Clear Signals Ahead for Specialty Radios

In the high-flying world of consumer electronics, radios often have been left standing at the gate. But radio’s status is changing. The microchip revolution, which put Bluetooth phones on our ears, BlackBerries on our belts and iPods in our hands, has finally reached the everyday radio. Table radios now provide room-filling, high-definition sound; pocket-size shortwave radios tune in the world; and new weather radios listen for danger while you sleep.

But the biggest buzz in the radio industry today is HD Radio, the name given to the new digital broadcast standard created by iBiquity Digital Corp. that goes above and beyond broadcast radio in several ways. HD Radio delivers CD-quality sound to programming broadcast by FM stations and provides for a new broadcast concept called multicasting. Multicasting allows FM radio stations to transmit as many as eight channels of programming on their assigned frequency (currently, though, no station broadcasts more than three). In other words, your favorite classical station, if it chose to multicast, could also broadcast talk programs on the same frequency. An HD-capable radio would allow you to select which channel you want to hear.

For AM programming, HD Radio delivers FM-quality sound, which is a huge improvement. But it does not allow the same multicasting capability that FM stations enjoy. Worse, AM radio stations have to shut off their digital signals—at Federal Communications Commission’s insistence—at sundown because of interference that’s common along the AM band.

The transition to digital radio has not been smooth. Stations have been slow to implement HD Radio broadcasting because of the expense of the necessary transmitter and an FCC rule that forbids accepting advertising on the extra channels. In fact, as of December 2006, only 1,100 stations—a fragment of the market—broadcast digital signals. And the rollout of radios capable of picking up HD Radio also has happened at a much slower rate than public-relations people in the radio industry had imagined.  

But there are signs that HD Radio has turned a corner. Thanks to a push by a group of broadcasters that includes giants CBS and Clear Channel, the number of stations broadcasting in digital doubled in 2006. The number of multicasting stations increased to more than 500 in December 2006 from 89 a year earlier. And manufacturers have picked up the pace. Eleven companies have introduced HD Radio-capable products, and more companies plan to do the same soon (though Bose and Sony remain notable holdouts). IBiquity expects high-end stereo makers Denon and Niles Audio, among others, to jump into the HD Radio pool in 2007. Radios that receive digital signals now can be found for less than $200.

Expect to hear even more hype about HD Radio as the broadcasters’ group, HD Digital Radio Alliance, pumps up its advertising this year. But you needn’t panic about a deadline for going digital. Unlike with TV, FCC has not declared a shutoff date after which all analog radio transmissions must cease. In fact, industry analysts don’t believe we will see an all-digital radio landscape for 10 years or more.

TABLETOP GIANTS. Introducing HD Radio to America via pricey tabletop radios is a good strategy for manufacturers because today’s radios are of unprecedented quality. For years the Bose Wave radio put a spotlight on high-quality, component stereo sound in a box that fit easily atop a desk, a dresser or a kitchen counter. Other manufacturers have caught up. The signature Bose sound has been duplicated and in some cases surpassed.

But it’s not just about the audio; it’s also about features and convenience for new-generation radios. Most table radios come with credit-card-size remote controls that duplicate the knobs and buttons of the front panel display. To our dismay, Bose has left the buttons off its new Wave radio; if you lose your remote, you can’t operate the radio.