Program Info

HD RADIO™ TECHNOLOGY – PROGRAM INFO

DEFINITION

Program Info is an important component for the HD Radio listener’s experience. “Dynamic Program Info” is the program service data that changes with every song. In the Dynamic Program Info, the specific Song Title and Artist information are displayed as they relate to the current song that is playing. Accurate display of the Program Info fields for all the multicast programs (i.e., HD-2, HD-3, HD-4) is also important so that songs are clearly identified for the listener.

The Song Title and Artist information must be populated in the correct fields from the Studio Automation. The Song Title and Artist information must dynamically change with the song.

Program Info information should be updated on the receiver as a new song begins.

The HDP Program Info Reference SDK software from Xperi / HD Radio provides a common Program Info interface for both the main program and multicast programs. The various Program Info fields that should be populated with metadata are:

Song Title

Artist

Album

Genre

Comment

Commercial

Unique File Identifier (UFID)

The Commercial field can be used to transmit information related to the merchandise such as text description, URL, etc.

The UFID field contains unique identifiers for the song.

IMPLEMENTATION

Broadcast monitors that display Program Info can be used to effectively monitor the Program Info implementation.

  • If a commercially available Program Info generator is not used, it is necessary to use the iBiquity HDP Program Info Reference SDK software for both the main and multicast programs through a common interface.
  • If dynamic Program Info is not available, only the Song Title field can be populated. The Artist field should be left empty so that tagging is not errantly enabled. Correct use of the fields ensures a good listener experience.

There are various studio automation vendors that support the implementation of dynamic Program Info such as Rapid, QUU, Broadcast Electronics, AudioVault, DAVID Systems, WideOrbit, ENCO Systems, DAD Pro, RCS, WireReady, win-OMT.