主播大秀

After three progressively more expensive DAB radios I have gone back to analogue radio.My reasons for this are inconsistency of signal affecting quality of reception,the annoyingly long aerials in my kitchen,the inferior quality of a Roberts very expensive radio.
In addition the fact that digital radios can use up to 3 or 4 times the energy of an analogue radio makes it far less viable.
Why do no mp3 players feature DAB radio?

And there is the time delay whilst the signal is processes which is apparent when listening in one room on good old VHF and in another with DAB - so who can trust the time signal's pips on DAB?
And the sound quality is not so hot either

If it weren't for the extra stations - both 主播大秀 and other broadcasters - there wouldn't be any point in having a DAB radio.

DAB is a swing and a miss for me. With several years' head start on Digital TV, it has nowhere near the take-up that allowed analogue switch-off to proceed, and no sign that users will voluntarily start buying in enough quantities to allow compulsion.

We have to abandon DAB. It will break every device that has already been bought, but we can't continue with a system that just isn't going to get there. A decision has to be taken on what to use instead. DAB+ - which can be employed piecemeal, part of an ensemble at a time - is an obvious step, but we can't simulcast a station in both DAB and DAB+ because there isn't space, without increasing compression on all stations.

Or, we could go the radical approach and change over to DVB-T2 in 1.7MHz channels, replacing existing DAB allocations, giving much more capacity. Freeview HD boxes are down to an impressive 拢27 (Tesco are clearing old stock at 拢15) and that includes an MPEG-4 AVC decoder which the radio obviously wouldn't need. But the Government would have to assign the 主播大秀 a new frequency allocation to build-out a new network.

Or, we could go another way entirely, following the Digital TV model in a different way: providing the replacement in the same frequency band as the service it's replacing. Digital Radio Mondiale plus (DRM+) can operate in VHF Band II along with FM services, as a replacement for an FM service. Single-frequency nets are possible with a transmitter spacing of 75 km. A bit of reshuffling of current 主播大秀 FM radio frequencies might make SFNs possible. Another approach might be to relieve commercial radio from some of the frequencies they no longer need, considering they now run pseudo-national services. One of the sticking points for DAB is the need for truly local radio stations to come together into one ensemble, while DRM+ would offer a straightforward one-for-one replacement.

The radio planners really ought to read Michael Starks' book "Switching to Digital Television: UK Public Policy and the Market", covering how Digital TV switchover was achieved - and of course, how it nearly wasn't.

ANY of these options is an improvement on sticking with DAB. DAB is just too inefficient.

Oops - somewhat longer than expected ... "standard spec in all new cars by the end of 2103 at the latest".

The major problem with DAB is that the sound quality is less good than an equivalent priced FM radio. A decent FM receiver simply blows a digital receiver into the weeds - and that's down to the old technology DAB is based on, and the desire to squeeze too many channels into a limited spectrum.

But factor in the poor mobile/national coverage, problems with updating legacy devices (particularly in cars), and the frankly appalling content on some of these digital stations, and there is no compelling reason to upgrade, especially given the relatively high price of DAB radios.

At the moment DAB is a solution looking for a problem.

@ kruador

Unfortunately it isn't going to be possible to dump DAB just like that - there are 13 million DAB radios out there, some of them cost their owners well over 拢100 and most of them are not upgradeable to DAB+.

It would be a huge trading standards issue if all of these radios were rendered useless just after they had been purchased.

The best we can hope for is DAB+ in about 4 or 5 years' time, providing that Pure are forced to stop disabling the DAB+ software in their UK radios.

Signs of the tipping point. I don't think so Alan. Why is it that 主播大秀 executives are so out of touch with reallity. DAB is a legacy system which has been abandonded nearly all european countries. Supporters like Alan have been talinig about a tipping point for years but it never happened. As can be seen from previous comments there is no public support for DAB. It delivers inferior sound quality and is more susceptable to interference than FM. There are at least 150 million FM radios in the UK and there is no way the 主播大秀 will be able to switch off the national FM stations in the near future. DAB is more expensive than FM with the same coverage.

The 主播大秀's huge investment in DAB has been a complete waist of money.

Given the millions of cars on the road which even now are not fitted with DAB radio, I can't see that we are anywhere near the point at which a switchover could be contemplated.

I enquired about getting a DAB upgrade to my 1 year old Mercedes and it was going to cost around 拢1,000 - I think not! I am sure that most car owners will think the same and I don't see a cheap alternative which would be acceptable.

Apart from the above everyone I know who has DAB in their car complains about loss of signal and patchy reception.

There is a very long way to go before a digital switchover could be achieved.

very poor reception, inferior sound quality. cannot think of a reason to switch.

