I don't see all digital happening either. Perfect example is WLW that's 50KW. Anyway it can't get the signal thru the buildings in downtown Cincy. That's 15 miles away. Their answer was a low power FM station just for downtown
[Other Topic] FCC plans for AM include all-digital discussions, digital receiver mandate
- Thread starter bluegras
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I mentioned that in the other thread. CC (IHM) is doing that in Minneapolis
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/posts/3670854/
and once you get outside of a "major" market the odds of HD radio are slim to none
I know Minnesota Public Radio is doing subchannels (I dont even call it HD) to get their "3rd" service (The Current) to some of the rural areas that only have 2 stations (MPR has 3 services) or to feed a translator
Other than them the only non Mpls station I know of is WHMH 101.7 in St Cloud. But its a 3 subchannel simulcast of their co-owned AM stations
I know Minnesota Public Radio is doing subchannels (I dont even call it HD) to get their "3rd" service (The Current) to some of the rural areas that only have 2 stations (MPR has 3 services) or to feed a translator
Other than them the only non Mpls station I know of is WHMH 101.7 in St Cloud. But its a 3 subchannel simulcast of their co-owned AM stations
lets make it real simple so even YOU understand
no matter how many times you ask
no matter how many times you change the words
no matter how many times you add more to the paragraph
your question is STILL THE SAME and the ANSWER is STILL THE SAME
you guys dont realize this is something i am so passionate its like trying to get tunein radio to come to dish as app so you can listen to your radio stations on tunein.i hope you guys understand it might happen now or happen in the future.
Allen
Allen
I don't know why I'm bothering but.....here we go (again.)
There's a difference between a passion, and the reality of economics which runs an industry. I collect laserdiscs for fun, but I don't expect the home video industry to bring back laserdiscs to store shelves. Even in their day, they were only for the "high dollar" collector who didn't want VHS or Beta. It's FUN to catch a great LD which was never put on DVD, but it's the rarity that makes it a fun HOBBY. It's NOT coming back. It's an extreme niche activity. So is the broadcasting of HD for listeners' benefit. HD is only used now for (desperate??) broadcasters to look bigger by "signal count" on translators in already saturated markets, or to relay a signal to another market, thus no need of a consumer having an HD radio to hear their "other" programming channels in most cases.
You really do need to realize that you're just now discovering something that is being turned OFF in many markets, not ON. We've told you the reality of the inside of the industry, and the fact that it costs broadcasters' extra licensing money. We've told you that many times HD duplicates programming on standard translators' which you can tune on any standard FM dial. We've told you it's a proprietary system feeding the "big" companies, and that you're not going to find small market stations paying Ibiquity/Clear Channel stockholders for the license (plus buying hardware.) We've told you that HD (hybrid digital) is completely different from "all digital" which hasn't even been more than tested once or twice in the nation, and is not a reality due to its endangering the REACH of broadcasting in our country.
I don't know what more we can do to tell you simply, "enjoy, but don't expect growth." If YOU owned a station and money was tight which it IS for all broadcasters, would you renew a $10k license for HD broadcasting, or sell the hardware, cancel the license for HD and put that money into, for instance; programming, salaries, or repairing your studios' roof? Maybe putting it toward a few years' worth of FCC fees to "hold" a station license? Or, maybe to pay the growing fees required for licensing of the playing of music? HD broadcasting is not on the "asset" list. It's a cost-liability, poorly promoted, with few HD radios available by comparison to standard, and it's Not heard by enough ears to recoup the cost to produce!
If you REALLY want to help broadcasters at the local level, TELL their advertisers you hear them on the radio. Encourage local businesses to ADVERTISE on your local station(s), and don't even mention HD to them. If you do, chances are they've never heard of it, which would prove ALL the points of ALL the people posting here.
We appreciate your enthusiasm for a topic, that's what builds this great site, but TRY to understand....you're listening to broadcasting's equivalent of the Titanic, with likely the same shared end result already happening in many markets. Eventually the only people left doing HD will be PUBLIC radio (where they can beg for money on the air....)
