Sony joins the HD radio revolution
Sony will soon be moving one of its oldest product lines into the HD era, with the company's announcement of two HD Radio-enabled products coming in July. HD Radio technology improves sound quality so that AM radio stations sound like FM and FM stations sound like CDs. It enables FM stations to offer new channels as well as AM and FM stations to broadcast with clearer sound. It also displays the artist name and song title information and doesn't require any monthly subscription fees.
The first of the two products is an AM/FM/HD table radio (model XDR-S3HD) which features a large back-lit blue LCD display set in a mesh-covered front panel and cabinet with rich cherry wood finish. Additional features include a wireless remote control and a built-in clock with sleep timer and alarm. It will be available for about $200.
For those on the road, the mobile HD Radio tuner (model XT-100HD) is a hideaway module that connects through the Sony head unit's bus interface and feeds artist names and song titles to the car stereo's display. Additionally, it can display radio station names and genres, where available. The new tuner will be available for about $100.
"Sony is one of the first leading consumer electronics companies to offer quality HD Radio-enabled devices," said Steve Haber, Sony's senior vice president of marketing for the Digital Imaging and Audio Division. "We're adding it to a long list of technologies that support digital music trends."
According to iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer of HD Radio technology, there are more than 1,300 stations already on-air broadcasting with the HD Radio system. There are more than 2,500 additional stations committed to HD Radio broadcasting, as well as over 600 new
HD Radio channels. The company predicts that approximately 90 percent of Americans will have access to HD Radio broadcasts within the next two years.
