What would it take to get you excited about HD Radio?
From the Crutchfield Archives
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Don't look now, but some interesting things are taking root "between the stations," as the HD Radio Alliance likes to say.
That's ad-speak for the "extra" HD2 and HD3 channels HD Radio broadcasters can squeeze into their allotted bandwidth when they go digital. If you have an HD Radio receiver that's multicast-capable, you can sometimes find two or three different programs coming from a single station.
According to the Alliance, there were about 700 "HD2" stations on the dial as of late August. And some adventurous content is beginning to find its way onto the HD2 channels, as stations seek to regain eardrums lost to satellite radio and iPods. The stuff that's most interesting to me is the intense focus on local music, live music, and unsigned bands that's emerging at stations in Detroit, Austin, Portland, Denver, and a few other places.
Check out the links below and let us know what you think. Would something like this motivate you to try HD Radio?
WRIF2 in Detroit
"DETROIT LOCAL 101 is RIFF2?s Local music show. It airs EVERY Tuesday night from 10pm til Midnight! Your hosts Suzy Cole and Melody Licious (The Sirens, The Coronados and also known as Melody Baetens from the DETROIT NEWS) are always out perusing the clubs checking out shows and bands to bring you the best in new local music as well as digging through everybodies cd collection in town to get you the rad old stuff too!"
KSGR's 107.2 in Austin
94/7too Independent Radio in Portland
KBCO's Studio C HD-2 channel in Denver
Curious about the HD2 channels available in your area? It's easy to look them up. Do a little Googling, and you can often find web feeds that will give you a taste of what the stations are playing.