Especially on the AM band.
Radio World, bless them, has yet another article about the public’s lack of awareness regarding HD Radio®. Calling it a “lack of awareness,” is overly kind and I think they are missing the point. It would be better phrased as “apathy” or “indifference.”
There is a general misconception in the world that one either loves or hates something. That is not true, the opposite of love is indifference, not hate. The public has voted, with their wallets, for things like 3 and 4G wireless devices, satellite radio, iPods, and other entertainment venues. Why? Because HD Radio® is not an advance, it is a repackaging of old ideas with slick marketing. The general public has viewed the great digital radio conversion with a jaundiced eye, opting to sit on the fence and wait for something better. What has iBiquity given them?
The technology itself is a step backward with many band-aids needed to affect the same coverage area as analog FM. A technology that has poorer building penetration, less coverage area, and mobile reception issues with no appreciable difference in sound quality or program material offerings. A power increase from 1% to 10% analog carrier power (20dBc to -10dBc) hasn’t really made a difference. Now, studies are underway looking at asymmetrical sidebands and same-frequency repeater networks for FM IBOC. All of these things, are not to improve radio reception, but rather to achieve the same coverage as analog FM.
The AM HD Radio® has even greater issues.
There is nothing at all surprising about the public indifference toward HD Radio®.