Zetetic

I am not drawn to satellite radio.

crespo

HD radio = dead in the water

Roswell

supposedly if you aren't getting very clear service it will cut into and out of HD and just become annoying as it switches from good quality to normal quality sound.

Zetetic

There are 23 HD stations in the Seattle-Tacoma area and 2 more on the way.

TonyBenino

its behind sirius/xm. my mom and sister have sirius in their car and my dad has it in his bathroom. its amazing if you ask me, id rather take that over HD radio anyday. plus FM because there are still some local channels that put sirius/xm to shame in content.

Audi S5 TC

HD (high definition) radio is just glorified FM (and maybe AM) radio.

With HD radio, you still have the following: the boss (and I am not talking about Bruce Springsteen or a 1969 or 1970 super high performance Ford Mustang), the FCC, interference and censorship.

With Sirius and XM, you have no boss, no FCC, no interference and, most of all, no censorship. Satellite radio is the promised land (and the way of the future).

Besides, according to Howard Stern (who seems to be quite the expert on most anything radio), terrestrial radio (which, of course is AM and FM radio) is a graveyard. The ratings for almost all of the terrestrial radio stations worldwide nosedived horribly, particularly for AM radio.

The better sound quality that satellite radio has than FM radio and especially AM radio (HD or non HD) is only a secondary reason for terrestrial radio becoming a huge failure.

The biggest reasons by far as to why terrestrial radio is such a graveyard is because of the boss, the FCC, interference and, most of all, yep, you guessed it, censorship.

HD radio does not change the fact that FM and AM radio have these things in it.

All of the above information about terrestrial radio (AM and FM; HD and non HD) came from Howard Stern himself. And, like I said before, he is an expert with most anything radio related.

For all of the above reasons, only a complete and utter BOZO would want HD radio.

Also, for all of the above reasons, I sincerely hope that Audi never, ever makes the colossally foolish mistake of offering an option that only a very scarce few people worldwide would be stupid enough to **** their money away on.

Shame on you, BMW, for offering a wasteful and worthless high tech option on your vehicles that hardly anybody wants.

Spoonie G

Anyone see the irony?

I see no problem with HD radio. You still get the regular stations and there isn't a subscription fee (other than initial cost). Satellite Radio is no doubt better than any type of terrestrial radio, but terrestrial radio will always have its place.


If there was a disaster and the word had to get out, Satellite Radio wouldn't be able to get the word out to as many people as terrestrial radio. You can setup a broadcast truck anywhere.

TonyBenino

But don't forget that just because the Sirius and XM in cars is only satellite doesn't mean there isn't a terrestrial relay for non-automobile receivers. My dad's receiver in his bathroom will switch between Satellite and Terrestrial Relay depending on which signal is stronger. I'm actually not sure how that works but I'd imagine if they implemented it into cars then our SatRadios wouldn't die when we go through tunnels!

Zetetic

HD = "Wasteful" ? PAYING for satellite radio is wasteful !

Audi S5 TC

Paying for satellite radio is wasteful only if you dig the boss, the FCC, interference and, most of all, censorship. In this case, HD (high definition) radio is a solid first rate investment.

Otherwise, paying for satellite radio is a solid first rate investment. In this case, paying for HD radio is massively wasteful.

Personally, I feel that radio with the boss, the FCC, interference and, most of all, censorship is as obsolete as all of the following: record albums, vinyl, eight-track tapes, audio cassette tapes, video cassette tapes (especially Beta), Laserdiscs and the rotary phone.