FM radio switch-off

[Joe Cox]

Norway is going to turn off FM radio stations in 2017

No mention of sound quality in the criteria for the switchover, sadly...

 

[Electro]

As far as I know Norway will be using DAB + format rather than the standard DAB we have here in the UK .

http://www.worlddab.org/country-information/norway

http://www.which.co.uk/technology/audio/guides/dab-explained/

DAB + has the potential to allow much better sound quality . *smile*

 

[Joe Cox]

Will add a line to our story.

 

[Covenanter]

I wonder if cars are one of the issues in the UK. Very few have come with DAB in the past and conversion would I guess be rather expensive.

Chris

 

[tinkywinkydipsylalapo]

You know, there are times I wish we didn't just slavishly follow everything that Norway does. ;-)

 

[drummerman]

Slapping each other with branches nude will never take off here, sadly

 

[Electro]

Slapping each other with branches nude will never take off here, sadly

Oh I don't know .................*mosking*

 

[Al ears]

Slapping each other with branches nude will never take off here, sadly

Oh I don't know .................*mosking*

Why not! After a good sauna I always fancy a roll in the snow... swiftly followed by a pickled herring rollmop or two.

Doesn't everbody?

 

[Al ears]

Slapping each other with branches nude will never take off here, sadly

Try telling that to the Freemasons.

 

[davedotco]

Slapping each other with branches nude will never take off here, sadly

Try telling that to the Freemasons.

Or to certain Linn dealers in the late 1980s whipping themselves with used Ittok armcables, (alledgedly)....!

 

[drummerman]

 

[tinkywinkydipsylalapo]

My point was merely that this isn't 'The great FM switch-off starts here', as has been suggested in some quarters; rather it's one country deciding unilaterally to switch off FM at a point in the future. All else is speculation.

 

[drummerman]

I absolutely love my cyrus tuner and use it almost daily, often as background entertainment but on occasions, especially with certain BBC broadcasts, as a source for more intense listening.

I hope any switch-off is in the far distance.

 

[Al ears]

Slapping each other with branches nude will never take off here, sadly

Try telling that to the Freemasons.

Or to certain Linn dealers in the late 1980s whipping themselves with used Ittok armcables, (alledgedly)....!

Used? Why, did they give a better response than new? I think the hifi world has a right to know...

 

[Al ears]

Indeed it is and the whole DAB (moreso than DAB+) thing has been a bit of a fiasco I feel.

Perhaps we should skip the whole lot (particularly the automobile industry) and go straight to Internet-based Radio systems.

 

[davedotco]

Slapping each other with branches nude will never take off here, sadly

Try telling that to the Freemasons.

Or to certain Linn dealers in the late 1980s whipping themselves with used Ittok armcables, (alledgedly)....!

Used? Why, did they give a better response than new? I think the hifi world has a right to know...

The use of new arm cables was specifically forbidden by Linn. They were considered unusable until treated with a heatgun and correctly dressed so as not to impeded the rhythmic integrity of the beating.

The use of a new, tightly kinked cable was considered grounds for excommunication, for obvious reasons. The plastic, as opposed to metal plugs, on the LVX/Akito cables meant that they were considered only suitable for beginners.

 

[iMark]

Indeed it is and the whole DAB (moreso than DAB+) thing has been a bit of a fiasco I feel.

Perhaps we should skip the whole lot (particularly the automobile industry) and go straight to Internet-based Radio systems.

You may be right, but bandwidth needs to be available everywhere. But it might make more sense to invest in mobile internet transmitters (in whatever form) than DAB or DAB+ to create countrywide coverage. As long as everything is done to standards so all cars will have an internet radio that actually works in different countries.

Norway in the meantime is an interesting case. It's a vast stretch of mountainous country with a small population. I can understand that keeping the FM network running is relatively expensive so a switch to DAB+ may be a good stop gap measure before going online. I don't that the FM band in Norway is too crowded and that they need limited bandwidth multiplexes to accomodate numerous commercial stations. If the Norwegians broadcast their stations on DAB+ at a minimum of 192 kbps (preferably 256 or 320 kbps) I don't think anyone will complain about the sound quality. But it is more likely to be 64 kbps AAC-HE.

One thing hardly ever gets a mention in discussions about DAB+ taking over from FM is the battery use of DAB+ receivers. I listen to my iPod Nano's FM radio when I'm working in the garden. i think it has a battery life of about 8 hrs (I have never run out of power yet) to power the tiny FM receiver chip. I doubt that is possible with DAB+.

Here in NL there is now a starting to grow a reasonable network of DAB+ transmitters with both public and commercial multiplexes at around 64 kbps AAC-HE. Interestingly this is for the moment only focused at cars. The transmitters aren't powerful enough yet to penetrate buildings.

One of the major problems in the uptake of DAB+ is that the car manufacturers still don't supply DAB+ radios as standard. Example: in a new VW you pay between EUR 186 to 249 to get the optional DAB+ module. A retrofitting set costs EUR 299 to have installed.

We don't have any complaints about the reception of terrestrial FM in our VW. It's actually surprisingly free of noise. I can't see us spending any money on DAB+ module, unless we buy another car.