HD Radio
 

Anyone have one of these in their truck? Been thinking about upgrading my system and I am intrigued by the possibility of HD radio. I mostly listen to radio as opposed to CD's anyway, so this would be a great improvement over what I have right now.

Any recommendations of specific brands/models? I know JVC and Kenwood make them. Any others?

I know all you need is the tuner and its free from there....but I still think satellite radio is better

its the same quality and has way more stations...Hd is mostly just hd versions of what you already hear...and hearing it in cd quality wont make that much of a difference...

but if thats what you want...go for it!

I also toyed with this before buying my sirius. I personally am very happy that I went satellite instead. HD does have SOME additional channels, but it depends on your location really. I know here in Detroit there are a few additional ones they advertise....

A friend of mine's GF has it in her car. I really wasn't very impressed at all. I'd break down and get the satellite, you'll like it a lot more. Another thing is, when you factor in the cost of equipment, you could have paid for satellite for a year already.

sat. always sounds like a crappy bitrate to me, or at least last time I had it, my ipod with a FM transmitter sounded better, and I had the darn XM thing hard wired too...

I had thought about satallite at one time, then I rented a car with Sirius or XM (don't remember which) and it kept cutting out all the time. Don't know if I want to pay a monthly fee for that. I know that HD is free, just want to make sure that the reception is as good as is advertised.

As far as the cost of equipment, I saw that the JVC is under $200 and has the HD receiver built in. HERE'S THE UNIT I'M LOOKING AT. There are other brands that are "HD Ready" but you need to buy a seperate receiver to get the HD stations, kinda like getting a cable box to get HD and digital channels for TV.

I bought my JVC head unit with HD built in. I actually enjoy it, but admittedly, I don't listen too much to the HD channels other than the primary one. I do use it extensively though for an AM station though that gets rebroadcast on an HD channel.

That said, it works for me. I can't justify satellite, since I generally can't stand it anyway.

IMO, HD radio is still the same overplayed crap with all the commercials just heard in crystal clear high definition. The only benefit I can see in my own situation is being able to listen to the Reds games on HD as opposed to the 700 WLW AM station but it just wouldn't be the same without the annoying AM dullness that I am used to.

Personally, I have an Alpine with integrated I-pod operation and Sirius satellite radio, both operated through the head unit. I don't think it has ever been used for regular radio yet. I never have any reception problems with the Sirius except for a second or two of interruption when I go in a tunnel or under an overpass on the highway. It even picks up in my garage where the truck is parked.

Of course I can't tell you what you like or want and won't try to but all of the radio stations around here are more commercials than anything else.