Las Vegas - Apr 13, 2008 - The National Association of Broadcasters and Ibiquity unveiled a partnership with four broadcast equipment manufacturers to accelerate the commercial development of HD Radio with the introduction of embedded Exporters. The goal of the effort was to reduce a radio station's cost to upgrade to HD Radio.

Until now, the HD Radio Exporter was a PC-based device. The new technology reduces the size and manufacturing cost of the hardware to solid-state DSP components. The HD Radio Exporter combines multicast audio channels and advanced data services along with a station's main audio channel into a format suitable for transmission. BE, Continental, Harris and Nautel are displaying the results of this effort in their booths at the NAB Show.

The project began in 2006, and the newly formed NAB HD Radio Technology Advancement Task Force was charged with overseeing the effort, culminating in today's announcement. The NAB has provided funding for this project, and NAB member stations are being offered a discount on purchasing the equipment if the order is placed at the convention.