Kenwood Introduces HD Radio With FM Multicasting
By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 9/19/2005
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Kenwood announced the release of one of the first HD radio tuners to allow FM multicasting.
Under the HD Radio format, some radio stations are able to transmit several broadcasts on the same frequency, in a process called multicasting. But until now, few HD Radio tuners allowed users to tune into the additional channels.
“In our market there's an oldies station and that will also broadcast Elvis 24 hours a day on a sub-channel,” explained a Kenwood spokesman.
The new Kenwood KTC-HR100TR digitally tunes into stations and can recognize within one to two seconds if the station is an HD Radio station and if it is multicasting. If it is multicasting, then the additional multicast channels appear on the screen as would any standard channel, said the company.
The KTC-HR100TR is an add-on HD Radio tuner that works with most Kenwood head units produced since 2003, or an estimated 1 million radios currently in use, said the company.
The unit also shows the station name, artist and song title on the head unit display
Mike Bergman, Kenwood's new digital technologies VP, said, “Multicasting is the future of the FM dial. The KTC-HR100TR is available in volumes and shipping now to help enable this revolution in broadcasting.”
Kenwood said that over 500 stations nationwide are currently broadcasting in HD Radio, and hundreds more are expected to adopt the format by the end of 2005, according to iBiquity, which licenses HD Radio technology.
The new KTC-HR100TR has a suggested retail price of $480.
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