Comments on: Let the market decide the digital switchover question

By: DAB in Yorkshire - James Cridland

DAB in Yorkshire - James Cridland — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:07:29 +0000

[...] force large FM broadcasters off the dial in 2015 (they’d be mad to in an election year, and the market should decide in any [...]

By: The un-spun digital radio figures - James Cridland

The un-spun digital radio figures - James Cridland — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 21:43:51 +0000

[...] which’ll trigger a potential digital switchover. I’m not too distraught; I’ve argued in the past that a government mandated switchover is not good news for the industry (and argued that [...]

By: Roy Sandgren

Roy Sandgren — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:17:22 +0000

Here it is to all broadcasting in the broadcasting bands:
EU has decided this to broadcasting in all members countries:
In all countries we have access to all broadcasting bands below 30 MHz.This means, LW,MW and all SW bands.Mode AM/DRM.
Band l and ll for DRM+/FM.
Band lll, DAB/DABPLUS even DRM+.The L-band to the same and satellite radio.
Band IV/V, to radio service via TV transmitters.
One single FM radio program can only be on one transmitter in the same area.Not simulcast on AM or DAB.
After 1 of august you can apply to a national dab+ licence in Sweden.v Price; 30.000SEK for 8 years. 12 – 16 ch. aviable.Analouge licences; 45.000/annually or bids for 8 years.
Buy the way; all new dab recivers will have DABPLUS as standard.

By: Peter Morgan

Peter Morgan — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:41:53 +0000

At risk of offending Stephen, in case there are another set of technical issues to condemn it, but I am puzzled by the general lack (with one ? exception) of mention of DAB+

Surely, for compatibility, trade, and other reasons (not least of which may be better audio output), we should consider DAB+ before we carry on up this ‘dead end’ (seeing a comment that BBC Trust Chairman Michael Lyons has “called for a review of its radio strategy – acknowledging the failure of DAB and the Corporation’s neglect of internet radio.”)

Also, where some suggest it should be easy to separate national onto DAB and local onto FM, I ask “what about the many people with FM built into their mobile phone” for whom many current stations (R1, R2, R4 and no doubt regionals, like Smooth FM, etc) can be enjoyed, would lose them. How many million FM radios are there in mobile phones?

Will we end up with a DAB (not DAB+) market where manufacturers are happier to aim their latest products at DAB+ users and leave us on in a technological backwater ?

Finally, and a bit of an aside, I remember James once suggested the use of mobile network cells to act as local signal sources for streaming many current ‘radio’ stations, probably giving a greater choice, and with arguably better signal strength, at least within urban areas. Would seem a good option, rather than mobile phones having FM or DAB built in – if the latter {DAB} would even be practical – given DAB+ argument for cheaper manufacture if volumes are higher.

By: Stephen Leggett

Stephen Leggett — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:47:47 +0000

Hi Peter, right here’s my age, it’s 54 OK. My hearing is fairly good for my age at approx 14 KHz roll off before I don’t percieve any other change to h.f. response. As for the CE mark, just don’t get me started on that one please as I’ll really have a big rant over that issue. I see many electrical goods that have been sold in retail shops with CE marks on them that won’t pass the PAT requirements and quite frankly are sometimes leathal. I speak from first hand expeience here when I see cheaply made budget priced appliances such as clothes irons made without using the proper flame resistant cable as well as products that don’t conform to basic Class 1, 2 or Class 3 PAT requirements. I have to test and PAT these appliances as part of my job and many times I have seen products that have either failed or have not met basic electrical safety requirements. So please let’s not be patronizing here about my level of knowledge about CE markings. We all know there are dodgy companies out there trying to make a fast buck by selling inferior products that have snide CE and other seemigly legal credentials marked on them, some are imported from any part of the world some are made in the UK. What I am refering to is the way the modern world has capitalized on cheap labor, not just from the Far East, but South America and even the UK and Europe as well! I suppose you think we all live in a wonderful Utopia don’t you, eh?! By the way, Oh yes I bleedin’ well do know how the manufacturing process works my old son; you must think that I know sod all. The way it works these days is to exploit a nations workforce for a minimum wage, import it cheap and sell it for a nice fat profit. Trouble is with this scenario is that the reliance on the importation of products from one or a few countries for most of it’s goods is that if that nation, or nations decide to stop trading with other nations then the shite hits the fan to put it in it’s most simplistic form. Why is it then that the USA and UK and European countries design and protoype a product and then have the production process carried out thousands of miles away?… Answer: The reduced wage paid to overseas workers is a lot less and so the company and it’s shareholders get a higher take of the profits, right! Now, there are great companies who do employ workers in other countries other than their own and they really do look after their workforce and pay a liveable wage and even house their workers. Whilst on the other hand there are companies that make goods for UK stores who are employing young children as young as 8 years-old that are being paid a mere 7 pence per hour in sweatshop labor conditions in India… Fact, that was reported on LBC radio Early Breakfast Show just the other day. So yes, I think I do understand about how manufacturing works. And DAB, which is what this all started with is I state again is an unreliable, poor sounding form of modulation technique. It’s also broadcast on the wrong frequency band with poor building penetration, poor error correction and it should be replaced with a better system that gives everyone what they want and that is: 1) A reliable signal. 2) A standard that is used worldwide. 3) Capable of giving a standard 16 bit 44.1 KHz CD quality. 4) Better forward error correction and 5) Better designed, less power hungry, higher gain receivers that are easier for Jo Public to operate, in other words digital radios that don’t have to be re-scanned manually every so often as this does confuse a lot of people, especially those who are not into electronics or computers and just want to tune in and go. Now please, let’s have no more posts directed towards or about me, I have nailed my colors to the mast and I will stand by every word that I have made on the subject of DAB. The End.

