HD Radio reviews and free buyers guide

"florida hd radio stations As with AM, FM stations may use separate exciters to modulate the very different signals. A combiner is often used, either before common amplification or after separate amplification, though stations are also now allowed to use a separate transmitting antenna slightly higher or lower on the radio tower. In each case the ratio of power of the analog signal to the digital signal is standardized at 100:1. The 1% power level of the digital signal from FM stations is sufficient to approximate the coverage area of the analog signal. Going forward, advances in digital tuner design will create the scenario where the digital signal coverage will probably exceed the analog coverage due to the greater potential ability to extract digital information from a noisy signal. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is expected to request a 10 dB increase[1] in the digital signal from the FCC Most European Union states have implemented Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), with compatible radios hitting shelves in 1999. DAB broadcasts a single station that is approximately 1500 kilohertz in width (~1000 kilobits per second). That station is then subdivided into multiple digital streams of between 9 and 12 programs. In order to implement DAB, it was necessary for the European Telecommunications organization to set aside a new range of frequencies, whereas FM-HD Radio shares its digital broadcast with the traditional 200 kilohertz-wide channels. In the UK, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland, which are the leading countries with regard to implementing DAB, the vast majority of stereo radio stations on DAB have a lower sound-quality than FM, prompting a number of complaints.[20][21] The typical bandwidth for DAB programs is only 128 kbit/s using the older, less-robust MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2) standard which requires at least double that rate to be considered near-CD quality. For comparison, the HD Radio standard assigns up to 300 kbit/s for each individual FM station, using a more-advanced MPEG-4 HE-AAC-derived standard that can provide perceived CD quality as low as 64 kbit/s.[22][23] Other issues with DAB include ""downgrading"" stations from stereo to monaural, in order to squeeze even more channels into the limited 1000 kbit/s bandwidth [24], smaller coverage of markets as compared to analog FM, radios that are overly expensive, poor reception inside vehicles or buildings, and a general lack of interest in DAB (only 5 million units sold in the largest take up area of UK by mid-2007).[25] HD Radio shares some of these same flaws (see criticisms below)."Posted by floridahdradiostations at 1:48 AM on 6/24/08

"sangean hd radio HD Radio is a secondary digital signal added to AM and FM radio stations. With this technology, local radio broadcasters can provide listeners with more audio content through FM multicasting, higher quality sound and new data services, while remaining in their traditional places on the radio dial. HD Radio broadcasts are available today to more than 83% of Americans subscription-free.[citation needed] As with traditional AM, FM and TV broadcasting, HD Radio programming is free and supported either by commercial advertising or public broadcasting. Therefore, HD Radio is considered an attractive alternative to satellite radio, which charges a fee for its use. There is low awareness amongst consumers in the new HD Radio. According to a survey dated August 8, 2007 by Bridge Ratings, when asked the question, ""Would you buy an HD radio in the next two months?"" only 1.0% responded ""yes"".[26] Some engineers have also expressed distrust or dislike of the new system.[27][28] Unlike regular car radios, which come fitted as standard equipment with virtually all automobiles, HD Radio requires consumers to purchase a new radio costing just over $100. HD Radio tuners for the home cost $75 and up. As of November 2007, a stereo HD component that can be linked into an existing home stereo system, such as the Sangean HDT-1X, costs approximately $250 for the tuner alone, without its own amplifier or speakers. The very high cost of stereo HD units in comparison with regular radio receivers, possibly caused by the single source and proprietary nature of the iBiquity chipset, appears to have stalled consumer adoption in the United States.[citation needed] Most of the first generation HD Radio tuners have been noted as being very insensitive, making reception problematic. In hybrid mode, the HD Radio signal is 1/100th the power of a station's analog signal. Due to its relative weakness, the HD Radio signal will sometimes drop out and the receiver will revert to analog mode. This can be especially problematic in fringe areas, where the digital signal may frequently be lost. If the listener is tuned to a secondary (HD2, HD3, etc.) channel, then any time the digital signal fades out, the sound will momentarily ""blank out"" until reception is restored. In addition it has been noted that the analog section of some tuners displays poor reception capabilities compared to older non-digital models.[29]"Posted by sangeanhdradio at 12:31 AM on 6/24/08

