Log in
Register
Menu
Log in
Register
Home
What's new
Latest activity
Authors
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Members
Current visitors
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Terrestrial Broadcasting
DAB Digital Radio
Is there a future for Dab radio in the UK ?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="william-1" data-source="post: 916329" data-attributes="member: 193781"><p>Plans for digital radio switchover are against the interest of consumers</p><p>by Steven Green</p><p>Summary of his report</p><p>The public does not support FM stations being switched off. Ofcom’s research has</p><p>shown that 91% of people are “satisfied” with the amount of choice available on the</p><p>radio today, and only 3% of people are “dissatisfied”. DAB’s proponents claim that</p><p>its main benefit is the additional choice it offers; therefore Ofcom’s research shows</p><p>that there is very little demand for DAB. This has been borne out in practice by</p><p>DAB’s very low sales figures, which led to Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director of Radio,</p><p>saying that the current trend in sales “would not lead to radio switchover in our</p><p>lifetime”. The public outcry that resulted when the 2015 switchover date was first</p><p>announced was further evidence of the public’s opposition to the plans to switch off</p><p>FM stations. And the broadcasters have yet to provide a single piece of evidence to</p><p>even suggest that the public is in favour of this happening. As it is the public that will</p><p>have to spend approximately £7.7 billion on replacing existing audio equipment, the</p><p>BBC Trust should hold a public consultation on this matter prior to any legislation</p><p>being put in place.</p><p>DAB delivers lower sound quality than FM. Digital radio switchover should not lead</p><p>to listeners receiving their favourite stations at lower audio quality, therefore stations</p><p>must switch to using DAB+ prior to any FM station being switched off.</p><p>The commercial radio broadcasters would only save an estimated £16.2 million per</p><p>annum by switching off FM stations, not the £30 million that the radio industry has</p><p>claimed, and some of the other claims made by the radio industry about dual</p><p>transmission costs are contradictory in nature.</p><p>The DAB system has a long list of drawbacks associated with it due to the fact that</p><p>the system was designed 20 years ago and it uses technologies that are outdated and</p><p>inefficient. Numerous countries that had previously supported DAB rejected using it</p><p>because it is so outdated. DAB+ is an upgrade of the DAB system, which solves or</p><p>vastly improves upon each of DAB’s drawbacks. The main advantage of DAB+ is</p><p>that it is three times as efficient as DAB, which mean that DAB+ can carry far more</p><p>stations, and all stations can be delivered at far higher audio quality than on DAB.</p><p>Other benefits include transmission costs being far lower; less spectrum being</p><p>required; reception quality is far more robust; and DAB+ is a much greener</p><p>technology because the overall transmission power required is far lower.</p><p>Despite Internet radio offering consumers many advantages in comparison to</p><p>DAB/DAB+, the Digital Radio Working Group (DRWG) chose to exclude Internet</p><p>radio from the recommendations it made to Government about how to proceed</p><p>towards digital radio switchover. </p><p><a href="http://www.parliament.uk/documents/documents/upload/stevegreen.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.parliament.uk/documents/documents/upload/stevegreen.pdf</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="william-1, post: 916329, member: 193781"] Plans for digital radio switchover are against the interest of consumers by Steven Green Summary of his report The public does not support FM stations being switched off. Ofcom’s research has shown that 91% of people are “satisfied” with the amount of choice available on the radio today, and only 3% of people are “dissatisfied”. DAB’s proponents claim that its main benefit is the additional choice it offers; therefore Ofcom’s research shows that there is very little demand for DAB. This has been borne out in practice by DAB’s very low sales figures, which led to Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director of Radio, saying that the current trend in sales “would not lead to radio switchover in our lifetime”. The public outcry that resulted when the 2015 switchover date was first announced was further evidence of the public’s opposition to the plans to switch off FM stations. And the broadcasters have yet to provide a single piece of evidence to even suggest that the public is in favour of this happening. As it is the public that will have to spend approximately £7.7 billion on replacing existing audio equipment, the BBC Trust should hold a public consultation on this matter prior to any legislation being put in place. DAB delivers lower sound quality than FM. Digital radio switchover should not lead to listeners receiving their favourite stations at lower audio quality, therefore stations must switch to using DAB+ prior to any FM station being switched off. The commercial radio broadcasters would only save an estimated £16.2 million per annum by switching off FM stations, not the £30 million that the radio industry has claimed, and some of the other claims made by the radio industry about dual transmission costs are contradictory in nature. The DAB system has a long list of drawbacks associated with it due to the fact that the system was designed 20 years ago and it uses technologies that are outdated and inefficient. Numerous countries that had previously supported DAB rejected using it because it is so outdated. DAB+ is an upgrade of the DAB system, which solves or vastly improves upon each of DAB’s drawbacks. The main advantage of DAB+ is that it is three times as efficient as DAB, which mean that DAB+ can carry far more stations, and all stations can be delivered at far higher audio quality than on DAB. Other benefits include transmission costs being far lower; less spectrum being required; reception quality is far more robust; and DAB+ is a much greener technology because the overall transmission power required is far lower. Despite Internet radio offering consumers many advantages in comparison to DAB/DAB+, the Digital Radio Working Group (DRWG) chose to exclude Internet radio from the recommendations it made to Government about how to proceed towards digital radio switchover. [url]http://www.parliament.uk/documents/documents/upload/stevegreen.pdf[/url] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Terrestrial Broadcasting
DAB Digital Radio
Is there a future for Dab radio in the UK ?
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top