DAB update - Classic FM

[Dave2002]

I hear that Classic FM is going to turn off DAB and only put out DAB+ or some variant of DAB in a week or two. Probably won't affect many round here, though if I were to reconnect my DAB tuner, it being one of the early ones, it would no longer work on CFM. What was amusing was the suggestion that users might want to switch to FM - assuming their kit had that as an option.

It might also affect some users of DAB in their cars, depending on when their car was made, and what radio tuner was fitted.

[LMcD]

I hear that Classic FM is going to turn off DAB and only put out DAB+ or some variant of DAB in a week or two. Probably won't affect many round here, though if I were to reconnect my DAB tuner, it being one of the early ones, it would no longer work on CFM. What was amusing was the suggestion that users might want to switch to FM - assuming their kit had that as an option.

It might also affect some users of DAB in their cars, depending on when their car was made, and what radio tuner was fitted.

I occasionally listen to Classic FM in the small hours on FM (which I gather will be around until at least 2030).

[Old Grumpy]

I occasionally listen to Classic FM in the small hours on FM (which I gather will be around until at least 2030).

That's OK, I'm asleep by 2030...

... on a more serious note we have DAB (but not DAB+) in the car, but reception is pretty patchy and we listen on FM anyway. Good to know it may be around for a while!

[LMcD]

That's OK, I'm asleep by 2030...

... on a more serious note we have DAB (but not DAB+) in the car, but reception is pretty patchy and we listen on FM anyway. Good to know it may be around for a while!

DAB reception is definitely patchy chez nous. I don't know whether DAB+ would be any better, but in any case FM suits me fine and will, I'm sure, continue to do so.

[hmvman]

Maybe time to dust off my trusty Sansui tuner then!

[oddoneout]

I always used to listen in FM as DAB was poor quality, despite what the official sites said, but a couple of years ago FM suddenly became so noisy I had to switch. About a year ago DAB(which had improved somewhat from when I first tried it) started giving trouble and now is unreliable. Or at least I assume it's that rather than the Beeb putting out rubbish balanced output - and not just for CE! What I find odd is that there is now a proliferation of masts around within 10 miles rather than just the one main one some distance away as used to be the case, which I would have thought should have improved matters, but seems to have had the opposite effect, to the point where I have to switch off sometimes now.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

DAB+ has been around for some time and should perhaps have been introduced much earlier. The BBC should do likewise, except that much more warning and/or an overlap period should be part of the changeover.

[Old Grumpy]

Or...


...DAB/DAB+ should be scrapped and FM preserved, avoiding the need for people to change their receiving equipment yet again

[LMcD]

In 2024 Switzerland is to follow Norway in switching off FM. Public resistance to the change in Norway has reportedly been overcome with listenership close to its pre-switch-off level.
Any suggestion that one reason for the promotion of DAB+ in the UK might be to increase sales of DAB+ radios is, I'm sure, quite without foundation.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Or...


...DAB/DAB+ should be scrapped and FM preserved, avoiding the need for people to change their receiving equipment yet again

But isn’t that like saying we should still be listening to music on cylinders?

[Cockney Sparrow]

As a multi radio household, the out of phase aspects of different DAB radios/receivers produce an effect which disturbs me. We also have about 5 FM radios/receivers. There has been a rearguard action against the abandonment of FM and this government hasn't gone there - the cost of an ailing transmitter network being added to the burden of a cash restrained BBC is fine by them. Veteran radio critic (and admirer) Gillian Reynolds (not sure where she writes currently) railed against the closure.

I was thinking about this very subject on Christmas Eve (contemplating yet another mangled portable set's aerial which needs replacing). What occured to me was that my Radio 3 listening has become extremely selective and Radio 4 has gone the same way - I can't tolerate a growing list of programmes and recurrent themes so am selective about that channel as well. BBC Sounds has been very convenient to facilitate my choice of listening.

It bears some relation, in my mind at least, to the abandonment of the telephone (copper wires to the house) network underway. Our provider withdrew the lines and rather than pay something like £20-25 per month for their box which uses the internet line I went for a different VoiP service, using the broadband line which does the same for £6. A lot of angst, though, in the press from the vulnerable who might need to call for assistance as when their electricity and therefore broadband goes down they are isolated and certainly so when their mobile phone battery is flat (if they have one). (As in Storm Arwen in 2021 - NE England and Scotland power down for days/weeks). None of that bothers BT which is going ahead with the withdrawal in tranches across the country.

[Old Grumpy]

Gillian Reynolds writes in the i now I think.

[Old Grumpy]

But isn’t that like saying we should still be listening to music on cylinders?

MW/LW more like...

...that would make FM more like vinyl - oh wait, vinyl is all trendy and back in now!

[Dave2002]

DAB reception is definitely patchy chez nous. I don't know whether DAB+ would be any better, but in any case FM suits me fine and will, I'm sure, continue to do so.

DAB+ would be amost exactly the same. The only difference that I'm aware of is the different Codec used to unscramble the digital data stream - though it is possible that there are other low level changes I don't know about, which is what happened to digital TV, when we had a preferred set top box which worked well for years, but eventually became incompatible with the networks as the low level data formats and protocols changed. However it is possible that the DAB+ system [whatever that actually is] has evolved in other ways since I last looked at it in detail.

[Dave2002]

DAB+ has been around for some time and should perhaps have been introduced much earlier. The BBC should do likewise, except that much more warning and/or an overlap period should be part of the changeover.

Unfortunately some of the earlier devices use pretty much hard coded software, so can't be upgraded to DAB+ or any other variant of DAB. Most current models of DAB radios have, I hear, actually got the multi-standard chips inside, and presumably can easily be reconfigured to pick up DAB+. Some models might have to be updated by a firmware update - but very early devices might just have to go on the shelf, become doorstops, or go for recycling.

So personally I would be happy for the BBC to keep DAB going for a few more years to come. I don't think there are so many benefits/advantages for broadcasters as there purportedly are for swapping over from FM to DAB. Most of the broadcasters simply want to have more channels - more opportunities to put out rubbish programmes - and more outlets for commercial advertising, and don't seem to be interested in audio or reception quality at all.