You never know, people already have shelled out mucho dinero to listen to internet radio at low bitrates and lousy speakers, and play solitaire on. HD might go if car manufacturers will put them in as standard equip. I dont see the home market ever being much. How many people do you know bought an AM stereo home receiver????
> > OK so I am curious... What makes you so sure it's the
> radio
> > that is at fault, when it could actually be the radio
> > station? I've heard some stations put the same or very
> > similar squashed processing on their HD signals that they
> do
> > on their analog broadcast.
>
> The radio isn't at fault. In the case of Jabba the HD's HD
> Dominion web site, dishonesty is the problem. IBUZ is,
> simply, _NOT_ CD Quality. It hasn't increased the number of
> formats available to all listeners. They've led readers to
> believe it's like satellite and each of these voicetracked
> jukeboxes (you know, the analog formats that are killing
> radio) is available in all markets and will be the salvation
> of radio. "250 new formats created." Where? In each market?
> It's actually 250 new voicetracked jukeboxes created. I
> haven't seen the massive hiring that would be required if
> these channels were considered real radio stations. Showbiz.
> Without showbiz, I have no need for an expensive new radio.
>
> In other forums I've posted significant details of what I've
> heard, using the loaner radio. Most stations were not
> processing analog and IBUZ separately. Intentionally, I
> believe, so that mode switching won't be obvious. The
> digital is restricted by the limits of the analog. Loudness
> is king in analog which rolls off the high end to compensate
> for the preemphasis curve.
>
> In once case, analog is pumping out 11Kw. IBUZ is at 110
> watts. That leads to digital mode switching. In the Boston,
> Worcester, Hartford, Springfield and Albany markets digital
> is so wimpy it's lucky to make it to the city limits.
>
> Those of us who have spent our lives in this industry know
> better than to expect loudness wars will disappear just
> because preemphasis goes away. It'll all just get louder.
>
> I have a few problems with IBUZ. For AM, it's a death
> sentence, I believe, from what I already hear. When you crap
> all over your neighbor's signal it ceases to qualify as good
> engineering practice. Is there any engineer here with any
> sense of pride in what they do who would dispute that
> contention? Instead of admitting there are serious problems
> over and above old transmitter sites they set up a web site
> touting how wonderful this new debacle is. I have to give
> iBorg credit for assimilating such a large number of
> formerly independent thinking engineers.
>
> On FM I hear artifacts. I don't hear the adjacent channel
> interference, probably because I'm no longer in an
> incredibly congested market (New York City). The CD Quality
> issue is the most deceptive of all. By CD Quality I mean the
> ability to make full use of the Red Book standard. If you
> choose to use the audio purity of CDs to record smashed crud
> you still have the capability of doing it right. In the case
> of IBUZ, it's low bit rate codecs can't possibly match the
> potential quality of a CD. You couldn't do CD Quality right
> if you really, really tried. Even iBorg has racheted it down
> to CD-like quality. The HD Dominion uses the term
> everywhere.
>
> The issue of reduced S/N when IBUZ is added is irrelevant.
> The industry has taken what used to be considered an
> audiophile medium and turned it into something that crams 10
> lbs. into a 5 lb. bag. You choose the contents. I think you
> could add a lot of extra crud to an existing FM signal and
> it wouldn't come close to the crud that's already there.
> Very few would notice the difference. Those who would, don't
> listen to it.
>
> The most important issue to me, as a programmer, is the
> uncaring approach to seondary channels (You know, the stuff
> that's going to save us). Not only is it unlikely to inspire
> someone to buy an expensive receiver it's being streamed a
> low bit rates, leading potential buyers into thinking this
> is the aweful sound they'll hear on their $300, $500, $1500
> receiver. Also on the iPod type of receiver that doesn't
> exist (you know, the kind of music device that's, allegedly,
> killing us).
>
> It's a shame to see my industry act like Keystone Kops in
> rolling out a digital system that's intrinsically flawed but
> could still work for FM if someone felt the need to actually
> tell the truth. This is now a Wall Street driven business.
> Honesty is very dangerous. Programmers and Engineers bring
> stock prices down as the quality of their work goes up.
>
> Rich
>
