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.

Back to before

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If you live in Clayton, U. City, Kirkwood, Shrewsbury near south county, or the central part of St. Louis city, you might have noticed something up at 107.3 on your FM radio that hasn't been heard on FM analog radio in St. Louis for nearly three years: classical music, 24/7. You might also have noticed that the voices of the announcers are familiar, along with their programming approach. Yes, dear friends, the classical voice of KFUO (a.k.a. Classic 99) is back. Except that it's now the Radio Arts Foundation (RAF), it's at 107.3 rather than 99.1, and its operating at a power level usually associated with college rock stations—hence the limited coverage area.

But still: "Bach is back," as they proudly announce at the RAF web site—along with Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, and a raft of lesser-known composers. And if you can't get decent reception of the analog FM signal (at my place in Soulard it's too hissy to be listenable)—well, now might be a good time to consider getting an HD (digital broadcast) radio. RAF is carried on the HD 2 channel of 96.3 KHTS, with superior sound and a bigger coverage area. I've been listening with the Insignia portable HD radio I have plugged into the aux input jack of my car's sound system as I tool around town and reception has been quite good. Ditto for the Insignia unit that I have plugged into my Bose Wave Radio at home.

The story of how KFUOs classical voice was silenced after over 60 years of broadcasts is still a sore point with many local music lovers (including yours truly). "For over 60 years," says the RAF web site, "the sounds of classical music wafted through the airwaves of St. Louis, courtesy of Classic 99 FM. But on July 6th, 2010 as the last notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 lingered and disappeared, classical music was effectively silenced and listeners throughout the St. Louis area lost a beloved friend." What they diplomatically don't mention is that this happened because the owners of KFUO—the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod—sold the station to Gateway Creative Broadcasting. And so KFUO became KLJY, broadcasting "contemporary Christian" music—a genre that, ironically, excludes the five or six centuries worth of Christian music that was part of KFUOs programming.

rafstl.org

"But I digress," as Tom Lehrer says.

The bottom line is that a fair number of analog FM listeners in St. Louis can now experience the pleasure of the old KFUO style of programming again. And HD radio owners can get both it and the 24/7 classical stream provided by KWMU on its HD 3 channel. The KWMU stream isn't locally produced—it's provided by Public Radio International—but it's still pretty cool to have two high-quality classical streams available. Both the RAF and PRI streams are also available on the Internet, of course, as well as on iPhone. For the RAF app, search your app store for "RAFSTL". For KWMU, search for "St. Louis Public Radio".

Classic 99, by the way, never went away entirely. After the analog broadcasts ended, it continued as an Internet station, run by Ron Klemm, Dick Wobbe, and John Clayton (all formerly of KFUO). You can still find it today at classic99.com and on the KFUO iPhone app.

There's music in the air. And it's a sweet sound.

[This article originally appeared at OnSTL.com, where I'm regular contributor.]