June 25, 2004

By: Jared Holmes
Website: http://www.booming-car-audio.com

Kenwood announced today that it will ship the first HD Radio tuners to authorized Kenwood dealers

Bridging the last gap in bringing digital AM and FM radio to U.S. listeners, Kenwood announced today that it will ship the first HD Radio tuners to authorized Kenwood dealers later this month, with regular shipments to continue thereafter.

The new digital tuner, Model KTC-HR100, is designed for use with Kenwood Excelon and Kenwood in-dash DVD and CD receivers and works with two dozen 2003 and 2004 Kenwood models, including 15 models introduced here this week at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Nearly 300 AM and FM stations in more than 100 markets are licensed to broadcast digital HD Radio signals with their conventional analog signals, and many of those stations are broadcasting in digital now.

The new Kenwood tuner is the only HD Radio tuner from any company that will be available during the first quarter of this year, according to officials from Kenwood and iBiquity, the company that developed HD radio technology.

It is also the first tuner to receive iBiquity HD Radio Certification.

HD Radio is radio for the 21st century, said Dan Petersen, Executive Vice President of Kenwood Consumer Electronics Sector. Audio quality and clarity are tremendous, and listeners will love the other new features of digital radio.

Kenwood was the first consumer electronics manufacturer to partner with iBiquity on product development, and we are excited to be first in bringing future-ready consumer products to market.

Robert Struble, president and CEO of iBiquity Digital Corporation stated, We are very excited that our first receiver partner, Kenwood, is launching HD Radio consumer products.

Broadcaster feedback on the KTC-HR100 is extremely favorable, and we look forward to our continued partnership with Kenwood as new features and services are rolled out to broadcasters and consumers in the coming years.

Using the Kenwood HD Radio tuner with a Kenwood HD Radio-ready receiver allows consumers to hear all stations, whether or not stations are broadcasting digital signals. For stations that are broadcasting a digital signal, the HD Radio tuner automatically detects it and decodes it for the receiver.

Digital broadcasts provide significantly improved audio quality and better reception as well as the ability to include information such as artist name and song title, weather, or traffic news, that can be shown on the radio display or stored for later reference.

About The Author:

Jared Holmes is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.booming-car-audio.com.  Get the car audio system you want plus accessories and valuable advice.