Semi-OT DAB radio stations

[Simon T]

Hope you'll forgive the somewhat off topic post, but this sort-of follows on from my recent enquiry about DAB aerials and was interested in hearing anyone else's thoughts on this.

Recently bought a new hi-fi, one with DAB radio, because I like listening to Planet Rock and Team Rock radio.

Last night I discover that Team Rock are leaving the DAB platform and going to be an internet/streaming service only because broadcasting on DAB is too expensive and it seems a lot of their listeners tune in via internet streaming or through their phone app anyway.

So I start looking at how the other stations remain on air, seems that Planet Rock were making a £300,000 loss each year and being bank rolled by their owners and it seems many of the other stations are being propped up financially by their FM counterparts. Absolute Radio have been having difficulty and have pulled a number of their sister channels from DAB. The Christian broadcasting stations (which we could all do well without in my view) only exist because of donations (and god knows who listens to them, if you'll pardon the pun).

Also seems that DAB has failed to make an impact in most of Europe, so what does this mean for the future of DAB? Should I have saved my money and just bought an FM only hi-fi?

Thoughts anyone?

[Andy Burns]

I've had a couple of DAB radios for a few years (one in the car, the other as a bedside radio) but I think I would hesitate to buy into DAB now, it's fairly old hat technology that forces broadcasters to shoe-horn many low bandwidth streams into their MUXes to save costs.

There is DAB+ but switching to that would make most existing DAB sets obsolete, how many would bother replacing them?

And a Sonos/Roku/Squeezebox etc ...

[RobertL]

The main problem with DAB (compared with FM) is that the sound quality is rather poor (in the UK). Almost no DAM stations broadcast in full stereo for example.

I switched to satellite to get decent (better than FM) radio quality but I don't know if your favourite stations are available that way.

Robert

[RobertL]

Just checked: Planet Rock is on satellite at 28 degrees East

Robert

[Andy Burns]

That wasn't an issue for me, I wanted better quality than AM, especially at night, and (usually) DAB provides that.

[Simon T]

I had noticed that the sound quality of a good strong FM signal is way better than DAB. I used to listen to DAB on a cheap little portable radio and thought the 'tinny' quality was due to it being a cheap mono set. But since I got my new hi-fi have noticed the DAB quality isn't much better, whilst FM sounds far superior (warmer?).

Planet Rock are on satellite, but I can listen to them on DAB anyway. I noticed Kerrang (which I sometimes listened to) abandoned Sky a while back and are now Internet only.

I will be able to get Team Rock on my Samsung Galaxy tab and 'Bluetooth' it over to my new hi-fi (and admittedly, the sound quality is noticeably much better that way). But its a hell of a lot of messing around and lot less convenient than just being able to listen to everything on one device.

So, does it look like internet streaming is the way forward then?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Might be a problem in a car. And with the average portable or bedside radio too - and that's how most listen to radio.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've often been curious as to why DAB costs the broadcasters so much more in transmission fees. Likely all down to taxation in one form or another, rather than intrinsic costs of the medium.

[Jonno]

Simon T scribbled

Simples. Too many commercial radio stations chasing a reduced/reducing pot of advertising money.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Which stations are you listening to?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You've missed out FreeView. Not all radio stations are on it, of course.

Advantage is tuners - whether for a Hi-Fi or PC - are cheap as chips.

Snag with using with a Hi-Fi is the lack of display so you need to set it up using a TV and save the stations as favourites then remember which is which on the remote control. Although most only ever listen to one or two stations anyway.

[HarpingOn]

Radio 5Live is my station of choice, and I listen in the car.

DAB is miles better quality than the AM. And listeining to an internet based service is impossible in the car, insufficient mobile coverage. I drop to GPRS or NO SIGNAL for significant parts of my journey, regardless of network. DAB works fine though

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'm more a R4 type - and use DAB for that in the London area. Reception is miles better than FM. As it should be too - it was designed for better mobile reception. Only music station I tend to use in the car is Magic - and that too sounds ok on DAB. Or rather as good as FM - both are so heavily processed as to ignore any pretensions to audio quality. As are most other pop radio stations on the radio. I do wonder about those who go on and on about bitrates, when all pop radio is compressed to a bugger all dynamic range, regardless of how you receive it.

Only thing I use DAB for at home is R4 Extra. But I don't have any portable radios in use there.

[Mike Barnes]

When I was doing that I found a DAB tuner with a channel display on the front - they do exist (or did then, anyway).

[Brian Gaff]

Well, my main gripes with dab is that most of the stations I want are now in mono, and the same on Freeview also. However, you can still get in many parts of the uk, Clasic fm in stereo on dab, and all accept the bbc radio 4 in stereo as well. but you are right, if its not bbc local or national and not only talk its mono and low bit rate at that. Presumably someone, the government maybe needs to make it cheaper to broadcast on, or reduce the number of stations on it so the quality improves. In answer to your question, it depends on what the service on fm is like, and whether any of the stations you want will be on it. Its fairly easy to get an old pc configured to play internet radio stations, as I'm sure others will say, and it will be more reliable than an internet radio as those won't keep up with the changing addresses of radio stations, or be able to use proxies to get at content which is country restricted.

So An old Freeview box, FM and DAB and the internet and then you are set, and you only need 29 remote controls a keyboard and mouse a screen and some switcher, and there you are!:-)

Brian

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Oh I'd say most DAB tuners include a display. It's FreeView STBs that usually don't. Not a problem with TV, but more tricky to use for radio only.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It was a Tory government which got things into this mess, by forcing the BBC to sell off its transmitters and abolishing the IBA. As usual, they looked to make money out of what was a public service and f***ed it up. But some never learn.

[Mike Barnes]

Sorry, that's what I meant - Freeview box not DAB.

[Simon T]

That was the situation I was hoping to avoid...

[Simon T]

Well, on DAB, as I mentioned earlier, Planet Rock and Team Rock.

On FM I mainly listen to my local station Lincs FM, or Radio 1.

As mentioned elsewhere in the thread, I tried Bluetoothing an internet stream from Team Rock over to my Hi-Fi from my Galaxy Tab and found the sound quality was actually better that way. But it's not as convenient.