[BC] HD Receivers

[Mark Humphrey]

On 2/8/07, Rich Wood <richwood at pobox.com> wrote:
> I keep reading about the awesome spread of IBUZ. Jabba the HD
> declared in a gushing Ogilvy press release, recently, about Sharper
> Image that this is an "awesome" rollout. He actually used the word.

Frankly, I would consider it "awesome" if Wal*Mart began selling HD
receivers, but I agree that the Sharper Image deal isn't anything to
get excited about.

For one thing, Sharper Image caters to gadget freaks with money to
burn, not the mass audience that still accounts for most commercial
radio TSL.  So maybe "Mr. Image" will sell a few radios, but will
buyers spend much time listening, or decide to go back to the iPod?

Sharper Image has also gotten into trouble for misrepresenting "snake
oil" products, like "air purifiers"; they recently settled a
class-action lawsuit.  Sales last month dropped 25 percent.  The
founder, Richard Thalheimer, even got fired:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4536617.html

Meanwhile, I stopped at two local Radio Shacks this afternoon to see
how the Accurian HD is doing.

The first is in Exton Square, the largest mall in Chester County, PA,
which ranks 14th nationally in disposable income -- a very successful
retail center, certainly not a dead mall.   I've know the RS manager
there from the time when he was one of my PT remote techs at WPLY, and
he admitted that only three have sold since November and believes all
were returned due to "poor reception".  It's impossible to receive any
stations in his store (first level of the mall, about 25 mi W of
Philadelphia.)

The other store, in a strip mall across the parking lot, had the
Accurian and BA set up and turned on.  There was even a nice listing
of HD stations posted next to the Accurian. But guess what was tuned
in?  Not an HD station, but the FM modulator of the Sirius radio on
the adjacent shelf.  The manager of that store said he has sold a few
Accurians (especially during the rebate promotions), but at $300, the
BA Receptors just aren't moving.

By the way, I'm still enjoying the Accurian I bought in December
during the rebate period.  Fortunately, WXPN hasn't turned on their
secondary channel, so the audio is still pretty free of artifacts.
The Accurian FM section has excellent selectivity; digital threshold
is nearly equal to the $7,800 Belar HD monitor.  But the supplied
antennas are worthless, they just pick up too much hash.  I need to
use a 9-element yagi on FM and an outdoor loop on AM to get acceptable
results out here in the sticks.  I can receive WIP, WPEN, and WABC in
HD with little trouble, but WOR and WFAN get desensed by the 1 kW
station on 690 several miles from here.

Mark