In article . com,
RHF wrote:

so - what say you ~ RHF

1. DRM

DRM is a European solution to a European problem. It's a system
that a bunch of second tier broadcasters have come up with to
use their existing frequencies to continue to be continent wide
broadcasters in the face of the various national broadcasters
conversions to local digital radio systems.

2. IBOC

The US National Association of Broadcasters method to jam adjacent
(out of area) signals and restrict the possible number of stations.
On a local NPR station's program about their conversion to IBOC, one
of the particpants admitted that the reason that IBOC is being pushed
was that other systems could double the number of stations and that
was unacceptable to the NAB.

3. Cost

Both of these systems need a digital signal processor with a hundred
million instructions per second or so of throughput. That sort of CPU
power is going to cost in both money and electrical power consumption.
That means about $100 more than an analog radio and a hard time to
make a portable that doesn't suck batteries like no tomorrow.

The IBOC promoters seem to think that people only listen to the
radio in a car, too. Well, maybe that's the only market that
will spend the $$$ for the equipment.

I hear that the IBOC digital CODEC (compression scheme) is lousy
for voice. Just what the talk radio people need. ;-)

IBOC and HDTV have the same problem. I'm gonna be damned if I
will spend several hundred bucks for a new radio or TV if it's the
same crappy programming as I get now.

Mark Zenier Washington State resident