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View Full Version : Splitting Bandwith of HD Radio


James Fee
01-11-2005, 06:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/01/10/cx_ah_0110tentech.html' target='_blank'>http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/01/10/cx_ah_0110tentech.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"HD Radio's other trick is its ability to carry more than one audio signal at a time. National Public Radio has been working on something called the Tomorrow Radio Project, which would use HD Radio technology to let stations embed a second stream of programming within a single digital signal. You would hear the secondary program by flipping a switch on your radio. The main signal is often referred to as the A channel, and the secondary one, the B channel. When your favorite classical music station switches over to news programming in the afternoon, for example, the music might continue on the B channel. Or the B channel may be a constant stream of traffic and weather."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/radio.gif" /><br /><br />Frankly this is why scares me the most about HD Radio. Our local ABC TV station multicasts on their HD signal and what we end up with is a crappy looking picture compared CBS or Fox. I'm sure the same thing will happen with these HD Radio stations. Sure an 24/7 traffic or weather station might not take up too much bandwidth, but if you end up with the other station's sound being degraded whats the point (well the point is that Clear Channel and others can make more money off of us).

Fitch
01-11-2005, 06:46 PM
I'm no expert on HD transport streams, but in LA where they have two SD subchannels and a 720p subchannel, the picture looks great. Are you saying that ABC's 720p looks worse than the other channels 1080i? 'Cause I think it looks great and am not worried about radio subchannels at all.

James Fee
01-11-2005, 07:29 PM
I'm saying ABC's feed looks horrible compared to CBS (1080i), Fox (720p) and NBC (1080i) here in Phoenix and other 720p feeds I've seen. Others across the country have complained about multicasting and its affects on HD pictures. Now we'll have to deal with the same problems with audio.

Chris Gohlke
01-11-2005, 07:40 PM
Can't feel too bad for you. Here, only two of four main networks broadcast in HD and only one of them is on Comcast.

Fitch
01-12-2005, 06:16 AM
Woah! funny, NBC just started broadcasting NBC Weather on subchannel 2!