Radio is undergoing its most significant change in decades. Stations across the country are upgrading their signals to include high-quality HD Radio™ digital broadcasts. So far almost 1,800 FM and AM stations have added them, free for anyone with an HD Radio receiver to enjoy. Considering that most of us listen to radio more than we watch TV –  north of 17 hours a week – this is must-have tech for nearly everyone. Here's a look at what HD Radio technology has to offer.

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Crystal Clear Sound

One of the first things you notice about HD Radio broadcasts is that they sound fantastic. The technology brings the sound quality of AM broadcasts up to par with what you typically hear on FM now-clear, full-range stereo sound and crystal-clear reception. On the FM band, it can deliver near CD-quality sound, which puts it in the same league or better than MP3 and digital music downloads. Adding to the remarkable sound quality, HD Radio receivers pull in crystal-clear reception that's free of static and interference.

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Song Text and Tagging

One of the best features of HD Radio digital receivers is its ability to display song, album and artist information right on the radio display screen. If you've ever wondered, "who sings that song?" this is a must-have feature. Many HD Radio receivers even let you save or "tag" song data, so you can easily recall the artists or song you want to purchase via iTunes' store. Products equipped with iTunes tagging let you sync the tagged song's data to your iPod, making it simple to go online and purchase it. Stations can also use the program data stream to deliver traffic, news and weather alerts right on your radio display.

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All New Stations

It's easy to become consumed by HD Radio technology's improved sound and technical merits, but they are not the real story here. Another exciting feature of this new technology is the expanded content and all the new programming you'll discover up and down the dial. Stations broadcasting HD Radio signals have the ability to multicast, or transmit multiple different programs, over a single frequency. This feature opens up the airwaves for stations to deliver an unprecedented breadth of innovative content currently available only on subscription-based services, like satellite radio.

Despite the consolidated station formats and narrow playlists you often find on the analog dial, an HD Radio receiver grants you free access to a wide variety of local and niche programming. As an example, if you tune into 101.1 FM in New York (oldies station WCBS) with an HD Radio receiver, you'll hear the exact same broadcast as on traditional FM radios, but in higher quality digital sound. Now toggle over to 101.1's "HD2" channel to hear an eclectic mix of hits from the 80s, 90s and today on WCBS-HD2. It's now two stations (five decades worth of music) in one. And it's happening in smaller markets too. A fan-favorite station, alt-rocker WHFS in Annapolis, MD was resurrected in digital form on the HD2 channel of a talk station in nearby Baltimore.

There are nearly 100 HD Radio products available for car, home or portable use, plus it’s an option in 60 new car models beginning in 2009. Just visit your favorite electronics retailer, or go to HDradio.com, to browse products and to listen live to hundreds of HD Radio stations. If you listen to radio and love music, experience it on an HD Radio product.

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More Audio Articles to Explore:

• Digital Audio 101: Everything You Need to Know About Audio File Formats
• Why Buy Better Audio?
• Listen to Your MP3 Player in the Car

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You can find the latest car receivers with HD radio, or satellite radios, or even clock radios on Retrevo.