The Ibiquity AM hybrid digital radio scheme provides little consumer
benefits. In fact, it destroys the character, versatility, variety
and utility that has been associated with AM Broadcasting since its
inception 100 years ago


Wrong.

It increases the fidelity dramatically for AM broadcasts....

Comparing what passes for a consumer-level analog AM radio to an HD
radio, yeah. But even the hot new Sony dumbs down analog in
comparison.

Better fidelity is a plus. And listeners complain about (what they
perceive
as) fidelity issues.

HD makes it better.

No, any better tuner/receiver makes it better.

No, HD offers better fidelity capability than analog. (The radio is a
seperate story.)

and brings back AM stereo in a standardize format.

That's nice, but not many people care..

Now that cell phones have stereo speakers.....and internet streams are in
stereo....the public expects nothing less.

How much of the public at this moment cares or even knows that HD AM
offers stereo (from those stations that broadcast it)?

I dont think they care about stereo, by name...but they care that it's a
lesser quality than FM...and the stero helps it sound better.

How many that
do broadcast stereo actually need it to 'improve' the sound (for talk
radio? religious programming?)?

It can make AM talk and news sound like NPR on FM.

Thats an improvement.

Why is NPR on FM stations mostly? ANd why are most NPR talk stations
broadcasting in stereo?

(because people expect it....)

Well, they can upgrade their analog tuner/receiver...

Sure, but they will not recieve any of the added "stations between the
stations" that HD radio provides on FM if they simply upgrade their AM
radio
to a better analog one.

A few NPR stations offer somewhat unique content on side channels, but
most I've heard are just jukeboxes at present.

Maybe, but people like jukeboxes, if the jukeboxes are playing songs they
like.

XM/Sirius has channels that are virtually jukeboxes.

Again, if it's a jukebox that's playing a format you love....then it's OK.

It may not matter to the majority of people, but the
sound really isn't 'better' on HD.

Of course it is....and it also contains much less processing that AM
stations feel they need to do to modulate their analog signals.

Are you talking to station engineers? HD AM does not sound better than
decent analog equipment in my experience.

"In your experience" is the key word....In my experience, in demonstration,
listener tests, and technical parameters, it sounds better.

Think of it as ANOTHER opportunity to listen to Brother Stair!

Hudley Pearse

wrote in message
...
Think of it as ANOTHER opportunity to listen to Brother Stair!

Hudley Pearse

Yeah, it's too bad Doc Scott will miss out on the "Revolution in Radio".

Frank Dresser

"Radio Ronn" lq6dpvk02-at-sneakemail.com wrote in message
. ..

Why is NPR on FM stations mostly? ANd why are most NPR talk stations
broadcasting in stereo?


I know very few people that actually can identify stereo content, or even
pay attention to whether it's stereo or not. It's just ubiquitous. So much
so that most radios that have stereo decoding don't even have an indicator
lamp anymore. It's been found in a number of studies that in the days when
every stereo radio/receiver had a stereo indicator that the user perceived a
'difference' when the lamp was on, regardless of the content, stereo or
mono. (all the study ever did was feed a 19 KHz pilot tone to light the
lamp).

Why is NPR on FM stations mostly? ANd why are most NPR talk stations
broadcasting in stereo?


I know very few people that actually can identify stereo content, or even
pay attention to whether it's stereo or not.

Doesn't matter...it still is in stereo. Why?

People expect the best quality?

"Radio Ronn" lq6dpvk02-at-sneakemail.com wrote in message
. ..

[snip]


No, HD offers better fidelity capability than analog. (The radio is a
seperate story.)

What does "fidelity capability" mean? AM can have wide frequency response,
high dynamic range and vanishingly low distortion.

There have been several attempts to sell high fidelity AM. The most recent
was the AMAX standard. Nobody cared.

[snip]


Why is NPR on FM stations mostly? ANd why are most NPR talk stations
broadcasting in stereo?

(because people expect it....)


The people who could have expected most NPR stations to end up on FM were at
the FCC. When FM was kicked up to the 100 MHz band after WW2, the FCC
mandated that the low end of the band be reserved for educational stations.
Many of these stations were the ancestors of the NPR stations.

And I know our local NPR station was broadcasting mostly mono into the 90s.
I believe it was NPR network policy to broadcast with the stereo pilot off
unless the program was in stereo. An excellent policy, in my opinion, as FM
mono is capable of a much better signal to noise ratio than FM stereo.

However, I'm sure some dumbasses thought they were getting "less radio" if
the stereo bulb wasn't lit.

Frank Dresser

No, HD offers better fidelity capability than analog. (The radio is a
seperate story.)

What does "fidelity capability" mean?

For one thing, it means stereo.

The people who could have expected most NPR stations to end up on FM were
at
the FCC.

But the people who have made it sucessful were listeners on their radios.

And I know our local NPR station was broadcasting mostly mono into the
90s.
I believe it was NPR network policy to broadcast with the stereo pilot off
unless the program was in stereo.

I know some did that in the 70's...I have nvever heard of a station doing so
after that.

Plus, NPR does not define policy at local stations.

An excellent policy, in my opinion, as FM
mono is capable of a much better signal to noise ratio than FM stereo.

If it was purely technical, but most listeners would tune especially analog
dials, with the stereo light.

"Radio Ronn" lq6dpvk02-at-sneakemail.com wrote in message
. ..

No, HD offers better fidelity capability than analog. (The radio is a
seperate story.)

What does "fidelity capability" mean?

For one thing, it means stereo.

That's not clear, but I'm assuming you mean better stereo rather than stereo
capability.

