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Microsoft’s Zune is a great MP3 media player, though it has always taken second place to Apple’s iPod. Yet the newest Zune HD has a chance to really stand out thanks to some outstanding new features, especially one Apple does not have, HD Radio. The latest chip technology from SiPort makes it possible.

HD Radio Update

Approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) back in 2002 and highly developed by iBiquity, HD Radio is an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) digital radio technology that transmits on the same AM and FM radio frequencies you listen to now. Stations still broadcast their usual analog signals, but the digital signals overlay them.

Today, 1935 of the 3500 or so U.S. radio stations have adopted HD Radio. You can get it in virtually all major and mid-size cities countrywide. HD Radio brings the benefits of digital to radio broadcasting, namely less noise and fading and greater fidelity. Digital AM stations have the fidelity of FM, and FM stations have the fidelity of CDs. Both are an improvement in quality, especially for music.

Besides HD Radio, the Microsoft Zune HD has a 3.3-in. OLED touch screen, HD video playback, and Wi-Fi for music and video downloads, e-mail, and Web browsing.

Another unique feature is multicasting. HD stations can multiplex up to three additional programming streams on the same channel. It’s like adding three more separate stations to provide alternative music formats, talk, or sports at no additional cost. That gives you more than 1000 extra stations to listen to and even greater variety.

HD Radio is a cool technology but a bit difficult to implement, especially in a portable device. Most HD radios are desktop models or in stereo receivers. HD is also showing up in car radios. Putting one into a portable media player is a stretch, however, because of power consumption, space, and other issues. Several chipsets are available, yet none beats the single-chip solution from SiPort.