digital radios

[Dave]

Am I correct in thinking that when analogue TV is switched off that analogue radio will go the same way?

Dave

[Tim S]

Dave coughed up some electrons that declared:

It's not as clear cut - especially as there are multiple audio radio bands (SW, LW, MW and VHF/FM). Last I heard was DAB was in a bit of trouble generally, so I don't expect we'll lose the lot. I would expect the AM bands to continue forever even if they pull FM to make room for digital.

[Micky Savage]

No Dave..

Regards.

Micky Leeds U.K.

[Peter Andrews]

No you are not correct -

[Jules]

There was this one recently:

very much reading between the lines, but if the decline in use is sharp on both FM and AM, then I don't know if AM's future is secure.

Shame, as digital TV seems prone to signal break-up (where an analogue broadcast might survive, just at low quality) and the extra bandwidth just means more channels of utter s**te, rather than a few better ones. Digital radio is presumably just as prone...

cheers

Jules

[Pete Verdon]

Seems undesirable. It's not too hard to plug a £10 freeview box into your telly, but replacing a car radio is a different matter for the average punter - and a pain in the arse for anyone in those cars that have the damn thing custom-built into the dash.

Pete

[Dave]

Thanks for pointing out my non thinking of bands other than FM :-)

Dave

[Dave]

Our TV aerial looks through quite a tall tree and in spring, summer and autumn we get picture loss using free view due to the wet foliage when it rains.

Dave

[Dave]

Thanks

Dave

[OG]

Then people who have radio/CDs will get a DAB radio and an iTrip whereas people who have radio/tape players will get a DAB radio and a cassette adapter.

[Frank Erskine]

No

[Dave Plowman (News)]

No. There are no firm dates for switching off any radio service - unlike analogue TV.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Oddly enough, channel 5 was s**te here on analogue, and is generally fine on digital.

[David Hansen]

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:39:11 +0000 someone who may be Dave wrote this:-

Eventually? Possibly.

In the short term? No.

DAB is so outdated that only the UK is sticking with it (and even so the commercial sector is now leaving it to the BBC). Overseas they are using an improved DAB and the UK will follow eventually (though the officials concerned had yet to admit this the last time I checked). It is claimed that the manufacturers are slowly but quietly rolling out DAB+ radios, as the officials don't want to frighten the public.

[The Medway Handyman]

I carry a DAB radio so I can listen to Radio 4 if working in unoccupied propertys. Reception in some parts of the Towns is non existent so I have to tune via FM.

[clumsy bastard]

I'm in south London and reception one side of the house is non existent

[unopened]

One of the disadvantages of DAB and DAB+ is that portable receivers require a great deal more power to operate than analogue ones. I have a couple of portable FM/AM radios, each operated by a pair of AA batteries. I use 2800 mAh rechargeable NiMH AA batteries and get several weeks usage between recharges, using them for several hours a day. I don't think I get more than a couple of days usage out of the same batteries used in a DAB or DAB+ radio. Hmm - the UK government seems to be mandating a move from an old, energy efficient technology to one that uses 6 - 10 times more energy for the same output. Very 'Green'. I wonder how many coal-fired power station equivalents that adds up to across the country.

It's not only the UK that has to decide whether to migrate from DAB (MP2 codec) to DAB+ (AAC+ codec) - also Norway, Denmark, Ireland and Switzerland.

OB: d-i-y As a kid, I built my own crystal radio. Getting the sweet spot on the germanium contact was an interesting exercise. I don't think DAB or DAB

• will be quite the same experience for kids these days.

Sid

[Dave Plowman (News)]

CH5 analogue can be poor here too - and I can see the Crystal Palace mast out of this window. Because it was squeezed in as an afterthought, it's often not that good where it can be subject to co-channel interference. So fine in the north of Scotland. ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Well, being first with something often has downsides. The commercial channels which have given up on it - or not taken up their option - are doing so because they couldn't get enough listeners to make it profitable. But this is down to the artificially high charges made to transmit on DAB

- it was expected to be a licence to print money like all these things.

It can only be a guess that DAB+ will prove a success. And by the time it arrives there will undoubtedly be a better system on the horizon.

I've had DAB from pretty early on - when the data rate was not too bad. Only a tuner - never a portable radio - and that cost the thick end of 300 quid, even at trade price.

But what is a fact is that very few indeed bothered with it. Price was said to be the problem - but that never really bother dyed in the wood Hi-Fi types. Probably because things had moved on and few bothered with radio for serious listening. But was a problem for the average casual use on a kitchen etc portable. As was battery life.

So the data rates were reduced to the point where it no longer provided high quality audio - with the exception of R3. R4 being mainly speech based possibly too. Everything else suffered.

Sales then took off. ;-) After heavy promotion.

The one area where it does offer advantages is in car use - at least in decent signal areas. Round London, for example. It doesn't suffer from the fading and distortion you get with FM round high buildings, etc. But the lack of factory fit units and the cost of aftermarket ones means it's only for enthusiasts. And again most ICE types prefer their own choice of music rather than radio.

Other fly in the ointment is DDTV - that carries most radio stations, and for the very low cost of a tuner gives decent enough quality for those who have problems with FM. And of course internet radio.

So my prediction is DAB+ will make no difference to the popularity or otherwise of the service - unless things are split up so it gives a choice of stations not available elsewhere that the public actually want to listen to.

[Rob Horton]

That could be because ch5 analogue is outside the channel grouping that your aerial was designed for. However the digital mux that carries ch5 is probably within channel grouping of your aerial