Alpine Electronics Debuts Award-Winning HD Radio Tuner With iTunes Tagging Functionality

The era when consumers had to choose between listening only to AM/FM radio or to CDs while driving is over. These days, the number of digital entertainment and content choices while on the road is expanding exponentially. Alpine takes the lead in bringing all-digital HD Radio™ broadcast content into the car with the new TUA-T550HD HD Radio tuner. This innovative add-on not only enables consumers to receive new audio channels and static-free HD Radio content in their cars, it is the first to introduce iTunes® Tagging to the automotive environment. The consumer electronics industry has taken notice: The TUA-T550HD captured a coveted CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Award in the In-Vehicle Audio category.

Alpine TUA-T550HD

The TUA-T550HD HD Radio tuner is a small hide-away box that can be connected to any of Alpine’s 2008 model Ai-NET head units to add HD Radio Technology as a source. With HD Radio receivers, consumers gain crystal clear music and talk from the more than 1,500 AM/FM radio stations nationwide that are currently broadcasting digitally. When the head unit is tuned to an HD Radio station, the head unit’s display will list artist, album and song information, if this selected station chooses to broadcast this metadata. As an Ai-NET pass-through source, the TUA-T550HD also allows for the addition of other Alpine Ai-NET audio sources, such as satellite radio, USB-based MP3 players and Bluetooth® (separate adapters and subscriptions required).

Users may also enjoy HD Radio broadcasting’s unique multicasting benefits. FM multicasting allows consumers to listen to HD2 and HD3 multicast channels above and beyond the main station. This allows stations to expand their offerings to the public, without the fees associated with satellite radio.

Alpine is the first mobile electronics manufacturer to bring iTunes Tagging into the car. The pairing of HD Radio with iTunes Tagging provides a new way for consumers to easily discover and purchase music. iTunes Tagging through the TUA-T550HD is available with Alpine’s iDA-X100 Digital Media Receiver, IVA-W505 double-DIN Mobile Multimedia Station™ and the iDA-X100M Marine Digital Media Receiver. Each of these units has a dedicated “Tag” button. Users can easily Tag songs from HD Radio stations that are broadcasting metadata. Information about these Tagged songs is stored by the TUA-T550HD and transferred to the iPod®. When the iPod is connected to the computer, iTunes automatically presents the songs in a new Tagged playlist so the user has the option to preview, buy and download the songs.

Each song Tag is only 512 bytes, so a nearly endless number of songs can be Tagged when an iPod is connected to the system. If no iPod is connected, the TUA-T550HD can store up to 50 song Tags. Previous Tags are automatically erased from the TUA-T550HD when an iPod is connected, so new Tags can continue to be added.

“HD Radio technology is poised for substantial growth in 2008, and Alpine is ready to meet the consumer demand in the automotive environment,” said Stephen Witt, vice president, marketing and product planning, Alpine Electronics. “As the first to deliver iTunes Tagging functionality in the car, we continue to take a leading role in providing consumers with the most current, easy-to-use options for enjoying new digital music content in their vehicle.”

“We are pleased that industry-leader Alpine shares our vision of the future of digital entertainment,” said Jeff Jury, COO, iBiquity Digital Corporation, the developer of HD Radio Technology. "The ability to offer iTunes Tagging in the car is a prime example of the many benefits afforded consumers by the HD Radio System."

Pricing and Availability

Alpine products are available at authorized Alpine dealers.