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Below is the last of three pages of a PC World on-line article. The first two pages were on Sirius and XM radio.
Note that while the article mentions AM, it seems the demonstration and product references are all FM.
W. Curt Deegan
Boca Raton, (Southeast) Florida
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Digital Audio: Satellite Radios That Rock
HD Radio Emerges
HD Radio permits digital broadcasts over existing AM/FM bands. Result: improved sound quality. To listen, you need to have an HD Radio-capable device and be in an area that has digital broadcast stations (visit IBiquity Digital for a list). Right now most such products are in-car units, but Boston Acoustics, Polk Audio, and Radiosophy are working on tabletop radios that should be out this summer. Components for home audio systems are also in the works.
To test HD Radio, I went for a drive with Clay Freinwald, corporate engineer at Entercom Seattle, which owns a number of radio stations that broadcast digitally. I listened to HD Radio via his Kenwood KTC-HR100 HD tuner box ($400 street), which was connected to a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X879 in-dash receiver ($380 street). I also went to a high-end electronics store and checked out the similar but newer Kenwood Excelon KDC-X889 ($450 street) and Kenwood Excelon KDC-X789 in-dash unit ($350 street); other makers of in-dash devices have all-in-one units, as well. Though the pair of products I looked at will run you almost $800, you can find an HD in-dash unit with tuner and receiver for less than $500 (tabletop models will sell for about half that). If you want HD Radio in your car today, you'll have to buy it separately, but in the near future you may be able to get it as an option at the auto dealer.
When you first turn the dial on an HD Radio device, you hear FM. If a station broadcasts in HD, the radio automatically switches over to digital after a few seconds. You may catch a flash or call letters that indicate a station broadcasts in HD as the switch occurs; but once the device picks up the signal, you should always see a light or other indicator signaling that you are receiving HD Radio. In my test the process was seamless: I changed stations just as I would on my own AM/FM car stereo, and the switch to digital showcased just how much better the sound quality can be. Everything sounded clearer, and the extra noise and distortion I could hear on FM radio disappeared. Another boon: Like satellite, HD Radio displays song title and artist information (although analog radio can do that, too). If the radio isn't getting a strong enough FM signal, however, it may be unable to switch to digital.
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