In what iBiquity (the intellectual property holder behind HD Radio) is calling a "watershed moment" in the history of digital broadcasting, a Swiss station has purchased and is broadcasting on the first HD radio transmitter in Europe. 

88 Radio Sunshine exists in a portion of the Alps where FM signals are spaced only 100 kHz apart on the dial, and several months of testing were performed before the announcement of the new signal at HD Radio Days, a conference in Lucerne, Switzerland this week.

"BE's implementation of the HD Radio system easily met all our digital requirements, even exceeding technical expectations despite our mountainous coverage area," said Markus Ruoss, principal owner of 88 Radio Sunshine, a private commercial radio station located in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Field-strength measurements of HD Radio broadcasts on Radio Sunshine exceeded acceptable levels, giving the station a green light to begin uninterrupted HD Radio broadcasts on its main and eventually some of its 12 boosters and translators in the region. Radio Sunshine is operating HD Radio broadcasting under voluntary status with the Switzerland Office for Communication (OFCOM).

Until now I hadn't been aware of any plans to use iBiquity's HD Radio system in Europe. The addition of some European markets to the consumer base for recievers could help being down prices, which are still a major hurdle for consumer adoption in the US.

Read the press release here.

MSNBC pitches woo for HD Radio in a recent article, "Making Waves: HD Radio tunes up broadcasters' options for listeners", which makes HD Radio sound like a panacea for broadcasters and listeners alike. I'm not buying it, and I'm the kind of consumer that would easily be an early adopter of the technology if it were warranted.

Sure, HD Radio, if widely adopted and massaged, will be an amazing advance in the world of broadcasting, and in many ways it already is in Europe. Adding channel room to crowded markets, supplemented with RDS to warn us of traffic tie-ups and slippery conditions, HD Radio will be the answer to a dying FM radio market.

Or should I say, could have been. The above scenario could turn out, but it's likely not to. With satellite radio dominating the hive mind, many people instantly think satellite when you mention digital radio. Marketing has already conditioned the public to a wide range of choices, and the need to pay a monthly subsciption cost to get them. Digital=Pay when it comes to radio in the minds of most consumers, and that perception is going to be hard to overcome.

Auto makers are already integrating SIRIUS and XM, while HD is hard to come by in new model options. Before you run right out and buy an HD set at the behest of MSNBC, take a minute to surveil your local programming options, I'll bet they are far from robust.

Clearchannel is making a $100 Million dollar bet on HD in the top 75 US markets. It remains to be seen whether once they build it, anyone will come listen.

I reported over on The Digital Music Weblog that UBC is preparing to offer on the go downloads directly from your digital radio reciever. You'll soon be able to listen to a digital radio station, hear a song your like and purchase it on the spot to be downloaded to your choice of portable player at a later time.

I point out some issues with it, and I can't exactly call my self jealous of the UBC offering. One thing however bugs me, and it's becoming a constant theme. The US has entirely botched the roll-out of HD radio, first by chosing the wrong format (causing more expensive radios and incompatibility between the US and Canada) and we're going to pay for it in the long run. SIRIUS and XM are able to thrive not only because they offer uncensored content, but becuase they offer a level of choice that you simply cannot cram into the space between 87.9 and 107.9 on the dial.

Europe is already getting a taste of what can be done, and digital radio sales are soaring. New technologies are being built around the digital delivery system, and more are surely to come. Will the US miss the boat entirely, just like we've missed out on RDS (the Radio Data System for in car delivery of text information)?

[via The Digital Music Weblog]

A new HD Radio AM station has gone online, something that's becoming a regular occurance in the U.S. The catch is, this time the station is in Surabaya, Indonesia.

"Broadcast Electronics said the use of a new HD Radio system in Surabaya, Indonesia, marks the return of private AM radio to that nation.

The medium-wave system on 1062 kHz was installed on Radio Sangkakala in April, some 15 years after private AM stations in Indonesia migrated to FM, virtually abandoning the medium-wave band."

This marks the first known AM HD Radio station in Asia.

[via RadioWorld Online]

Rob Pegoraro, a tech reporter for The Washington Post says he's sending back his HD Radio. In a pretty scathing goodbye to his HD set, Pegoraro says the local stations in his area let their HD2 signals go silent.

