To HD or not to HD?

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In an earlier article, I talked about the two classical stations that are now available locally on HD radio. This time around, I'd like to talk a bit more about the whole "HD" radio phenomenon and give you a feel for what's available to HD listeners in St. Louis (short answer: quite of a lot) and how you can become one of them.

Your first question would probably be "what the heck is HD radio, anyway?" It's a reasonable one, for sure, and easy to answer. "HD" radio is just digital broadcast radio—the radio equivalent of the digital broadcast television we've all gotten used to by now. Like the TV equivalent, digital radio channels are carried by established radio stations and are designated by numbers added to the station's call letters. So, just as you can now get channels 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 and 9.4 on your TV, you can get (for example) KWMU 90.7 FM channels HD1, HD2, and HD3. As is the case with digital TV, digital radio channels can only be picked up by digital ("HD") radios.

The audio quality of HD channels is noticeably superior to analog FM, if not quite as wonderful as some promotional material would have you believe. The difference is most obvious with HD-only channels, but even channels that are simply a digital version of the station's analog programming have generally clearer sound. For a more detailed overview of HD radio technology, check out the HD radio wikipedia article.

The number and variety of available HD channels in St. Louis is impressive: 42, according to hdradio.com. Even if you eliminate the channels that are just copies of the analog stations, that still leaves you with 22 more program streams than you can get with analog radio. And some of them are definitely hitting niche markets. Aside from the two classical channels I talked about in my earlier article, you can get "Kerosene Country" on 92.3 WIL HD2, "My 80s Channel" on 94.7 KSHE HD3, "Hip Jazz" on 96.3 KIHT HD3, "The Deep-Classic Rock Album Cuts" on 106.5 WARH HD2, and even "The Mormon Channel" on WARH HD3 (insert cheap joke here).

Of course, whether or not you can get a particular HD channel will depend where you are with regard to that station's tower (I can't pick up any of the HD channels from KFTK 97.1 at my place in Soulard, for example) but even so there's something out there for almost everyone.

The downside? Well, to begin with, HD channels, like digital TV channels, are an "all or nothing"phenomenon. You either get a particular channel or you don't; unlike analog radio, HD doesn't degrade gradually. You'll also have to buy an HD radio to pick up these channels. Unlike digital TV, there are no converter boxes that will let your analog home or car stereo pick up digital channels.

The good news, though, is that you can add HD capability to your existing home or car systems pretty cheaply. Insignia (which seems to have the bargain HD market all to itself) makes a portable HD radio for around $50 that can be plugged into the aux input jack found on most newer cars. I have one in my '06 Prius and it works like a champ. For about the same money, they also sell a table model HD radio that can be played by itself or plugged into an existing receiver using the radio's headphone jack and an inexpensive ($10-$20 depending on where you get it) adapter cable. The also have an HD boombox with an iPod dock for around $100.

Another bit of good news is that, unlike digital TVs, HD radios also pick up all the analog stations as well.

HD radio hasn't caught on here the the USA the way the equivalent technology (digital audio broadcasting, or DAB) has in Europe and the UK, probably because it hasn't had the robust government support DAB has in Europe or that digital TV has here. Still, there's plenty of great stuff out there just waiting to be heard, and the price is right. I'm glad I added HD capability and I'm willing to be you will be as well.