Insignia's NS-HD01 is the first portable HD Radio--and it's only $50

(Credit: Insignia)

The price of HD Radio technology has been dwindling over the past few years, with digital-capable car stereos and clock radios priced south of $100. But Insignia's new NS-HD01 adds two new wrinkles to the HD Radio equation. The iPod-size unit is the first truly portable (battery powered) HD Radio, and its $50 price tag makes it the most affordable HD model to date. The NS-HD01 is scheduled to hit shelves at Best Buy on June 12, but we got an early look at the unit.

While it may look like an old MP3 player, the NS-HD01 is strictly a radio tuner that can pull in analog and HD (Hybrid Digital) stations on the FM band. There are 10 user-programmable presets.

The radio is powered by a sealed (not user-replaceable) rechargeable lithium-ion battery. What's good is that the recharging port is a standard mini-USB connection (USB cable included). That means you can juice up the battery from any PC or USB charger. Like the iPod, a wall charger isn't included, but any USB-compatible iPod charger should work. The battery is rated for 10 hours of playback, and the screen auto-dims to save energy.

In addition to the charging cable and requisite pair of subpar earbuds, joggers will appreciate that Insignia includes a Velcro armband in the box. There's no belt clip, but the NS-HD01 will fit into any pocket, and the hold switch on the unit's side will prevent inadvertent button pushes.

The body of the HD01 is a tapered wedge. At 3.07 x 2.06 x 0.63 inches, the radio is larger than many of today's flash-based music players, but it's smaller than an iPod Classic. The unit's front face is dominated by the 1.5-inch color LCD screen that's ringed by nine basic control buttons. That's a lot for such a one-note device, but it allows you to tune frequencies manually, seek available stations up and down the dial, or toggle up or down through your presets. A rocker switch on the right side controls volume and mute.

Using the NS-HD01 is pretty straightforward, though you might need to consult the manual to figure out how to lock in the presets. Tune to any HD-enabled station and the radio should switch from the analog to digital signal within a couple of seconds. The HD version of the primary station is identical, but because it's broadcast digitally (1s and 0s), it's free of analog static. (The downside: like digital TV broadcasts, audio channels are either on or off--signals don't fade out, they'll just drop as soon as you go out of range.) The display includes a cell-phone-style signal meter, and you'll need at least 2-3 bars before the radio can lock into a digital signal.

HD Radio has two big selling points. The first is that it's free--unlike satellite radio, there's no subscription fee. The other is multicasting--access to digital subchannels that aren't available on the analog band. On stations with multicast channels, you can toggle to the HD2 and/or HD3 subchannels. (The HD Radio Web site has a full city-by-city listing of available stations.) HD2 options here in New York City, for instance, include hip-hop, gospel, classical, oldies, '80s, country, and salsa. In New York and elsewhere, you'll also find simulcasts of several AM stations, which gives this the Insignia radio access to crystal-clear versions of many (but not all) local news, talk, and sports stations that would otherwise be unavailable on this FM-only radio.

Like other HD Radios we've heard, sound quality on the Insignia NS-HD01 was good but not spectacular. As always, it's a garbage-in/garbage-out situation, so stations that overly compress their digital signal will sound more like a tinny Internet radio stream than a CD. But the good stations sound great: WBGO's classic jazz sounded rich and full.

In addition to the quality of the transmission, there's also the matter of the quality of the programming. If you don't like radio as it is, a handful of additional HD2 stations probably isn't going to sway you. As one colleague joked: "Now I can hear an endless stream of commercials in crystal clear digital sound."

As for the device itself, we wish that Insignia had gone with a simpler control layout--perhaps consolidating four or five of the buttons on the front face into a 5-way d-pad. And tossing in a gigabyte or two of memory for a rudimentary MP3 player would've been a nice addition here as well, for those times when you can't get a clear signal (on the subway, in a basement apartment, and so forth). Of course, those looking for a more full-featured HD Radio-enabled portable should probably hold out for the Zune HD, coming later this year (albeit at a price that'll probably be at least three times that of the Insignia).

We'll have our final thoughts after spending a couple of more days for the Insignia NS-HD01. In the meantime, does this $50 portable pique your interest in HD Radio?