Whilst I have nothing against DAB, I don鈥檛 understand how the Government and the 主播大秀 can consider enforcing a switch-over to it when the usage is so low. It seems to me that discussions about its coverage are irrelevant. If usage in areas already covered (which is after all the majority of the population) was high, say approaching 90%, then there might be an argument for (a) spending a lot more money extending coverage and (b) forcing a switch-over, but in the current circumstances I would suggest that both the cost of extending DAB coverage and/or that of continued running of FM (probably both together) are only be a fraction of the cost to the listening public in replacing their FM receivers. If I am wrong perhaps the 主播大秀 would like to confirm their estimate of the total cost expected to be shouldered by their listeners in replacing their equipment.

In answer to shylochume's comment on DAB radio,the i-river B20 is an mp3 player with DAB radio included.

Oh, come on, Tim. Stop spouting the management line. DAB is dead. You have only to read Grant Goddard's blog to see that. To see how many countries in Europe have ABANDONED DAB.

You talk about "benefit from a digital future with increased choice and better functionality". Fine...anyone who wants 'choice' has got it. They can go and buy a DAB radio. Now. Nothing stopping them. So why force us all to spend money that we don't have for something that we don't want?

Why won't the 主播大秀 and Ed Vaizey come clean and tell us the REAL reason why you are still flogging the DAB dead-horse. The real reason is that the FM transmitters run under contract from Arqiva are reaching the end of their life. When the contract was signed with Arqiva, the 主播大秀 rashly thought that DAB would have been adopted by the mainstream public and so no provision was made for new FM transmitters. And now to get out of the hole that they are in, the 主播大秀 and the Govt want the rest of us to shell out wasted money just so you only need to worry about the old-fashioned old-technology known as DAB.

I would also like to question the figures regarding car take-up. Take a look at Grant Goddard's blog here for the true figures

It seems remarkable in the face of all the evidence that the 主播大秀 keeping flogging this dead horse. It gives worse, qualitry and less reliable broadcasting than FM!

Goodness you get better sound on an internet radio.

I am absolutely tired of the free advertising and spin the 主播大秀 funded by the licence fee puts out.

@ Londonman

Grant Goddard's article is from July.

The facts are not in dispute - one in five NEW cars have DAB as standard. Of course that isn't the same as one in five cars on the road having DAB, but it is significant progress compared with last year, and all new Ford cars will have DAB as standard by the end of 2012.

The latest RAJAR figures show that digital listening now accounts for 28.2% of all listening (up from 26.9% the previous quarter). DAB accounts for 18% of all listening (up from 15.3%). That is in a quarter when people don't traditionally buy radios in large numbers. There should be an even bigger jump when the Christmas figures are out.

There is plenty going on in digital radio across Europe:



It's true that most countries are not using the MP2 version of DAB, preferring to go with DAB+, but it's still based on Eureka 147 and the 主播大秀's transmitters are fully compatible with DAB+ for when the time is right to make the switch to it.

Switzerland have just announced that they have effectively given up on licensing new FM stations because they believe the future of radio is digital (DAB/DAB+).

I do not use DAB as I find the reception very poor compared with analogue and download. I am surprised the 主播大秀 has opted to use it unless it can be improved.

have you checked that all DAB rcvrs sold are capable of being upgraded to the somewhat improved pan-European standard as well as future enhanced codecs ? or is the UK to be restricted to a second best (and generally poor quality )system. The past history of the 主播大秀 re DAB 'quality' must make anyone very dubious that this is anything other than a Mobile Radio industry led ploy to obtain more bandwidth - maybe experience in selling second rate junk drinks might be useful to push a second rate system on licence payers

I do not pretend to understand the techie stuff regarding DAB but:

* poor and intermittent coverage
* poor quality sound reproduction
* cost of replacing perfectly good FM equipment (in house and car)
* high energy use (particularly with respect to batteries)

Don't want it thanks - LEAVE OUR FM ALONE!!

1/ Radio 4 sounds much poorer quality to me on DAB than FM (and the quality of that has been reduced down the years)
2/ Poor reception renders digital broadcasts unintelligible, unlike analogue signals which simply carry extra noise as the signal deteriorates
3/ Modern equipment is poor quality and designed to be replaced within a decade. However this does sort out the problem of ditching the 主播大秀鈥檚 DAB problem altogether after a few more years
4/ In the house different digital 鈥榬adios鈥� have varying delays according to their microchips, making it annoying and unpleasant moving between different rooms
5/ Digital radios are computers and use many times more power than real radios. I know the transmitters can use less power but compared with tens of millions of radios this is meaningless. Also, digital radios will go wrong sooner than old ones. So much for any regard for the environment
6/ The 主播大秀 will never admit its mistake with DAB, the best option is to allow it to die a quiet death
7/ Why do digital radios cost more than digital tv receivers, which receive radio as well 鈥� all you need to add is a speaker
8/ 主播大秀, please broadcast R4Xtra on analogue. My wife would be very grateful.

