Index

FCC Publishes NOI on Mandatory Sat/HD Radio Bundling

Fraunhofer Debuts Surround via DAB+ and streamed MP3 at IFA

High End HD Radio Products Shine at CEDIA Expo

IBOC by State: New York

A Digital Radio Proposal that Deserves Our Attention

The New Language of Digital Radio

$50 Rebates Still Available on Select HD Radio Receivers and Tuners

New DAB Receiver Goes Pocket-Size Portable

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News

FCC Publishes NOI on Mandatory Sat/HD Radio Bundling
Keeping with a promise made to critics of the recent 3-2 approval of Sirius Satellite Radio's buyout of XM, the FCC published a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in the Aug. 25 Federal Register addressing industry suggestions that new satellite radio receivers sold in the U.S. be required to include HD Radio functionality.

In typical fashion, the Commission's NOI poses a plethora of questions in an attempt to glean information on multiple dimensions of the issue, beginning with whether there are currently any "multifunction" receivers on or coming to market soon, as well as why or why not. This portion of the document also inquires about what demand for HD Radio currently exists and questions what incentives the HD Radio industry might offer automakers to bring about a marketplace in which OEM HD Radios become the norm.

Also addressed is the issue of EAS, and whether mandatory multifunction capability might address concerns raised by the fact that SDARS services are not required to provide carriage of EAS state or local emergency traffic.

But the balance of the NOI dwells on questions of economic impacts, fairness and technical issues that multifunction requirements would impose on receiver manufacturers, automakers and consumers. The issue is parsed down further to address the issue of reciprocity. In other words, if sat radio manufacturers are required to include HD Radio, shouldn't those companies manufacturing HD Radios be required to include satellite capability?

For those interested in HD Radios rollout, both the NOI and the many comments it is bound to evoke makes for interesting reading. The complete NOI is available at hraunfoss.fcc.gov.

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Business

Fraunhofer Debuts Surround via DAB+ and streamed MP3 at IFA
Fraunhofer is making a surround sound splash this week with its floor demonstration of surround delivery via both MP3 streams and DAB+ at the giant IFA 2008 consumer electronics show in Berlin.

The company is actively demonstrating delivery of an identical surround signal source, Rock Antenne radio, via the MPEG Surround standard, which compresses the six channels of a surround music track into the same bandwidth as a compressed stereo signal. The programming is then being encoded and transmitted on both an Internet stream and DAB+ radio signal for reception using compatible surround decoders at the company's booth on the IFA exhibit floor.

The MPEG Surround standard was developed by engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits ISS in Erlangen. The standard automatically produces a stereo mix and sets parameters describing the surround sound, removing the need for broadcasters to transmit simultaneously in stereo and surround. Conventional speakers play back a regular stereo signal, while a DAB equipped with surround decoder and speakers to reproduce the original 5.1 audio. IFA 2007 posted 1,212 exhibitors from 32 countries with over 222,000 visitors.

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High End HD Radio Products Shine at CEDIA Expo
HD Radio will headline this month at the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) EXPO this week at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

On display are a line of more than 20 products, three of which are Itunes Tagging-enabled, including seven newly announced Integra, McIntosh and Yamaha products for the home installer.

Audio manufacturers, such as Audio Design Associates, Denon, Marantz, Niles Audio, Onkyo, and Polk also offer custom-install, home theater receivers and processors with HD Radio technology.

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IBOC Across America

IBOC by State: New York
Ibiquity has a list of stations with licensed HD Radio technology and notes those on the air now. IBOC by state looks at various states and lists the stations making the transition. There are 103 stations in the Empire State broadcasting 167 HD Radio channels.

