Article in Sunday Herald

Yesterday's Sunday Herald (Scotland) contained an article on digital
radio (mostly DAB). It contained the following:

THE FACTS: Ofcom published bullish figures about the future of digital
radio and the prospects of phasing out the FM and MW signals. But
many people wonder if it is being wildly optimistic.

BACKGROUND: Although digital radio is finally showing signs of life,
it has struggled for years thanks to things like poor quality sound
and overpriced sets.

Ken Garnet (Glasgow Caledonian University): The forecasts are wholly
delusional and probably driven by wishful thinking by the government
about what it would like to do with the analogue frequencies. The
numbers are based on hoped-for take up and not on evidence.

It's in the papers so it must be true.

Scott

"Scott" wrote in message
...
Yesterday's Sunday Herald (Scotland) contained an article on digital
radio (mostly DAB). It contained the following:

THE FACTS: Ofcom published bullish figures about the future of digital
radio and the prospects of phasing out the FM and MW signals. But
many people wonder if it is being wildly optimistic.

BACKGROUND: Although digital radio is finally showing signs of life,
it has struggled for years thanks to things like poor quality sound
and overpriced sets.

Ken Garnet (Glasgow Caledonian University): The forecasts are wholly
delusional and probably driven by wishful thinking by the government
about what it would like to do with the analogue frequencies. The
numbers are based on hoped-for take up and not on evidence.

It's in the papers so it must be true.

I read somewhere that they were going to turn off analogue
by some TBD date that was not too far away.

The theory is that everyone will be able to buy a affordable
digital receiver by then.

I think that they have forgotten to look in the average
car if they think that this will be true in less than 15 years.

tim

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:42:27 GMT, Scott
wrote:

Yesterday's Sunday Herald (Scotland) contained an article on digital
radio (mostly DAB). It contained the following:

THE FACTS: Ofcom published bullish figures about the future of digital
radio and the prospects of phasing out the FM and MW signals. But
many people wonder if it is being wildly optimistic.

BACKGROUND: Although digital radio is finally showing signs of life,
it has struggled for years thanks to things like poor quality sound
and overpriced sets.

Ken Garnet (Glasgow Caledonian University): The forecasts are wholly
delusional and probably driven by wishful thinking by the government
about what it would like to do with the analogue frequencies. The
numbers are based on hoped-for take up and not on evidence.

It's in the papers so it must be true.

Scott

Apologies for the OT nature of this post. I intended to post it to
the digital radio group !!!

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:19:51 +0100, Edster wrote:


Anyone who thinks DAB is good enough to replace analogue is obviously
a Radio 3 listener.

No, they're probably somebody who has a crappy portable radio playing
in the background. People who listen critically on good hi-fi
equipment - and it seems a reasonable guess that a lot of Radio 3
listeners will do this - will soon get tired of DAB. Radio 3 may have
the least worst bit rate, but it's still worse than good FM.

Rod.

tim..... wrote:
"Scott" wrote in message
...
Yesterday's Sunday Herald (Scotland) contained an article on digital
radio (mostly DAB). It contained the following:

THE FACTS: Ofcom published bullish figures about the future of
digital radio and the prospects of phasing out the FM and MW
signals. But many people wonder if it is being wildly optimistic.

BACKGROUND: Although digital radio is finally showing signs of life,
it has struggled for years thanks to things like poor quality sound
and overpriced sets.

Ken Garnet (Glasgow Caledonian University): The forecasts are wholly
delusional and probably driven by wishful thinking by the government
about what it would like to do with the analogue frequencies. The
numbers are based on hoped-for take up and not on evidence.

It's in the papers so it must be true.

I read somewhere that they were going to turn off analogue
by some TBD date that was not too far away.


Ofcom said they expect digital radio listening will account for 90% of all
radio listening by 2017. So it's at least a decade before they switch FM
off.



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

Find the cheapest Freeview & DAB prices:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/fr..._receivers.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_radios.php

"DAB is the Betamax of digital radio" [email protected] wrote in message
...
tim..... wrote:
Ofcom said they expect digital radio listening will account for 90% of all
radio listening by 2017. So it's at least a decade before they switch FM
off.

I don't believe they'll switch off FM in my lifetime.

(croak)

Bill

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:02:49 GMT, "DAB is the Betamax of digital
radio" [email protected] wrote:

I read somewhere that they were going to turn off analogue
by some TBD date that was not too far away.


Ofcom said they expect digital radio listening will account for 90% of all
radio listening by 2017. So it's at least a decade before they switch FM
off.

Probably means no more than official prognostications usually do, or
in other words practically nothing. How many times has the projected
switch off date for digital TV been moved?

My impression of the way this works is that every now and then some
grey-suited ignoramus in an office somewhere comes up with a cunning
plan, then makes it public, and then somebody who actually knows a bit
about the subject points out a few practical consequences of the
cunning plan and it has to be changed. Then it's all forgotten until
the next time. I wouldn't believe any official blether about anything
technical until it actually happens.

It'll be interesting to see if or when any official line emerges about
the so called "DAB Plus" system which the rest of Europe are
apparently going to adopt. If we don't adopt it too, we'll be left
behind and our portable radios won't work on holiday, and if we do
adopt it, the protagonists of digital radio will have the tough job of
selling it to people who were promised the ultimate radio system only
a few years previously, though clearly it wasn't.

Rod.

In article ,
Roderick Stewart wrote:
Anyone who thinks DAB is good enough to replace analogue is obviously
a Radio 3 listener.

No, they're probably somebody who has a crappy portable radio playing
in the background. People who listen critically on good hi-fi
equipment - and it seems a reasonable guess that a lot of Radio 3
listeners will do this - will soon get tired of DAB. Radio 3 may have
the least worst bit rate, but it's still worse than good FM.

I find it works very well in the car - but my listening is usually either
R4&7 which are speech based. On the odd occasion I've listened to a pop
music station it still sounds as good as I'd expect from them given the
amount of processing they use.

Of course there's no need to always compare it to FM. Why not the positive
- it sounds rather better than AM?

--
*Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Bill Wright wrote:

"DAB is the Betamax of digital radio" [email protected] wrote in message
...
tim..... wrote: Ofcom said they expect digital radio listening will
account for 90% of all radio listening by 2017. So it's at least a
decade before they switch FM off.

I don't believe they'll switch off FM in my lifetime.

(croak)

Appreciating the joke side I'd tend to think it will be a very long time
before they do if ever. After all there was talk of switching off medium
wave stuff - some makers even produced FM only car radios etc - and that
was many many years ago.

--
*I was once a millionaire but my mom gave away my baseball cards

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Bill Wright wrote:
"DAB is the Betamax of digital radio" [email protected] wrote in message
...
tim..... wrote:
Ofcom said they expect digital radio listening will account for 90%
of all radio listening by 2017. So it's at least a decade before
they switch FM off.

I don't believe they'll switch off FM in my lifetime.


Nah, I think FM will be switched off within the next 15 years, because the
commercial radio groups won't want to transmit it any longer than they have
to, because simulcasting is expensive, and they think they'll make more
profit if everybody's listening on digital radio.


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

Find the cheapest Freeview & DAB prices:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/fr..._receivers.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_radios.php