There’s been scant attention given to the question of quality of service on digital broadcasts, particularly multicast channels. I think that’s because most observers believe that few consumers are in a position to be affected, given the low number of receivers out there. But based on anecdotal comments, I think that’s beginning to change.
For instance, one engineer noted on Broadcast.net’s Radio-Tech listserv this week (and subsequently confirmed to me): “A few months ago at the public station I worked at, the STL for the HD2 and HD3 locked up on Thanksgiving Day. The studio actually got quite a few calls over it. They had only been on the air at that point for just under two months.” He was echoing a comment from another engineer who’d had a similar experience.
Withh something like a million receivers now in the market (or so we’re told), I suspect we’ll hear about more such listener comments, and that’s a bit of good news for digital radio proponents.
