NRSC to Resume HD Radio Standards Setting

The National Radio Systems Committee has decided to restart its standards-setting process for HD Radio.
Calling the codec issue “resolved,” DAB Subcommittee Chairman Milford Smith said recent demos of the Ibiquity system incorporating its new HDC codec were well-received by NRSC steering committee members.
The group’s members now can continue their standards setting work, which the FCC eventually will use to develop final authorization rules for IBOC digital radio. Some U.S. radio stations continued to convert to HD Radio during the pause.
The standards process stopped in May because leaders of the NRSC were not happy with the performance of Ibiquity’s previous codec, PAC, on AM at low bit rates.
Smith said this week’s decision was good news.
“Nobody is happier than I am to see the codec issue resolved,” he told RW Online.