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September 5, 2025 13 mins

Got pushback on my last episode calling HD Radio a complete failure? You were right to call me out. While HD Radio's original consumer vision crashed and burned spectacularly, the technology quietly found success in ways nobody predicted. 

In this follow-up episode, I break down where HD Radio actually succeeded after failing as a consumer product:

  • FM Translator Revolution - How one radio station can become four different stations using HD Radio subchannels, creating better coverage and audio quality than traditional methods
  • Invisible Data Highway - Why 110 million vehicles use HD Radio every day without drivers knowing it, powering traffic data and navigation systems
  • Emergency Alerts That Work - How HD Radio transforms useless emergency broadcasts into detailed visual information with maps and safety instructions

HD Radio never became the "CD-quality revolution" marketers promised, but it accidentally built infrastructure that makes radio better in unexpected ways. Sometimes innovation finds success through the back door.

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