All posts by Michael Rogers
Below are all of Michael Rogers's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
I saw this earlier. Enigmatic! Not much bandwidth for such purposes. The phrase "very sparsely populated areas" must be key. What would the bandwidth be used for in more densley populated areas? "White Space Devices offered a solution that could safeguard the interests of the radio industry by making it less likely that it was backfilled with new commercial and pirate radio stations". I must have missed the reference to listeners interests... Early days yet; the US white-space trials will be interesting. Maybe there is a cunning Antipodean plan to buy up the FM spectrum ...
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Planners presumably base their assumptions on evident acceptance by the electorate of dumping analog-only TVs and buying digital flat-screens instead. This acceptance is dependent on widely perceived general improvement in picture quality and choice of channels. Comparable perceived improvement is proving more difficult with DAB, mainly because of the need for reliable reception on portable, battery-powered and in-car DAB radios with a relatively inefficient aerial. The renewed focus on FM-equivalent reception indoors and on the road will determine success or failure of DAB. A big cost factor!
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Pure Highway - easily googled for information, reviews and suppliers, for example:
www.pure.com/products/product.asp?Product=VL-60905
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Steve - the Highway or an mp3 FM transmitter is very low power, only intended to "replace" a physical connection to an FM receiver in close proximity, as in a car. They may go through a wall to a good FM receiver elsewhere in the house, but aerial positioning etc couldbe critical. Iain is right about stereo. Although DAB bit rates are disappointingly low, a good stereo DAB signal can be more acceptable than an equivalent FM signal with stereo hiss. R3 via AAC is impressive, however, but there is not enough available bandwidth in the DAB band for higher bitrates - unless some sound-alike stations were "amalgamated" to allow for higher bitrates for music. Fewer stations -> lower revenue -> not likely to happen :-((
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Inscrutable law of nature : either you can live in a nice place, or you can have nice DAB reception on the kitchen portable. Either/or - the occasional exception will confirm the rule :-)
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DAB Block 10C North Devon - Thanks for the link, Mark. As expected, focus on main population (advertising) target areas. Even the stated post 2013 coverage will not be satisfactory - so when FM shuts down, no BBC Radio Devon DAB for many. This remains the ongoing issue that is not being seriously addressed. Looking at portable DAB receiver reviews, the most common disappoints continue to relate to coverage and current consumption.
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DAB car radios - presumably all DAB car-radios will also have FM? And "good old" AM - probably not ??? The rationale of the Ofcom licence just granted to NowDigital for block 10C to expand into population centres of North Devon is doubtless indicative of future intentions. Coverage maps suggest that even post-2013 significant areas will not be covered, so it will be interesting to see what the future of BBC local radio will be in less populated areas.
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North Devon DAB - This wee subterfuge just might explain the NowDigital coverage map showing no interest in areas other than prime advertising audiences. The Ofcom rationale is revealing. "Consultation" has always been an artifact of pretend-democracy. Nothing new under the sun! As an aside : when a main transmitter mast in Holland came crashing down last week, a pre-existing emergency plan moved public information and news to an AM frequency.
Spectacular pictures and video, which should be food for thought in high places...
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The Kilvey Hill map now looks right. I get a good signal across the water, suggesting little or no attenuation to the south - maybe intended as "compensation" for the uncertaintly of regional DAB reception...
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Friday 8 July 2011 9:40AM
Tivu card - Ivan, be wary. Formally, a bona-fide Italian codice fiscale is required. Careful research and personal recommendations are indicated. See other postings on this site.
Many programmes on RAI etc are still free-to-view at certain times of the day.