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Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

6:48 AM

michael: I would expect that the cost of the transmitters will lead to them being closed during the current budget cuts.

I can't see DRM or DRM+ ever seeing the light of day.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
P
Pete
sentiment_satisfiedGold

8:37 PM

The UK switch off will only affect 198 LW all other LW stations operate from outside the UK.

I guess it depends how bad the DAB gaps are as to whether DRM will take off or not. It may be the only way of serving remote areas post switchover.

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Pete's 452 posts GB flag
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

6:53 AM

Pete: Well, apart from satellite.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
M
michael
sentiment_satisfiedGold

9:41 AM

With technological progress, we should be entitled to better-than-now portable and mobile reception, but apparently as-good-as-now is the best we can expect. DTT and internet are evidently suitable for FM or better quality for the living-room hifi. DAB+ from L-band satellite and terrestrial transmitters would theoretically fill the mobile/portable requirement. Such plans exist in France and elsewhere, but how economically feasible any further expansion could be must now be brow-furrowing... At present the balance on the horizon for is: more choice of very similar programming via DAB in populated and motorway areas; less choice and reliability in hilly and remote areas, especially for non-static reception.
Perceived DAB audio quality will mostly be better than AM, but less pleasing than FM.
Some commercial DAB stations may in time relinquish their options and thereby "donate" spectrum to others for higher bitrates.


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michael's 869 posts GB flag
Friday, 1 April 2011
P
Pete
sentiment_satisfiedGold

11:15 AM

Will satellite work in cars though, doesn't the receiver need to be fixed with a reasonably directional dish. The Worldspace receivers had a bit of flexibility while they were able to pick up a service, which has now sadly closed making the sets a bit of a white elephant.

By the way Brian, after your previous insistance that the TODAY programme goes out only in MONO, I hope you were listening this morning when different sounds came out of the left and right speakers on FM at approx 07.45am to 07:50am, albeit an APRIL FOOL spoof story about 3D AUDIO RADIO.

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Pete's 452 posts GB flag
N
Nedbod
sentiment_satisfiedGold

11:26 AM

Well last Saturday I stayed up late to bid a fond farewell to BBC WORLD SERVICE 648kHz ORFORDNESS broadcasts which ceased with the last elongated Greenwich pip at 12:00 midnight GMT (just before the clocks changed). The last programme was OVER TO YOU, which ironically had many complaints about the 648 switch off. This will leave many people throughout Western Europe & Eastern UK with no datime BBC WS on the move in their cars and deprive many people of the BBC WS who do not have access via the internet. Even in this day and age there are plenty of people who either do not have internet access or who simply do not want it, but DO enjoy portable radio. Shame on the BBC and their now "fragments of the World only" Service which has gone rapidly downhill over the last 5-10 years, both in coverage and range and quality of its programmes as the cuts have bitten.

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Nedbod's 619 posts GB flag
Saturday, 2 April 2011
M
michael
sentiment_satisfiedGold

9:22 AM

Sadly, not every change constitutes progress. L-Band via satellite would work - rather like WorldSpace. The basic concept of having both terrestrial and satellite broadcasting in the L-Band would appear sound. Is it not used in the US? If France implements the concept successfully, we may follow one day... However, in the present economic climate, futher innovations, such as L-Band and DRM are doubtless receding into the realm of wishful thinking. Apropos portable indoor reception, it is reported that modern aluminium-coated insulation panels can turn a house into a Faraday cage :-)

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michael's 869 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Ash
10:44 AM

Hi Brian, you might be interested to know that Digital One have turned on a new DAB TX in Scotland... ukdigitalradio: News (W1D1NN)

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Ash's 6 posts GB flag
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

10:45 AM

Ash: Thanks.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Friday, 20 May 2011
N
Nedbod
sentiment_satisfiedGold

4:11 PM

Brian : Has the quality of the sound on some BBC DAB digital radio stations improved recently vs FM, or have the BBC reduced the FM quality slightly to make digital sound a bit better. Certainly the base volume seems to have increased on my TECHNICS ST-GT 1000 tuner. The bit rates appear to be the same. The sound quality on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC World Service are still quite poor however. I have noticed a slight improvement on Radio 4 (when broadcasting on 128 kbps in stereo and not 80 mono) and BBC Radio 2.

Anyway my ears think it's better on these channels at least. Do you or others agree.

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Nedbod's 619 posts GB flag
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