No, your presenters are not “drinking the iBiquity Kool-Aid”

Practical Operations Concerns about HD Radio

Aaron Read (WEOS, Geneva)

An “engineering-lite” look at the issues and concerns surrounding digital broadcast solutions like

HD RadioTM

What is HD Radio?Hint: the “HD” doesn’t stand for anything!

Digital broadcasting by iBiquity Corp. IBOC = In Band / On Channel Backwards compatible All-digital someday, maybe. Bennies: Better audio quality, data services,

PAD/PSD, multicasting

HD Radio: Hybrid Mode

Analog radios ignore digital (white noise)

HD Radios = analog > buffer > blendSeven second delay

Lost digital = blend backMulticast = mute

HD Radio: Kibbles and bits

AM HD = 36kbps hybrid / 40-60 digital FM HD = 96-120kbps hybrid / 300 digital Based on the HDC (AAC) codec It’s all just bits, so partitioning is

possible. Using the bits for things other than audio also possible.

Must my station install HD Radio?

No FCC mandate (unlike DTV)Market-driven adoption

Will your listeners support it?Promotion, sales, installation

Only HD Radio is NRSC-approvedTheoretically, others could do it

HD Radio’s benefits: FM & AM

Audio fidelity (not quality)AM = FM, FM = CD (sort of)(20kHz)

No multipath PSD / PAD Data: iTunes Tagging, conditional access,

downloads, etc Multicasting! (FM only)

HD Radio’s problems: FM & AM

Algorithm is lossyAM makes mess of bandRequires good engineeringNot cheap ($75k - $200k?)Getting in over your head

HD Radio’s problems: AM only

Overall, not really recommendedAdjacent-channel interferenceSelf-interferenceDifficulty with Dir. ArraysNighttime problems w/skywaveVery low adoption by broadcasters

HD Radio’s problems: License Fees

Different way of thinking! iBiquity has steep one-time feesMulticasting have add’l fees

$1k/yr or % of revenueData service also have add’l fees

HD Radio -20dBc vs -10dBc

Standard HD was -20dBc (1/100th)Deemed not enough by NAB or NPR

FCC authorized blanket -14dBcUp to -10dBc in some situationsCan require much bigger xmitters

What about our FM antenna?

Short answer: it dependsHi-level combining

Inefficient, but equal patternsSeparate/Interleaved

Redundant, efficient, but pattern problems & weight/wind load

Changing Perceptions

Breaks the “norms” Digital = ON or OFF, not gradual fade in/out

like analogNO FRINGE COVERAGE

Old worries = multipath, stereo hiss, not loud enough

New worries = cascading algorithms, pre-processing, listener perceptions

Upgrading your technical plant

May need a lot of new $$$$ gear!STL – bursty data, extra channelsMonitoring – delays and multicastAudio Storage – cascading algosProcessing & PreprocessingArbitron PPM explosionExtra webcasts, websites….staff?HD is a computer – lifecycle?

Upgrading your schema

Adding multicast is like adding whole new stations!Extra studios, processors, monitoring,

access, audio gear, computers, program sources, staff?

24 hours/day to 72 hours/dayCan you handle the workload???

HD Radio benefits

Multicasting – streamline format, appeal to new listeners

Fill untapped niches – earn more revenue

Potential leasing = more revenue

Thinking outside the box

Rent out your HD2/HD3 for profit Got a translator? HD2 on it! Only Part 15? Rent another HD2

Pay for install, get free rent Unusual formats

The ten minute loopJazz, classical, foreign-language…?

Future thinking on HD Radio

No FCC mandate, but listeners might! Costs are high = long term planning

needed!Probably longer than you’ll be there

New studio facility may be a must = long-term investment/planning

Shameless Self-PromotionThe IBOC Handbook : Understanding HD RadioTM Technology

Looking to really learn the engineering of IBOC / HD Radio? Read this book! First Overview of the Approved

NRSC-5 (IBOC) Standard. Authored by David Maxson Illustrated by Aaron Read

Available on Amazon.com

Final Thoughts

Questions – and please no: Rants, Screeds, Diatribes, Harangues, Raving, Tirades,

Bullyragging, Vociferation, Bloviating, Railing, Objurgating, Badgering, Molestation, Nettling, Ruffling, Badgering, Pestering, Heckling or Persecution.

Tell us your situation, we’ll opine if HD Radio is right for you!

Aaron Read can be reached via www.friedbagels.com/blog Need an engineer? www.sbe.org