Ford to make HD Radio available on almost all new vehicles

Just when you thought your radio carrier headaches had gone away -- bam -- Ford starts offering HD Radio on almost all of its new vehicles. That's right, according to a recent press release, the automaker -- which just showed off its new Sync system -- has plans to equip (should you so choose) a large percentage of its 2008 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles with the new high definition "standard." HD Radio -- if you'll recall -- is free, and broadcasts on about 1,500 stations in the US, but offers higher quality audio than standard FM, in addition to features like track ID and extra "piggybacked" channels (called HD2). On top of the inclusion of the systems in new vehicles, Ford says that its 2005, 2006 and 2007 models can be retrofitted with the receivers, thus giving your old jalopy a sheen of newness heretofore unseen.

[Via Autoblog]

[Paragraph @ Sep 26th 2007 1:17PM]

Now all ford needs to do is find an HD rado station... even if it sucks it'd be better than what i have (bupkis)

I dropped $200 on a head-unit with HD radio, and the only thing i got in return was the station ID on two stations... granted HD radio has yet to expand out of major metro areas, it's still pretty sad seeing a product that claims to compete with sat radio that can't deliver anything at all...

the one question on my mind is: will it work with my chevy?

[Kevin T @ Sep 26th 2007 2:18PM]

You could've always checked iBiquity's website to see what stations in your area are broadcasting in HD _before_ dropping $200 on a head unit.

http://www.ibiquity.com/hd_radio/hdradio_find_a_station

I live in CT, we've got PLENTY of HD stations, and I've actually been quite happy with my purchase.

[Tim @ Sep 26th 2007 1:17PM]

Big deal. BMW and Mercedes have offered HD radio since last year. I guess Ford gets credit for being the first of the Big3 to offer HD Radio.

[Shane @ Sep 26th 2007 1:22PM]

Our stations DO broadcast in HD (though we are one of the few groups in Wyoming that does so). This was good news, unfortunately it was a few months too late to get into our brand new 2008 Ford F250 SuperDuty engineering truck.

[Mike Botros @ Sep 26th 2007 3:05PM]

It's dealer installed so you sould be able to go back and have them install it for you. They can retrofit it into Fords as old as 2005.

[Alex @ Sep 26th 2007 1:23PM]

do these in-dash radios also support satellite radio?

[bill @ Sep 26th 2007 1:28PM]

For one thing it does NOT compete with Sat radio. Different business model, not nationwide, not subscription et al. Just because you live in the woods does not make it a bad product. I have over 20 station in a small town in the midwest of 400,000 pop. Every existing FM station here has a HD counterpart or two.

Neither XM or Sirius will be around to long. NEITHER one has EVER made a DIME. None are profitable. Never will be, costs are simply to high, subscription is iffy at best, Stern wont carry it either, only so much childishness one can stand.

[danny003 @ Sep 26th 2007 1:38PM]

so you'd rather listen to an inferior product full of commercials just because they turn a profit?

[Paragraph @ Sep 26th 2007 2:13PM]

wow... take a breather...

first off, i don't live in the woods, i live in a beach town, we have exactly two stations that broadcast in HD, and no HD2 stations that come through.

Secondly, HD compares itself to XM/Sirius, so it's therefore i concider it competition. I agree, HD radio is NOT competition to XM/Sirius, it's not even close to a threat on radar. When XM and Sirius merge it'll probably get rocky, prices will go up, people will be pissed, etc. But atleast i know i will have music that doesn't suck, that doesn't have commericals, and that i can get wherever i may roam than something that is free. Name one Heavy Metal HD station that i can get from NJ to CA without hearing a single god-damned commercial, can't?, thats because there isn't any.

Thirdly, HD radio shows promise, i never denied that, i never even said that it sucks, sucked, or will suck. Right now i'd rather listen to AM than HD, but when HD becomes more available then it should live just fine with XM/Sirius uses' other (read other, not better) forms of in-car-entertainment. Just because you're a hic farmer and can't afford $12/mo for something definitly worth the dough, doesn't mean i'm wrong, it means that you jump to conclusions, sling mud, and probably can't take it.

