IBOCcrock wrote:
On Nov 21, 10:52 am, D Peter Maus wrote:
IBOCcrock wrote:
On Nov 21, 7:10 am, D Peter Maus wrote:
IBOCcrock wrote:
On Nov 21, 4:11 am, "Brenda Ann" wrote:
I just received this forward from my friend Pat. The name has been redacted
for privacy purposes.
******** Begin quotation***********
Some interesting conversations recently...
First is with a salesman at the Best Buy auto radio department. I asked if
there was any call for HD Radios. Took him a minute to figure what I meant,
but after he understood his answer was no. It seems this specific Best Buy
has not sold even one of them. None were on display. It's a very busy
store in the corridor between Boston and Providence.
Similar conversation at two local Radio Shacks. No interest, didn't
remember any sold.
Chatting with a guy who works in a local sandwich shop. Early 20's and
would like to work in radio. He was well aware of what HD Radio was and
called it a scam. Bear in mind that he would like to ba an announcer and
has no technical interest at all. His quote was pretty much that radio
sounds fine now and why would he spend the money for something that will
give no improvement. My question to him was what he thought about HD Radio.
Nothing that would lead him in one direction or another. He was much more
negative about HD Radio than I would have expected, and also differentiated
it from HDTV for which he had praise.
There has been a fairly big deal made about the fact that Ford now offers a
dealer installed HD Radio. What they have ignored is the Ford Sync that is
standard in some Focus models, among others. This offers voice-controlled
iPod and other audio choices, but *no* HD Radio. This is a factory-equipped
option and not something the dealer has to do. Seems like Ford isn't really
behind HD Radio after all. Just tossing iBiquity a very small bone.
Local WPRO-630 has had the IBOC turned off for quite a while. And a couple
other local IBOC stations don't decode well at all, even in the city grade
coverage.
I don't see any big interest in IBOC developing for this holiday season.
Maybe even less than last year, if that's possible.
The Fat Lady is warming up in the wings, and she's in analog.
****** *******
Providence, RI
********* End quotation**********
--
Say no to institutionalized interference.
Just say NO to HD/IBOC!
"There has been a fairly big deal made about the fact that Ford now
offers a
dealer installed HD Radio. What they have ignored is the Ford Sync
that is
standard in some Focus models, among others. This offers voice-
controlled
iPod and other audio choices, but *no* HD Radio. This is a factory-
equipped
option and not something the dealer has to do. Seems like Ford isn't
really
behind HD Radio after all. Just tossing iBiquity a very small bone."
Here's the scoop on that deal:
http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com/200...sus-fords-deal...
Again, with upwards of half a billion dollars in promotion already
invested, and the R & D costs, don't expect iBiquity or Radio to give up
on IBOC easily. Neither seems concerned at the fact that the public has
no interest.
But remember that the Powell FCC mandated that all new modulation
schemes for broadcast be digital.
That, alone, is enough to keep the IBOC flame burning for years to
come. And it's only a matter of time before someone begins the push for
the transition to all digital broadast.
This product is a farce. And the word 'scam' seems to apply more each
day. But there's now much too much invested for either iBiquity, or the
Radio industry to simply cut their losses and run. Eventually, they'll
either embark on a promotional tack that keys on what the public is
REALLY interested in, or they'll push for a mandated exit of analog
broadcasting, as they're doing in the UK. With mixed results, btw.
Expect the latter.
The IBOC issue isn't dead by a long shot. With the public it's going
nowhere. But Radio has been, for a number of years, now, openly
uninterested in what the listener wants. Radio does what RADIO wants.
And listeners...well, they're just numbers on a grid.
If the listeners' interests were REALLY an issue, half of Fort Worth
wouldn't have been blown off the map by tornadoes while the an
unsuspecting public was listening to unattended radio stations.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
And, if consumers never buy HD radios, then a digital mandate will put
an end to terrestrial radio - maybe, that would be a good thing.
No, it won't put an end to terrestrial radio. It will put an end to
analog terrestrial radio. But with nearly 250 million active radio
listeners, a digital mandate will simply force currenty uninterested
listeners to make the switch to digital. The reason the HD uptake has
been so slow is that there is no interest. The reason there's been no
interest is that there's no perceived need.

A digital mandate will create need. The uptake will follow.

250 million active Radio listeners will not simply stop listening
because a digital mandate has been made. Many, if not most, of them will
make the switch. Because there won't be access to what they currently
enjoy every day.

In the process, however, a lot of what Radio is, will change.
Including the birth of Subscription Terrestrial Radio. And the ability
of smaller, more nimble and responsive broadcasters to compete on an
equal stage with the big operators.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"No, it won't put an end to terrestrial radio. It will put an end to
analog terrestrial radio. But with nearly 250 million active radio
listeners, a digital mandate will simply force currenty uninterested
listeners to make the switch to digital. The reason the HD uptake
has
been so slow is that there is no interest. The reason there's been no
interest is that there's no perceived need."

No one can force consumers to buy new digital radios - terrestrial
radio is already dying, and this would definatley put an end to it. No
one cares about terrestrial radio anymore. TSL is down significantly,
so consumers would simply give up on radio - many already have
switched to other entertainment mediums.



Many have. Many more will not. And if they have an interest in
listening to what's on terrestrial radio, and a sizeable number will
continue to, if there is a digital mandate, they'll have no choice but
to buy the radios.

No difference than digital TV. When they turn the NTSC signal off, if
you want to watch your local channels, you have no choice but to buy an
ATSC device.

If they turn off the analog broadcast, listeners will buy digital
receivers.

No doubt that numbers are sliding for terrestrial radio. But it will
not simply go away. Digital or not.