blog post # 3

Matt Cornwell
News Article
Post #3
http://focus.ti.com/lit/ml/sprl093/sprl093.pdf

HD radio (although still emerging) can give the listener a quality and sound of that of a CD. Listeners can turn up the radio as loud as they want without having to worry about static and other noises interfering with their station. Stations in HD will also be able to stream in text news, weather, traffic, sports, etc in real-time across HD receivers. The development of HD also allows for stations to have secondary stations which will provide the listeners with the news and other information that the listener only wanting music will not get. HD Radio technology has already begun with more than 150 stations across the country broadcasting in digital and HD Radio. This is the future of radio.
I chose this article because it says that HD radio is the future of radio. But if HD is the future of radio then where does that leave the future of am radio? If FM radio also becomes HD, and with satellite radio providing the listener with everything AM and FM can provide, is there even a need for AM radio let alone HD AM raido? Although, HD radio is the future, analog will still stick around because the HD stations use the analog as a back up incase something happens to the HD. When the listener turns on a HD station they will hear analog for the first 5 seconds until the HD kicks in. If for some reason something happens to the HD then the listener will just hear the analog broadcast.
I personally have not listen to HD radio and have not experienced how great the sound is but if what they say is true about it then I see HD being the future of radio. People now-a-days need things to be advanced and at its best. If radio wants to survive at all with all the technology that has been coming about then they too need to keep up with the times and enhance the radio (hence the birth of HD).
The future of AM radio is an uncertain one. Because they do not have nighttime digital service they are missing out on not only listeners but the exposure they need to still be able to make it in the radio field without getting totally lost and forgotten. The book mentions (pg.377) that AM radio could focus on time-brokered programming which would target specific ethnic or religious groups whom are not served by other stations in the market. I think this would be a good idea for AM radio to do because it would enhance the viewership of the station and would give the AM stations a loyal and regular listening audiences.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AYdSok9AWI