There's a difference between a passion, and the reality of economics which runs an industry. I collect laserdiscs for fun, but I don't expect the home video industry to bring back laserdiscs to store shelves. Even in their day, they were only for the "high dollar" collector who didn't want VHS or Beta. It's FUN to catch a great LD which was never put on DVD, but it's the rarity that makes it a fun HOBBY. It's NOT coming back. It's an extreme niche activity. So is the broadcasting of HD for listeners' benefit. HD is only used now for (desperate??) broadcasters to look bigger by "signal count" on translators in already saturated markets, or to relay a signal to another market, thus no need of a consumer having an HD radio to hear their "other" programming channels in most cases.
You really do need to realize that you're just now discovering something that is being turned OFF in many markets, not ON. We've told you the reality of the inside of the industry, and the fact that it costs broadcasters' extra licensing money. We've told you that many times HD duplicates programming on standard translators' which you can tune on any standard FM dial. We've told you it's a proprietary system feeding the "big" companies, and that you're not going to find small market stations paying Ibiquity/Clear Channel stockholders for the license (plus buying hardware.) We've told you that HD (hybrid digital) is completely different from "all digital" which hasn't even been more than tested once or twice in the nation, and is not a reality due to its endangering the REACH of broadcasting in our country.
I don't know what more we can do to tell you simply, "enjoy, but don't expect growth." If YOU owned a station and money was tight which it IS for all broadcasters, would you renew a $10k license for HD broadcasting, or sell the hardware, cancel the license for HD and put that money into, for instance; programming, salaries, or repairing your studios' roof? Maybe putting it toward a few years' worth of FCC fees to "hold" a station license? Or, maybe to pay the growing fees required for licensing of the playing of music? HD broadcasting is not on the "asset" list. It's a cost-liability, poorly promoted, with few HD radios available by comparison to standard, and it's Not heard by enough ears to recoup the cost to produce!
If you REALLY want to help broadcasters at the local level, TELL their advertisers you hear them on the radio. Encourage local businesses to ADVERTISE on your local station(s), and don't even mention HD to them. If you do, chances are they've never heard of it, which would prove ALL the points of ALL the people posting here.
We appreciate your enthusiasm for a topic, that's what builds this great site, but TRY to understand....you're listening to broadcasting's equivalent of the Titanic, with likely the same shared end result already happening in many markets. Eventually the only people left doing HD will be PUBLIC radio (where they can beg for money on the air....)
Yep. I resign from this one. Did my best to be realistic, factual, polite, and yet to the point. I do, however understand passion for older technology, just that expectations of it's return or revival should be realistic.
Some of the answers just help fuel the speculation. When it's said it would make all the car radios obsolete, ya so did it for TV unless you got a stupid converter, which by the way could be done with radio.
When you say the FCC wouldn't do something because it makes no sense history tells us otherwise. If going digital means any kind of economic advantage to someone it will be pursued. So it is understandable when someone like Bluegras feels like it could happen when they don't want it to.
All that said, it just isn't going to happen at the very least anytime soon, soon meaning in the next say 20 years if ever in my opinion. The curve ball to that is something else not foreseen now happening that would make digital an advantage. It's clearly to me a disadvantage for AM to go digital because possibly the biggest reason to have AM is the distance of the signal. NY as an example has a good size AM listening audience even in Eastern Ct 125+ air miles away, even during the day. Logic certainly says it isn't going to happen.
When you say the FCC wouldn't do something because it makes no sense history tells us otherwise. If going digital means any kind of economic advantage to someone it will be pursued. So it is understandable when someone like Bluegras feels like it could happen when they don't want it to.
All that said, it just isn't going to happen at the very least anytime soon, soon meaning in the next say 20 years if ever in my opinion. The curve ball to that is something else not foreseen now happening that would make digital an advantage. It's clearly to me a disadvantage for AM to go digital because possibly the biggest reason to have AM is the distance of the signal. NY as an example has a good size AM listening audience even in Eastern Ct 125+ air miles away, even during the day. Logic certainly says it isn't going to happen.
Digital worked for TV because they had a cutoff for analog TV's being made. Unless they set a cutoff date for analog radios and force people to buy a digital tuner at a decent price there won't be true digital radio. Sure new cars are coming with HD radio but the majority of cars on the road are not brand new cars. Plus I don't know how many cheap clock radios are HD equipped.
