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What's Different About This Radio?: Valley Stations Gradually Join the HD Movement

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Tim Blangger, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

Apr. 11--On a recent sunny afternoon, Bob Klima took his high-definition radio out for a test ride. He maneuvered his Jeep Cherokee into afternoon rush-hour traffic to ply Routes 22 and 378 and gauge the sound quality coming from his dash-mounted set. It's a test run the broadcast engineer often takes to monitor the HD broadcast of Cat Country 96 for his employer, station-owner Citadel Broadcasting.

Since December, Cat Country has broadcast a digital, or HD signal, as well as the traditional analog signal, making it the first HD radio station in the region. Earlier this month, Bethlehem-based public radio affiliate WDIY-FM at 88.1 also began broadcasting an HD version of its analog signal.

HD radio is widely seen as broadcast radio's response to the rise of satellite radio. Sound quality for HD FM stations approaches that of a CD recording; and high-definition AM broadcasts compare to FM broadcasts, with none of the static or fading commonly heard on traditional AM radio, enthusiasts say.

WDIY General Manager Burr Beard, whose station raised special funds for its HD effort, says the impact of HD radio rivals the impact FM radio had on the overall radio market 40 years ago. "This is exciting, and as a radio person who has been in the business for 25 years, I wanted

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania

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