"Terrestrial" radio (was "Can WBCN lead listeners...")

[Dan.Strassberg]

The correct adjective that lumps all forms of radio that are not
conventional analog is, of course, digital. Satellite radio and HD
Radio are both digital. FM sub-carrier services (reading for the
blind) are not digital, however; they are analog but are not
receivable by conventional analog receivers. If you are looking for a
single adjective to characterize the combination of analog and HD
Radio that is in use at all radio stations in North America (AM and
FM) that broadcast in HD, the word would be hybrid. Hybrid appears to
have achieved zero traction, however. Also, iBiquity, which holds the
copyright on the term HD Radio, has repeatedly explained that the HD
in HD radio stands for nothing at all (unlike the HD in HDTV--which
stands for high definition). Moreover, AFAIK, iBiquity has never even
commented on the idea of having the HD in HD Radio stand for hybrid
digital. In fact, though, saying that HD in HD Radio stands for hybrid
digital would make sense from a technical standpoint because, in its
present embodiment, HD Radio is an analog-digital hybrid system. This,
of course, would no longer be true if the FCC, as some people have
proposed, allowed stations to transmit only the digital information
(that is, if the FCC allowed stations to phase out broadcasting analog
signals).

-----
Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
eFax 1-707-215-6367

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Eli Polonsky" <elipolo@earthlink.net>
To: <boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 3:47 PM
Subject: "Terrestrial" radio (was "Can WBCN lead listeners...")


> I'm getting annoyed by the wide misuse of the word
> "terrestrial" by radio listeners these days. The
> word literally means "on the Earth" or "from the
> Earth", as in that humans are "terrestrial" beings,
> and space aliens are "extra-terrestrials". (Anyone
> remember the cheesy '70s sci-fi movie "ET"?)
>
> Many people are now labeling any form of radio that
> is not conventional analog broadcast radio as not
> being "terrestrial", including HD radio and internet
> radio.
>
> As far as I know, the only type of radio that is not
> "terrestrial" is satellite radio (such as Sirius/XM)
> because the signal (that we receive) is rebroadcast
> from a satellite up in space.
>
> HD radio is broadcast from the same transmitters as
> their parent analog stations, ON THE EARTH, so it's
> making me cringe when I keep hearing people refer to
> HD radio as not being "terrestrial".
>
> I don't see anything about internet radio that would
> classify it as not being "terrestrial" either, though
> I keep hearing people also calling it not "terrestrial"
> as opposed to analog radio (though some wireless forms
> are rebroadcast via satellites).
>
> I wonder if it will become one of those words that will
> have its official dictionary definition changed due to
> wide misuse?
>
> Eli Polonsky
>
>
>
>