The problem is that not many people know HD radio exists. With data getting relatively cheaper (although it's still one of the most expensive places in the world for Canada as a whole), stations will just keep pushing their apps rather than HD Radio.  I don't have CarPlay or Android Auto in my old (2011) car, but I do have HD Radio.  I always listen to 640 & 1010 on HD even though the HD2 signal on 95.3 is sometimes spotty.

I like HD so much that I even bought a Sangean radio with HD that I listen to it at home rather than streaming various stations through my smart speakers.  I guess I'm one of the weird people out there.  If HD radio is gone, I will definitely miss it.
 

chrishch wrote:

The problem is that not many people know HD radio exists.

Which is exactly the problem. How can the average listener, who isn't always savvy about this stuff, know it's there if they never hear about it? There used to be promos on stations and on their websites advertising it. Try finding those pages online now without some difficulty. 

I did manage to locate one on AM 640's site after a bit of trouble, but it's so out of date, the YouTube video they put out to explain it to listeners is labelled "private" and unable to be played. 

But at least it's still there. CFRB's website turns up a "no results found" when you search for "HD Radio." Clearly they've both given up on it.

There is many issues with how HD is done, the lack of effort by the industry to improve things also is an issue.

I will not talk about home based radios, because most people are moving to streaming for that use.   Smart speakers, etc. are the home radios for a lot of people now.   HD should be made available on low cost clock radios and other home devices..  Sadly home HD radios are way over priced which will not make anyone care about it, so streaming may be the best case for most homes.    Stats show homes are moving this way and have been for a while.

For in the car, I think radio still has life left over streaming.       The major issue is how it's being setup on radios.    The easiest way is putting HD for the station you are broadcasting on the main signal.   For 1010 for example, it really should live on 1010 am.    It would then flip to HD automatically if your radio has the feature.   It's easy.... and the user has to do very little to know how to work it.    Sadly most AM sites are not ready to go for HD and require investment which owners don't want to make.    FM on the other hand is fairly easy to setup to be HD ready, with limited upfront costs involved for most stations.  This is why most owners have put their AM's on their HD2-3-4 of their FM stations.   This is where the issue is.     Without promotion, no one knows/cares about these because of what you have to do to get to them on your radio.   For 1010, you have to go to 99.9 FM... wait for the HD to come on, then go to HD2.     Trying to explain that to a listener is way to complicated for something they get with zero effort at AM1010.

The way it could be fixed is working with the manufacture of HD.   Develop a way to operate like digital tv does, with virtual channels.    This way 99.9 fm hd 2, would be connected to AM1010.   So when you dial up AM 1010, your radio could automatically connect to 99.9 HD2.        They also could allow radios to show each station in HD in an easy to find display based on what the station is known as (NewsTalk 1010) just like streaming apps do.

The industry could push for all of these things and make them happen.    With car manufactures dropping AM or soon will be, this should have been done and ready for the future.   Sadly if they don't soon do something, we will see some just go dark.   Perhaps that is the plan?

 

Last edited by radiokid (May 11, 2023 10:50 am)

Familiar topic.  I've had a number of discussions with Moses' senior staff, because their AM 740 audience complain about the AM interference, and their 96.7 frequency does not have enough power to overcome co-channel in the west end from CHYM.  Why don't they promote HD2?  "It's too confusing"..that's the standard response.  I suggested they put together a video for their website on "how to tune HD2" in the car.  They have lots of video production experience, and some pretty smart TV production people.  but nothing happens.  And, HD transmission in Toronto is not cheap.   Brookfield which controls the roof rights at First Canadian place  probably charging $20,000 per year/per HD subchannel -  in additional rent to stations who utilize HD2, 3 and 4's. Plus they take a revenue share, if the channel is being leased out.  The main HD channel at First Canadian Place does not spike a rent increase.  Scott Fybush told me that he knows of no U.S. tower rental companies that charge a premium for HD2, 3 or 4 use.

I have no ratings data for the U.S., but I do hear HD ids at the top of the hour, in the states.  And from my dial scans in my car, the Buffalo FM's are stacked with HD subchannels.  So they must have some business rationale for their expansion of HD.

As for Bell, well I think management is so very dysfunctional in that company that no one who's really "in charge" is aware of HD.   I know they pulled off HD from CHUM FM's signal because a program director believed that they had lost coverage on the main channel out at the fringes.  I would miss it if Rogers pulled down their CJCL 590 HD3, because I listen to it in the car (which has no AM reception) and I listen to Durham's WAVE.fm (rebroad of CIWV 98.3 vancouver).  I think for some Toronto ethnic stations they actively promote their HDs and the channels are generating listeners and revenues.   Increasingly I am turning to streaming via TuneIn and Spotify in my vehicle...and listening less to conventional radio.  As a footnote, my daughter purchased an FM/bluetooth radio in Europe as a gift, and aside from great rechargeable battery life it is waterproof and allows streaming from my phone around the house or in the garden.  So my "Insignia" HD radios have fallen into dis-use, except for two pocket sized earphone HD radios, which we use to listen to sports, when walking.

I don't think that the U.S. auto industry is going to abandon HD in the car any time soon because the chipset that facilitates IBOC reception costs next to nothing and HD has made multipath much less of a problem in cities with highrises, moutain terrain, etc, for in-car reception of FM.  Last thought, National Public Radio stations are really good at promoting their HD main and sub channels.  Not that NPR is a ratings leader, but HD has certainly factored into their business plans.

Last edited by tvguy (May 11, 2023 11:15 am)

tvguy wrote:

I have no ratings data for the U.S., but I do hear HD ids at the top of the hour, in the states.

Nothing. The only time HD shows up in the ratings is when an HD subchannel is the source signal for an analog repeater.
 

Not to mention the deletion of AM from many electric vehicles and manufacturers like Ford confirming it will no longer include the band in its new models - gas-powered or otherwise. This could be one way to keep those AM signals alive in vehicles. Time appears to be running on AM and it's amazing station owners haven't tried to speed up HD awareness instead of ignoring it. 

But clearly they think apps and streaming are the only future. There's nothing easier than turning on a radio pre-set without having to connect to anything. And even with cheap data, as the old saying goes, you can't beat free. 

RadioActive wrote:

But clearly they think apps and streaming are the only future. There's nothing easier than turning on a radio pre-set without having to connect to anything. And even with cheap data, as the old saying goes, you can't beat free. 

The dashboard apps are getting to the point where they're just as easy, if not easier.