by Demian Russian
HD Radio’s struggle to compete with Sirius XM’s (NASDAQ: SIRI) Satellite Radio service doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. Keefe Bartels LLC, a New Jersey-based law firm, is fielding consumer complaints and investigating HD Radio’s sales and marketing claims. iBiquity Digital Corporation owns the HD Radio trademark. ”Despite iBiquity’s claims of improved sound quality and transmission, there have been numerous complaints about HD Radio from not only the radio industry but also consumers,” states Keefe Bartels. It appears that a class action lawsuit is likely to result.
“HD car radios are plagued by an inability to receive the digital signals transmitted by FM and AM radio stations and a significantly reduced sound quality when such signals are received. Such problems coupled with the increased costs for HD car radios call into question the utility of this supposed technological innovation. Consumers are being enticed to purchase HD car radios that commonly fail to perform or provide any benefits and features. The additional cost to the consumer is both unwarranted and unnecessary when the HD radios do not work as they are supposed to.”
– Keefe Bartels LLC
While Keefe Bartels notes that HD radios “are advertised as a free over-the-air broadcast service which does not require a subscription fee like Satellite Radio,” they also point out that there may be a liability “for statements, omissions or misrepresentations of material facts that should have been known to be false or misleading and promoted the sale of the product.” Keefe Bartels states that HD Radio “claims to provide superior quality sound to FM and AM radio” and in particular cites “CD quality to FM and FM quality to AM” in its description. However, the law firm points out that HD Radio “does not stand for ‘High Definition.’” They go on to state that, “according to iBiquity, the ‘HD’ does not stand for anything.” While pointing out that HD Radio is a completely different technology than HD Television, they explain that “iBiquity likely uses the ‘HD’ as a marketing device based upon consumers’ understanding and ever increasing desire for HD television.”
According to Keefe Bartels, there has been numerous consumer and industry complaints about HD Radio’s performance issues. The complaints cited include:
- Radio receiver bumping station from HD to analog mode
- Echo sound heard when the radio switches between HD and analog modes
- Crackling or static sound when HD mode is inactive
- Insufficient numbers of HD Radio stations
- Loss of signal while driving in valleys or between high buildings
- Signal disruption for environmental conditions
- Adjacent channel interference
Keefe Bartels says that “automakers are aware of the complaints associated with HD Radio.” The law firm cites a BMW Service Information Bulletin which described the problems revolving around the HD Radio service. The BMW bulletin stated that there is “no retrofit kit or procedure available” to fix the performance issues. The firm notes that BMW was one of the first automakers to offer HD Radio and that “lower end BMW models typically require an additional cost of approximately $350 for the installation of a HD radio.”
According to Keefe Bartels, “The attorneys at Keefe Bartels are continuing their investigation into HD Radio and whether consumers are being forced to purchase technology that does not work as claimed. If you have experienced problems with your factory-installed HD radio receiver, we are interested in speaking to you.” The firm goes on to say, “As news develops and the investigation proceeds, Keefe Bartels, LLC will carefully monitor events and research all relevant laws.”
Position: Long SIRI
Contact the Author: demianrussian@satelliteradioplayground.com
This is awesome. NAB will have what is coming to them and this only reinforces the satellite radio technology as being far superior.
There is no investigation. There is no class action lawsuit. This whole thing is a lame attempt by a personal injury law firm to get free publicity.
Digital Terrestrial radio is already far superior in terms of sound quality than satellite radio. If you listen to the HD2 channels there is generally no advertising either.
Satellite radio blew it. If they had charged $5-6 a month then they could have kept most of those new car owners signed up for satellite radio indefinitely. Instead that have a business model that ensures that satellite radio will continue to decline. Either people will stream through their smart phones or listen to HD radio or hook up their iPod or MP3 player. The only market for satellite radio is to people that drive for a living, i.e. truckers.
HD receiver sales have been affected by the recession and by new car sales, but are finally taking off. In five years every new car except perhaps the cheapest economy cars will have HD built in.
Grant, your comment that “satellite radio will continue to decline” is totally wrong. The fact is that satellite has been growing and continues to grow despite one of worse recessions in history. Now since you are blatantly wrong on that point, it makes me wonder about the rest of the comment?
Grant “NAB” Pederson – lol !
“Law Firm’s HD Radio Probe Picking Up Steam?”
“Keefe Bartels, the law firm that’s looking into whether consumers are unhappy with their new HD Radio car receivers, is hearing lots of stories… Keefe became interested in the technology when he bought a new BMW a couple of years ago. He says the dealer told him HD Radio wouldn’t work but that it was built into the cost of the car, because the receiver was part of a package. He says the dealer threw in a set of floor mats to compensate… Keefe says it is receiving complaints from all kinds of people and wants to determine how individuals have been affected… He’s also getting an earful from radio industry people, so this should be interesting.”
http://www.rwonline.com/article/106152
Ignore Grant Pederson (aka. SMS) as this investigation will escalate to include non-HD broadcasters, too.
Grant i am still looking for the NFL channels on this lame rental car, damn just lost my signal! Ooops i forgot, no Sat. radio here. Can not wait to get my Sat.installed car back from the repair shop.