Market	Station	HD1 Format	HD2 Format	HD3 Format	Owner
Albany	WAMK-FM 90.9	News/Talk/Info	-	-	WAMC/Northeast Public Radio
Albany	WAMQ- FM 105.1	News/Info/Jazz	-	-	WAMC/Northeast Public Radio
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WDCD- AM 1540	Inspiration	-	-	DRJ Broadcasting
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WBZZ-FM 105.7	Hot AC	-	-	Regent
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WTRY-FM 98.3	Oldies	Smooth Jazz	-	Clear Channel
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WGY-AM 810	News/Talk	-	-	Clear Channel
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WRVE- FM 99.5	Adult Rock	AAA Rock	-	Clear Channel
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WKKF-FM102.3	CHR	New CHR	-	Clear Channel
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WPTR- FM 96.7	Christian Contemporary	-	-	DRJ Broadcasting
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WOFX- AM 980	Sports	-	-	Clear Channel
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WHRL- FM 103.1	Alternative	Classic Alternative	-	Clear Channel
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WCAN- FM 93.3	News/Info/Classical	-	-	WAMC/Northeast Public Radio
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WAMC- FM 90.3	News/Talk/Info	News and Information	-	WAMC/Northeast Public Radio
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WDDY- AM 1460	Family Hits	-	-	Radio Disney
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WGNA- FM 107.7	Country	-	-	Regent
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	WPYX- FM 106.5	Classic Rock	Vinyl Vineyard	-	Clear Channel
Auburn	WDWN- FM 89.1	Alternative/Variety	-	-	Cayuga County Community College
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WYRK- FM 106.5	Country	Country - Young Country	-	Regent
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WECK- AM 1230	Talk/Sports	-	-	Culver Communications
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WJYE- FM 96.1	Soft Rock	Jazz - Smooth Jazz	-	Regent
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WLKK- FM 107.7	Classic Rock	Rock - Live Rock	-	Entercom Communications Corp.
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WNED- FM 94.5	Classical	Public News and Information	-	Western New York Public Broadcasting Association
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WTSS- FM 102.5	Hot AC	Blues	-	Entercom Communications Corp.
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WKSE- FM 98.5	CHR	Comedy	-	Entercom Communications Corp.
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WDCX- FM 99.5	Religion	Contemporary Christian	-	Crawford Broadcasting Company
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WBUF- FM 92.9	Jack	Other - MY HD	-	Regent
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WGRF- FM 96.9	Classic Rock	-	-	Citadel
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WEDG- FM 103.3	Rock	-	-	Citadel
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WBFO- FM 88.7	News/Jazz	XPoNential - AAA	-	State University of New York
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	WBLK- FM 93.7	Urban AC	Urban - Urban AC	-	Regent
Burlington-Plattsburgh, VT-NY	WGLY- FM 91.5	Christian	Contemporary Christian	-	Christian Ministries
Burlington-Plattsburgh, VT-NY	WCEL- FM 91.9	Nrws/Tslk/Info	-	-	WAMC/Northeast Public Radio
Burlington-Plattsburgh, VT-NY	WVPS- FM 107.9	NPR/News/Info	Classical	BBC World Service	Vermont Public Radio
Burlington-Plattsburgh, VT-NY	WANC- FM 103.9	News/Info/Classical	-	-	WAMC/Northeast Public Radio
Canton	WSLU- FM 89.5	Variety	-	-	St Lawrence University
Elmira-Corning	WPGI- FM 100.9	Country	-	-	Backyard Broadcasting
Hamptons-Riverhead	WLIU- FM 88.3	NPR/News/Jazz	-	-	Long Island University Public Radio
Hamptons-Riverhead	WHFM- FM 95.3	AOR	-	-	Cox Radio
Ithaca	WIII- FM 99.9	Classic Rock	-	-	Saga
Nassau-Suffolk	WALK- FM 97.5	AC	Long Island Country	-	Clear Channel
Nassau-Suffolk	WQBU- FM 92.7	Mexican	All Salsa - La Kalle Dos	-	Univision Radio
