Losing faith in HD radio

Don't loose the faith man! Stay with me!! Eventually HD Radio will be all digital. . All we have to do is kill the older generations, millions of cars with normal radios in them. . . Oh, and bribe the FCC to force HD Radio Standard on everyone.

Which will solve.. what now?

It will solve the fears of both the DX community and the small broadcater, both of whom see IBOC as limiting their future. Let's see, IBOC has been out of its experimental stage for what now....a little over a month? The new rules haven't even taken place yet, by the way. This technology is being looked at under a microscope in rooms like this. The average person has no idea what HD is other than hearing ads about it on the radio. Radios are just starting to appear in a few automobiles. Once enough people sample HD the words will get out. It's going to take time. Don't discount HD yet.

3 HD radios? What model do you own? I have 2 and they both work really well. I receive 4 AM HD signals at my location with the included loop antenna. On FM I receive over a dozen HD signals and all solidly. No big deal, connect the radio to an antenna and tune in the station. Sounds like you have defective radios. I'd return them and buy working radios. They do make them y'know.

You make a good point. However, consider the following...

When digital satellite (DirecTV, Dish, Primestar) was released, the companies charged $500 for the equipment and expected the customers to climb on their roofs to install the equipment. They also expected customers to install $200 outdoor antennas to receive local stations or waste time getting waivers from local affilates. I went through this with my father in '97.

When I first got satellite radio in 2003, I paid $200 for the radio, a tuner, and to have it installed. Also, I have to pay a monthly fee on top of the upfront costs.

In 2005, I paid $200 for my BA Recepter. It is hooked up to my HDTV to output sound. Everyone that hears it is highly impressed. When I have parties, I play a local HD station that also generates interest in the radio. It has costs me some time to adjust the antennas to consistently receive all the stations that I want.

Conclusion: My father is happy with his DirecTV even though he still can not receive ABC and FOX with his $200 outdoor antenna. I am extremely happy with my XM and my BA Recepter. My father and I are the most impatient, stubborn consumers around. We would rather not deal with the initial headaches of adopting new technologies. In hindsight, we are glad that we did so that we can now enjoy what these technologies have to offer. After testing my radio, two of my friends purchased a BA Recepter. They also had reception issues at the beginning but they also enjoy the radio now and are happy with their purchases.

I thought analog FM/AM was going to stay around forever?

I get nothing but good, consistent performance from my HD Radio tuner in my car. The only stations that ever have signal problems are also poor in analog-only mode or on other analog receivers.

HD works great for me, both on AM and FM. I am waiting for a nice clear day to see if I can get HD out of San Diego from my home in Southern LA.

Analog AM and FM ARE going to stay around pretty much forever. There are a helluva lot more radios out there than tvs. But that doesn't detract from HD.

Yes you have to "fiddle" with the antenna to get good HD antenna. News flash: if you weren't "fiddling" before, you probably weren't getting noise-free analog fm stereo (if you got stereo at all), because HD is no harder to receive than clean stereo. No it doesn't go as far as analog fm mono, which is why analog needs to ALWAYS be there as a backup. But the radios will of course get better at locking onto, and holding a signal. Still, digital will always be somewhat more unforgiving in some ways than analog. Analog can degrade by becoming progressively noisier and/or more distorted. Not so with digital. If enough packets don't make it through, "that's all she wrote". Digital fails catastrophically. It's the nature of the beast. Digital will always be a little bit of "all or nothing". That's true of ALL digital transmission technology by the way...satellite tv, over the air HDTV, wi-fi, you name it.

I agree mike! I still half to "fiddle" around just to get a good analog sometimes out at my place in the country. If they kill analog I may half to go with Satilite radio out there.

Well antenna placement is pretty darned critical with satellite radio too! You'll have to find a spot where the signal is strong, AND consistent (during rain/storms/etc.)

if you are refering to sirius or xm they both work in storms and rain

I've been an XM subscriber for five years, and a satelltie tv (DirecTV) subscriber for ten years. Heavy rain DOES affect satellite reception. So do storms. There occasionally will be dropouts. Proper antenna placement minimizes, but does not eliminate the problem.

In perspective, however, satellite radio and tv are out far less than cable tv!

And the decision they make WILL BE TO INCLUDE HD RADIO. Automakers ALWAYS include new radio technology. It's simply a matter of time. Duh!

But seriously, what is the real problem with HD Radio? I mean, when Windows 98 came out it was one of the worst operating systems ever released by Microsoft.

I think the pessimism is getting to everyone. . . Here is what I know and feel in my bones. HD Radio will eventually take hold. The real question is when? Consumers, businesses and retailers have gotten so time sensitive, requiring everything to happen now. . . Even if they wanted to, how long do you think it would take to get all approx 14K radio stations in the US to upgrade to HD, and on top of that, how fast can we get HD Radios in the hands of the 300M Americans? It will likely take a decade or so. . .

DVD players just recently FINALLY outnumbered VHS players. DVD was introduced what, nearly 10 years ago?

Be patient, take pride in the fact that you all are instrumental in helping us make HD Radio better and 10 years from now you can tell your grandkids that YOU where part of HD Radio.

All it takes is proper RF shielding. Shame on manufacturers for not getting a handle on this situation (the need for external antennas). HD naysayers on boards like this one are having a field-day with that. This would be job one if I were in charge (and hwen I rule the world IT WILL BE)...make it work with a powercord or whip antenna. That will take away 60 percent of what these guys bitch about!

We hear very few actual owners of HD complaining about poor reception. Usually they find the"sweet spot" and then reappraise the reception problem. The fact is HD radio is better. But to get better you must at least situate your dipole inside the house where it has the least number of obstructions.

This may mean that you hang it near a window, behind the curtain, or behind a picture. There is a benefit, yes, better sounding radio. If that's what you want, go the extra measure and move the darn thing around. If you are satisfied with the sound of current FM don't buy HD. It will require you to fiddle with the wire dipole, or take the drastic measure of putting a simple $ 29.00 omni-directional outdoor antenna attached to a piece of cable wire. The last straw is if you are really hungry for stations, 50-80 miles away you have to either connect it to the retired TV antenna on the roof, or put up an FM only antenna ( $ 180.00) with rotor.

If you are that close to a HD radio station and not receiving the HD signal, something is wrong. Either the radio is not working correctly, or your signal is blocked by some electrically distorting interference. HD is simply not hard to get. If you are receiving the analog signal. The HD signal is also there. The only way the HD signal would not be present is if it were extremely weak (50 miles or so) or there is some interference. Don't believe these negative posts about the weaker signal. The HD signal does not have to be as strong as the analog one. Its digital!

Those in urban areas are very happy with the reception, connecting the wire dipole to the radio, and stringing it up under the drapes. It is the most recommended way. But if that is too much trouble, then I guess you are not ready for the better sound of digital radio.

Actually we have a pocket radio that uses the headphones for the antenna and you might be surprised to hear how many people call us idiots for doing it that way.

I see it the other way. 2 stations in our area already has turned off IBOC. Mainly due to interference the signal causes to adjacient channels.

Could you tell us which stations they might be and who they are interfering with??

Just a FYI- HD radio reception problems will end one day, broadcaters are at reduced power, -20Db down to be exact! Wait and see what it will do at full power

Would that change without having to kill analog?

I doubt I'd be surprised Master Thesus (at people complaining about using the headphone cord for the antenna). Somehow the American public, moronic to the nth degree, has gotten it in their tiny little heads that antennas should somehow be unnecessary for RADIO RECEPTION! Actually the antenna is the MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT. If you don't get a clean signal at the antenna, the radio won't have very much to work with!