[BC] Re: HD Receiver

[Glen Kippel]

"Elevator music"?  Perhaps.  Most of early FM was classical music for the
hi-fi aficionados with their McIntosh, Marantz, or if they couldn't afford
that, then Fisher or Scott setups with Acoustic Reasearch AR-2's or maybe
Klipsch speakers.  Or, as you say, background music for stores.  One boss of
mine thought "FM" was short for "fine music." (!)  And one station I worked
for, a not-for-profit Christian station, bought their FM license for $1 in
1969 because the owner of the license (and operator of an AM) thought FM
would never amount to anything.

On 2/12/07, WFIFeng at aol.com <WFIFeng at aol.com> wrote:
>
> In a message dated 02/12/2007 11:50:47 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> Xmitters at aol.com writes:
>
> >  The difference between HD and FM is not that dramatic and thus, is
> missing
> >  that WOW! Factor. I want to remain optimistic about the public's
> acceptance
> > of HD or digital radio in general. I must admit that it is very hard to
> > convince myself that the public will buy into it.
>
> They won't. Based on so many reports here on the Forum, and even my own
> very
> limited contacts, HD is just far too little and far too late. It is also,
> still, far too expensive... for everyone! (Especially the stations!)
>
> >  Personally, I don't really care about the quality of a station's signal
> when
> >  I have my "Joe Blow Listener" hat on. I tune around the band looking
> for
> my
> >  favorite song :-) I continue listening when I find a station that plays
> a
> > lot of my favorite songs.
>
> You, and millions of others!
>
> > My time spent listening does however, drop like a rock
> >  when listening to an aggressively processed station. I just cannot
> tolerate
> > that grinding, ice pick in the ear sensation I get when listening to
> such
> > stations.
>
> I wonder how many others feel the same way. Perhaps they can't quantify it
> like we can, but if asked, may just say that it "gives them a headache" or
> they
> "get tired of it".
>
> >  I will take music on AM any day over a highly processed FM station.
>
> I wonder how many others feel this way. Unless it's a niche format that
> just
> isn't available anywhere else, it seems rather unlikely.
>
> >  I would like to hear from some of the old timers that may know of some
> > common
> >  dialog during the time of the birth of FM. FM obviously took off like a
> >  rocket since its introduction thus leaving the naysayers with egg on
> their
> > face.
>
> Although I don't know what was going on among broadcasters back then, I
> can
> give the perspective of an avid listener, growing up in the 70's! FM used
> to be
> mostly just "elevator music" stations... lots of them. Is it any wonder so
> few people noticed it, or even cared? It wasn't until they moved "POP"
> music and
> rock to the FM dial, that the younger ears perked-up, and radios started
> flying off the shelves. Word-of-mouth began to spread like wildfire, as
> young
> people were now able to hear their favorite tunes in crystal-clear FM
> STEREO,
> instead of the freq-limited, static-prone, mono signals they were so
> accustomed to
> on AM.
>
> That was certainly my experience... when I discovered my favorite tunes in
> stereo on FM, they sounded SO MUCH better, that it was a "no-brainer" to
> make
> the switch. I even started "mocking" the idea of listening to AM once that
> mindset had sunk in! Now look at me... I work for an AM station. ;) (Will
> be
> marking my 20'th year there, soon!)
>
> Willie...
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