HD Radio picks up speed

By: RANDY DOTINGA - For the North County Times | Wednesday, October 10, 2007 12:19 PM PDT ∞

While you weren't looking ---- or listening ---- 10 new radio stations have added themselves to the San Diego radio dial.

One plays an eclectic mix of music like you'd find in a hip coffeehouse. Another offers 24-7 broadcasts of a top-rated morning show. Others play electronica, country and Spanish-language music, all commercial-free and with little or no interruptions from announcers.

For some listeners, this may sound like nirvana. And it can all be yours if you have at least $100 burning in your pocket and decent radio reception in your home, office or car.

Yes, HD Radio is finally ready for its wide shot. (No close-ups, please, it's still putting on its makeup.) About 12 local stations have adopted the technology, with 10 creating sister stations by broadcasting through secondary channels.

And since HD Radio is in its infancy and not widely known, the secondary channels are both saving money and hoping to attract listeners by not hiring disc jockeys or playing commercials.

"You have to have the content first to excite people to buy these radios" and compete with satellite radio, which makes people pay to listen to commercials, said Charlie Quinn, operations manager at stations KyXy and Sophie@103.7, which both offer secondary HD channels.

Despite its name, HD Radio is not "high definition" radio, but the idea is similar to those hifalutin TV sets. HD-equipped stations broadcast digitally, allowing them to sound clearer and air one or more secondary channels (HD-2, HD-3 and so on).

You need a special HD radio to hear the stations; they're available as portables or as add-ons for cars. The cheapest are $99.95, although you might find them on sale for less.

There are, of course, some caveats. The digital signals are often weak, meaning you may need to buy a special antenna to get decent reception. And the programming so far doesn't come with some things that people like, such as disc jockeys, contests, traffic and weather.

But there is something new to be found: diversity. Stations are testing formats that might never work commercially because their potential audience is too small.

For example, KyXy's secondary channel offers what Quinn calls "cafe" music, the blend of jazz and modern pop that you might come across in a Starbucks. Listeners will hear artists such as Etta James, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holliday along with Rod Stewart or Eric Clapton, Quinn said.

Sophie@103.7's secondary channel, meanwhile, is called "House of Sophie" and plays something called an electronica/house format. According to Quinn, research suggests that this format ---- designed to accompany "chilling" or just hanging out ---- is big among Internet radio listeners.

"It's a mixture of chill, ambient and environmental music," Quinn said. "We just decided to throw it out there."

Like other stations, KyXy and Sophie@103.7 aren't devoting a lot of resources to the secondary channels yet. Each plays 10-hour reels of music over and over again, so things might sound familiar after a while. But at least it's a start.

Tune in next week for a look at the other secondary HD channels on the local dial and the scoop on how choosing a format is a bit like drafting a football player.

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The Web site of liberal talk station KLSD says a decision is due "soon" about whether it will abandon the format. The station has acknowledged that it's considering other options such as sports talk. According to sdradio.net, a local radio blog, syndicated liberal talk-show host Ed Schultz has suggested that progressive talk may land on HD radio here. That's one solution to calm angry liberal listeners. But the HD audience would be tiny, and liberal talk shows aren't free. Who would pay for them?

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Consider, for a moment, talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Yes, I know it's probably the morning and you're eating breakfast. Work with me here. Doesn't he seem like a forgiving soul? The kind of guy who's willing to give his foes the benefit of the doubt when they claim to have been quoted out of context? In other words, a real mensch? Well, his fans think you should be that way, at least.

Last week, I looked at the flap over Limbaugh's use of the phrase "phony soldier" in apparent reference to members of the military who aren't rah-rah about the Iraq war. Judging by the transcript of the Limbaugh show in question, it certainly sounds like he was slamming critics of the war.

In unison, his fans sent me a message by e-mail: no way, moron. It's crystal clear, they said, that he was talking about a previous topic ---- non-soldiers who were trying to get military benefits. In other words, context counts.

And that's not all. It seems that not only am I a bonehead but I'm also a fathead. One reader helpfully deduced from my photo that I've got some chunk in my trunk and should exercise while listening to Limbaugh on an iPod.

Limbaugh as a weight-loss aid? Hmm.

Randy Dotinga thinks this column makes him look fat. E-mail him at NCTimesRadio@aol.com.

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