Monday, October 8, 2007

Radio: Internet Radio or HD Radio. You choose!







The first video is a pitch from Ford for their new optional SYNC, which, among many other things, allows one to listen to any Internet Radio from anywhere in the world.

The second video comes from an actual HD Radio test drive demonstration in the Chicago market. The only thing lacking was a station playing Bruce Springsteen’s “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On).”

I searched in vain for a Ford pitch video on HD Radio but, wisely, they didn’t do one.

Which one would you rather have? SYNC or HD Radio?

What would you want your company to be allied with? SYNC or HD Radio?

Here’s the choice - supplementary channels of varied audio quality from the same radio chains that deliver today’s unimaginative terrestrial radio formats or worldwide radio of every imaginable format and style where the passion is in the performance?

(I know I’m stacking the deck and swaying your decision – but, please understand. I never have and never want to be associated or connected with any current HD Radio product from Ibiquity and the HD Radio alliance.)

Let’s say you’re one of the rarified few that actually found what you believe to be a half-decent HD Radio channel. Chances are you’ll find the same exact station streaming on line – and considering it’s a side channel – it’ll probably sound better on- line than on an HD Radio. And you won’t lose the signal when you’re driving by tall buildings or near hills and mountains.

Amazing, isn’t it. The HD Radio Alliance filled the unreservedly worthless job of running the joint with the unreservedly useless Sgt. Bilk-o, ex of Clear Channel where he was just as pathetic.

How can he knowingly subject the radio industry to further traumatic events?

Can’t wait for the blame game to begin. It didn’t happen because…..

I wonder how Sgt. Bilk-o sleeps at night knowing that while the iPod will go down in history as one of the most effective marketing campaigns since Windows – HD Radio’s will be forever enshrined as number one in the High Tech Hall of Shame.

And we used to be convinced that the failures of Circuit City’s DiVX DVDs, the CueCat, and the Eyetop Wearable DVD Player could never be topped?

Maybe the sanctimonious Sgt. Bilk-o can recycle the excuses for the failures of AM Stereo and FM Quad – except that even they were more successful in reaching consumers than his folly.

At this stage, Sgt. Bilk-o has to be wondering what, if anything, will mark his time on earth.

Maybe he’s asking himself who will mourn HD Radio’s passing.

And, most of all, who’ll apologize for the time and money spent, the years the radio industry bought into it, and the deceitfulness suffered because of Ibiquity and the HD Radio Alliance's misguidance.

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

All I can say is that Hybrid Digital (HD) radio sounds pathetic with it's constant drop outs and boring bland SOS programming. Gotta love those 2nd channels (wow! channels between channels!), they sound just like the boring main channels.
AM was even worse repeating the same line twice although the FM debacle was hard to beat, Internet radio sounds like it would be very interesting. HD? Never in a million years, if it allowed to continue it'll be the end for terrestrial radio, yes I wonder how Bilko will sleep at night... well, actually never mind will, I wonder how he sleeps at night now?

Anonymous said...

Yea, this whole HD Radio thing is just a scam:

“HD Radio on the Offense”

“But after an investigation of HD Radio units, the stations playing HD, and the company that owns the technology; and some interviews with the wonks in DC, it looks like HD Radio is a high-level corporate scam, a huge carny shill.”

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-03-07/music/hd-radio-on-the-offense

But wait - HD Radio has found religion:

"The HD Radio Lunatic Fringe"

"The new HD evangelists - who preach hell, fire and brimstone about the necessity of switching terrestrial radio stations from analog to digital are now apparently targeting the religious broadcasters who might be able to multicast to many audiences using HD's ability to form subchannels."

http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2007/10/hd-lunatic-fringe.html

This HD Radio farce has almost stopped being funny, anymore - didn't terrestrial radio used to be a proud industry?

Anonymous said...

Aaaaaaaaaa-Men!

You tell it like it is. There had to be colusion between radio and Ibiquity to have gone this far with such a losing proposition.

This isn't a dumb move on radio's part. I will bet the big boys somehow made money on this and the smaller chains that jumped on the HD radio bandwagon will get screwed over badly.

Your videos serve as the best comparison I have seen between internet radio and HD radio.

Anonymous said...

Loved the comparison. Yes, I will get an HD radio....only kidding.

I will be leasing a company car this year and the opportunity to have Sync and to be able to listen to internet radio during long drives on the road won me over.

I have satellite radio in my current lease and though there are a lot of good things I can say about it, I would rather have access to internet radio. I have Sirius and I did like them at first. I enjoy all kinds of rock and roll but I feel Sirius has condesending jocks and playlists that have gotten tighter.

Thank you for the comparison videos.

Anonymous said...

