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: HD Radio?


FL_G8
05-30-2008, 10:10 AM
Anybody have experience with them. Would you recommend it?

GETGONE
05-30-2008, 11:04 AM
Not worth the expense if you ask me. I bought a JVC head unit for my 00 Camaro and wanted XM ready and found the HD unit had a $30 rebate so I bought it. Regular radio still sucks even if it is in digital. The range is shorter for HD stations too. I live about 30 miles from a large city that has many HD channels but get about 15-20 miles away and the signal changes back to analog. The add on tuners are $150-200 and require a box and a tuner display to be mounted somewhere. I'll stick with my XM radio.

Rayvan
05-30-2008, 11:22 AM
Anybody have experience with them. Would you recommend it?

They're a worse sound than analog radio. Keep in mind that HD Radio is not "high definition" it stands for "hybrid digital." It is not superior to FM quality as it's a lossy-compression like a medium quality mp3 file. In hybrid mode, the AM band caries 36 kilobits per second of data for the main audio channel while FM stations carry 96 kbit/s. Not too great. To top it off, most of the FM stations that use it carry more than one HD channel, so the bit rate gets cut in 1/2 or to 1/3.

IOW, it's good for the broadcaster, not so much for the listener...

GETGONE
05-30-2008, 11:30 AM
It sounds clearer and crisper than analog radio to me.

Rayvan
05-30-2008, 01:27 PM
It sounds clearer and crisper than analog radio to me.

It has the potential to be better than analog.

If the FCC ever allows stations to discontinue analog simulcasting, each station will have over 300 kbit/s bandwidth available, allowing for CD or even Surround Sound-quality audio together with multiple sub-channels. Until then, the quality is less than CD.