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www.radiosurvivor.com]
Paul does bring up some good points here. My $0.02 worth??? If the AM BC band were to go all digital, who would loose? US!!!!!!!! TV going all digital outlawed Part #15 analog television. Ya think that the same thing wouldn't happen to Part #15 AM'ers? As far as, "The end to AM broadcasting, if it went to all digital."? Hmm, maybe... Look at TV's 8VSB, which is still a type of AM, when you really think about it, Vestigial Side Band, a type of AM, but multiplexed octagonally. Doesn't iBiquity's HD Radio kind of do that too, if I understand the tech of it. (I really should go back and research that more again. Any ENG's wanna' ring in here?) Yeah... On an analog AM radio, it going to sound like hissy white noise to the MAX. One other thing that I see here, would there be a market for HD receivers to analog converter boxes, like we've seen, and that you can still get, in television? I doubt it, since it would have to be super cheap.
Oh yeah... Then there's the marketing, and lobbying, for all digital medium wave. I'm still bitter about how AM Stereo was handled, and the fed and broadcasting industry learned nothing from it. AM Stereo was too little, too late. It was allowed to happen a decade too late in 1982, instead of 1972, or earlier. And, the feds to let the market decide just made the format wars a monopoly game where about everyone lost. Yes, even Motorola, Sony, and Toshiba. So, I kind of agree, that if an all digital format is to be implemented, the feds need to put their foot down this time, but $$$$$$$$ walks. And, somehow I'd hate to see implemented a technology that maybe inferior to someone else's that's out there, like maybe DRM. So, tough call...