Absolutely, satellite radio blew it, rather blew them away by adding another almost 600K subscribers in Q2, and will end up with over 20M subs in 2010 in the worst economy in sixty years. Before you say anything, pay attention to the facts. There is not and I doubt there ever will be a single provider that can come close to the phenomenal variety from sports to dozens of music genres to comedy to talk shows to educational programing, etc., offered by siri. This variety costs money. Paying $15.00 a month for the value of sat radio is as good as it gets. Tell me what else is in your daily life is as inexpensve as siri’s service.
Do you even know what is being discussed here because it doesn’t sound like you have a fucking clue…
I certainly don’t think grant’s wrong here.
Here’s why, XM satelite radio used to be better than it is now.
Sirius just jumped in and took over like everyone knew they would.
And that’s the reason now for their downfall.
I’d rather grab my phone and tune into internet radio than i would listen to satelite radio because of the muck ups of certain marketing idiots that fired certain DJ’s for no reason at all just because they worked with Sirius XM. And yes satelite radio so totally blew it!
If they wouldn’t of screwed around with the pricing, and if they wouldn’t of messed around with the good programming I so seriously doubt Satelite would be in the ship they’re in now.
People haven’t got much money, so what happens is that they can’t afford such a luctury.
And Hi-Def radios will not cost them any money, so there it is.
You can see that Hi-def is the way to go over satelite any day.
Plus on top of that, you don’t have much to listen to if you don’t like sports.
You really don’t if i ewanna hear a jukebox style radio station, i’d listen to regular radio or buy an Ipod.
Satelite radio ever since XM went Sirius, basicly turned into an expencive Ipod that has hardly no informative presenters, with absolutely no possibility of hiring the ones back we did have on xm anyway before the merger.
and hardly no voice breaks.
So yes grant’s wright on this.
“Downfall” Jerry, think you need to read v.l’s comment above. He is right on point. You and Grant obviously have not done your DD on SXM so why should anyone believe what you have to say about HD radio?
Jerry, I almost took your comment seriously until you said “And Hi-Def radios will not cost them any money, so there it is.
You can see that Hi-def is the way to go over satelite any day.”
First of all, HD radios DO cost them money. You pay to have them installed. You pay with your TIME because you get to listen to commercials for 18 minutes every hour. I have a 20 minute commute to work which is not long at all by most standards. During that 20 minutes, I get 5 minutes of DJ banter and another 5-6 minutes of commercials. That means out of my 20 minute drive, 50% of that is NOT MUSIC. Not so with Sirius XM.
My second point: HD radio does NOT MEAN HIGH DEF. You obviously didn’t catch that part of the article, which makes me doubt that you even read the whole thing.
Third, you write: “Plus on top of that, you don’t have much to listen to if you don’t like sports.”
Um, over 170 channels is not all sports. How about Howard Stern? Opie and Anthony? Uncensored comedy channel? Fox News? CNBC? How about 70+ channels of Commercial Free MUSIC?
And what does HD radio offer? Maybe an additional 2-3 channels if you happen to live in an area where it is offered? Right… it’s going to kill SatRad. Right.
HD radio will be so lost in the mix of technological disruptors like Satellite Radio. I doubt we see HD radio take off and make any significance in the market to gain listnership. Theres a lot of choices out there and HD Radio was so late to the party that I don’t see a strong impact in the general landscape.
HD radio will be so lost in the mix of technological disruptors UNLIKE Satellite Radio. I doubt we see HD radio take off and make any significance in the market to gain listnership. Theres a lot of choices out there and HD Radio was so late to the party that I don’t see a strong impact in the general landscape
Jerry and Grant….
Thanks for posting and Welcome to “The Playground”…..
Unfortunately your comments, although welcome are more than a bit uninformed… or just outright “in denial” of the facts…
Anyone can read the SEC filings and PR announcements of the growing number of subscribers that both XM and Sirius program subscribers are experiencing just from the OEM channel… As has already been pointed out they gained over 580K net additional subs last quarter, and have already surpassed 750K net add’s as of June 30th this year.
With car sales stable at over 11.25M for this 3rd quarter, I am sure you understand where this is going…. Over 1.3M net sub adds by the end of the year –”no doubt”. Doesn’t seem like a trend that is being impacted by either the “big bad recession” or the “poor music choices” offered by Sirius XM Radio either… Unlike HD Radio it would seem… And what is this thing about using “HD” when it stands for ….. nothing… More marketing smoke an mirrors I guess, by a desperate median….
While some have characterized Sirius XM as a big “Juke Box” in the sky… none have been able to compare themselves to; the “wide based”, “multi cultural”, “universally received”, on a get-it-anywhere basis, that is Sirius XM’s Premium Content…
So while your driving down the road, “fiddling around” with that HD radio dial, or interupting your “smart-phone” listening pleasure experience with an intrusive phone call, and (paying way too much for the priveledge by the way), think about switching up to a Premium Content provider. You’ll soon get why the momentum is building for this media experience that gives you what you want while driving anywhere in your car (any vehicle), on your smartphone, or over the Internet, for a relatively small fee for the experience.
HD Radio = joke.