"Each time, I'd tuned the Recepter to the "HD2" channel of a local radio station -- but the station had allowed this second, digital-only broadcast to go silent for no apparent reason. The first offender was WTOP; instead of its HD2 feed's usual pleasant classical music, I heard silence. Rather, I heard nothing -- with no music to awake me, I enjoyed an extra hour of blissful shut-eye.

WAMU pulled the same stunt a couple of weeks later, silencing its second channel."

Harkening back to the early days of TV, it seems many HD broadcasters are only filling the HD2 airwaves when they have something special to offer. According to WAMU's website, Pegoraro has it all wrong.

"At the moment, WAMU is only broadcasting programming content on one channel - 88.5 FM. During special events, we will use the second channel to bring you programming without interrupting our regular broadcast. After the event, we will continue to broadcast program content only on our main channel."

The other station mentioned in the story, WTOP, barely gives mention to HD Radio on its website, instead burying some HD Radio feelgood marketing deep within the site's structure.

If a tech reporter from The Washington Post finds it too difficult to understand when and what is suppoed to be on HD2 feeds of his local stations, and if the stations themselves barely bother to publish information on what they are making available, what hope does the average listener have? And, just how is anyone ever supposed to start salivating over HD Radio in the U.S.?

[via Washington Post]

This is patent non-sense, as it's one of those ideas that isn't actually so much an idea as it is the natural progression of things. However,  XM Satellite Radio has applied for a patent to incorporate HD radio transmitters into satellite radio recivers. Instead of the current FM modulators available in most radio models, XM seeks to add HD capability allowing a portable radio what is essentially a wireless digital input to a car audio system.

In the patent application, the company notes that its "high quality digital signal broadcast by XM Satellite Radio is ideally received by a digital satellite receiver for best audio reproduction, but in many instances an analog frequency modulation technique is utilized to reproduce the digital signal to take advantage of existing FM receiver car audio hardware.". As satellite radio owners know, "high quality digital signal" is a little bit of a misnomer, it's not exactly CD quality. An HD Radio modulator might help slightly, but you're still reproducing a compressed digital signal that is full of artifacts and noise.

Of course, you can patent just about anything these days. The entire patent application can be read here [FMQB.com] as a PDF.

[via FMQB]

Satellite radio has gained more than nine million paying subscribers in four years, and is now putting a crunch on the traditional broadcasting market. HD Radio and HD2, also known as multi-casting or supplemental audio channel broadcasting, offer a multitude of new opportunities for North American broadcasters faced with fierce competition.

"Fear of satellite radio is prompting an unprecedented level of cooperation among broadcasters in their efforts to launch HD Radio and HD2," says Frank Viquez, director of ABI Research's transportation practice. Viquez adds that HD Radio multi-casting is especially attractive to broadcasters because of its ability to divide the radio signal into separate audio channels, allowing new programming opportunities. "Traditionally, many stations with dual formats have been forced to split their programming according to a certain time schedule; thus HD2 offers them many new possibilities."

The downside is, HD2 cuts down on actual bandwidth available to each "channel", lowering the quality of the overall end product. Much as satellite radio is offering a myriad of channels with mediocre quality. The upside is, switching to HD Radio digital broadcasting costs stations relatively little, often requiring minimal additional equipment, and software upgrades.

As we've seen lately, and should see more throughout the remainder of 2006, broadcasters are currently in an aggressive HD Radio roll-out phase. One of the biggest HD2 proponents has been Clear Channel Communications, which has launched HD2 in more than 100 stations across 25 markets in less than one month. There are currently more than 300 stations broadcasting in HD2.

Viquez observes that "While specific revenue and business models have yet to be defined, the broadcast content on HD2 will vary from station to station and by market. However, we can easily imagine broadcasters offering specialized channels that feature little or no commercial interruption, 'pay-per-listen' events such as concerts or other special events, or new formats that target a very specific demographic audience." Just bringing AM sound quality up to par with that of analog FM is, he believes, enough to open new possibilities for AM broadcasters alone.

The real question remains, will any of this encourage sales of HD Radios to consumers.