There is NO comparison. HD radio is the only way to go.....waste your money that is. This is the best side-by-side review I have seen. What makes this HD radio group (Sergeant Bilko) so dumb is that SYNC serves a number of purposes from internet radio to ipod docking to cell phone. HD radio is just HD radio & if Chicago sounds that bad I can only imagine what other cities sound like.

Take this HD & shove it.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about you, Gorman. Aren't you beating a dead horse with your constant attack on HD radio? Wait, I just answered my own question! Now I have a question for my question. What is the difference between a dead horse and HD radio? Absolutely nothing.

Anonymous said...

John Gorman,

You should also mention Sprint's XOHM as another service which will allow people in cars to listen to internet radio.

I agree that once you listen to internet radio terrestrial has to do some extremely compelling programming in order to lure you back on occasion.

Anonymous said...

I know it was morning drive when that HD radio demo was shot in Chicago and it made me realize that morning radio just about EVERYWHERE sounds the same. Ugh! The HD side channel selections were not very good either. I can't afford either right now. When I can I will definitely get SYNC for my car or is it an exclusive with Ford? HD radio is a needless expense.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. The HD radio sample was a total waste. It sounded as bad as our regular radio no-man's land. Sync makes so much more sense. If I am ever able to afford a new car again, I will most likely be very interested in the Sync system. I just hope that Honda isn't on the HD bandwagon. HD just sucks.

Anonymous said...

I'm sold on SYNC and hope I can get it for my car. XOHM also looks interesting and if Sprint can straighten out their other problems I may check that one out, too.

Anonymous said...

John-
They can't produce decent content for regular old FM anymore- so what makes them think HD or more channels will help.
Give me Pandora.com or Musicovery.com any day. Until they put local back in local radio- there is no reason to listen.

Anonymous said...

The only problem with the Sync demo is that they are using an HTC Excalibur, which is EDGE-only. Trying to maintain a stable Internet stream connection at even mediocre vehicle speeds would make constant drop-outs and rebuffers on EDGE.

Picking a low-enough bandwidth stream to prevent buffer underrun would be such poor quality that it would make your ears bleed.

Chances are their Excalibur was on a WiFi network.

The only way to get enough bandwidth to do such a streaming experiment is to have something on a 3G or EV-DO network, with stereo bluetooth capabilities - and while you're at it you'd best have a car charger in your vehicle as using the 3G data radio and the stereo bluetooth transcoder will sop the battery in no time.

All that said - HD radio still wouldn't be worth the hassle, analog radio sounds clear enough for the content they are serving! It's just a blatant attempt to keep radio "up to date" with HDTV and XM and Sirius. By that I mean they lose.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I update my blog, and I am discussing one question, could you join, your opinion is very important for me. So I hope that I will meet you in my blog
http://myspainradio.blogspot.com/2008/05/tv-or-radio-your-choice-and-reasons.html
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I can listen to "virgin radio" in the uk. Woopee, Sound's pretty useless to me. Internet radio sounds almost as bad as "HD" radio. Sorry, But I'll keep my satellite over either of those losers.

Anonymous said...

It is the best time to make some plans for the future and it's time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I want to suggest you few interesting things or advice. Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read even more things about it!

Feel free to visit my web page ... NFL Jerseys Cheap

Anonymous said...

You really make it appear really easy together with your presentation however I
in finding this matter to be really something that I believe
I might never understand. It sort of feels too complicated and very large for me.
I am having a look forward in your next publish, I'll try to get the grasp of it!

Here is my web-site: Abercrombie Fitch Belgique

Anonymous said...

Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied
on the video to make your point. You obviously know what
youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something informative to read?


my weblog; Nike air max

Anonymous said...

It's the best time to make some plans for the future and it's time to
be happy. I have read this submit and if I may just I want to
suggest you few interesting issues or suggestions.

Perhaps you can write next articles regarding this article.
I wish to read even more things approximately it!


my homepage :: Nike Air Jordan

Anonymous said...

Hi to all, the contents present at this site are actually amazing for people
experience, well, keep up the nice work fellows.


my blog :: Air Max

Anonymous said...

Hi, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar
one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam comments?
If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you
can suggest? I get so much lately it's driving me mad so any help is very much appreciated.

Also visit my weblog - Louis Vuitton Handbags Outlet

Anonymous said...

Appreciation to my father who informed me on the topic of
this webpage, this webpage is actually awesome.

My web site - Gucci Scarpe

Anonymous said...

It's very effortless to find out any matter on net as compared to books, as I found this post at this site.

Also visit my web blog: Cheap NFL Jerseys

Anonymous said...

Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this,
like you wrote the book in it or something.
I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is wonderful blog.
A fantastic read. I will certainly be back.

