Why do you like FM?

[salymap]

Absolutely right Ferretfancy

[Gordon]

I now need something similarly useful for the car.

Well that's another story!! There are going to be many problems in cars when it comes to replacing FM. This aspect of a possible switchover may well be its nemesis.

[Gordon]

Many people would not be interested in relatively high tech solutions, but will have to go out and buy DAB sets when they are currently quite happy with what they've got.

Quite right! If enough people decline to take up the DAB proposition for this very reason then the criteria for switchover will not be achieved and it will be delayed. Government seem adamant to set the threshold penetration far too low at only 50% population.

The fact is that there are not that many models of DAB radio on the market due to manufacturer's reluctance to commit to the system whole heartedly.

Have you been to Currys lately? All sorts available range with prices from £25 upwards to rediculous. Roberts has declared itself to be "enthusiastic" about DAB as have Pure and Sony and a couple of others. The chip set people are also active and performance is improving all the time. However, Halfords had only 3 car versions when I last looked. Some adaptors in the pipeline. Notwithstanding this the above first point is the more significant.

[Ferretfancy]

Gordon

Have I been to Curry's lately? Well, really!

[french frank]

Yesterday's news: i..e. not an April Fool, I presume.

'Digital radio switchover in 2015 'dead in the water'

[Dave2002]

There's an IET meeting about DAB in Hammersmith tomorrow - 19th April.

http://www.theiet.org/local/uk/london/hammersmith-Dab.cfm

I shall go and report back.

I was keen on DAB when it started, and indeed I still think digital radio could have a great future, but not simply by pushing the DAB as it was about a decade ago. Many other countries have already abandoned vanilla flavoured DAB - example: Canada - http://www.wohnort.org/dab/canada.html. It's not only a question of DAB versus FM either, as now we have other delivery modes: Satellite TV, Terrestrial TV and Internet. I think there are even trials of mobile phone networks being used for this purpose.

The more trivial arguments put forward for DAB seem to concentrate on the number of channels available - most of which I never want to hear, but I suppose somebody listens to them. It was the push for more channels which led to the quality of DAB being downgraded, and unfortunately the same could happen again even if newer versions of DAB are eventually adopted.

It might be that satellite radio would be a much better option as when last I checked there seemed to be a lot of potential spectrum available, and maybe it could give good coverage over much of the UK. There are many issues though, and possibly not all aspects of broadcasting need to be handled by just one transmission method. High quality is desirable, but may not be feasible or necessary for mobile systems. It may be that Internet delivery would be best for high quality audio, and would work for listening at home, but that FM or DAB would be better for mobile systems. Coverage and cost are also issues, of course.