And, since marketplace decisions have come up in this topic, it's clear that
radio buyers either think FM stereo is still superior to HD radio -- or
buyers don't care alot about stereo.


The people who could have expected most NPR stations to end up on FM were
at
the FCC.

But the people who have made it sucessful were listeners on their radios.

True. And there are also AM NPR stations who have shared in NPR's success.



And I know our local NPR station was broadcasting mostly mono into the
90s.
I believe it was NPR network policy to broadcast with the stereo pilot
off
unless the program was in stereo.

I know some did that in the 70's...I have nvever heard of a station doing
so
after that.

Around 1990 or so, I heard a "World of Radio" episode in which Glenn Hauser
complimented the FM NPR stations which turned off the carrier for mono
programming, and he complained about the majority of stations which
needlessly left it on all the time.


Plus, NPR does not define policy at local stations.

Could be. I recall an explaination from WBEZ (Chicago NPR) that they liked
to keep the pilot off unless they were playing stereo programming. They
started running the pilot on mono programming because that's how it was
coming in from the network.

But it was sombody's policy or procedure or whatever.


An excellent policy, in my opinion, as FM
mono is capable of a much better signal to noise ratio than FM stereo.

If it was purely technical, but most listeners would tune especially
analog
dials, with the stereo light.


The best visual aid for analog dial FM tuning is the center channel
indicator, which most listeners manage to do just fine without. A signal
strength indicator is almost as good an aid, but not so common as the stereo
light which can be shining brightly even when a station is audibly mistuned.
And, while the stereo light is an inferior visual tuning aid, it is an
excellent indicator of a stereo pilot.

None of this actually matters, as most analog dial listeners have learned to
get tuning feedback by listening to the radio, rather than looking at the
radio.

Frank Dresser

"Frank Dresser" wrote in message
...

"Radio Ronn" lq6dpvk02-at-sneakemail.com wrote in message
. ..

No, HD offers better fidelity capability than analog. (The radio is a
seperate story.)

What does "fidelity capability" mean?

For one thing, it means stereo.

That's not clear, but I'm assuming you mean better stereo rather than
stereo
capability.

AM HD is stereo.

The people who could have expected most NPR stations to end up on FM
were
at
the FCC.

But the people who have made it sucessful were listeners on their radios.

True. And there are also AM NPR stations who have shared in NPR's
success.

AM stations with NPR programming are marginally sucessful, if at all.

And I know our local NPR station was broadcasting mostly mono into the
90s.
I believe it was NPR network policy to broadcast with the stereo pilot
off
unless the program was in stereo.

I know some did that in the 70's...I have nvever heard of a station doing
so
after that.

Around 1990 or so, I heard a "World of Radio" episode in which Glenn
Hauser
complimented the FM NPR stations which turned off the carrier for mono
programming, and he complained about the majority of stations which
needlessly left it on all the time.

Glenn Hauser, another one living in the past. I can't think of one NPR
station that shut off it's stereo pilot for mono/talk programs

"Radio Ronn" lq6dpvk02-at-sneakemail.com wrote in message
. ..

"Frank Dresser" wrote in message
...

"Radio Ronn" lq6dpvk02-at-sneakemail.com wrote in message
. ..

No, HD offers better fidelity capability than analog. (The radio is
a
seperate story.)

What does "fidelity capability" mean?

For one thing, it means stereo.

That's not clear, but I'm assuming you mean better stereo rather than
stereo
capability.

AM HD is stereo.

AM had stereo first, way back in the past. It was so good, the FCC approved
first one, then FOUR different methods for stereo modulation. Holy cats!
The FCC actually thought there might be enough consumer demand to support
four different AM stereo plans. The broadcasters and manufacturers all
jumped in, as well. Everyone loves stereo, right?

Problem was, people didn't like stereo enough to buy another radio. And
it's not as if the radios were real expensive. They wouldn't buy four AM
stereo standards. They wouldn't buy even one.

Actually, people didn't care much about FM stereo, either. FM stereo didn't
reach mass market appeal until it was almost a give-away with the radio.

There might be a lesson there for HD radio. Give it away and maybe people
will listen. But I really doubt ibiquity will give up licensing fees on
their patents and copyrights.


The people who could have expected most NPR stations to end up on FM
were
at
the FCC.

But the people who have made it sucessful were listeners on their
radios.

True. And there are also AM NPR stations who have shared in NPR's
success.

AM stations with NPR programming are marginally sucessful, if at all.

Yet the AM NPR-istas trudge on, day in, day out, relentlessly, against all
hope. At least, if the NPR AM operations fold, they are perfectly qualified
to become IBOC shills!



And I know our local NPR station was broadcasting mostly mono into
the
90s.
I believe it was NPR network policy to broadcast with the stereo
pilot
off
unless the program was in stereo.

I know some did that in the 70's...I have nvever heard of a station
doing
so
after that.

Around 1990 or so, I heard a "World of Radio" episode in which Glenn
Hauser
complimented the FM NPR stations which turned off the carrier for mono
programming, and he complained about the majority of stations which
needlessly left it on all the time.

Glenn Hauser, another one living in the past. I can't think of one NPR
station that shut off it's stereo pilot for mono/talk programs




Ah, living in the past. I can imagine in the future in which the endless
topic of discussion will be the "if only"s. If only the people stuck with a
mass media fractionalized into 100 pieces, rather than go with
individualized media. If only the advertisers didn't wise up to the fact
that the vast majority of mass media spending misses the target. If only
the magic modulation had come 10 years earlier, it would have kept that
internet thing from breaking up the party.

Lucky for Glenn, if he ever does start living in the past, he can look back
at a lifetime as an accomplished DXer and radio broadcaster.

Frank Dresser