HD Radio's 'Quality' Message Limited in Scope
Ripe Blue Tomato's Greg Gillispie was on a recent road trip and wanted to share with us his interpretation of radio's recent HD radio promotions and wrote "Today I was on the road over 200 miles. I heard a number of station promos or spots for HD radio. All the spots were about the QUALITY and none about the CONTENT. And, all the spots were buried in the middle of the stopset.
So...I'm supposed to buy this new-fangled thang because it sounds good? Gee, why do they have to tell me about this when I seem to think what I'm listening to... with this spot...sounds pretty good. Or at least the QUALITY sounds pretty good.
But if I buy this new thang, what the hell am I supposed to get? CONTENT better than what I'm currently getting? Something different, unique, beneficial, entertaining, informative, WHAT?? They didn't tell me. Oh...and if I get it, should I STOP listening to what told me to GET it?
I'm Humbly Dumbfounded...or HD for short..."
It's true the quality feature of HD broadcast radio will only appeal to some. Not everyone cares about getting CD quality sound from their car or home radio. While improved sound quality may be of importance to some, those promoting HD radio might also want to focus on the additional things HD radio can do. There are additional things it can do, right guys?
Comments
�HD Radio on the Offense�
�But after an investigation of HD Radio units, the stations playing HD, and the company that owns the technology; and some interviews with the wonks in DC, it looks like HD Radio is a high-level corporate scam, a huge carny shill.�
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-03-07/music/hd-radio-on-the-offense
�Sirius, XM, and HD: Consumer interest reality check�
�While interest in satellite radio is diminishing, interest in HD shows no signs of a pulse.�
http://www.hear2.com/2007/02/sirius_xm_and_h.html
"U.S. automakers not jumping into HD Radio"
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN2632750220070427?pageNumber=1
"Bridge Ratings: Sweat the cell phone and don't count on HD"
"In other words, Bridge says interest in HD radio is decreasing even as your station works hard to increase awareness. What can I possibly add to this honest and bleak picture that I haven't said before? My well-intended warnings about HD's "premature death" seem to be rearing their ugly heads almost two years later."
http://www.hear2.com/2007/04/bridge_ratings_.html#comments
"But is 'availability' of HD radios the problem?"
"And one broadcaster reported to me that he asked an iBiquity rep how many HD radios had actually been sold as of the most recent accounting. And this was his answer: 150,000."
http://www.hear2.com/2007/04/but_is_availabi.html#comments
"Is Pay-for-Play HD Content on Horizon?"
http://rwonline.com/pages/s.0049/t.4028.html
"HD Radio Effort Undermined by Weak Tuners in Expensive Radios"
http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/7002/hd-radio2.html
"The FCC Tunes Into HD Radio--And May Turn Off Distant AM"
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2007/03/the_fcc_greenlights_hd_radio_n.html
�RW Opinion: Rethinking AM�s future�
�Making AM-HD work well as a long-term investment is seen as an expensive and risky challenge for most stations and their owners. There is the significant downside of potential new interference to some of their own AM analog listeners as well as listeners of adjacent-channel stations.�
http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0044/t.557.html