Nassau-Suffolk	WBAB- FM 102.3	AOR	-	-	Cox Radio
New York	WWPR- FM 105.1	Urban	Power Espanol	-	Clear Channel
New York	WKTU- FM 103.5	CHR/Rhythmic	Country	-	Clear Channel
New York	WOR- AM 710	News/Talk	-	-	Buckley Broadcasting
New York	WCBS- FM 101.1	Oldies	80s Hits	-	CBS Radio
New York	WCBS- AM 880	News	-	-	CBS Radio
New York	WFAS- FM 103.9	AC	-	-	Cumulus Media
New York	WQHT- FM 97.1	Rhythmic/CHR	Hip-Hop Gold	-	Emmis
New York	WFUV- FM 90.7	AAA/Folk	FUV 24/7 - AAA	-	Fordham University
New York	WAXQ- FM 104.3	Classic Rock	Deep Cuts Classic Rock	-	Clear Channel
New York	WWFS- FM 102.7	Soft AC	The New WNEW	-	CBS Radio
New York	WINS- AM 1010	News	-	-	CBS Radio
New York	WFAN- AM 660	Sports/Talk	-	-	CBS Radio
New York	WQEW- AM 1560	Family Hits	-	-	Radio Disney
New York	WCAA- FM 105.9	Spanish/Variety	All Salsa - La Kalle Dos	-	Univision Radio
New York	WBGO- FM 88.3	Jazz	TBD	-	Newark Public Radio
New York	WPAT- FM 93.1	Spanish AC	-	-	Spanish Broadcasting System
New York	WLTW- FM 106.7	Lite AC	Lite Classics	-	Clear Channel
New York	WXRK- FM 92.3	Rock	-	-	CBS Radio
New York	WSOU- FM 89.5	Modern Rock/Public Service	Catholic	-	Seton Hall University
New York	WHTZ- FM 100.3	CHR	New CHR/New Top 40	-	Clear Channel
New York	WSKQ- FM 97.9	Tropical	-	-	Spanish Broadcasting System
New York	WRKS- FM 98.7	Urban AC	Gospel	-	Emmis
New York	WRXP- FM 101.9	Adult Rock	Smooth Jazz	-	Emmis
New York	WABC- AM 770	News/Talk	-	-	Citadel
New York	WADO- AM 1280	Spanish/News/Sports	-	-	Univision Radio
New York	WNYC- FM 93.9	News/Talk/Classical	Classical	-	WNYC Radio
New York	WNYC- AM 820	Talk/News	-	-	WNYC Radio
New York	WPLJ- FM 95.5	Hot AC	80s	Oldies	Citadel
Newburgh-Middletown	WGNY- FM 103.1	AC	Real Oldies WGNY-AM	Country WTSX-FM	Sunrise Broadcasting
Newburgh-Middletown	WOSR- FM 91.7	News/Talk/Info	-	-	WAMC/Northeast Public Radio
Olean	WPSX- FM 90.1	Variety	NPR Music and News	-	The Pennsylvania State University
Poughkeepsie	WPDH- FM 101.5	Classic Rock	-	-	Cumulus Media
Rochester	WCMF- FM 96.5	Classic Rock	Rock - Brother Weeze Music Show	-	Entercom Communications Corp.
Rochester	WLGZ- AM 990	Adult Standard	-	-	Crawford Broadcasting Company
Rochester	WKGS- FM 106.7	CHR	CHR - All New	-	Clear Channel
Rochester	WZNE- FM 94.1	Alternative	Indie Rock	-	Stephens Media Group
Rochester	WVOR- FM 102.3	Soft AC	AC - All 70s	-	Clear Channel
Rochester	WFXF- FM 95.1	Classic Rock	Rock - Deep Rock Tracks	-	Clear Channel
Rochester	WCRR- FM 107.3	Country	Rock - Classic Alternative		Clear Channel
Rochester	WLGZ- FM 102.7	Adult Standard	WLGZ-AM	-	Crawford Broadcasting Company
Rochester	WHAM- AM 1180	News/Talk	-	-	Clear Channel
Rochester	WDVI- FM 100.5	Hot AC	Rock - Triple A		Clear Channel
Rochester	WHTK- AM 1280	Talk	-	-	Clear Channel
Rochester	WFKL- FM 93.3	AC	-	-	Stephens Media Group
Rochester	WPXY- FM 97.9	CHR	AC - Modern AC	-	Entercom Communications Corp.
Rochester	WEOS- FM 89.7	Alternative/AAA/News	-	-	Colleges of the Seneca
Rochester	WBZA- FM 98.9	Classic Hits	Blues	-	Entercom Communications Corp.
Rochester	WBEE- FM 92.5	Country	Comedy	-	Entercom Communications Corp.
Rochester	WXXI- FM 91.5	Classical	Talk/News	WXXI-AM	WXXI Public Broadcasting Council
Syracuse	WPHR- FM 106.9	Urban AC	Smooth Jazz	-	Clear Channel
Syracuse	WYYY- FM 94.5	AC	Pride Radio	-	Clear Channel
Syracuse	WBBS- FM 104.7	Country	Christian - The Walk	-	Clear Channel
Syracuse	WNTQ- FM 93.1	CHR	-	-	Citadel
Syracuse	WWHT- FM 107.9	CHR	Spanish - La Bomba	-	Clear Channel
Syracuse	WRVO- FM 89.9	News/Talk/Info	NPR	-	State University of New York
Syracuse	WAER- FM 88.3	Jazz/News	-	-	Syracuse University
Syracuse	WCNY- FM 91.3	Classical	Oldies 50s and 60s	-	Public Broadcasting Council of Central New York
Syracuse	WOLF- AM 1490	Children	-	-	WOLF Radio, Inc.
Utica-Rome	WFRG- FM 104.3	Country	-	-	Regent
Utica-Rome	WUNY- FM 89.5	Classical	Oldies 50s/60s	-	Public Broadcasting Council of Central New York
Watertown	WJNY- FM 90.9	Classical	Oldies 50s/60s	-	Public Broadcasting Council of Central New York

