(10/4/05 RBR #194)


Dear RBR,

Thank you for sharing the Cox proposal.

If anything has driven home the absolute mistake of out of control deregulation (megga groups) it is the continuing saga of HD Radio.

The amazing invention we call Radio once belonged to all the people. Open to creativity, community service, and innovation by all. Now it appears the very fabric of the industry can be shredded and rearranged for the express personal gain of a few mega groups behind closed doors. (Would it be wise to rearrange the English Language, then allow a corporation to patent it?)

Who decided it would be OK to allow a few people to change the way we are allowed to transmit the public's message, then give them an iron clad patent which will likely suppress future innovation for decades, for the sole purpose of their individual profit. (Take a lesson from the computer industry's problems with Microsoft. Some things are too precious to be monopolized by a single corporation.)

Now its in-band-on-channel-digitized-split-channel-interference-plagued radio whose receivers are confusing to use, outrageously priced, and so ill conceived that even we Radio professionals cannot figure out how to name & brand the HD channels. (If it is so well conceived why is there an escalating penalty (license fee) inflicted on every broadcaster that refuses to shut up and jump on board this minute.)

Is AM IOBC Dead On Arrival?

If only half the problems reported with AM IOBC are accurate there may not be enough AM listeners left to matter by the time receivers in the marketplace reach critical mass. Yes, AM IOBC receivers make AM sound like FM. But to the listener, it doesn't solve the problem that with a more mobile society we routinely commute beyond many AM daytime signals on a daily basis, nor the variations in day/night signal patterns. Buy a new expensive AM IOBC receiver that is confusing to operate? Or just punch the FM button on the AM radio I already own? After all I hear good old FM sounds just like AM IOBC; without all the drawbacks.

Can The Radio Gods Mortally Womb An Entire Media?

The magic of Radio is its simplicity. Who do you know who cannot operate one?

FM IBOC is not logical to tune and will be difficult to brand. The current proposed scheme conflicts with the basic concept Americans have as to how we select channels. This is Radio's "New Coke." Need I say more?

Adding HD to an existing FM signal in the real world may noticeably degrade your FM coverage which is the only thing most people will be able to hear for several years. Slicing your HD channels into many sub-channels quickly degrades their quality back to FM or less. Your resulting HD channels appear to have a reliable coverage area somewhat less than you old FM signal. Confusing, expensive, varying audio quality, and less coverage do not sound like "must have" improvements to the listener.

I Like Cox, But They May Not Like Me

I have always respected Cox as a broadcast leader and this is the first sensible discussion I have heard concerning the necessary conversion to digital radio. (Though I had to hear it through RBR.) To that end here are a few thoughts.

1. Yes, take the spectrum just above the current radio band and assign every current broadcaster a new digital channel. Ready for this? Yes AM & FM. And adequate power to cover the expanded lives their listeners now live, maybe 50kw non directional. It is a puzzle but you can fit a lot of HD signals in one newly vacated TV channel.

2. The federal government must approved a single digital standard, but not allow it to be patented by a single corporation. This is the equivalent of allowing a corporation to own the English language. America's ability to communicate must not be sold so cheaply.

3. Stations must be more careful about how they say "Now Broadcasting In HD." My friend, you are about the only people listening to your HD stream. Your listeners are all listing to "SLTSOC Radio." Translation: Sounds like the same old crap. In their world, your old FM signal you appear to be calling your new HD Radio actually sounds worse.

Now it is simple...

* Your same quality signal continues for several years on the original AM & FM band while we brand listeners over to the new HD channels that (now) actually offer real improvements.

* The HD tuning & numbering scheme becomes simple.

Dear FCC, please set the number of pieces we may slice our new HD spectrum pie into and get it over with. A few high quality, a few FM quality, a couple for data per station. Then fix it in stone so we can begin numbering HD-1, HD-2, HD-3 to infinity.

Forget analog fade to digital. That only works for your first HD channel. Listeners will wait for the signal to acquire, then be far less likely to change channels. A better idea would be to mandate that HD Radios have built in buffer space to hold a 30 second commercial or promo that updates automatically as they listen. The next time they tune your station, this plays instantly, filling the void till HD signal is acquired when they tune a new station.

* How do I find an HD station?

Just push the HD button. You know, the one right next to the AM and FM buttons.

PS: Please Hurry

If you start now we may be able to get enough HD receivers in the market to hit saturation before most of our audience is listening in there home, work, portable, and car over the wireless Internet.

Because if you didn't faint when I suggested giving all of our current competitors an equal signal on HD, you may when the wireless Internet brings 2000+ competing radio stations to town.

Tommy Lee
Ohatchee, Alabama