[opendtv] Re: FCC on revitalizing the AM band

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <brewmastercraig@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2015 09:16:01 -0400



Regards
Craig

On Oct 23, 2015, at 9:50 PM, Manfredi, Albert E
<albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-am-revitalization-first-report-and-order-fnprm-noi

Fun read. Much of it seems to do exactly the opposite. Many of the proposals
are to reduce the AM station's role, during both day and night, and delegate
the work to FM translators. From a technical point of view, this is not
revitalizing the AM band at all. It's more like de-emphasizing its use,
migrating to FM instead.

Apparently you did not read the whole Report and Order. It does nothing to
de-emphasize the primary AM license, as FM translators are only allowed to fill
in gaps in the coverage contour of the AM license.

The greater reality is that FM licenses are still being offered, and many AM
stations are now simulcasting on AM and FM.

I think the only meaningful way to "revitalize" the AM band is to replace AM
entirely, with HD Radio. Otherwise, nothing will change the abysmal quality
of the AM signal, especially at night, when any excuse of "we can expand to
30 KHz channel" cannot apply, and the analogue interference is very bad. (And
just how many AM radios out there have adjustable IF andwidth anyway? Gimme a
break.)

Go to HD Radio only, in the AM band. Perhaps transitioning one channel at a
time.

This may be a viable option, however, it probably would not help much.

There are many trends in the broadcast radio industry, but support for "digital
radio" is not one of them. In fact, there is significant confusion among
consumers and manufacturers as to whether this means HD radio broadcasting or
the ability to stream content from the Internet.

Here is a recent bit of news from the CEA via Twice:

http://www.twice.com/news/car-electronics/why-dts-buying-ibiquity-digital/58434

The number of U.S. radio stations broadcasting an HD Radio signal plateaued
since around 2010 at more than 2,200 radio stations out of about 15,358
commercial and educational stations in the U.S., though those stations reach
almost 90 percent of the U.S. population in almost 300 metro areas, iBiquity
has said.
Although HD Radio has made advances in the OEM and aftermarket car audio
markets, it is not widely available in home or portable audio products.
All 36 major auto brands selling into the U.S. offer HD Radio technology on
some of their vehicles, many as standard equipment, publicly held DTS said.
HD Radio was built into around 35 percent of cars sold in the U.S. in 2014,
the Calabasas, Calif., company added. The company expects most North American
vehicles to come equipped with HD Radio technology over time.

Problem is, the average age of the U.S. Vehicle fleet is now more than 11
years, so it may take a very long time for HD radio to get significant
penetration. Meanwhile manufacturers are adding support to connect smartphones
to the vehicle entertainment systems for both streaming and local storage of
music and podcasts. The most recent stat I could find was that in 2012 only 2%
of the people in cars were listening to HD radio. Meanwhile, more than 25
million people in the U.S. subscribe to digital satellite radio.

Turns out that good old AM/FM radio is getting the job done, with more than 85%
of the population tuning in every week. Also of note is that the most popular
programs are now talk formats, where live linear still has some meaning. There
are MANY options for listening to music.

Also of note, we have only two broadcast capable radios in our home. The one in
the garage gets some use, while the clock radio in the bedroom is just a clock.
What is more interesting is that I now listen to one local station via their
online streaming service rather that a radio; sometimes via a Bluetooth speaker
fed from my desktop Mac, and sometimes via my iPad.

As we move to " the connected car" I would expect online "radio" to grow in
importance, but AM and especially FM are likely to be with us for a long time.

Here is a fairly good look at the future of radio with a global perspective:

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/11/27/the-future-of-radio/3/


Regards
Craig

----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:

- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org

- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.

Other related posts:

  1. Home
  2. opendtv
  3. Archive
  4. 10-2015