In article , Dave Plowman
writes
In article ,
tony sayer wrote:
But will almost certainly require an outside aerial or dish. Not always
convenient.

So will a good FM tuner and don't most people have TV aerials or sat
dishes these days Dave?..

How many people have an external aerial fed to *every* radio in their
house? I'd say very, very few. And as regards having a satellite dish fed
to the bathroom radio...

Yes that's what DAB's about any good for..


DAB I'm afraid has lost all credibility other than a AM
quality radio medium,

You must have a good memory if you remember AM of the same quality as DAB.

In fact you should Dave, remember 405 line TV and that bandwidth they
used to use?.

I can remember R2 from BP sounding near identical on AM as from Wrotham on
FM - using a Quad AM tuner. Think I've got a twin track tape somewhere
with both recorded simultaneously which would interest some who don't know
how good AM was before the bandwidth restrictions came in. DAB isn't the
first to have suffered...

Some dab is absolute, ****e just listen to it..

I'd say it's ****e before it reaches the transmitter.

Well that's as may be what with tandem coding but its in the MUX where
the damage is done..


with the exception of radio 3 but that is being
eroded from time to time.

R4 is fine too.

Not all the time perhaps your hearing isn't quite what it once was;()

It deteriorates badly at World Service time, but that's not R4. And I
listen to it a lot.
But it re-enforces my point. DAB is for the *majority* to give them the
choice they want - not for a few audio enthusiasts to listen to for a few
minutes a day. If those same people had taken it up in a big way when it
first started, perhaps it might have been the quality service they wanted.
But they missed the boat, so it's pile them high time.

I feel sad for those who did spend big bucks on the promise that it was
going to be a quality service and has failed sooo very miserably..


If you really want to hear good high quality radio then get a half
decent digital satellite receiver without an outboard DAC and tune
into Bayern 4 klassik the audio on there is simply stunning, some of
the best you'll hear especially when they transmit a live broadcast.

Wonder why a live broadcast should be any different?

Well the processing and post production nagers haven't been at it

A live broadcast could still go through the processing applied to all
others - and certainly would with many channels here.

Christ M8! They don't need to bother with processing at all!, all that
dynamic range they have available!. On my outboard DAC they very rarely
go anywhere near digital full scale bags of room in reserve no need for
anything to add or subtract to the original signal...


Radio and audio quality just as it should be.

It depends on the remit. To provide full 'bandwidth' DAB would restrict
the number of stations. Which to many would make it pointless, since
it's purpose is to provide trouble free reception - or better than FM
or AM in this respect.

Beg yer pardon guv, but DAB was conceived as a high quality transmission
medium to get around the problems with FM, not end up as some **** poor
excuse for a broadcast service...

It was conceived mainly for mobile and portable use.

And a GREAT deal was made of audio quality at the time...


Pity the powers that be at the BBC can't do it the same way

Not actually just down to the BBC. They don't control frequency
allocation.

No in the great choice debate they have compromised quality over
quantity. Even at satellite transmission frequencies were bandwidth
could be hardly described as scarce they have compromised here using 192
instead of the higher rates they could have used. Remember the BBC isn't
run by engineers anymore, mores the pity

I'd say the numbers who listen critically off satellite are tiny.

Well that's as maybe but at least they can find high quality radio
there..

As is
the overall audience for quality - in our terms - radio.

Yes I do agree that a lot of radio is listened to under varied
conditions, but my argument is why should they pander to the lowest
common denominator?. Other countries have high standards, pity we
don't


Just about every radio station is heavily processed before transmission
by any medium. As are the majority of pop CDs. It would seem it's what
the public wants. There obviously isn't the market to cater for those
who want natural sound.

Come on Dave, and you an old soundman, the bloody public need educating
if they don't know any different. Alright if they really what to listen
to ****ed hits then let them I want my radio audio to be just so like
the Germans are capable of. Christ sakes just where are we going back up
in the sodding trees?..

Like I say, you're in such a small minority you'll be ignored.

Yes because people like you support what their doing, and let them get
away with it. Don't see many if any on here clamouring for bitrates to
be reduced on CD so they can get longer playing times!..


You might be surprised how many even - you'd think - clued up
enthusiasts complain about altering levels between different stations
on both radio and TV. The answer to this long term 'problem' is to
squeeze *everything* up to maximum level. If this suits the great
unwashed, why worry about data rate on DAB?

DAB is now a junk service, even the coder is donkeys years out of date.
The whole system is a shadow of what it could have been, even in the
commercial sector OFCOM have let the commercial broadcasters do what
they want, and have allowed tech standards to sink to abysmal levels.

The basic parameters were set in stone too early.

Yes agreed. MP2 is ****e squared at the rates their using it at, AAC
leaves it all behind at lower rates..


One would have thought that with the passing of time standards and
performance etc would get better not bloody reverse.

Anyway I'm very happy with me SAT radio system so feck dab.

My advice to anyone buying one is to listen to the bloody thing and if
you cant hear any deficiencies, then your in the wrong newsgroup!......

Many people listen to a tranny in the kitchen etc. DAB will sound near
enough the same as FM under those conditions - and without the multipath
problems even the most cloth eared hear. A fact of life, I'm afraid.

Yes we do know all about your problems with multi Dave but we don't all
need to have what could have been great, ****ed about with so much so
that its now no better then what Marconi started out with.
--
Tony Sayer