It's no secret that the battle for the automobile dashboard is well underway as consumers start to expect computer-like experiences between the seats. They want maps, they want reliable real-time traffic, they want an easy way to hook up their smart phones and, of course, they want entertainment. By now most consumers have heard of the SYNC, Ford's introduction into the mobile infotainment arena. Ford's SYNC is just one product auto makers are rolling out to integrate all the digital systems and entertainment customers have come to expect. Is Radio being nudged out of the dash because it refuses to get with the times?
Jim Buczkowski (pictured) is the Director of Global Electrical and Electronics Systems Engineering at the Ford Motor Company. He recently wrote a letter to broadcasters urging them to get with the program. His message to broadcasters; move more quickly on digital. "AM/FM now competes with crystal clear music and talk radio sources in the car like Pandora, Spotify, Music Unlimited, Slacker, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and other audio streams. But it?s not just the experience created by great sound and reception. Consumers have come to expect the same consistent ?look and feel? from their in-car media experience as they experience with their iPods, smartphones, Internet radio and other digital technology. HD Radio technology can provide this look and feel as well but analog radio cannot."
Buczkowski says consumers want more than broadcasters are now offering. "I think there is a a lot of competition out there. Customers have a lot more choices than they have ever had in the past. I think the AM/FM broadcasters still have some content that is really important to our customers, but they wonder why they can't get digital quality sound like with Sirius, podcasts, or MP3 players? Why do I have to listen to a scratchy sound? Why can't I see the meta data that I can see other places? I think it's going to be a really competitive environment for the AM/FM broadcasters. We would like to see them continue to create great experiences that would match what customers can see from other sources."
We asked Buczkowski if there was ever a possibility that AM/FM would be left behind, or even left out of the dash, in the future. The real challenge is, although AM/FM has the opportunity with the local talent, is the upgraded sound quality, plus some of the added content like the current song and artist name that can appear on the radio display had not been part of AM/FM local broadcast in the past. With HD radio, that does become available for customers to see on the head units. If a song from Beyonce is playing, I don't have to wait until the personality comes back on at the end of the broadcast, they may move on to the next song and you may not know who just played the last song. Satellite radio offers that. Certainly the mp3 players, if you bring mp3 music into the vehicle you would have that. With HD radio, you would have that as well. AM and FM have the chance to catch up a bit, by moving to digital broadcast through HD radio. There are also some opportunities going forward that the HD technology provides. I know there are markets, not necessarily here in Detroit, but in New York, and so on there are only so many slots on the bandwidth and they are all filled up. There are certain types of genres and content that can't be provided with a traditional AM/FM broadcast, because there just aren't any channels left. With digital broadcasting, HD radio, they can add some additional channels that allow for even more variety for customers."
SYNC allows consumers to control their smartphones, entertainment choices and information services via voice commands or through a simple, intuitive set of button or touch screen commands. SYNC can connect to many popular digital music sources via Bluetooth or USB connections. Users can browse through their music collections by genre, album, artist, and song title using simple voice commands. Today, there are over 2,000 AM & FM stations broadcasting with HD Radio Technology with more than 1,300 additional digital only FM HD2/HD3/HD4 multicast channels.
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