Finally, you can't take how much XM/Sirius net/have netted as a comparison to HD radio, HD radio is a band, it's many many entities, all of them may or may not turn a profit. It's like saying "FM radio is better than TV because neither Bravo or A&E have turned a net profit." it's not a valid argument.

In conclusion, diff'rnt strokes for diff'rnt folks, i just happen to go with the one that, for me, doesn't suck s**t.

[Thomas O'Keefe @ Sep 26th 2007 1:49PM]

I just wish people, engagdget included, would stop referring to it as high definition as it is clearly not. With a data rate of 96kbps it is less data than your typical, poor sounding 128K MP3. HD stands for Hybrid Digital but allows Ibiquity to shorten it to HD and ride the wave of HD awareness. I'm sure the confusion works in their favor.

There is also much disagreement, even among radio station engineers, as to whether it is actually better than standard FM broadcasting. It seems to mostly trade freedom from noise for a shorter useable range. Fidelity compared to a really good FM tuner is so-so at best.

[Monty22001 @ Sep 26th 2007 2:20PM]

I find HD radio to sound far, far better than FM. The highs and lows really open up. It just has a much nicer dynamic range.

Also, you can NOT compare HD's bitrate to mp3. Apples and oranges. 10 years of technology improvements have gone on, and ibiquity's codec is extremely good.

[Mike Botros @ Sep 26th 2007 3:06PM]

Ford does offer sirius sat radio in most of its vehicles

[Mike Botros @ Sep 26th 2007 3:11PM]

That was in repsonse to alex

[Guthrie @ Sep 26th 2007 4:22PM]

Putting the same bad music and commercials out in higher quality still doesn't make me want to listen. Sorry radio, your sun is setting.

Marshall
--------------------
The Real HT Info Podcast

[Sirocco @ Sep 27th 2007 1:39AM]

What with internet radio and the forthcoming iAudio D2 (!), HD radio doesn't interest me, now anyway. Someone needs to put out some cheapie units, so people can discover it en masse, then maybe more stations will get involved and make it more worthwhile generally.

[JBDragon @ Sep 27th 2007 2:22AM]

Why would I want to tune into Crappy FM Radio stations in HD? So I can hear the same limited song play lists and have the large number of commercials sound better? No thanks. Seems like there's 20 minutes worth of music in a hours time.

The HD range is also a shorter distance then normal FM. This isn't Satellite Competition at all. If you haven't been using Satellite, you have No idea what your missing. I HATE getting in some other car and turn on the radio, and what do you know, it's another commercial. I get XM anywhere in the 48 States. All 170 Channels. When I turn it to Channel 46, I know what type of commercial free Music I'll get. I also like being able to tune into FOX NEWS anywhere I'm at at any time. Or Tune into a Game while I'm away from home.

I'm not a big fan of IPOD type devices either. You get NO LIVE stuff. The only music on it is what YOU put on it. Same old songs over and over again until you add some new stuff. With Satellite, there's none of that. You get new Music, Old Music, just pick a channel of the type of music you like. All the time I hear a song I haven't heard in years and enjoy it. That's something that will NEVER happen using a IPOD. What's even better, you can get Portables with Satellite and built in MP3 player. Keep some of your Favorite tunes and tune into Satellite also. Best of both worlds.

HD Radio? It's the same old BS in HD. Ohhhh Boy. No thanks. For the price of 1 CD a month you get access to so much content it's really worth it. As someone who owns hundreds of CD's, I buy maybe 1 a year now since I've had Satellite and then only play the CD a few times. Forget buying ITUNE songs, or downloading pirated music, or ripping CD's and wasting time copying it onto your IPOD or whatever. That just gets old and boring.

[Gored Bushed @ Sep 29th 2007 7:52AM]

It is about time, too bad I just can not find myself buying an AGV, American Gashog Vehicle.

[Mike Licht @ Oct 5th 2007 7:36PM]

Our public radio station has two HD program streams. FM transmitter: 50,000 watts. HD transmitters: 500 watts. Ford HD radio might be just the thing if you drive a neighborhood paper route.

The station even suggests that your old TV roof antenna makes a dandy accessory for your new HD Radio. I guess you could put one on your Ford, too.

See http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/hd-hardly-discernable-radio-broadcasting-to-nobody/