I see this statement being made on various forums, blogs, and other places. As some would like to believe, the problem with HD radio is that people don’t like change. A Look at the early days of FM radio in the 1950s is a good example of this. FM radio took decades to catch on, HD Radio is no different. Currently, HD Radio is experiencing “growing pains” and the occasional “bump in the road.”
Except; no, not really.
Here is a side by side comparison:
| Problem/issue | FM radio 1950 | HD radio 2010 |
| Implementation of technology | A new band was created and new radios containing the old (AM) and new FM band were manufactured. During the experimental phase (1937-47), the frequencies were between 42-50 MHz. This changed to 88-108 MHz in 1947. Uptake on new radios was slow due to a frequency shift. | Existing AM and FM frequencies were utilized using “Hybrid” mode. This entailed changing existing channel bandwidths arbitrarily. New receivers with the HD Radio chipset needed to receive broadcasts. |
| Funding | FM radio was implemented by broadcasters who, for the most part, bore the brunt of the costs themselves. | Consumers are generally unaware of HD. Those that are become disappointed with the lack of additional programming choices and poor receiver performance |
| Creation of interference | FM broadcasting created no interference to any other broadcasting station when it was rolled out | HD radio has created many interference problems, especially on the AM band at night, where skywave propagation makes adjacent channel stations bear the brunt of exceeded bandwidths. FM is prone to co-carrier interference from higher digital power levels created to solve poor reception issues in addition to adjacent channel interference to adjacent FM broadcasters from exceeded bandwidths. |
| Lack of consumer awareness or interest | HD radio offers a slight improvement to “CD quality” which is hard for the average listener to tell apart from typical analog FM. AM offers increased audio quality over analog, however, due to reception problems, AM receivers often lose data synchronization and return to the analog signal, creating up/down listening experience most find annoying. | Consumers were generally aware of FM radio, however, the FCC created a major stir when forcing FM broadcasters to move from their original frequency band of 42-50 MHz to 88-108 MHz. This move rendered obsolete many FM radios and caused hard feelings to amount early FM radio fans. |
| Technical reception problems | FM stations began broadcasting with low power levels and horizontally polarized antennas. Radio was not yet a mobile medium. Many FM listeners needed to install outdoor antennas on their homes to get reception. Radio listeners were willing to undertake this for good reception. | HD power levels are less than needed to have reliable reception in buildings and mobile listening environments. A 6 to 10 dB increase has not effectively been implemented nor solved the problem |
| Audio quality | FM broadcasting is markedly superior to AM broadcasting in the areas of noise reduction and fidelity. | HD radio offers a slight improvement to “CD quality” which is hard for the average listener to tell apart from typical analog FM. AM offers increased audio quality over analog, however, due to reception problems, AM receivers often loose data synchronization and return to the analog signal, creating up/down listening experience most find annoying. |
| Auxillary services, additional channels | FM broadcasting did not have any such features in 1950 | HD radio offers the choice of 2 additional channels for programming. These channels are taken from the existing bandwidth/bit rate of the digital carrier and are a lower quality than the main channel. In addition to that, there is a data channel that can be used to display song titles and such |
| Programming | HD Radio main channel is the exact duplicate of its analog signal. HD-2 and HD-3 channel offer a variety of programming choices including simulcasts of AM stations, retransmissions of co-owned out-of-market stations, syndicated satellite programs, and occasionally a niche format. | During the early FM development and implementation, the only competing electronic medium was AM radio |
| Electronic Media availability | HD radio has enjoyed a rubber stamp environment where large businesses and the FCC work together to re-write interference regulations with no regard for technical consequences. | The choices of electronic media are wide and diverse. These include TV, satellite radio, internet, 3G wireless, mp3 players, AM and FM radio |
| Regulatory environment | The FCC staff was filled with ex or future RCA employees, who were interested in the status quo, thus keeping FM from becoming too big too fast and competing with the roll out of RCA’s television technology. Therefore it was hobbled with low power levels and a bizarre station class structure | The FCC staff was filled with ex or future RCA employees, who were interested in the status quo, thus keeping FM from becoming too big too fast and competing with the rollout of RCA’s television technology. Therefore it was hobbled with low power levels and a bizarre station class structure |
The FM rollout in the late forties and early fifties is vastly different from the HD Radio rollout in the zero zeros. Due to fear of competition and patent disputes, RCA in conjunction with the FCC did all they could to squash the new technology. That is why FM radio took so long to be accepted by the general public. For those not versed with the history of FM development and FM broadcasting in the US, see Empire of the Air, by Tom Lewis. See also: Edwin H. Armstrong. It is a good read for those radio obsessed.
HD Radio is failing because the consumer is not buying it, I see little to change their mind.