Three major retailers this week launched a campaign to boost consumer awareness of HD Radio. This comes at the same time as member stations of the HD Radio Alliance launched a new wave of consumer awareness advertising. This new  wave of advertising from the HD Radio Alliance represents a second campaign as a part of an overall $200 million dollar strategy announced earlier this year.

The HD Radio Alliance also announced an expanded number of digital FM stations broadcasting two channels of programming simultaneously. HD 2 multi-casts will be available in 50 markets by mid summer, with over 450 stations broadcasting a second audio channel.

Representing major radio groups and independent station owners, the HD Radio Alliance is promoting the roll-out of digital AM and FM broadcasting and coordinating the roll-out of HD2 broadcasts to ensure as many new formats in the markets are launched as possible. Member broadcasters are responsible for programming each of their new multi-cast channels, which are initially being offered commercial-free.

"One of the most exciting things about HD Radio is the ability to offer innovative new content customized for each individual local market," said Peter Ferrara, president/CEO of the HD Digital Radio Alliance. "Unlike any other audio entertainment source, radio is all about serving the local community and these new HD2 channels will do just that."

A new study released by Arbitron and Edison Media Research called "The Infinite Dial: Radio's Digital Platforms" states that 61% of people 12 and older are aware of satellite radio. It says nearly one in five non-subscribers are "very" or "somewhat likely" to subscribe in the next 12 months. OK, no problem there, seems to pass the sniff test. But, the survey goes on to say this:

When read a description of HD Radio, 8% said they are “very” interested, and another 27% said they are “somewhat” interested. Those who subscribe to satellite radio are more likely to be “very” interested (10%) or “somewhat” interested (33%) in HD digital radio.

I would like to know the exact language of that description, but, no matter what it was, those are terrible numbers. The survery then states:

Most people who said they were interested in HD digital radio said they would be likely to purchase at a price between $50 and $100. Of the 35% of respondents who said they are interested in HD digital radio, nearly half (47%) said they would only be likely to purchase models that cost $100 or less.

What does this tell us? $50 to $100 is less than the cost of a nearly every satellite radio player (not including car kits), and is less than most MP3 players. Couple that with the low numbers of interest based on a description - one can assume that the description highlighted the key differentiating factors - it sounds like the market for HD Radio is still in the toilet and will be for some time. Certainly, the recent announcement that the HD Radio Alliance will rollout a $200 million advertising campaign for HD Radio is good news, but those interested in getting HD Radio to the masses must never lose sight of the fact that people will not care unless it offers something better than a) what they can get for free, or b) what they can get for an acceptable subscription fee. Free equals over the air radio, so paying for the same radio (i.e. the HD re-broadcast of a station) will never sell, ever. That implies that multicasting is the only way to differentiate. But, then you run into (b) - will the multicast stations be able to compete with satellite's offerings, enough to offset the cost of buying an HD Radio? I think the answer is No. What is the solution then? More on that soon.

There will be 8 million listeners of HD Radio by 2010 according to research company Bridge Ratings, compared with a guess of 54 million satellite radio subscribers. Bridge Ratings began with an assumption of 555,000 by the end of this year. According to my sources, that's a total crock. HD Radio will have no where near 555,000 subs... more like 10,000 - 20,000. Where Bridge got their number, I have no idea. Forecasting technology take-up rates is a lot like being a doctor in the 12th century - it's guesswork, razzledazzle, and saying what your patron wants to hear.

Around November of last year, Michael Petricone, the VP of technology policy for the Consumer Electronics Association of America, testified before Congress on the subject of encryption in the HD Radio space. He said: "The rollout of terrestrial digital radio is well underway. Over 500 stations are broadcasting digitally, thousands of radios have already been sold; over 25,000 are forecast to be in the market by year end, with tens if not hundreds of thousands to follow in 2006...”

As my colleague Jim Griffin points out, if the number in 2005 were ten thousand, he would've said tens of thousands or over ten thousand, and if the number were close to ten thousand, he would have said it was almost ten thousand. Instead he used the phrase "thousands of radios have already been sold." He then says they will be followed by tens of thousands in 2006. Let's assume that the number at the end of 2005 was 5,000 - can you imagine even a tenfold increase in HD Radio sales? I can't, and I don't have enough drugs on hand to imagine Bridge Ratings' hundredfold increase, either.