Re: AussieDAB+

"GlennP" <pleasereply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4a0c97ef$0$4046$afc38c87@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
DAB were only test broadcasts & have stopped, all the new full time
digital radio services are DAB+, there are & will be no DAB
services.
Anybody who had a receiver to get the DAB tests were brought from
overseas. All receivers bought here are DAB+ straight off the shelf,
not
upgradeable DAB receivers.

It's only early days, but most comments from those few that have
digital
receivers say that AM radio sounds better on digital, but FM
doesn't.
Pretty much all services are running at 64k AAC+ (audio & data),
most
audio seem to be around 40-48k with the odd 128k AAC+ (audio &
data),&
the sound doesn't match the build-up hype of CD quality,


40 - 48 kbps AAC+ isn't going to deliver CD-quality, that's for sure.


most people say
it drops well short of that, more than not say it doesn't reach FM
quality (just like those of you in the UK with DAB).


Yep, 40 - 48 kbps AAC+ is well below good FM-quality.


There's pretty much no interest in digital radio in Australia,


It hasn't launched yet, has it? There won't be any interest until it's
been heavily promoted, because virtually no-one is aware of its
existence before it's promoted.


but those
with some interest & technical knowledge (other than the supposed
commercial radio industry body), are pushing for DRM/DRM+ use in the
rest of the country (outside the state capitals that have DAB+).


Do you have a vested interest in DRM+ being used though? I remember
from posting on the Australian radio Usenet group a few years ago that
some of the people who were pushing for DRM+ operated or worked for a
radio station that would have benefited from DRM+ being used (can't
remember the exact details).


We believe DAB+ was the wrong choice, to start it doesn't have the
equivalent coverage of analogue radio AM or FM, & while it has
better
encode rates & better error correction,


DAB/DAB+ multiplexes have a far higher capacity than DRM/DRM+
multiplexes, if that's what you mean, but that's because the bandwidth
is far wider - 1.71 MHz versus 50 or 100 kHz. DRM+ is actually far
more spectrally efficient and the error correction is quite a lot
better than on DAB+, actually, so in terms of technology DRM+ is
better.

But would it be commercially viable for Australia to go it alone with
DRM+? I don't think it would be, actually. The rest of Europe looks
likely to adopt DAB+, along with the odd country using DMB. No country
that I'm aware of is planning on adopting DRM+ as its main digital
radio system, so how would you persuade the consumer electronics
giants to manufacture DRM+ radios just for the Australian market?


DAB+ still has the same problem
as in the UK of cramming stations into the multiplex, (we currently
have
9 or 10 stations per multiplex) & as costs to the multiplex provider
go
up, cramming more into the multiplex will get them more money, but
the
sound quality, (already borderline) will have to go down.


DRM+ is a multiplex-based technology as well, so what's stopping
broadcasters cramming too many stations onto DRM+ multiplexes?
Nothing, is I'm afraid the answer to that. A DRM trial in the UK where
double-bandwidth channels were used consisted of the twats
broadcasting 2 statinos on the DRM multiplex instead of one, so there
was no improvement in quality whatsoever.


--
Steve - www.digitalradiotech.co.uk - Digital Radio News & Info

"It is the sheer volume of online audio content available via
internet-connected devices which terrifies the UK radio industry. I
believe that broadband-delivered radio will explode in the years to
come, offering very local, unregulated content, as well as opening a
window to the radio stations of the world." - from the Myers Report


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: AussieDAB+
    ... $10 million on digital radio promotions ... I don't know about commercial radio or even the BBC ... Who is it that wants to use DRM+? ... current DAB+ coverage. ...
    (alt.radio.digital)
  • Re: RRC-06 Maps
    ... using DAB. ... radio, which coulddn't be further from the truth. ... How many DRM+ radios? ... And who says that the broadcasters will not drop the bitrate to 20 Kbps ...
    (alt.radio.digital)
  • Re: AussieDAB+
    ... A lot of broadcasters aren't even interested, some are & the industry body Commercial Radio Australia are pushing for some sort of digital radio & for the Government to reserve spectrum for it. ... Our National broadcasters are semi-interested, but the government made the choice of DAB+ & locked in use it or lose it,start up dates so the broadcasters have been forced into it,. ... I remember from posting on the Australian radio Usenet group a few years ago that some of the people who were pushing for DRM+ operated or worked for a radio station that would have benefited from DRM+ being used. ... as in the UK of cramming stations into the multiplex, ...
    (alt.radio.digital)
  • DAB too pricey to go nationwide
    ... DRM sounds even worse than DAB. ... A senior BBC radio executive has warned that some parts of the country will ... The BBC is broadcasting Radio Devon on DRM in the Plymouth trial. ...
    (alt.radio.digital)
  • Re: DAB Drops Out Again
    ... fool of a station owner would continue to pay for DAB, ... Internet radio due to the amount of competition their stations face ... The original attraction of DAB for commercial radio was that because ...
    (uk.tech.broadcast)