CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa,
Jan. 7, 2004
(AP) After years of
preparation, digital radio receivers finally go on sale nationwide Wednesday,
pairing CD-quality audio in over-the-air broadcasts with text information such
as song titles, weather and news alerts.
The launch officially began this week in Cedar
Rapids, where one station is already broadcasting in
digital.
Local engineer Nathan Franzen, 25, became the first to have a digital receiver
installed in his car, a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. The small black radio by
Kenwood USA
is about the size of a regular car stereo and costs $350.
"I'm proud I could be part of this. And I think back what it must have
been like to be the first person to buy an FM radio and this is something
similar," Franzen said. The first song he heard on the new stereo was
"Hey Ya!" by Outkast.
Digital, high-definition service has been touted as one of radio broadcasting's
biggest advances in nearly a century.
Unlike satellite radio, a subscription service that also uses digital signals,
digital radio represents a technological upgrade of the free service offered by
traditional "terrestrial" broadcasters.
In addition to providing CD-quality sound, high-definition radio receivers can
display whatever text broadcasters choose to offer.
"There's not been anything this technologically important to radio since
FM," said Laura Behrens, an industry analyst with Gartner Inc.
"Everything we know about media is going from analog to digital, and radio
is the last to really take that step."
Several manufacturers are set to show off digital radio receivers at this
week's gigantic Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The digital broadcasting technology was designed by Columbia, Md.-based
iBiquity Digital Corp., a private company partially owned by such media
heavyweights as ABC, Clear Channel and Viacom.
Digital radio has been used for several years in Canada,
Israel and parts of Europe. In the United States, the Federal
Communications Commission voted in October 2002 to adopt iBiquity's technology
as the standard for digital broadcasts, and allowed radio stations to begin
broadcasting digital signals in addition to traditional analog signals.
Stations eventually will be able to broadcast two separate FM programs on one
channel simultaneously, thereby offering customers more programming options.
Listeners also will be able to save their favorite tunes and programs and
replay them when they want.
"Think of it as the transition from black-and-white TV to color TV,"
said Bob Struble, president and CEO of iBiquity Digital. "The move to
digital means better quality."
Only about 300 of the United States' 13,000 radio stations have become licensed
for digital, but Struble said that covers 100 markets, including New York, Los
Angeles and Chicago — and smaller cities such as Cedar Rapids.
Digital receivers like Franzen's Kenwood model also pick up AM-FM analog radio.
If the radio strays from the digital service area, it seamlessly switches over
to analog reception so the listener doesn't get cut off from the broadcast.
Behrens said that while the transition to FM radio required broadcasting
stations to install new transmitters, adding digital radio equipment isn't
nearly as large an investment.
Does that mean death for analog radio?
Struble said that just as it took time for CDs to replace cassette tapes, so
will digital take some time to make its way into American homes, where the
average family owns about six AM-FM radios.
"We're trying to change something that's been around for 90 years and is
in every single American home and part of every single American life," he
said. "The challenge of trying to change all of that ... is a long-term
proposition."
Analysts also expect that digital receivers will primarily remain an
aftermarket product for cars, instead of becoming standard equipment, for at
least a few years.
The new high-definition radios will have to compete with the nation's two
satellite radio services, Sirius and XM, which now claim nearly 1.5 million
subscribers and offer largely commercial-free broadcasts of music, sports and
talk throughout the country. Satellite tuners can be purchased for less than
$200, though the services generally require a monthly subscription of at least
$10.
Behrens said she didn't expect digital radio to significantly threaten
satellite services. She noted that people pay extra for cable TV, for example,
because of the programming choices.
Struble and other digital radio masterminds said they chose Iowa
to unveil the commercial product because Cedar Rapids'
KZIA-FM was sending out digital broadcasts; because Iowa
is home to radio pioneer Arthur Collins; and because of Iowa's precinct caucuses that kick off the
presidential nominating season.
After a ceremony in which he got a certificate for being first to buy the new
technology, Franzen said he planned to spend the drive home doing what else
— listening to the radio. However, he said he would be "pretty busy
trying to figure out the new buttons."
Jen --