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HD in new cars
- Thread starter Ai4i
- Start date
My 2012 Hyundai Genesis R-spec came only one way - with everything. There were no options. But usually in the lower (economic) class of cars you do have the option of a full-blown entertainment package (which usually includes full nav and HD/sat) or a lesser unit which may not have HD and/or nav.
Unfortunately, the only place I can listen to HD is in the car as there are practically no table top/combo units being sold for home use.
Unfortunately, the only place I can listen to HD is in the car as there are practically no table top/combo units being sold for home use.
When shopping for my wife's new car, I noted that Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar, all had HD radio standard, whether satellite navigation was optioned or not. She bought the Jaguar XF with navigation and it has HD. In fact, the HD actually seems to work better in the new Jag, than her previous Audi S6
Which, btw, is basically the same situation for satellite.
But all the plug-n-play units have home kits, although they are usually sold with car kits.
I was recently in an older car, going crazy(er?), figuratively pulling my beard out trying to get a multicast channel until I eventually realized that the car was pre-multicast. What year might the car have been, and does anyone know whether Canadian models, where multicasting is still not allowed, are sub-channel capable?
It was a Honda.
I bought a nice, new luxury car which had several things I would not have purchased as a separate option. The sunroof, which has never been opened. Satt receiver which is never subscribed. Sill and puddle lamps and auto wipers - pretty useless here in the desert where rain is not an issue. Auto braking, lane control, parking assist, navigation and cruise control. But the car came equipped only one way and the only option was the color paint. I wanted the car and it came only one way so I signed up. I don't consider myself a "poor schnook". I could have opted for a basic car without any of these but I got the car I wanted.
BTW, the HD in my car has worked flawlessly in the almost 4 years I have owned the car and it is the only thing I listen to while driving around my metro area. I may not have wanted it as a stand alone option but I am now glad it is there.
Many of the traffic-display GPS systems in new cars use HD data streams to show road conditions. For those systems to function, HD has to be installed.
My reliable, trusty 2014 Forester came standard with stone knives, bearskins
and a harmonica for entertainment......
and a harmonica for entertainment......
,and also I have a stand alone Garmin GPS that relies on HD which performs as expected. It only works in the cities and drops out at the most inopportune times. I had a Tom Tom for my last GPS in which the traffic was a great feature and worked most of the time. With the Garmin, not so much, I have been in a traffic jam before with the thing saying there was no traffic.......
Flawlessly as in not having to bring it in for service? I find it hard to believe you don't get at least some drop outs no matter where you drive, and you paid extra for stuff you didn't want nor need. I was lucky enough to get a good analog radio in my 2009 car along with XM for which I bought a lifetime subscription at the time. I have never regretted it and I plan on keeping the car for a long time. I have Underground Garage, POTUS, Blues, Jazz, 50's on 5 etc. at my fingertips with very few dropouts no matter where I drive clear up and down the East Coast 24/7.
In the 4 years of ownership I have found exactly one intersection in Scottsdale, adjacent to the airpark, where the HD will drop out. I suspect it is related to some radio or radar equipment located on the airport because it is the only time I have suffered a drop and it is repeatable. Otherwise the HD will stay operational almost to the CA line at Blythe (130 miles) and almost to Tucson (120 miles). I tend to lose multiplexed FM about the same time as HD in both cases. Mono FM will hang in there for another 10-20 miles or so before going away altogether. The Lexicon system has never had a problem.
As far as paying for extra stuff - virtually everyone does that. My Genesis has so many bells and whistles on it that even today I do not know how to operate everything. I simply don't spend enough time in the car to need to learn. The car's new cost was in the high 40's (about 20-grand less than a comparable Lexus) and in that range most cars do not have a lot of options. The 429 hp V-8 Tau GDI engine, 8-speed transmission and sport suspension was what I wanted and that was the least expensive way to get them. This car will rip the doors off anything else its size and in its class and still get high 20's MPG on the highway. It is quiet, comfortable and has been absolutely reliable so far. It is the best sedan I have ever owned and well worth what I paid for it. I too, tend to keep cars for a decade or so, so depreciation is not a concern.
The car came with a subscription to XM and I did try it out the first few months I owned it. Because I don't spend a lot of time driving and not much outside my metro area XM is of little use and the Lexicon has spoiled me for audio quality.
R
rbrucecarter5
Guest
The last, best hope for HD is that it become standard in as many vehicles as possible, and consumers somehow discover HD-2 formats and become hooked on the technology. HD-2 content is the only reason I own HD radios. There is no more possibility of aftermarket HD radios being added to newer vehicles - that screen in the middle of the dash is not only the radio, it is GPS and a dozen other functions. It is even the climate controls in some cars - you cannot remove it without giving up many other vehicle functions, some of them critical. I haven't seen anybody suggesting you get an aftermarket radio for HD in a long time. I have two vehicles in the ten year old range. These are likely that last vehicles in which I can install an aftermarket radio. The next car I drive will probably have that screen in the middle with backup camera, GPS, radio, phone connectivity, and whatever kitchen sink items they want to throw in there. Which is a shame, because with the exception of landtuna's experience, these stock radios suck. My daughter's new car barely gets 820, which is static free on my aftermarket radio. The last open FM frequencies in my area have disappeared, covered by irrelevant programming almost nobody listens to - so I can't do an FM evaluation, but HD range seems to be really good. She doesn't care, her phone is her music. Radio has done a good job of turning her off - her presets are mostly Sirius XM and she seldom uses even them.
HD twos and threes are also good because they are processed for digital listening.
Commercial (but not non-comm) stations process their HD ones to match their anal og sounds.
To be really honest I cannot tell the difference between a good FM multiplex signal and an HD signal. One station in the Valley (an AM) broadcasts FM via repeaters. 92.7 FM multiplex and 93.3 HD2. Switching between them (not the AM of course) I can't tell a difference in sound quality. But the 92.7 signal doesn't seem any more robust than the HD2. I believe both originate from the same location (South Mountain).
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