4 ms·

Is HD Radio equivalent to DAB+? If so, it’s alive and well in Australia (insofar as radio is alive and well)

petepete 4y ago
In the UK, FM often sounds better than DAB. I know that in theory DAB offers superior quality but it's compressed so multiple stations are broadcast on the same frequency.
vel0city 4y ago
Yes, HD Radio is what the US went with instead of DAB/DAB+.
- geerlingguy 4y ago
  Though transmitter and receiver hardware is entirely incompatible, so an imported car or radio from the EU/Australia would not be able to tune in any HD Radio signals. Even today, not all brand new cars and replacement head units include HD Radio tuners—many are still analog AM/FM only. Pair that with most cars and trucks on the road not being brand new, and market penetration is very low outside of people who bought the right new cars in the past few years. Many (but not most—yet) stations which launched HD signals in the past decade have since switched them off to give more bandwidth back to the analog signal, and to avoid ongoing HD licensing fees.
  - vel0city 4y ago
    > Many (but not most—yet) stations which launched HD signals in the past decade have since switched them off Once again, this just seems very different from my personal experiences. Where I'm at, there's more HD Radio content on the air today than there was even just a few years ago, and far more content than a decade ago. One of the stations I listen to the most only started transmitting HD Radio in 2017, and another only started and exists only as a digital multicast channel in the last year. The majority of the FM radio stations in my area seem to transmit HD Radio, with some of them even using all 4 digital channels (MTS + 3 SPS multicast). Only a few of the smaller ones don't transmit any HD Radio. I haven't noticed any stations in my market turning it off or reducing their presence.

In the UK, FM often sounds better than DAB. I know that in theory DAB offers superior quality but it's compressed so multiple stations are broadcast on the same frequency.

vel0city 4y ago

Yes, HD Radio is what the US went with instead of DAB/DAB+.

geerlingguy 4y ago
Though transmitter and receiver hardware is entirely incompatible, so an imported car or radio from the EU/Australia would not be able to tune in any HD Radio signals. Even today, not all brand new cars and replacement head units include HD Radio tuners—many are still analog AM/FM only. Pair that with most cars and trucks on the road not being brand new, and market penetration is very low outside of people who bought the right new cars in the past few years. Many (but not most—yet) stations which launched HD signals in the past decade have since switched them off to give more bandwidth back to the analog signal, and to avoid ongoing HD licensing fees.
- vel0city 4y ago
  > Many (but not most—yet) stations which launched HD signals in the past decade have since switched them off Once again, this just seems very different from my personal experiences. Where I'm at, there's more HD Radio content on the air today than there was even just a few years ago, and far more content than a decade ago. One of the stations I listen to the most only started transmitting HD Radio in 2017, and another only started and exists only as a digital multicast channel in the last year. The majority of the FM radio stations in my area seem to transmit HD Radio, with some of them even using all 4 digital channels (MTS + 3 SPS multicast). Only a few of the smaller ones don't transmit any HD Radio. I haven't noticed any stations in my market turning it off or reducing their presence.