On 1/8/2012 2:04 AM, Richard Evans wrote:

Except that vehicle manufacturers tend to want to fit the cheapest car
stereo they can get away with, and an ordinary AM/FM receiver, is still
cheaper than a digital radio.

That may be the case in the UK, and for very low end vehicles in the
U.S., but at least in the U.S., one way manufacturers distinguish
similar vehicles is with components like the sound system. The price
adder for the manufacturer for adding digital radio is very low, $5-10.
Higher end manufacturers simply add it, BMW is not going to lose sales
to Volvo, Cadillac is not going to lose sales to Lincoln, etc., over a
feature that costs very little to include. It's like leaving out
cup-holders.

My 70 year old next door neighbor just got a new Ford Taurus and
yesterday she spent an hour in the car while her daughter taught her how
to use the optional navigation system and the optional Ford Sync system
with HD Radio. I told her that now she needs a smart phone to link to
Sync system. I was rather surprised that she got those options since she
only drives about 8000 miles per year and doesn't drive on long trips.

One thing that's changed is that people are keeping their vehicles
longer and are willing to spend a little extra up front for something
they are going to live with for ten years, and those with older vehicles
that still have a DIN or double DIN opening for a head unit are willing
to replace it with something with more capability, not just digital
radio, but Bluetooth, iPod control, AUX-In, etc..

One thing that's changed is that people are keeping their vehicles
longer and are willing to spend a little extra up front for something
they are going to live with for ten years, and those with older vehicles
that still have a DIN or double DIN opening for a head unit are willing
to replace it with something with more capability, not just digital
radio, but Bluetooth, iPod control, AUX-In, etc..


A fairly recent issue I stumbled across on aftermarket upgrading auto
radios is the CAN_BUS linkage of just about anything, including the
radio, to the rest of the the electronics in the car.
It creates a whole new headache above and beyond getting the replacement
radio to fit in the opening and matching the wiring harness.

Steve
N2uBP

On 1/8/2012 7:20 AM, Steve Stone wrote:
One thing that's changed is that people are keeping their vehicles
longer and are willing to spend a little extra up front for something
they are going to live with for ten years, and those with older vehicles
that still have a DIN or double DIN opening for a head unit are willing
to replace it with something with more capability, not just digital
radio, but Bluetooth, iPod control, AUX-In, etc..


A fairly recent issue I stumbled across on aftermarket upgrading auto
radios is the CAN_BUS linkage of just about anything, including the
radio, to the rest of the the electronics in the car.
It creates a whole new headache above and beyond getting the replacement
radio to fit in the opening and matching the wiring harness.

That's right, and the few high-end replacement units that have CAN
capability are not cheap. When you buy a new car these days you'd better
get the features you want at the time of purchase since you're not going
to be able to add them on later.

Manufacturers need to be careful to not lose sales to a competitor that
includes capabilities that they try to charge extra for. It's sometimes
amazing what consumers will focus on when choosing one vehicle over
another. From the design of cup holders, to the audio system, when
you're deciding between very similar vehicles at similar cost, these
things make a difference.

On Jan 8, 5:04*am, Richard Evans
wrote:
On 07/01/2012 21:00, Steve Stone wrote:



Bottom line IMHO, its the programming content, not the technology that
is killing free radio.
It they had something on free radio that people wanted to listen to then
the technology would be embraced. Crap is crap no matter what you wrap
it in.

I agree to some extent. If the content is cr*p, then not many people
will want to listen to it.

However I don't agree that this is the only factor.
In fact I think the most important factor is that people are content
with what they can already get on FM, and although FM is not perfect, it
does at least work well enough the vast majority of the time.

Also, with digital radio, I do think that technical factors could affect
whether people listen. If the audio keeps cutting out, then that will
put a lot of people off. Also if the sound quality is very poor, then I
do believe that will put a fair number of people off.

The rare BCB DXer or tech-know-geek is not in this horse race.
Hardware price is no longer an issue with so many fire sales on IBOC
enabled radios.

Except that vehicle manufacturers tend to want to fit the cheapest car
stereo they can get away with, and an ordinary AM/FM receiver, is still
cheaper than a digital radio.

Richard E.

Fox News

Follow the HD Radio dead thread on Broadcast Archives:

http://lists.radiolists.net/pipermai...ry/127213.html

LOL!

What and miss The Biggest Flops of All Time

On Jan 8, 9:23*pm, MotoFox confucius-say@enlightenment!to!him!lead!it!
for!bangpath!follow!man!wise.UUCP wrote:
And it came to pass that HDRadioFarce delivered the following message unto
the people, saying~

"The Biggest CES Flops of All Time"

I'm going to tell you this again and I expect you to remember it: QUIT
CROSSPOSTING TO THE REC.RADIO.SHORTWAVE BOARD. The Ibiquity system has no
presence on shortwave (and in all likelihood, never will.) DRM and
Ibiquity are two entirely different, incompatible systems, both
technically and politically, so your pointless bloviating is completely
irrelevant on there.

