HD Radio: Interesting...

Normally, I try not to respond to press releases Pavlov-style, but there was a little blurb that passed through Tuesday about Best Buy putting out a portable HD radio for $50. Like a good little consumer, I got in my car, drove to Best Buy, convinced the sales guy that such a thing existed, helped him hunt through the store to find it, and left the store one HD radio richer.

Thus, earlier today, I used the radio to hear XTC's "Senses Working Overtime" (which rarely if ever got played on NYC radio) on K-Rock (which isn't on NYC radio anymore - at least, not on your old FM radio) in my office, about 25 miles from the transmitter.

Of course, one can also hear 90.5 The Night, the station you can hear Altrok Radio's FM Showcase on every Friday night at 10pm, in CD-quality HD sound. Not that I'd have any vested interest in you doing that.

But the expansion in available radio programming is promising, and it doesn't require any sort of subscription - just tune in and go.

Some tips if you'd like to get your HD Radio feet wet:

• Like most portable FM radios, the headphones double as an antenna. If you'd like to use it on your stereo system at home, try getting a headphone jack splitter (the kind you need if you want to plug two headphones into one headphone jack.) Use one of the two lines to supply the sound to your stereo, and plug the headphones they include into the other line, then use those headphones as though they're the antenna.
• Upstairs is better for listening than downstairs. You're more likely to have a clear shot between you and the antenna.

Okay, that's it for now - K-Rock's playing Husker Du.