Do national TV broadcasts ever have regional commercials?

Is there a way to sync TV and radio broadcasts (e.g. Fox Sports Net & 700WLW for Cincinnati Reds broadcasts)?

• There is a longer delay in TV broadcasts than radio. Therefore, if you'd like to listen to your favorite baseball announcer with the TV sound muted, you will hear the results of each play before you see the results. It would be nice to sync the two broadcasts for the best experience.

• Answer:

  I watch Reds games by muting the TV and listening to Marty and Joe (now Thom) on the radio. Of course, there is a slight delay with TV, so the radio will be ahead. That doesn't bother me, but if you want to synch them there are a few options. 1) Live with the slight delay 2) Listen to 700 on the internet. There should be enough delay to synch with the TV. 3) Buy a HD radio tuner with digital recording. These function just like Tivo and DVRs. Pause the radio enough to synch with the TV. Finally, the most expensive option: 5) Get a multimedia computer with all these options. The MediaGate T1 will allow you to record TV (with Tivo) and radio directly on your computer. then you can play-back together anytime, even fastforwarding through commercials. Here is a little info on HD radios and HD recorders: What is HD Radio? HD Radio is an upgrading of the way AM and FM radio signals are transmitted, from analog to digital signals. Sounds neat. But what does that mean for us listeners? HD Radio technology allows broadcasters to transmit a high-quality digital signal. For listeners who have an HD Radio receiver, the benefits are: * FM radio with near CD-quality sound * AM radio that sounds as good as traditional FM * No more static, pops, crackles or fades * Transmission of additional information, such as song titles and artists * Increased listening options with multicasting Let's take a look at each of these in turn. FM radio with near CD-quality sound Digital technology allows a radio station to transmit more information in the same radio wave. Primarily, this means higher quality sound. So much more so that FM transmissions sound nearly as good as CDs. AM radio that sounds as good as FM Stereo AM radio uses smaller sections of bandwidth than FM. There is not enough bandwidth for HD Radio to give AM stations the same CD-quality signal as FM stations. But there is enough room to give AM stations clarity equivalent to current analog FM stereo radio. This boost in sound quality is expected to make AM radio a viable alternative to FM, which means more options for listeners. No more static, pops, crackles or fades The digital signal is less vulnerable to reception problems. The radio tuner's digital processors eliminate the static, pops, hisses, and fades caused by interference. Multipath distortion, caused by the radio signal being reflected off of buildings and other surrounding obstructions, is completely removed. You hear only clear, clean, rich sound. Should you lose the digital signal for some reason (obstructing terrain, nearing the edge of the broadcast area, etc.), HD Radio technology defaults back to analog mode, similar to the way current radios switch from stereo to mono mode when receiving a weak signal. The radio sacrifices detail in an effort to boost reception. Transmission of additional information Another benefit of digital radio is the radio station's ability to transmit additional information along with the music signal. Typically, this takes the form of scrolling text on your receiver's display, such as a song's artist and title, station call letters, and advertising information. If you're listening to a news show, financial updates can be transmitted to your radio. And stations can include local and regional information, such as weather updates or even traffic alerts. Multicasting In addition to duplicating their analog programming with an HD Radio broadcast, stations can subdivide the digital portion of their signal. This allows a station to "multicast" — that is, broadcast two or more programs simultaneously. Listeners might have a choice of, say, a sports game or music. Being digital only, these additional channels could only be received on an HD Radio tuner. But just as cable TV allowed specialized networks to flourish, multicasting provides the potential for stations to offer more niche programming — ultimately giving the listener a greater variety of formats to choose from. Multicasting is a big deal for radio stations and listeners alike. A radio station can now better serve its listeners. For instance, a public radio station can broadcast morning jazz music on one "channel" and morning talk programming on another "channel." Same radio station, same frequency on the dial, but multiple options for the listener. Commercial radio stations will be able to branch out into multiple formats, rock and country, for example. Now, consider the possibilities if all of the radio stations in an area have the ability to offer two or three channels for the listener to choose from. The technology A company called iBiquity Digital has created the technology to make this happen. They license this technology to radio stations and help them with the conversion process. Unlike with high-definition television, where the transition to digital technology costs a television station millions of dollars, upgrading the world of radio is much less expensive. It costs radio stations around $75,000 to convert to digital broadbanding, which is still a major investment. And also unlike the conversion to digital television, consumers have a choice of whether to participate in the upgrade. In contrast to the television industry, where the analog signal will eventually be turned off by Federal decree, radio stations will continue to broadcast the analog signal along with the new digital signal. If we choose to not upgrade our radios, we can still listen to analog AM and FM radio — although we'll be missing out on the digital-only multicasting channels.