Their site also says complaints have come from the industry and consumers
and includes the following:
I had a 2007 BMW with the HD module factory installed. I had the car mostly in the Los Angeles metro, but a lot of time in the Phoenix metro and adjacent to it, also. So I am likely as familiar with the HD capabilities as anyone, and more than most.
Radio receiver bumping station from HD to analog mode;
That is a design feature, a positive. It is similar to Multiplex FM stereo which folds back to analog if the stereo data on the subcarrier is not usable. Since the FCC determined the power level for HD, any folding back is as much due to the FCC as the system itself.
Echo sound heard when the radio switches between HD and analog modes;
That would be the individual station's fault, not the system. If properly set up, there is no time delay (echo).
Crackling or static sound when HD mode is inactive;
Never heard in 4 years and 60,000 miles of driving.
Insufficient numbers of HD Radio stations;
FM stereo took over three years to reach 100 stations when first authorized. HD has over 1500... even without counting those that may not have installed but have contracted for it.
Loss of signal while driving in valleys or between high buildings;
When they make non-attenuating hills, mountains and buildings, I want to be among the first to know about it.
Signal disruption for environmental conditions;
And inversion layers and tropo and e-skip and such are to be prevented in what manner? That affects all FM propagation, anyway.
Adjacent channel interference.
To stations that are not entitled by the terms of their licence to protection, in 99.9% of the cases (WYSL is one of the three or four exceptions, of course).
iBiquity will end up paying and paying their law firms.
HD manufactures will pay and pay their law firms
Carmakers will pay and pay their law firms
Consumers may get a new radio installed free
Or... the engineering exhibits and the FCC approvals will show that neither the system nor nor the receivers are at fault. iBiquity might countersue for its costs and damages
In some cases, the laws of physics are at fault, but appealing that is a matter for a Higher Court.
HD radio will be branded as bad technology that nobody will touch for fear of being sued. Before purchasing an HD product, consumers will sign and read an understanding and
accept all risks from operating the technology.
HD is what it is within the power levels permitted. So is FM stereo, which has very similar problems based on the lesser coverage of the stereo subcarrier. Did anyone sue over FM Stereo (Leonard Kahn would have sued, but he was busy with the AM side).
Looks like The Emperor Wears No Clothes
Looks like a law firm that might not have done the necessary due diligence, since they don't even know how to tell the difference between propagation issues, FCC regulations and the design itself.
