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The main channel is still analog and the digital channels require extra
power.

Stop thinking shortterm. Yes *right now* both tv and radio stations
are sending-out duplicate signals : Analog and Digital. ----- But
that's only temporary. The TV stations will shut-down their analog
and just broadcast digital at approximately 1/10th the power of
analog. Likewise, AM will eventually end, and it will just be digital
at 1/100th the power.

Thus reducing the monthly electric bill, and enabling the station to
operate on less money.

The broadcasters will resist a digital changeover unless almost everybody
has a digital radio. Otherwise they'd be throwing away part of their
audience.

And it's not like the FCC would be able to auction spectrum for big bucks
like they plan to do with the TV band. The spectrum available on AM is a
sliver compared to TV, and what little there is has more noise and weird
propagation. And efficent antennas are huge at AM radio frequencies.

Neither the FCC nor the broadcasters have much incentive to eliminate AM.


And that station would risk dividing it's listeners across four
channels.
That's OK for the listeners, but what's in it for the station?


Good question. I don't know. But since the stations are embracing
multi-channels (both in TV and radio), apparently THEY think there's
something to be gained.

Many of the radio broadcasters are supporting the digital format, just as
many supported AM stereo. HD radio might become a competitive advantage
against the non HD stations, but there's no certainty just as there was no
certainty with AM stereo.

Anyway, the broadcasters are limiting their risks with HD radio. They
aren't yet running the sort of "A material" on the secondary channels which
would attract sizeable audiences and sell radios. Why should they?




Because by the time the U.S. fixed on a standard (circa 1990), the AM
Stereo stations had largely disappeared. Thus there's no impetus for
customers to upgrade.

There sure hasn't been alot of impetus to upgrade to AM stereo.

No, which is a shame. I was driving through Iowa and I happened to
stumble across an AM Stereo station. It was very pleasant to hear
such rich sound coming from an AM.

IMHO the FCC ought to mandate the all AM stations which play music
must be stereo. (Of course they already mandated that the 1610-1710
band must be all stereo, but the FCC's not enforcing it. Stupid
idiots.)

Why? If the people running the station think AM stereo will help attract an
audience they'll install the stereo modulator.

The people running the stations have concluded that it's not worth it.




In contrast, Japan and Canada and Australia had a fixed standard in
the early 80s, thus giving consumers confidence that they were not
wasting money the next Betamax.

It's curious that so few of those "droves" of AM stereo
radios make it over here.

Uh.... probably for the same reason I can't import a 12-hour VHS tape
from japan. I *want* to, but amazon.jp.co won't let me do it, because
of export restrictions.

Export restrictions keeping old American technology away from Americans?
What will those fiends do next?!?!



Also, there's really no need to import AM Stereos. Just buy an HD
Radio which already comes with AM Stereo (it's built into the chips).

You're right, there's no need to import a AM stereo receiver. All the
locals have stopped broadcasting.

Nobody cared.


It's simple. If the audience the advertisers want was spread too thin
across too many channels to be profitable, the IBOC broadcasters
have the option of selling their product directly with subscription
radio.

You mean like "pay per view" for radio. I'd be okay with that. I'd
ignore that channel (probably on HD4) the same way I ignore the "pay
per view" on television. Still lots of freebie stuff to hear.


Yeah, I don't have any real problem with pay radio. After all, stations
have bills to pay and advertisers are attracted to the young and credulous.

I do have a problem with the disingenuous HD radio hype campaign which
implied that there would never be a subscription fee for the "radio of
tomorrow".

I didn't buy it for a minute.





Of course, the subscription version of IBOC won't be called HD radio
because, as we've all been told a million times -- "There's never a
subscription fee with HD radio!"

Please provide a weblink where this quote is stated. Thanks.

You hadn't heard a radio informertial and you also missed out on the HD
radio campaign?

The links are easy to find. Try a google search with "HD radio never
subscription fee"

I remember the audio from the ads were linked on a HD radio web page. Dick
Orkin did some.

If you're interested, try a search for "HD radio Dick Orkin"



[snip]


Frank Dresser