HD Radio Really Does SUCK!
OK, I feel like that Congressman that spends years and years running as the “family values” candidate and then get’s caught up in the hooker scandal. You try and try to tell people to do as you say, not as you do but it just doesn’t work. That’s me today.
One of my all time favorite radio stations went Internet only some years ago. I LOVED this little station out of Oxford, Ohio and actually felt a loss when they went away. Then they came back. On the Internet. Then they went away again. Then they came back. Again. Anyone at all familiar with the story knows that I am talking about WOXY.com.
I listen to them both through their website, but more often than not I use the radio feature in iTunes as both the main WOXY stream and their Vintage stream are included in the iTunes radio list.
Well, WOXY.com came back to the airwaves in Cincinnati in an odd kind of way a few weeks ago.
The WOXY.com folks signed up with Cincinnati NPR station WVXU to simulcast their Internet stream on their HD 2 channel. I was floored when I heard it. I listened to WOXY at least a couple of hours most days and STILL to this very day miss them being on the air. Even with a subscription to both Sirius and XM I miss not hearing WOXY when I can’t be near an Internet connection. I was torn between REALLY wanting to listen to WOXY and my hatred of HD Radio.
Well, my issue was compounded a few weeks ago. I found an HD table top radio on Craigslist for $15. The guy said that it was nearly new and that he simply lived too far away from Cincinnati to pick up the HD broadcasts. I asked him why only $15 and he said that he had been trying to sell it in various places and couldn’t. He then listed on Craigslist for $30 and nobody bit. Then $15. That’s where I came in. I agreed, but when I got out to Milford (about 20 or so miles from my home) to do the deal the guy GAVE IT TO ME! Told me that I spent more in gas to get there than the radio was worth. He would not take my money. Handed over the box and receipt for the radio and wished me well.
I was floored, but I really wanted to check out WOXY on HD so I peddled home as fast as I could to try the thing out. Damn it, what a let down. I live in Northern Kentucky but close enough to Cincinnati to still smell the place. I live on top of one of the largest hills in all of Northern Kentucky and can SEE the transmitters on the hill over in Cincinnati for many radio stations. Not all, but MANY. I couldn’t pick up the freakin WVXU signal. Seems living on the far side of one of the highest hills in all of Northern Kentucky isn’t good enough for HD Radio.
Now I could (and I just might) add and outdoor antenna. Mounted to my DirecTV pole is the dish for D*TV as well as an external antenna for both Sirius and XM. I could very easily add an HD external and pick up the signal for about $100. Why should I have to? I don’t have the FM or AM antennas for my home theater system hooked up but I can get any station that I want to on that. Why not the same for HD? Because HD Radio SUCKS! That’s why.
HD Radio is a bigger joke than even I thought it was.
If I were you I throw it in the trash, that’s a funny story by the way but sadly it is true of virtually everyone who gets suckered into buying one. Why don’t you send a copy of your letter to Radio World?They would probably be very interested in your story.
Bob Young
November 28, 2007 at 11:22 pm
HD Radio suffers from interference, dropouts, poor coverage, bland programming, and zero consumer interest. HD Radio is a ploy to hijack our airways by iBiquity/HD Alliance.
PocketRadio
June 24, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Some of the early HD radios on the market were truly deaf, but today there are many really great radios by JVC, Sangean, Sony and others that improve the situation substantially. Further, radio stations are continuing to refine and improve their signals.
Chuck
July 31, 2008 at 12:02 am
I bought a Kenwood HD car radio…. man, it sucks. It sounds great if i don’t drive my car anywhere. Even still, i can only pick up 6 stations in Washington DC. Regular radio airwaves advertise HD radio as if FM stereo is going away. So I bought one. It fades in and out. Sometimes the sound processing shifts around….very loud in the center channel, then back to stereo mode. The programming is bland. Also, I still get commercials. The extra song, title and artist information does not always transmit through.
I am dreading driving cross country as I fear I will only get stations when I drive through cities.
Also, with digital broadcasting they can control access to HD radio…imagine being required to pay a subscription in the future to listen to radio? We may be required to buy a subscription once they scramble the signal like with satellite tv.
My Two Cents,
-DJ in Virginia
Tags for search engines:
HD Radio Sucks, HD Radio problems., HD radio conspiracy, HD radio weak reception, HD radio poor content programming.
DJ
November 21, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I still prefer analogue radio and tv to digital. Nothing beats good old analogue . since the Digital tv revolution is almost here……alot of people can’t pull in those distant tv staions anymore. What does that tell you? I hope analogue Radio doesn’t go the way Digital Tv has gone.
The Yeti
February 20, 2009 at 12:30 am
I have an JVC HD Radio in my car and I love it. Rochester NY has a good number of stations broadcasting in HD so it works well. Typically the FM stations come in with improved quality on the HD-1 Channel and then they go “cheap” with the other bands (lowering the bit rate). Our AM NPR station gets simulcast on an FM stations HD-2 band, which is nice. And several AM stations are HD and they sound fantastic! Especially sports games. I’m a big fan of HD radio and I feel that the quality has improved significantly. However, there is a content problem that comes with the increased bandwidth…
Zubalove
August 26, 2009 at 1:13 pm