Forgot to mention the real hypocrisy behind all this attempt to phase out high quality FM - this isn't simply change for change's sake, digital requires less 'airspace' so there is lots of money to be made selling off the old bandwidths.

Here in the (hilly) Northeast we still have R4 broadcast additonally on MW because in many areas away from the city centres FM is so patchy: so small chance for DAB then!
if it is the case that money is required to renew FM transmitters (as well as funding other aspects of radio including Internet) then the 主播大秀 needs to open a revenue channel so that non license-fee payers can contribute. I don't have a telly but would happily pay 拢20quid for my analogue radio facility and probably another 拢10per annum for the net. (Nowt for DAB though [or the centrally run so-called 'local' radio]) I was listening to the World Service and heard that an American woman had emailed to say that she valued it so highly that she would contribute if there was a way and I'm sure there's many more like us.

NO TO DAB, YES TO GOOD RADIO!

About a year ago I bought a DAB radio for my car, it was a small device with an FM transmitter, an add-on to the existing analogue car radio. I wanted to hear local radio when I was outside of my area. I connected it up with the supplied DAB aerial in a prominent position to receive the best possible signal. I drove around for a day checking the signal, I covered a considerable distance around the South East and London, but I got so frustrated at the bad reception I packed it back into it鈥檚 box, sent it back and got a refund. I hope the DAB technology will get better or the analogue signal should stay. The current FM band has about six independent stations all broadcasting very similar music, that鈥檚 a waste of resources. They all want to be 鈥渃ommercial鈥� the output is the lowest common denominator! It seems to me, the varied output of DAB would be great if the technology worked. It has to be good enough to be used on the move without an aerial on your car roof bigger than the one on the Chinese embassy in Portland Place!!! Rgds - Guy

Well, I'm excited about the future of DAB radio and I think the 主播大秀 should be applauded for their investment in the medium.

Tim's absolutely right to mention that DAB offers increased choice. That's why we're bringing communities together with a content quality realignment project by merging local radio stations. Last year we set about increasing choice further by recommending the closure of 6Music and the Asian Network.

Tim's also right to say that those who try DAB rarely go back to it, well, unless they're going out in their car or they live somewhere outside of the home counties where there's less coverage. But the point he's making is absolutely spot on, if you try it and can afford to upgrade all of your home and car stereo equipment then you'll never go back to FM, unless you're on a train in which case DAB is useless. But it's a good point.

Of course a quality sound needs quality production, so that鈥檚 why so much of our content is overseen by some of Britain鈥檚 brightest and enthusiastic interns.

It鈥檚 very important to get the support of people like Ed Vaizey, Minister of Culture, Communications and Creative Industries (note to self, what exactly does that last one mean?). They will see the true value of the 主播大秀鈥檚 DAB content when they suddenly realise that the corporation hasn鈥檛 been sold off to the private sector.

So let鈥檚 all look forward to the days when we can listen to what鈥檚 left of the 鈥淲orld Service鈥� or 鈥溨鞑ゴ笮� Virtually Everywhere North Of Birmingham Local Radio鈥� on DAB equipment in our cars. Imagine the clarity of endless Coldplay or U2 live sessions as we drive the length of the country. DAB is here to stay, unlike some of the stations you can currently enjoy on it.

Taxi!

Andy Parsnip - brilliant! My understanding is that the vacated FM frequencies would not disappear, they'd be used for "ultra local" stations. (Oh joy!) It has been estimated that there are between 50 million and 100 million FM receivers of various kinds which would become useless - expensive paper-weights or landfill? What about WEEE regulations?

Tim Davie's comment on the proposed switchover that "it will only happen if we make a clear case to listeners on the benefit of change.." sounds just like a politician bemoaning the lack of support because the voters haven't understood the message. The latest RAJAR figures for Q3 show that only 18% of listening was done via DAB. I bet if 6 Music was on FM that figure would be even smaller.

Andy Parsnip wrote:
"Of course a quality sound needs quality production..."

That is a grossly misleading comment.

It all depends on what you mean by 'quality'. The only DAB radio station which even approaches the audio quality of FM is Radio 3. All the other channels on DAB have very much poorer audio quality than FM, as is evidenced by the low bit rates that are used in order to cram as many channels as possible into a limited bandwidth.

Sorry, Johnb, I'm an area manager for a soft drinks firm so that sort of detail would pass me by.