"boston acoustics hd radio Founded in 1979, Boston Acoustics is a prime manufacturer of premium home and mobile audio equipment operated out of Peabody, Massachusetts. Boston Acoustics entered the mobile audio category in 1983. Boston Acoustics manufactures many of the woofer, midrange, and tweeter transducers used in their products at the Peabody facility and maintain a complete engineering staff on site. Boston produces speakers for home, custom/architectural, and vehicles. They also produce OEM equipment which is factory-fitted to a variety of cars including Chrysler 300, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Avenger, Dodge Charger, Dodge Magnum, Dodge Caliber, Jeep Commander, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Jeep Compass vehicles. Boston Acoustics has produced home loudspeakers such as the E, HD, VR-M, & Lynnfield Series, and on the mobile side Pro, Z, & SPZ reference component speakers. The tweeters are matched within +/-1.5dB typical of high quality drivers. They have a reputation for top level sound quality but at moderate prices. Recently Boston Acoustics was granted a patent for ""audio speaker having a removable voice-coil"" United States Patent #7272237 for the SPG subwoofer produced by the mobile audio division. Prior to this patent, electrodynamic speakers affix the voice-coil permanently to the speaker cone. The Boston Acoustics patent allows for voice-coil removal should the it become damaged during an extended overdrive condition and is the first of its kind in the consumer electronics industry."Posted by bostonacousticshdradio at 11:47 PM on 6/23/08

"hd tabletop radio HD Radio is a secondary digital signal added to AM and FM radio stations. With this technology, local radio broadcasters can provide listeners with more audio content through FM multicasting, higher quality sound and new data services, while remaining in their traditional places on the radio dial. HD Radio broadcasts are available today to more than 83% of Americans subscription-free.[citation needed] As with traditional AM, FM and TV broadcasting, HD Radio programming is free and supported either by commercial advertising or public broadcasting. Therefore, HD Radio is considered an attractive alternative to satellite radio, which charges a fee for its use. Digital information is transmitted using COFDM, a modulation method that has been used in different digital television and radio systems, including DVB-T. The audio compression algorithm was initially set to be PAC when iBiquity's standard was first approved by the FCC in 2002, but the system was changed to HDC with SBR in 2003 (based upon MPEG-4 HE-AAC). HD Radio equipped stations must pay annual royalties to iBiquity, and costs paid by the manufacturers of HD transmitters that are passed along to the purchaser. NDS, a maker of digital media encryption technology, recently signed a deal that effectively institutes subscriptions capability on digital radio. ""RadioGuard is based on NDS’ industry-leading VideoGuard technology already deployed in more than 70 million digital set-top boxes worldwide ... enabling pay-per-listen, opt-in, and public service offerings on the HD Radio platform."" NDS says this system will allow listeners to listen to live concerts or events, via paying a small fee, similar to how Pay Per View events operate with television."Posted by hdtabletopradio at 11:13 PM on 6/23/08

hdradio.com HD Radio is a secondary digital signal added to AM and FM radio stations. With this technology, local radio broadcasters can provide listeners with more audio content through FM multicasting, higher quality sound and new data services, while remaining in their traditional places on the radio dial. HD Radio broadcasts are available today to more than 83% of Americans subscription-free.[citation needed] As with traditional AM, FM and TV broadcasting, HD Radio programming is free and supported either by commercial advertising or public broadcasting. Therefore, HD Radio is considered an attractive alternative to satellite radio, which charges a fee for its use. Listeners need to upgrade to a new radio that receives HD Radio signals. A wide variety of brand-name HD Radio receivers are available for home, office and car at major consumer electronics chains, online and through regional stores. As of May 2008, more than 1600 AM and FM stations are broadcasting with HD Radio technology, with more than 700 FM stations offering more than one digital channel per FM frequency[1], thus doubling or tripling the number of programming channels available to listeners.[2] Most of the stations that have adopted the technology are FMs, while AM stations have been slower to upgrade.[3] HD Radio is the proprietary trademark for iBiquity Digital's in-band on-channel (IBOC) technology, which was selected by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2002 as the only digital audio broadcasting technology for AM and FM broadcasting in the United States.[4] The IBOC technology was developed by iBiquity Digital Corporation, and it allows stations to simulcast HE-AAC-quality compressed digital audio and traditional analog audio, without changing to new frequency bands. The specification for this standard offers two operating modes: "All Digital" and "Hybrid Digital". According to iBiquity, the name "HD Radio" is simply iBiquity's brand for its digital radio technology,[5] and does not stand for "High Definition" such as HDTV does. In this FREE guide you'll discover the secrets to... Selecting the best HD radio for you and your lifestyle, so you can rest easy knowing you made the right choice and don't get burned in the process. Truth revealed...is a $500 system really any better than a $99.00 system? You'll find out here. HD vs Satellite radio... results are in! The good, the bad, and the ugly, NO HOLDS BARRED! What kind of reception you can expect and is the quality really any better than regular radioPosted by hdradiocom at 8:10 AM on 6/23/08