Have a look at my web blog: Abercrombie & Fitch

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a marvelous posting! I seriously enjoyed reading it, you're a great author.I will remember to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back later in life. I want to encourage you continue your great job, have a nice holiday weekend!

my web-site :: Michael Kors Canada

Anonymous said...

Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post
seem to be running off the screen in Firefox. I'm not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I'd post to let you know.
The design look great though! Hope you get the issue resolved soon.

Many thanks

Feel free to surf to my web-site :: website

Anonymous said...

Howdy! I could have sworn I've been to this site before but after browsing through many of the articles I realized it's
new to me. Nonetheless, I'm definitely delighted I stumbled upon it and I'll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!


Also visit my web page; NFL Jerseys Cheap

Anonymous said...

This article is genuinely a nice one it helps new web visitors, who are wishing in favor of blogging.


my page - Abercrombie Paris

Anonymous said...

Howdy! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO?
I'm trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I'm not seeing very
good results. If you know of any please share. Thanks!

Here is my weblog :: Louis Vuitton Handbags

Anonymous said...

Keep this going please, great job!

Check out my blog - beginner pointe shoes

Anonymous said...

Excellent site you've got here.. It's hard to find good quality writing like yours nowadays.
I really appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!

Feel free to surf to my site :: Michael Kors

Anonymous said...

Hello, I read your blogs regularly. Your humoristic style is awesome,
keep it up!

Also visit my website - Evgeni Malkin Authentic Jersey

Anonymous said...

Thanks very interesting blog!

My web blog ... Michael Kors Handbags

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on unwitting. Regards

My web blog ... Air Jordan

Anonymous said...

Hi there Dear, are you actually visiting this web page regularly,
if so after that you will without doubt obtain good knowledge.


Review my weblog ... Louis Vuitton Handbags

Anonymous said...

Hi, just wanted to mention, I liked this article.

It was inspiring. Keep on posting!

Here is my web page ... Jordan Femme

Anonymous said...

Hi there I am so glad I found your weblog, I really found you by error, while
I was researching on Askjeeve for something else,
Nonetheless I am here now and would just like to say thanks a lot for a marvelous post and a all round entertaining
blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to look
over it all at the moment but I have bookmarked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the
great jo.

Look into my blog ... Sac A main Guess

Anonymous said...

These are in fact wonderful ideas in regarding blogging.
You have touched some nice factors here. Any way
keep up wrinting.

Here is my blog Air Max

Anonymous said...

For hottest information you have to visit the web and on the web I found this website as a
most excellent web site for newest updates.


Also visit my weblog: Chaussures De Football Pas Cher

Anonymous said...

Hello! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers?
My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing
a few months of hard work due to no back up.
Do you have any solutions to protect against hackers?


Feel free to surf to my page - Air Max Pas Cher

Anonymous said...

A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I think that you need to publish more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo subject but typically folks don't speak about such subjects. To the next! All the best!!

my web site - Abercrombie & Fitch

Anonymous said...

Hello to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is getting more from this web site, and your
views are pleasant for new people.

My web page :: Tory Burch Shoes

Anonymous said...

Unquestionably believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the web the simplest thing to be aware of.
I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people think about worries that they just do not know about.
You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could
take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

my web-site - Recommended Site

Anonymous said...

I like the helpful information you supply for your articles.
I will bookmark your blog and check again right here regularly.
I am quite sure I'll be informed a lot of new stuff proper here! Good luck for the following!

My website; Christian Louboutin Sale

Anonymous said...

I know this website provides quality dependent articles and other stuff, is
there any other site which offers these stuff in quality?



My blog :: Christian Louboutin Sale

Anonymous said...

It's actually a nice and useful piece of info. I'm
glad that you simply shared this helpful information
with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.


Visit my web site Air Max Femme

Anonymous said...

My relatives always say that I am wasting my time here at web, however I know I am getting knowledge all the time
by reading thes good content.

Also visit my site :: Sac Louis Vuitton

Anonymous said...

I do not know if it's just me or if perhaps everyone else encountering issues with your site. It seems like some of the written text in your content are running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them as well? This might be a issue with my web browser because I've had this happen previously.
Thanks

my weblog Bonuses ()

Anonymous said...

First off I want to say fantastic blog! I had a quick
question which I'd like to ask if you don't mind.
I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your mind before
writing. I have had a tough time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out there.

I truly do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted just trying to
figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Thank you!


Here is my weblog: Chaussures De Foot Pas Cher

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for fantastic info I was looking for this information for my mission.

Check out my homepage: Air Max

Anonymous said...

I do accept as true with all of the ideas you have presented to your post.

They're really convincing and will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are very quick for beginners. May you please lengthen them a bit from next time? Thank you for the post.

My web site - related site