Can someone tell me if DAB radio has the Traffic Announcement capability that FM does? That is surely one of its biggest advantages for cars.

The reason behind wanting to shift to DAB is probably CONTROL - it must be fairly cheap to set up a totally independent FM station, whereas going via DAB you have to buy time on a central transmitter, which means that there is much closer control over what is broadcast.

I listen mainly to Radio 3 which sounds absolutely rubbish on DAB. Even when you get a good signal, it sounds flat and lifeless. DAB is actually pretty superfluous now, I've been listening to internet radio for some time; the choice of music and stations is huge and the sound quality is much better (Radio 3 @ 320kbps, as opposed to DAB's 192kbps). I've just bought a Denon network streamer, to replace my old Denon DAB/FM tuner. It includes an FM tuner so I can still listen to R3 in my preferred format, and I can listen again to programmes I miss via internet radio. Interestingly Denon, who have made the best budget hifi tuners for years have now dumped DAB which doesn't feature on their current tuner or network player.

Andy Parsnip, are you a wind-up/stooge or do you really believe what you have to say?

DAB is dead in the water - without the huge public subsidies accrued by the Beeb it would already have sunk without a trace. This is one of the worst aspects of dependent broadcast networks, give them sufficient and as well as some awesome programmes there is the appalling waste of money such as this. They're so big they can make it appear to succeed where no-one else could - shame the mistake made with our money can't be acknowledged and a better format organised. Unfashionable in today's fast-changing world to stick with what there already is (and when the alternative can help earn some mega-bucks) but preferably FM, MW and LW should be continued as it uses less power to receive, less energy to make the equipment and is a better sound.

R4Xtra needs to go analogue.

Radio 4 Extra won't be going analogue, there are no available frequencies for it.

It's also one of the main reasons for people to buy DAB sets, along with 6 Music, Jazz FM and Absolute 80s.

Well I love my in-car DAB; some signal problems when I installed it a few years ago, but it's fine now. I listen mainly to channels which are either DAB only or are only also in AM - 6music, 5live, 5 live sports extra, Jazz FM, Talksport, 4extra - and have no problems with listening tothe 2 FM staions (Radios 4 and, increasing less frequently, 2) on DAB

Let鈥檚 face it DAB does not have CD quality sound, reception is an issue, power consumption of DAB equipment is far higher than analogue radio. Plus if all the 150 million FM radios in the UK were to be replaced by their owners (the general public) at say 拢30 each, yes if only DABs were that cheap, it would cost 拢4.5bn. Once we have all been forced to go DAB the FM frequencies will be auctioned and the revenue used to come up with another scheme that will cost the public even more. Cancelling DAB now would still save the public billions. I would happily through my DAB OUT!

The Daily Service ( 9.45 to 10 AM NON TO FRI has been removed from FM and is only available on Long wave ( which is becoming rare on radios ) and appears on digital for 15 mins then disappears. It doesn't seem possible to get a live broadcast on the web. Is is possible to have a ghost indicator in the address list so that when digital radios are scanning the available programmes it is recognised ? It may be possible to include a text note explaining the temporary nature of the broadcast.
PS the daily service doesn't appear on the home page as 'ON Now' when it is being broadcast - it's rival 'book of the week' appears only.

Why is the sound quality so poor?

And why does my DAB radio insist on tuning to the Yorkshire transmitter when I live in South Nottinghamshire?

When these problems are sorted I may consider ditching FM but not until then.

It doesn't seem possible to get a live broadcast on the web. Is is possible to have a ghost indicator in the address list so that when digital radios are scanning the available programmes it is recognised. But with some private services we can manage to tweak this and broadcast. Take a look at this web radio which has an interesting built up framework: [Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]

There is another issue, concerning in-car DAB radios, which the 主播大秀 in particular has chosen to ignore. One of the features of the DAB radio that is factory fitted in my car is its ability to automatically switch to the equivalent FM broadcast in the event of the loss of the DAB signal.

The benefits of this feature in a moving vehicle, with the current coverage of DAB are obvious, but sadly, this feature rarely works, particularly on 主播大秀 stations.

I am given to understand that it does not work simply because the RDS "PI" Code for FM, and the "SID" for DAB as put out by the 主播大秀, are different. Ofcom publish a spreadsheet of all the relevant codes at

For example for Radio 4 the FM RDS PI code is C204, on DAB the SID code is C224. (However compare this with Classic FM - it is C2A1 on both systems, and therefore the radio automatically changes to FM on loss of DAB signal).

Why does the 主播大秀 ignore this facility, which at least is a convenience, and at best removes yet another eye-diverting task from a driver, and could therefore prevent an accident?