[jonnyair]

Finally something from the HD radio camp that "piques my interest." My XM radio subscription was one of many items cut when I was laid off and I miss the service. To me HD radio will not be a total replacement for satellite radio (SatRad) for a few reasons:
* terrestrial radio relies on ad revenue...ugh commercials.
* coverage/reception sucks (especially here in hilly Portland, Or)
* lack of formats

Getting back to the subject, finally HD radio is getting cheaper. Few cons I see with Insignia's HD radio are:
* No AM receiver - at times I would like to listen to AM programming and there are a few AM stations broadcasting/simulcasting in HD ("Coast to Coast AM" is a pretty good show)
* No option to use an external antenna (e.g. XM MyFi unit has built-in and external options)
* Built-in battery

The Pros I see:
* Color screen
* Good price
* Small form factor
* Built-in battery can be charged via USB

My questions to Falcone:
* How sensitive is the HD receiver?
* Does it stay locked on an HD station or switch back to analog during your review?

Thanks.

[jpfalcone]

In my experience, the receiver was generally good, but occasionally finicky. In other words, when the radio was in a good location (say, near a window), reception was usually excellent. Once in a while, I'd get random dropouts--where the signal meter would drop from 4 bars to 1 for a few seconds, and the HD signal would cut out. But I've had this issue with pretty much every HD Radio I've ever tested. And, to be fair, Manhattan office buildings are not the best place for radio reception.

[WADE241999]

I just bought the device earlier today so far i have had no troubles with it. I bought it to use for work i have the iphone and i was streaming music to it, but i would constantly have to switch the app to use the other features of the phone (Apple needs multitasking) anyway.

I do like how when you have a analog station playing it also shows the HD stations you can tune to quickly. with one click of a button. It is very light and little, which is nice and not complicated to use.

I bought knowing that if i didnt like it i would return it, and no take a lose. Plus $50 it cheap compared to what the Zune HD will be.

[AaronCT123]

That's true, but to be fair the Zune HD isn't just an HD Radio player, so the rest of the cost will be justified by video/podcast/music/game capability.

But yes, $50 is insanely cheap. Much more so than I'd of thought these things would cost.

[gosmith7590]

The battery life is the real question - 10 hours was quoted, but that Siport chip is for music playback-mode only, not live HD Radio reception! This thing is not an MP3 player! Good-luck with reception - does this thing require diversity antennas? No AM section gives another reason for AM-HD broadcasters to drop this junk engineering, except they enjoy the illegal adjacent-channel jammng of smaller broadcasters:

http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com

[jpfalcone]

Just finished the battery test. The radio actually exceeded the 10-hour rating--it almost hit 11 hours. But that was with tuning one station and just listening; if you change the station often (and thus light up the screen), it'll obviously impact battery life adversely.

[norbert26]

I have been waiting 3 years for a HD Portable from the HD Radio camp. I almost ran out to best buy to obtain one of these however I am very disappointed that this radio is disposable. With the battery being sealed and not replacable there is a limit on how many charges and recharges it will accept before failure. With heavy use the battery can fail in as little as two years. Once the battery no longer takes a charge the radio becomes disposable. 2nd deal breaker is no AM .

[jlt0x]

I think it will pick up HD versions of AM stations too.

[rafusee2]

In two years there will probably be something better anyway, or maybe theyll be super cheap by then. either way its going to be expendable by then.

[Hey_Radar]

I've been waiting for something like this.

But still extremely expensive compared to a FM radio. So I agree that a MP3 player built-in would have been great. Even if I had to supply my own MicroSD memory to keep the costs the same.

[Beerfuzz]

Wow only 50 bucks.. That so worth it.. I mean considering I can't get music from a million other places I am going to run out an buy this HD radio that doesn't play MP3s, have an FM modulator so I can use it in my car or even small enough to justify carrying around. Who caries RADIOs with them anyway. Come on.. really.

[make_or_break]

June 12? What...we have to wait until 2010?

Meh...while HD Radio is kinda cool (my wife gave me a desktop unit last year), I don't see it worth it even if it's only $50. A single-use portable in this era of massive functional convergence makes little sense to me. And without old-style AM it STILL means I can't get the ball game, since that station doesn't have an HD-radio equivalent.

