[opendtv] Re: Digital Car Radios, No Premium

  • From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 17:57:36 -0500

Dan Grimes wrote:

> There really isn't a premium for HD Radio.  Tuners with comparable features
> are about the same with or without the HD tuner.  However, one does need to
> know what to specify.  There are lots of HD "ready" radios which cost about
> $100 more to get the add on package which is just under the price I paid
> for my new car radio/digital media player with the HD tuner already there.

I wasn't able to find the price of HD radio chips in a brief search, but I'm 
sure it's quite low. I did find that even a few years ago, certainly by 2007, 
both TI and Samsung were producing the chips, and these chips combined analog 
AM/FM tuning and audio inputs (for MP3 players or whatever) as well. The 
biggest cost issue might be the same old licensing problem.

Still, when we bought our last car, both OnStar *and* XM satellite radio came 
built in, and I didn't object in the least. We do not pay for XM Radio, but we 
still get a few channels on it, probably as promotions. They come and they go. 
The weather channel, or emergency channel, or whatever they call it, seems 
always available. (FWIW, the audio quality of both HD Radio and plain old FM is 
easily superior to the quality of the XM channels they make available, from 
time to time.)

The point is, I didn't object because I know that the cost of building in those 
features was completely trivial, as long as we didn't cave in the permanent 
monthly sucking sound. But I definitely do object to the fact that HD Radio 
wasn't, and isn't, even an option in these cars. That level of unbridled greed 
is simply hard to swallow.

The "features" of HD radio are primarily greater choice. Also, if they would 
quit transmitting AM analog, HD Radio in the AM band sounds worlds different 
from crappy AM analog. It's like you're making use of the AM band again, where 
now even voice programs are tough to take. Unfortunately, in hybrid mode, HD 
Radio in the AM band creates too much interference for the existing AM stations 
(as anyone ought to expect, since the HD bandwidth in hybrid mode is 30 KHz!!).

Bert

 
 
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