[BC] HD/2 (was: [Fwd: HD2])

[Mike Erickson]

On 1/20/06, Kevin Tekel <amstereoexp at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Mike Erickson wrote:
> > At least we get country with WKTU.
> >
> > Oldies on CBS-FM-2 was a given, can we hope for adult standards soon?
> >
> > It may be time to break down and get and HD radio, since everything
> > I like is on a secondary channel now.
>
> But will you like hearing everything you like through a 32 kbps HDC
> stream, or whatever miniscule bitrate the "HD2" channel is given?


No, but for most listeners, content is king and listening to something I
want to hear with a low bitrate is better than the regular garbage in
"hi-fi".



And
> when it comes to "HD2" channels, for now at least, they're all just
> automated jukeboxes, so why spend $300+ on an IBOC receiver when you can
> just as easily listen to any one of thousands of 32 kbps online audio
> streams on your computer for free, with the same (crappy) audio quality?


As soon as i can get internet in my car, we're set!  I have a 50 mile drive
to work each day and I am running out of mix CD's.  Part of me wants someone
to pick the music for me, it's just that nobody is doing it on the analog
dial.


Until stations put REAL programming on their "HD2" channels, I still see
> the public's reaction to HD Radio being a collective yawn.


Actually, people may see it as more of an IPOD approach with just random
selected music.  WHTZ-HD2 is actually being voice tracked from what I hear
(have not checked the stream for sure).

To adapt Joey Reynolds' old AM Stereo put-down, HD2 is "just two channels
> of garbage instead of one".


It depends on your view of garbage.  Audio quality?  Yes.  Content?  Wait
and see.

In fact, they should call it "HD/2", because the bitrate is shared between
> the two channels, and if you put them together you might get half of
> something worth listening to.


Again, you're thinking that the listener actually cares about audio
quality.  Have you heard consumer electronics recently?  96kbps downloads
that pass for the average listener.  You have to dumb down your thinking to
that of the average listener.  Not everyone is listening on $5000 equipment.

I expect IBOC to die a quick death when broadcasters realize it's a
> lose-lose scenario: they'll lose if the technology gets ignored and
> becomes a dead duck, and they'll also lose if the automated-jukebox HD2
> channels start stealing listeners away from their main full-personality
> formats.


These channels will probably only complement the main channel.

Be that as it may, while I do think the HD multicast IS the killer app (more
choices) I still will say that HD has it's share of problems with

1) Licensing fees
2) Short spaced FM
3) AM (which CANNOT take part in the killer app)
4) Overcoming the head starts of IPOD and Satelite Radio

The launch of these HD2's is the first RIGHT STEP IBOC has made in my eyes.
I may not have been optimistic, but as a listener, since my listening
choices in NYC are down to WQXR, CD-101.9 and the occasional 80's show on
WPLJ (talk about audio problems), as a *listener* I am more optimistic about
the potential of WKTU-HD2 (Country) WCBS-HD2 (Oldies) and WLTW-HD2 (Gold AC)
as things I would probably want to hear in the car.


The only good thing to come from it is that someone might get
> the bright idea that "hey, our HD2 channel is so popular with HD
> listeners, why not put it on the main channel where everyone can hear
> it?"....


I got in the car last night wishing the LTW HD-2 channel was their main .
Instead, I listened to WWKB and flipped back between that and WQXR.

=Mike Erickson=