Um bom ponto da situação sobre o HD (e a rádio hertziana)

A partir deste texto "HD Radio: Could it Ever Supplant FM?" (de Anders Madsen, 01.04.06, rwonline.com), e destas interrogações "Will HD Radio someday overtake analog FM in the United States? If so, how long until most commercial FM broadcast is at least accompanied by an IBOC modulated signal? Will stations ever really start turning off their analog entirely, as originally envisioned under the "hybrid" approach to a digital radio transition?", alguns destaques:

- O PREÇO DOS RECEPTORES: "Tim Eby, manager of Ohio State University station WOSU(FM), agrees. "Nobody’s going to run out and buy a radio if it costs $350." For him, $100 is the target price point required for mass appeal." [a própósito: HD tuner for $110)

- O RISCO DE INVESTIMENTO DOS PROPRIETÁRIOS: "According to Bob Struble, president and CEO of the company, some owners are pursuing aggressive installation and implementation, others are waiting to see what happens. But he is certain HD Radio will someday replace analog FM broadcast in the United States."

- A MANUTENÇÃO DO FM (até porque existem 800 milhões de rádios analógicos nos EUA, com a respectiva inércia): ""One of the great things about HD is that it operates in tandem with analog, so that if you have an HD radio, it also picks up analog stations. There won’t be a cutoff point, (as if) that’s the end of this, and we’re starting something new ... It’s a planned transition. We’re not taking any analog stations off the air ... what we’re doing is putting HD transmitters right next to the analog transmitters." 

- A VENDA DE EMISSORES: "Matthew Straeb, director of business development for Continental Electronics, said, "We’re selling a lot more HD transmitters than we are analog"."

A COBERTURA NACIONAL DIGITAL: "Will HD Radio signals ever be everywhere in the U.S.? "Not in my lifetime," Jensen said."