[cyclopsbrew]

Being a gadget geek, I think this is great. I've been waiting for the HD-Radio unit that Griffin Technology claimed they were going to produce that would have been similar to their Shark-series. But the big mistake they made with this Insignia unit was not including a SD (micro or standard) reader for playing MP3 files. The only free over the air radio I listen to is NPR. In the car, I listen to Sirius. But I do have an HD-capable radio in the car and it's okay. The digital radio is at it's best when the car is stationary. Driving around and trying to listen to HD-radio is very aggravating. It's always switching between the digital and analog signals. (This will probably be the same problem if they try mobile digital TV). I have friends in Chicago who are complaining about the loss of the "smooth jazz" station. But, if they had a HD-radio they could still receive smooth jazz, because it's being broadcast on one of the digital sub-channels. I think I will wait for the Zune HD, unless Best Buy decides to add another model with a SD slot. The Insignia HD radio with the capability of reading 16Gig SD card would be perfect for me. And the device would be cheaper than the Zune HD. And in these tough economic times (drink) the budget matters.

[cyclopsbrew]

One more additional thing: I miss the days when reviewers provided real test specifications. Things like FM sensitivity. No one provides hard test data that helps the user find the most sensitive receiver. I remember the days of Stereo Review, Audio, and other magazines that would provide useful data that you could use to make an informed decision when making a purchase. Since we've been "gadgetized" specs are no longer provided. I miss that... (guess I'm showing my age)

[jpfalcone]

Any idea how FM sensitivity would be independently measured?

[cyclopsbrew]

Put me on the spot: Don't hold me to this because I've never really done it myself, but you would basically have a test environment that would include a FM transmitter, to generate a signal at various levels, and the unit under test. Obviously this would be in a test lab that was shielded from outside signals. The goal in the good ol' days was to achieve "full quieting". This was the point where you received a stereo signal at it's optimal (in other words, you could increase the output of the xmitter, but you would not see any improvement in the received signal). Of course with a digital signal you either get it or you don't. FM sensitivity was measured in dbf (before that it was measured in microvolts). The ultimate goal was to get a tuner/receiver which could receive the lowest signal at full quieting in stereo.
For units that required an antenna, a standard dipole was used. That T-shaped wire that used to come with FM tuners. Hope this helps. I'm sure Brian Cooley could be of assistance.

[beelbo]

Traditional sensitivity tests aren't valid for portables. They require special equipment and know-how. Anybody can do a comparison test and that's good enough.

Check every station on the dial and see if the new radio is better or worse. If the FM sensitivity is given in the manual for one of the two, you can say the other one is better or worse than "x".

[Al Meckler]

Well, how about signal quieting; that is one standard test for FM sensitivity, and the easiest to do.

[norbert6464]

I agree that by simply adding a gig of flash would be great. Zune HD seems more appealing based on the fact that Radio has become consumed by commercials. As for a low cost player, I'd love to see sansa have a shot at something like this. Heck, just throw a micro SD and hold the pricepoint...

[bankerdanny]

I was an avid listen of the local AM sports rasio station when I drove to work. But for the past 5 years I have used public transportation or my bicycle. AM reception on the train is horrible and nobody makes an MP3 player with an AM tuner. Plus I work in an office building in a lage city where AM reception is terrible, so no listening using my old AM/FM walkman there either.

They recently added an HD signal to the station and I am considering purchasing this device so I can listen on the train and in my office. Is HD radio susceptible to the same interferance as AM, or is it better at going through buildings like FM?

[DWillerup]

Not interested yet. Who walks around with just a radio anymore? I'd be interested if it could connect to my car or home stereo via fm transmitter or RCA jacks.

[TigLy]

Digital over the air technology of all types, including broadcast radio and TV, must be cured of arbitrary signal loss or drop-out for this to be a reliable replacement for analog communications. The big question is can it ever be made whole from this problem? Furthermore, analog FM radio has been static free since its invention by Edwin Armstrong in the late 1920's. It is able to have excellent Hi-Fidelity sound and stereo, and it does not experience sudden and unexpected reception loss. AM is fine for clear channel night time transmissions over hundreds to thousands of miles. So, the question is why are we being told that analog radio technology is flawed and outdated when digital radio is less reliable for real, everyday listening conditions than its older parent? With the fundamental deficiency of this and every other digital wireless medium and long distance communication item I question where this technology will be in the future.
If anything wireless digital, over short ranges like a cell phone, is where the technology trends are naturally going with the computer/internet system as its greatly varied basis. It is more reliable due to the presence of many relay transceiver towers. That's why the iPhone has more of a free market chance than digital radio and TV to succeed.