What kind of reception you can expect and is the quality really any better than regular radio Is it available in your area and is there enough coverage. The last thing anyone wants is a great new radio with no stations! Brand name reviews and how to get money-saving rebates! Want HD for your car? How to integrate HD radio into your existing car system DIRT CHEAP! HD Radio is a secondary digital signal added to AM and FM radio stations. With this technology, local radio broadcasters can provide listeners with more audio content through FM multicasting, higher quality sound and new data services, while remaining in their traditional places on the radio dial. HD Radio broadcasts are available today to more than 83% of Americans subscription-free.[citation needed] As with traditional AM, FM and TV broadcasting, HD Radio programming is free and supported either by commercial advertising or public broadcasting. Therefore, HD Radio is considered an attractive alternative to satellite radio, which charges a fee for its use. Listeners need to upgrade to a new radio that receives HD Radio signals. A wide variety of brand-name HD Radio receivers are available for home, office and car at major consumer electronics chains, online and through regional stores. As of May 2008, more than 1600 AM and FM stations are broadcasting with HD Radio technology, with more than 700 FM stations offering more than one digital channel per FM frequency[1], thus doubling or tripling the number of programming channels available to listeners.[2] Most of the stations that have adopted the technology are FMs, while AM stations have been slower to upgrade.Posted by hdclockradio at 8:05 AM on 6/23/08

"Sony XDR-S3HD Radio Tuner A tuner is an adjustable device which passes one radio frequency, or band of frequencies, and excludes others, by using electrical resonance. A tuner performs the process of selecting the desired signal but it's output is not directly usable and must be sent to another device. Typically tuners are sold with built-in audio amplifiers, loudspeakers, and/or a video display to form a radio receiver or television set. Tuners can be either stereo or mono, and are available for TV, FM, AM, and other types of radio signals. The simplest tuner consists of an inductor and capacitor. Combined with a detector, also known as a demodulator, it becomes the simplest radio receiver, often called a crystal set. Standalone stereo FM tuners are sought after for audiophile and TV/FM DX applications, especially those produced in the 1970s, when performance standards were among the highest. A few 1970s tuners feature now-deprecated Dolby noise reduction for FM broadcasts. In some instances the tuner may be modified to improve performance.[1] VHF/UHF TV tuners are rarely found as a separate component; however cable boxes serve as a separate tuner, and have channel 3/4 outputs so they can serve as a cable-ready emulator for TVs that aren't cable-ready, and often feature composite, S-video, or component video outputs so they can be used on video monitors that do not have a TV tuner, or ones whose tuner is not working. In terms of quality of sound, the Sony XDR-S3HD delivered pretty good standard. Stereo sound on FM HD stations sounded pretty good. The radio offers a cool ""surround"" option which is the best, but it adds more quality surround sound. In regular hybrid mode, a station has its full ± 130 kHz of analog bandwidth, and adds an extra ± 70 kHz for its digital signals, thus taking a full 397 kHz of width. In extended hybrid mode, the bandwidth of the FM signal is reduced to make way for additional OFDM carriers carrying more data. Because of this, FM stations may have to discontinue existing subcarrier services (usually at 92 kHz and 67 kHz) in order to carry extended HD Radio, though such services can be restored through use of the digital subchannels that are then made available. Also, the option is available to discontinue analog stereo encoding, further freeing up bandwidth. Eventually stations could elect to drop the analog audio completely and go all-digital. However, considering that there are billions of existing analog-only receivers, this is not expected to happen in the immediate future."Posted by sonyxdrs3hdradiotuner at 7:56 AM on 6/23/08