruined a great AM analog signal in
Cleveland.
I wanted a separate band for digital radio. It wouldn't take much space on
an unused TV channel. Too bad it never happened. But this is what we got.


On 12/21/06, Kent Winrich <kwinrich at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Jeeez James.  Look out!  You are going to be tagged a CHEERLEADER
> now.  You have been assimilated!
>
> I have set up a few HD stations myself, and found that the processing
> is much pickier than on analog.  Some of the Chicago CC stations have
> done a great job.  Have not been over to Cleveland yet, but will be
> heading to Detroit between Christmas and New Years.
>
> But the point is, processing is everything on HD.  There are some
> pretty bad sounding HD stations out there with a lot of "digitalness".
>
> If you ever find yourself in the car, heading towards Ft Wayne, IN
> try out WBOIs HD3 feed.
>
>
> On 12/20/06, James Somich <<mailto:jsomich at gmail.com>jsomich at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> WNCX (CBS-Oldies) in Cleveland is set-up so that there is absolutely NO
> change when the Sangean blends to HD. WGAR(CC-Country) sounds perceptively
> better in HD. This is not a big difference, but I think the improvement is
> appealing. WGAR also has the best sounding HD-2 (Classic Country) in the
> Cleveland market. It has no competition on the HD-2 dial. The others sound
> underprocessed or not processed at all! Thin, dead, lifeless, boring.
> WMJI (CC-Oldies) sounds very much the same in HD or Analog. Ditto WMVX
> (CC).
>
> My Conclusions: HD radio has more sonic potential than the Cleveland
> broadcasters are using (except for WGAR). I don't go in for these little
> table radios with the micro speakers. The Sangean lets me hear
> "everything."
> And I don't hear a lot of digital artifacts on anybody's station.
>
> . . .
>
> HD is relatively cheap to implement and the public will gradually be
> buying
> radios that have HD capability. I don't think it is going away, but it's
> not
> going to be a revolution either.
>
> It has some warts, but it really isn't a bad system. And I was a skeptic.
>
>
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