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Eye on IBOC

A Digital Radio Proposal that Deserves Our Attention
With the pending DTV transition and re-farming of TV spectrum moving into high gear, various proposals have surfaced regarding possible reallocation of lower-end VHF channels, now seen as less desirable for TV broadcasting as it enters an all digital era. Notable among these is a thought-provoking proposal recently tendered to the FCC comes from a group calling itself the Broadcast Maximization Committee (BMC).

The 122-page document in question was submitted by the BMC in response to the Commission's call for comments on seven different docket items, including the quixotic ownership diversity proceeding. What the filing suggests is a transition for AM radio broadcasting onto what are now TV channels 5 and 6, a break with the past that also addresses a passel of hot industry issues such as LPFM, FM translators, IBOC digital signal penetration, and congestion issues within the current FM band.

At a glance, it's easy to dismiss such a sweeping proposal as another solution in search of a problem. But a close look at committee member credentials and the scope of research that went into this document ought to give every seasoned engineer and manager sufficient pause to take a close look at what's being suggested.

Let's start with the basics. With the DTV transition, many VHF low-band TV stations opted to move their digital signals up to UHF, where they will experience more consistent propagation. That leaves relatively few TV signals (24 to be exact) left on channels 5 and 6, all of which could be reassigned, says BMC, though some with more effort than others. The vacated spectrum would then be reallocated into 117 new 100kHz all-digital radio channels between 76.05 and 87.75MHz

So who would be eligible to move into FM's expanded digital band? Currently operating AM stations would all be eligible for the first 100 channels under a standard allocation table with uniform separation and four basic station classes. In theory, virtually every AM station wanting to make the move could be accommodated. The remaining 17 digital channels would be assigned to some existing and additional NCE and LPFM stations, relieving congestion and adjacency conflicts on the existing FM band, while one channel would be set aside for NOAA all hazards radio.

Full digital operation, as opposed to analog or hybrid HD Radio, plays a prominent role in this proposal. As envisioned by the BMC, the new allocations would operate with 100kHz fully digital channels, versus the old model of 200kHz channel bandwidths. Because a digital-only system is far more spectrally efficient than hybrid systems that need to protect analog audio, the proponents believe that this system could provide a template for conversion of the existing FM band.

Although the BMC document mentions no specific digital modulation standard, the DRM+ system clearly comes to mind. DRM+ is an open standard digital-only implementation designed specifically for VHF application and was recently successfully tested in Germany. It can be provisioned for either 50 or 100kHz channel bandwidths

Presumably, the extended digital VHF band would coexist for some period of time with analog-only and analog hybrid IBOC digital signals continuing to occupy spectrum between 88 and 108MHz, with the new extended band providing an eventual migration path to a unified, all-digital service.

In sum, the BMC has succeeded in putting forth a highly detailed proposal for a vision of a unified digital radio service that would largely preserve existing coverage hierarchies, while providing parity between AM and FM licensees along with additional opportunities for highly localized community and NCE stations to serve their niche constituencies. As such, it warrants a thorough analysis, discussion, and critique by an informed broadcast community.

The complete document is available at www.ccbroadcasters.com.

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HD Radio Terminology

The New Language of Digital Radio
pulse-shaping function: A time-domain pulse superimposed on the OFDM symbol to improve code rate.

protocol control information (PCI): Information about the payload data, including: Stream ID, length of payload, and Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) for the PCI.

service mode: A specific configuration of operating parameters specifying throughput, performance level and selected logical channels.

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Products

$50 Rebates Still Available on Select HD Radio Receivers and Tuners
If you haven't had the chance to take advantage of the HD Radio Alliance's latest HD Radio product purchase incentives, it's still not too late. Rebates of $50 continue to be available on select models of HD Radio receivers and tuners through Sept. 29.

For rebate offer details, go to ak.buy.com.

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New DAB Receiver Goes Pocket-Size Portable
Goodmans, a UK-based marketer of consumer audio and video products, has just introduced what the company describes as the world's smallest stand-alone DAB receiver.

Based on Frontier Silicon's Vega module, the new GHDAB 101 weighs less than two ounces, measures 2.7" x 1.7" x .8", and includes both DAB and analog FM functionality. Powered by a pair of AAA alkaline batteries, the company claims users will be able to listen to up to 10 hours of DAB, or 15 hours of analog FM.

The GHDAB101 comes equipped with a pair of headphones that double as an antenna. Other features include a blue backlit display, volume level controls and 10 presets

Goodmans says the GHDAB101 will retail in the UK for about $85.

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