I wonder if the manufacturers of these radios are thinking about
accessibility of the extra digital info they'll be displaying?



At 11:01 AM 4/17/02 -0400, you wrote:
>from the April 12th USA Today
>
>Radio close to increased digital transmissions
>
>By David Lieberman, USA TODAY
>
>LAS VEGAS - AM and FM radio are finally ready for the digital revolution,
>according to broadcasters who've been waiting a decade to jump in.
>
>Toward the end of this year, big-city stations reaching about half of all
>listeners are expected to supplement their current analog signals with
>digital
>transmissions.
>
>For consumers who buy digital radios, available early next year, AM
>programming should sound as sharp as FM - and FM will approach CD clarity.
>
>"Static, hiss and pops all go away," says iBiquity Digital CEO Bob Struble,
>whose company just unveiled its technology to lead the radio industry's
>digital
>charge.
>
>"You're talking about a diametrical upgrade in audio quality."
>
>IBiquity's digital radio was the most talked about new offering shown at the
>National Association of Broadcasters convention here this week.
>
>"This could revitalize AM radio," says Radio World news editor Leslie
>Stimson. "A lot of AM stations have been forced into adopting talk formats"
>because
>of audio quality inferior to FM.
>
>Broadcasters are intrigued with iBiquity's promise to help station owners go
>digital in less than a year using the airwaves they already control.
>
>"It will be an orderly transition," says NAB chief Edward Fritts. "We know
>the world is going digital. For radio to sit back and not have an avenue to
>step
>forward would be a tragedy."
>
>The plan won a key, but qualified, endorsement this week from the National
>Radio Systems Committee, the broadcast and consumer electronics industries'
>standards
>group. It blessed iBiquity's technology for FM stations to use beginning in
>November.
>
>It said AM stations should use it only during daytime until more tests
>determine whether it would create night interference.
>
>IBiquity has spent $100 million on the business, Struble says, and expects
>clear reception among station owners.
>
>Financial backers include top station owners Viacom, Radio One and Clear
>Channel, as well as Lucent and Gannett (publisher of USA TODAY). "The radio
>industry
>set us up," he says.
>
>New signal equipment will cost a station from $27,000 to $215,000, depending
>on its size and signal strength, plus a license fee for iBiquity's software.
>The company will begin by going after stations in New York, Chicago, Los
>Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami.
>
>Consumers who want to receive the clearer signals will initially pay about
>$300 for a high-end radio that receives existing analog and digital signals.
>Other, less costly, digital-only radios are expected to run about $100 more
>than comparable analog units.
>
>And some will include new features. For example, motorists will be able to
>push a button on the radio to instantly retrieve the latest information
>about
>traffic conditions, weather, sports and stocks. When music's playing, the
>radio will display the song title and artist.
>
>Kenwood, Alpine, Harman/Kardon and JVC have said that they'll make the
>radios.
>
>Retailers such as Crutchfield, Good Guys, Tweeter and Ultimate Electronics
>have said they'd sell them.
>
>
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