By: Peter Nicholls

Peter Nicholls — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:30:27 +0000

I’ve been agonising over what to say here, because I cannot believe what I am reading on so many issues and levels.

Re Made in China – As are most products. Shoes. Clothes. Radios. Mobile phones (many manufacturers). Most computer components. You see to have no idea how the manufacturing and production works in the world. Racist or not, your remarks are factually wrong.

Re CE Mark – Existing in its present form since 1993, the CE marking is a key indicator of a product’s compliance with EU legislation and enables the free movement of products within the European market. By affixing the CE marking on a product, a manufacturer is declaring, on his sole responsibility, conformity with all of the legal requirements to achieve CE marking and therefore ensuring validity for that product to be sold throughout the European Economic Area. Please see: http://www.ce-marking.org/directive-9368eec-ce-marking.html

And now, on to sound quality. What you personally ‘perceive’ to be the case is different from actuality. I don’t know your age, or your range and quality of hearing, nor the exact situation which you are receiving, listening and comparing these variations of audio quality. 128kbps of mp3 can be slightly shimmery, but mp2 is a different scenario. Different broadcasters, different material, and at which point the mp2 compression is applied in the chain can have an effect on audio quality. But the general premiss that DAB is to paraphrase ‘a pile of crap’ is just plain wrong.

By: Stephen Leggett

Stephen Leggett — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:15:16 +0000

Hi James, I can see no racist remark there whatsoever, it’s a purely observational thing, that in my long professional experience that wherever a mass produced product is being assembled for most often poor wages and sometimes exploitation of younger people as well, then products can be produced that are usually sub-standard and of poor build quality. I would also point out that in the 1960s there was a term used all of the time regarding items that were, “Made in Birmingham” as being ubiquitous and of poor quality… Now does that make me an inverted racist if I was to say that products from the Birmingham district are cheap and nasty then? I have some members of my family who reside just outside of Birmingham and they just used to take it with a pnch of salt. Observational facts do not make one a racist. There is just too much of this political correctness blather these days, I bet you would find opening a manhole cover as being sexist next wouldn’t you; you’d probably call it a peron access cover. Appart from working in radio, audio and TV electronics I have also worked in the past in the quality control of electronic saftey equipment. Part of my work was to check for batch saftey of components used in industrial equipment, sadly some products that were sourced from countries that were producing products at the time such as Taiwan and the USA were not being produced correctly or were defective in manufacture. So, if I make a statement on here, or any other website that I visit I always base my statements on facts and not ficticious nonesense. Yes, I agree, some products from China are built to a high specification, Behringer Audio products are absolutely brilliant for example, Cambridge Audio is another, however, a lot and I do mean a lot of products that are imported are of suspect build quality and are built by a poorly paid workforce that are being exploited by the capitalist corporations who want cheap disposable consumables… How they gain a CE mark beggars belief on some very cheap equipment; just ask any Revenue and Customs or Trading Standards official who look out for pirated goods. If you have ever tried to service some of this cheap and nasty equipment at component level you’ll see my point. The quality control of a lot of these items is down to the customer returning the item to the retailer rather than a regular QC check in the factories. I suggest you try listening to the Neil Young song, “Piece of Crap” from the album “Sleeps With Angels” if you want a view of what he thinks of mass produced crud that has flooded the market. I am not alone in my views, and I am not a racist either.

By: James Cridland

James Cridland — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:37:40 +0000

Stephen:
“I would just like to ask you what you mean about “Slightly racist diatribe above…” I hope that was not refering to myself as being a racist, as I will take great offence to that statement”

Happy to clarify. In your own words:
“…they seem to realize now that good audio quality is being withered away, what with cheap boxey sounding audio systems made in China, with no build quality whatsover…”

… however you justify it, your “made in China” comment is clearly meant in a denigratory way.

If I were Chinese, I would take great offence at that: particularly since the products most recognised for having great build quality, the Apple iPod/iPad/MacBook range, are all made… in China.

By: David Board

David Board — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:28:15 +0000

Stephen, this is a debate. A debate requires conflicting opinions. If you make bold statements like you have been, then you can expect some equally bold statements in return. If you don’t wish your statements to be analyzed and possibly disagreed with, then posting comments on public blog entry is probably not the best idea.

By: DanR

DanR — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:57:57 +0000

@ Stephen Leggett, stick with you upmarket FM, I’ll keep crappy old DAB for BBC7, which doesn’t need all the high frequency tenchnobabble bits you seem to prize so highly and I don’t. In this case Marshall (McLuhan, not Mathers) was wrong: the medium is not the message. I don’t give fig what medium is used to transmit old radio 4 plays and comedies so long as it is reliable and doesn’t get Albanian interference like AM.