Think you can remember that?

--
* *_ *_ *______________ *___________ *__

* / \/ \/ __ *_ *_ *__ \/ *__ *__ * \/ / * * * * *Originator of the word

*/ /\/\ */_/ // // /_/ / __// /_/ /\ *\ * * * * * * * * * * *"enubulous"

/_/ * *\____//_/ \______/ * \____//_/\_\ *!i84w!exit210!304senye!motofox

**** off! LMFAO!!!!

On Jan 6, 7:51*pm, Truth Teller wrote:
On Jan 6, 6:12*pm, HDRadioFarce wrote:

"The Biggest CES Flops of All Time"

* So when is the experiment finally going to OFFICIALLY be declared a
failure and cease to exist? When are ALL station managers throughout
the nation going to stop broadcasting in HD? We've been reading what a
disaster it is for years but it still hasn't gone away. Why?

* I still can't listen to 1120 (KMOX), 840 (WHAS), et.al. because the
HASH is so intrusive. Even to the point of interfering with adjacent
stations on the dial. Don't the decision makers realize they are
driving away listeners in droves? As if the internet hasn't depleted
their audiences enough they have to throw gas on the fire to hasten
their demise. It appears to be a terminal case of falling in love with
your toys coupled with an inability to acknowledge one's mistake.

"Pride goeth before destruction,
*and a haughty spirit before a fall."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * Proverbs 16:18

They really do need to kill AM IBOC. I could handle waiting a few
years for FM IBOC to die, but AM IBOC is a crime against nature.

On 1/8/2012 7:43 PM, wrote:

snip

They really do need to kill AM IBOC. I could handle waiting a few
years for FM IBOC to die, but AM IBOC is a crime against nature.

Yes, AM IBOC should be ended. There's no future for AM anyway, and
whenever you see complaints (valid) about digital radio it's about AM,
not FM. Many AM stations are already doing simulcasting on FM HD, and
this will increase as digital radio receivers continue to gain market share.

Digital radio is very big at this year's CES with about 60 new products.
But it's FM where the value is in digital radio.

While the digital radio receivers can be considered a consumer product,
digital radio is very different than something like a tablet computer,
and you have to take a big-picture view. Digital radio requires
thousands of radio stations to commit to new broadcasting technology,
something that historically has taken decades after a new broadcasting
technology is announced to become mainstream. Whenever you see any
consumer product compared to an iPod or iPad and then proclaimed a
failure because it hasn't sold in comparable quantities, you have to
shake your head and wonder if the person doing the comparison is simply
clueless or if they have an agenda.

It's difficult to sell receivers until broadcasters sign on, and it's
difficult to get broadcasters to sign on until there's an installed base
of receivers. You really need broadcasters that look at the big picture
and take a long term view, and unfortunately a lot of smaller
broadcasters don't do this.

"Truth Teller" wrote in message
...
On Jan 6, 6:12 pm, HDRadioFarce wrote:
"The Biggest CES Flops of All Time"

So when is the experiment finally going to OFFICIALLY be declared a
failure and cease to exist? When are ALL station managers throughout
the nation going to stop broadcasting in HD? We've been reading what a
disaster it is for years but it still hasn't gone away. Why?


Because it's NOT going away. HD radio is here to stay on FM.

AM is a different story...but AM is dying a slow death anyway.



I still can't listen to 1120 (KMOX), 840 (WHAS), et.al. because the
HASH is so intrusive. Even to the point of interfering with adjacent
stations on the dial. Don't the decision makers realize they are
driving away listeners in droves? As if the internet hasn't depleted
their audiences enough they have to throw gas on the fire to hasten
their demise. It appears to be a terminal case of falling in love with
your toys coupled with an inability to acknowledge one's mistake.

"Pride goeth before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 16:18

"MotoFox"
confucius-say@enlightenment!to!him!lead!it!for!bangpath!foll ow!man!wise.UUCP
wrote in message
news
And it came to pass that HDRadioFarce delivered the following message unto
the people, saying~


I'm going to tell you this again and I expect you to remember it: QUIT
CROSSPOSTING TO THE REC.RADIO.SHORTWAVE BOARD. The Ibiquity system has no
presence on shortwave (and in all likelihood, never will.) DRM and
Ibiquity are two entirely different, incompatible systems, both
technically and politically, so your pointless bloviating is completely
irrelevant on there.

Think you can remember that?

I doubt it. He's Farce....he can't stop thinking about anything besides
HD Radio!