Posted: 8/14/2008 5:30:17 PM EDT
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GM factory radio in my Camaro was a bit on the fritz... So I went ahead & got myself one of those 'HD Radio' (Not sat radio, OTA digital HD radio) units that they are constantly promoting with corny commercials on 'regular' radio.... For $50 off E-bay... YES, it's made in China... NO, it's not able to rattle windshields across the parking lot... Pretty much, it works as well as the old factory unit BUT it gets the new 'HD' digital signal... Compared to the 'major' brand units, the 'Chinese Crap' had more features, and didn't require an expensive add-on tuner just to get the digital OTA signal.... I love this thing... Why? Simple... If I'm not listening to talk-radio, I do NOT want to hear some idiot (BJ Shay, 'The Men's Room', Tom Lankis, WHATEVER) talk - especially when the subject material is fitting for a 5th grade boy's room conversation... If I'm on FM, I want to hear music, and nothing else besides the occasional round of commercials (only way to keep radio free).... HD radio allows each station to broadcast multiple program selections... So when Beavis & Buttthead's Morning Show is going on and on and on about dog farts or the size of their last poo.... I can hit a button and flip over to the other stream for some Metallica or whatever else they're playing... It's also great when you don't want to hear them play 'Bartender' for the 1 MILLIONTH time that day... And unlike XM/Sirius... It's FREE (Besides the cost of the radio).... |
+1 that being said... I'm kind of entertaining the idea of upgrading my car stereo to something with a dvd player (more mp3 playtime = more library on one disk), HD and Sirius built in so I don't have an external device I have to find a place for |
It's 100% free, and based on the same tech as the 'new' Digital broadcast TV, except that HD radio piggybacks on the 'normal' FM stations - you tune to your normal radio station and if it's HD, the HD tuner will 'link up' and go into digital mode automatically... Once in digital mode, you can flip through the various HD streams, so if you don't want to hear an hour of fart jokes... One button and you're back to your music... Oh, while in HD mode the radio receives artist/song/album info too, so if you are hearing a song and want to know the title/artist, the radio tells you.... Any station that broadcasts in HD (and most of the majors do) will have the alternate channel.... The radios are rather expensive from the major makers - and most are only 'HD Ready' (meaning you have to buy an add-on module to actually have HD Radio), but the one I got (Insignia NS-C5112) is availabel on E-bay for around $50 *AND* has the HD tuner built in (Good cheap chinese crap, in this case)... AM reception is supposedly enhanced, but neither of the AM stations I listen to have any sort of HD signal... Rush sounds like Rush, on any radio.... |
I put a USB hard drive in mine. 2,510 MP3s at my fingertips, and it has HD radio. It's a Dual XHD6425  
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I won't pay for TV -or- Radio... For me, $13/mo is just too much for the amount I use it... $50, ONCE is just perfect... |
My brother in law had a Chevy Silverado he bought that had no stereo when he bought it. He put in one with a plug that you could stick a thumb drive in. Pretty neat I thought. So here is a question: Is this a pipe dream or can I find a stereo with a thumb drive plug that has RDS? |