Posted by chicagomedia.org on September 14, 2008 at 14:59:48:
HD Radio gaining the interest of listeners, but there's a long way to go
Floyd Evans would like to add more rapids to the river.
But Evans, regional vice-president for NextMedia, isn't sure that the market is right for that just yet.
"It's all about the radios," Evans said. "And right now, they're just too limited to make it feasible."
For the last few years, NextMedia, which owns 11 Chicago area radio stations, has used WERV 95.9 FM The River in Aurora as its laboratory for the next generation of broadcast technology.
Known in the broadcasting industry as HD Radio, the technology allows radio stations the opportunity to improve the quality of their audio broadcasts and greatly expand their offerings - all while not acquiring any new space on the frequency bandwidth.
Essentially, the technology allows traditional radio broadcasters to piggyback a digital signal onto an existing analog signal.
On FM, broadcasters can divide the frequency into smaller slices, offering listeners the option to choose up to three distinct FM channels on one frequency in a process called multicasting.
The River 95.9 FM, for instance, offers a multicast channel called "The Rapids," which plays a slightly heavier variety of rock music than The River normally would.
Digital signals, however, can carry text, as well, so the technology can also allow listeners to access, for instance, the name of the song playing, scrolling news updates or details of a contest underway at a particular station.
And the sound produced on both AM and FM would be improved to near CD quality.
To promote the technology, an alliance of broadcasters known as the HD Digital Radio Alliance was formed three years ago. And since then, the technology has made tremendous strides, the alliance said, expanding HD Radio station offerings from 300 in 2005 to more than 1,700 today. In the Chicago area, 33 FM stations and nine AM stations broadcast using HD Radio technology.
Further, the price of HD-ready radio receivers have been cut in half, from $500 three years ago to most now costing about $200 to $300, the alliance said.
Customer interest in the technology appears to be growing, as well.
Mitch Zelasko, a home theater specialist at Best Buy, said customers routinely ask about the technology.
"Because of the fact that it's new, people are questioning about it," Zelasko said.
He said Best Buy carries just a few receivers capable of bringing the HD Radio format into the home.
But there are many more units with HD-capable receivers for car audio systems.
"This is definitely the future," Zelasko said. "People are demanding better quality for their sound, just like they are for TV."
While the wave of the future has been embraced by large broadcasters whose signals blanket the region, smaller stations, like The River and Nine FM, which broadcasts on three stations, including WDEK 92.5 FM in DeKalb, have taken a more cautious approach.
Joe McArdle, operations manager for Nine FM, said his company will most likely upgrade its transmitters to utilize the new technology at some point.
But for now, he said, the cost of the upgrade outweighs the potential reward.
"The question is how quickly people will gravitate toward this," McArdle said. "And we're not seeing a huge demand right now."
Evans said just two of the 11 stations operated by NextMedia in the Chicago market use HD technology, 95.9 FM The River and WZSR Star 105.5 FM in Crystal Lake. But only The River has a multicast channel.
"It's something of a challenge for a group like ours," Evans said.
A turning point, however, could come in a few years, as more and more auto manufacturers install HD Radio-ready stereos in new cars. Eight automakers, including Ford, Toyota, Hyundai and BMW, have already begun offering HD Radio as a factory or dealer option, according to the HD Radio Digital Alliance.
"People in their cars make up such a large percentage of our listeners," Evans said. "That's where the demand is going to come from, and that's when this will become viable."
HD Radio - What is it? HD Radio represents a burgeoning new broadcast technology that allows broadcasters to piggyback a digital signal on an analog transmission.
What does it do? The technology allows broadcasters to transmit multiple channels on one frequency and improve the sound quality of their broadcasts.
Where is it available? There are 33 FM stations and nine AM stations in the Chicago market now broadcasting in HD.
How much does it cost? The broadcast is free. You must, however, purchase a receiver capable of decoding the HD signal.
(Kane County Chronicle)