[monkeyhouserodge]

Just out of curiosity when in Digital(HD) mode, does this radio have the ability to display Pad data(MPSD) and what about analog, can it disply RDS?

[timkemp]

Yes it has the ability to display both MPSD and RDS. I bought one yesterday and so far am very pleased with it.

In answer the antenna questions above, it uses the headphone cord as an antenna like many other portable FM receivers.

[darobin]

After placing an order locally, I found the NS-HD01 at
ONE Best Buy. I have been trying it out this morning and
have to say this is one little wonderful gadget. The color
screen gets high marks. Tuning is absolutely simple ? you
seek tune and then can use the UP/DWN buttons to scroll
through the available HD subchannels. Reception sensitivity
here in the DC area is superb ? playing it through my home
multi-speaker setup yields excellent sound, great volume.
I have experienced no fading or breakup of local HD channels.

Now ? for my purposes, I would make this recommendation
to Best Buy/Insignia ? put an audio output on the radio ? this
would enable recording of signals in addition to just being able
to listen. And the next obvious step would be to incorporate a
solid state recording capability, with say a 2 GB minimum capacity.
If they are really smart they would design the next version of this
along the lines of the CC Witness which enables use of both internal
and SDHC card recording as well as a multi-event timer.

But that?s for the future ? the Insignia just shows that you don?t
really need to get a large HD receiver if you want to take advantage
of the new technology.

[LeTonic]

This device is so cool I had to buy two. I've always been a stickler about FM tuners. I've always wanted the most sensitive, with respect to narrowband IF selectivity (spacing between neighboring frequencies), and a reciever that isn't affected by a nearby transmitter overloading. Generally, only car stereos could produce these results. Now I've discovered a portable device that delivers also. I live in Waldorf, MD less than 5 miles from a 20,000watt FM station transmitter(104.1FM WPRS Waldorf, MD). Almost every FM tuner I own except the car stereo are subjected to "blanketing" interference from this nearby transmitter. To my suprise the Insignia actually outperformed my car stereo when it came to picking up the neighboring weak frequency(104.3FM WCHH Baltimore,MD). My car deck wouldn't recognize the weaker frequency and had suffered too much interference from the nearby transmitter unlike the Insignia which locked into the weaker frequency with little to no interference at all. Pretty dang impressive for a portable. The Insignia unit could use some help with the equalization/tone controls but sounds great when listening in HD. Purchase a better pair of earbuds than the suppplied ones or else expect some disappointment with the overall sound quality.

[jamescyberjoe]

Nice idea, but I'm not buying.
I bought the first HD car radio, The JVC KDR-HD1 3 years ago. A good idea at first but the receiver grew tiring to use, so I got rid of it recently and put a plain vanilla CD receiver in-ahhh! much better.
I also have the Sangean HD radio component tuner, much better than the JVC in terms of sound quality and ease of use. However there's that horrible HD.
HD radio is basically an analog signal with a digital signal piggybacked onto the carrier. In the NYC area, many of the stations do not have their equipment properly setup to achieve proper results. WCBS FM has it's audio level so low it's hard to hear, this is an improvement?
My favorite station WQXR classical FM does not even use HD.
And HD radio is no replacement for satellite radio, you get what you pay for.Period.
Also, like DTV, HD radio's range is nearly half of analog, so what good is it?

Plus this POS Best Buy is selling has no AM and a built-in rechargeable battery-no good.
I'm not buying it.

Go to Radio Shack and buy their $20 pocket radio, you'll be surprised at how good a properly designed analog radio sounds without this digital **** being pushed down our throats.
Sony and Panasonic have equivalent radios that sound well too for under $15.00

[Yellowbird77]

Thank you oh so much for saving me the money and the headache of buying something I know I will end up disappointed with.

All I want is a radio I can connect to the internet and CHOOSE MY STREAM MANUALLY. I really don't want to subscribe to a cell phone contract to do that.

[Yellowbird77]

Maybe someday they'll come up with one that has the am band too. I don't even listen to fm radio. I listen to am radio and streaming.