I haven't had an HD Radio yet and am curious of all of your opinions on HD radio instead of subscribing to Satellite radio? Looking forward to trying it out when I get my Countryman, but the area I live doesn't have a many HD Radio stations. Wondering if you can actually tell difference between an HD station and the actual normal station at all . . . . or is HD radio really a gimick? I know sound quality of Satellite radio is terrible and doesn't come anywhere near CD quality.

 

My MINI's the only place I've listened to HD radio and it is noticeably better that the regular FM broadcasts. I'm not familiar enough with the technology to know whether stations can play with the compression, and therefore whether the quality might vary or not. Some stations broadcast multiple HD channels, which is why I wonder.

On the flip side, the satellite radio is actually noticeably inferior to FM, but actually has a couple of stations that I'm enjoying. And my ipod sounds pretty good as well (although it still seems to take a few minutes for the MINI to register it as a source).

 

I love Sirius and hate regular fm radio. No commercials and most of the dj's aren't completely terrible like you'd normally find in your town. Plus it's uncensored which is how most of us listen to music.

My wife on the other hand can't find any stations she's in love with. "hits" channel 1 is average at best so it's lacking a top 40 station. So it probably depends on what you listen to.

I don't think satellites sound quality is that bad at all. Plus you get a yr of Sirius free. Try it. If you don't like it. Don't renew.

 

Meanwhile, back on HD - - - I had it in my BMW for 3 years and enjoyed it when I remembered that I had it. It's another option for listening, not a replacement or substitute. Depending on the station, you get a more varied selection of music with fewer interuptions. I was never upset with sound quality, alway was as good as anything else. I will note that it is not quite there yet. There's a good choice of HD stations here in DC, and they all cut out on you when you get away from the city or in dead spaces. Satellite will drop on occassion, too - but with HD it's more often. On the MINI, I'd say it's worth the price (included) and I'll make an effort to remember I have it.

On Satellite - Music stations are commercial free, talk/news stations are as bad as commercial radio. The two stations I listen to for the music (Outlaw Country and Road House) have the most obnoxious DJs I've ever endured. I listen to alot of iPod.

 

Hi Sealy--the nice thing about HD in the MINI is that you don't have to remember you have it: if you're listening to a station that's also available in HD, the MINI switches automatically. It freaked me out the first time I tuned to our local AM new station. It started all typically tinny and narrow sounding like a typical AM station, and then instantly switched to CD-quality. It was great!

 

Where stations exist, i really like HD radio. One of the benefits is that one radio station will have 2 or 3 'channels' on a given frequency. (for example 102.7 in Cincinnati has their HD1 channel, which is their normal broadcast, whereas their HD2 channel focuses on '80s music). The other benefit is getting artist / title information on your display.

Downsides, as mentioned, is lack of coverage, depending on your location.

 

I think the HD sounds great. We have one or two normal FM channels we listen to and the HD version is definitely a better quality sound.

 

There is no substitute for Sirius/XM if you enjoy uncensored, almost talk-free, most up to date music. Plus stations like weather/traffic come in handy. If you like talk radio there is plenty of that. Comedy and kids stations as well. The only thing close to it for music is radio stations like KEXP in Seattle that broadcast over the internet as well as on terrestrial fm waves. Still commercials, but it's listener supported radio and the most current new music you can get.

If you are not into current music, you could do without either hd or satellite since the new mini's are supposed to run Pandora. How is that working out? I think that's pretty rad. Or of course just use your ipod.

I don't enjoy paying for satellite, but i just renewed my subscription this week in my current vehicle because its the best option available by far. I can't stand terrestrial radio and haven't listened to it in years unless i'm in a loaner/rental that doesn't have satellite.

 

Totally agree that sirius/xm is awesome. We have it in our other car as well.

 

Wish it was XM not Sirius...Yes there is a difference. For starters not all MLB is on Sirius.

 

Does the free 1-year Sirius trial include the entire Sirius lineup, or just the basic lineup?

 

HD Radio sounds great, to me the Sirius sound quality is really lacking, really compressed and swirly sounding. Plug the Ipod in and it sounds so much better. I do like the Sirius stations though but wish the sound quality was better.

 

Agree 100%.

I much prefer Sirius/XM (I added the XM package to the Sirius), but the compression is so high that it doesn't compare to HD or even regular FM for quality, as a prior poster indicated.

But I can't listen to all the commercials and nonsense on terrestrial broadcast radio...

 

For anyone with a Smartphone, connect your phone to the car and listen to internet radio via Pandora, TuneIn Radio, etc. You're not only limited to terrestrial and satellite radio.

 

If a station broadcasts across multiple HD channels, how do I pick which one to listen to when I'm using the radio in my Mini?

For example, in NYC the station 92.3 broadcasts 3 channels of HD...Rock, New Rock-K-Rock2, Sports Talk - WFAN-AM. So, how do I switch between them and/or make one the default?

Right now, if I tune to 92.3 I believe it defaults to playing the first HD channel...I wouldn't even know the others are there if I hadn't looked them up online.

 

Don't have my MINI, yet. But, going on past experience . . . When you tune in a station that has HD broadcasts, the "base" station will display as "WMZQ HD". This indicates that the station is HD and additional HD broadcasts are available. Some function on the controls (on the BMW I believe it was the Mode button) allows you to jump up to the additional HD broadcasts. Those will display as "WMZQ HD2", "WMZQ HD3", etc. And there is no way to know who has HD except to look up the list for your area.

There should be a book in the glove box that more fully explains this.

Check your area here - - - http://www.hdradio.com/

 

I poked around with the radio for a few minutes but couldn't find a way to access the alternate channels. I'll have to break out the manual when I have more time to figure it out.

 

I looked in the glove box and the guide for the radio wasn't entirely clear on the point so I did some clicking and figured it out. The secret is the "List" button...click it and you can scroll through the HD channels for a given station. It only appears though if the station is broadcasting in HD. I then used some of my preset buttons to point to these alternate broadcasts so I can get to them easily.

 

Thanks! I'll need that information in about 408 hours. On my BMW it would not let you pre-set a HD2 or HD3 - only the base station. Nice improvement!