Brit DAB Update...

[rtc]

Here is the annual report by Ofcom,the Brit FCC.
No mention is made of progress on the digital switchover.
Only 14 percent of cars have digital.
But most revealing are the comments;
their problems with digital radio are almost identical to ours:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/18/ofcom_annual_report_and_accounts/

 

[tomservo]

Oh look, pocketradio has an account over there, too. :

It's interesting that their digital radio system is the total opposite of ours yet they are having major problems as well. I like the way their system is set up better: a separate service on a different band. No adjacent channel interference. But the whole problem of migrating to DAB+ (which, by all accounts, fixes all the problems associated with plain old DAB) is the orphaning of incompatible radios.

So really they have none of our technical problems, just different issues. The only thing DAB and HD have in common is consumer apathy.

 

[Casey]

DAB suffers from serious sound quality issues, along with coverage issues similar to our problems here. DAB also uses MP2, making it very inefficient.

DAB+ does have some advantages/fixes, but I doubt they will adopt it anytime soon, if ever.

 

[JohnnyElectron]

Buddy in Oz says his DAB+ is 'da bomb' - but he said one Aussie C-Quam AM stereo music station used to have stereo audio out to 15KHz - and that sounded much better than DAB+, but he is having fun with his DAB+ radios (yes, plural).

Also, announced today from Radio Magazine: "DAB+ on a stick" for your USB port.