• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Heads up! Norway is dropping fm in 2017!

blackgold

blackgold

I have some shocking news-Norway will be the first to sunset analog FM radio in 2017 and go all DAB. I wonder if any other European countries will sunset the analog radio platform soon. I don't think we'll see all digital radio in the USA any time soon.
 
Assuming they stick to the date, they'll be the first, and I doubt they'll be the last. The state of European radio is such that they will have an easier time doing this than we will, thanks to the tendency towards national networks and regional commercial broadcasters. When most of a country's listening is done on 3 or 4 (or 6 or 8) station brands in total, it's easy to make a big sweeping change. Here, with tens of thousands of independently marketed and mostly commonly-owned stations, you'd have an easier time herding cats.
 
tomservo said:
Assuming they stick to the date, they'll be the first, and I doubt they'll be the last. The state of European radio is such that they will have an easier time doing this than we will, thanks to the tendency towards national networks and regional commercial broadcasters. When most of a country's listening is done on 3 or 4 (or 6 or 8) station brands in total, it's easy to make a big sweeping change. Here, with tens of thousands of independently marketed and mostly commonly-owned stations, you'd have an easier time herding cats.
Click to expand...

I think they are nuts. I don't see how FM can cover into fiords as it is - seems to me that each fiord would need at least a translator to cover people living it in. Then to switch to something as problematic as digital would be mighty foolish.
 
How is digital "problematic"? TV stations here in the US went to digital modulation in 2009, and it wasn't as bad as predicted. The cell phone you use is 'digital'. Phones seem to work pretty well. I could go on, but even you must get the idea.

Care to give examples other than your concern about the local HD-2 channel being down?
 
Kelly A said:
How is digital "problematic"? TV stations here in the US went to digital modulation in 2009, and it wasn't as bad as predicted. The cell phone you use is 'digital'. Phones seem to work pretty well. I could go on, but even you must get the idea.

Care to give examples other than your concern about the local HD-2 channel being down?
Click to expand...

The format Norway is talking about is not HD radio, it is DAB.

As far as TV stations being digital with "no problems" - just ask rural viewers about it! Not only did US television abandon the low VHF band, which had some real range into rural areas, but now you can't aim an antenna for the least amount of snow - it is either all there or not there at all. So when pointing the antenna, you have to get lucky. yeah - - you may be talking about only 10% of the population or something, but that is still 30 million people who have trouble with over the air digital television.

I imagine over the air digital FM is going to be the same way, only in the case of FM - a lot of listening is done in cars. And - yes - HD-2 is a good measure of how annoying it will be to drive in fringe areas listening to all digital FM. HD-2 popping in and out with periods of silence is ANNOYING as heck to a driver, and all digital FM just makes it worse because there is nothing dependable to hear in the fringes, and every little dropout is going to be annoying. I may well be the only person listening to HD-2 on radio, and therefore the only voice complaining about dropouts. But the dropouts are UNACCEPTABLE because they create an abrupt distraction to drivers. Here or Norway, it is a BAD IDEA!!!!
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
I think they are nuts. I don't see how FM can cover into fiords as it is - seems to me that each fiord would need at least a translator to cover people living it in. Then to switch to something as problematic as digital would be mighty foolish.
Click to expand...

According to what I've read, Norway has a network of over 1,700 repeaters for their national networks — many of which only cover small isolated populations at the bottom of the fjords — and they are slowly coming to the end of their useful life. The cost to refresh and renew all those broadcasts is estimated to cost more than to finish the national DAB+ rollout, so they're going that route instead. DAB in Norway is in the VHF band around 200 MHz and allegedly has better coverage from fewer transmitters since the reflected signals can be handled by the DAB radio's processor, much in the way (in theory) HD eliminates picket fencing and reflection issues on our FM broadcasts.

FM broadcasting won't really come to an end in Norway, as there will still be some low powered services available as a fill-in, as well as community broadcasters and the like. But the national and regional services which are already on DAB will just cease to exist in analog.

I know that asking people to read the comments section of any website is kind of crazy, but the dyed in the wool radio people on this site would do well to read the comments on this subject as reported by tech site Ars Technica. It's very much an eye-opening view into what the 'real world' of the technological elite think of broadcasting in the 21st Century. These people may not be the majority now, but their kind is growing while our radio-friendly kind is shrinking.

Here's what I took away from the comments, representing a global audience with a US-heavy presence: DAB and DAB+ have their share of detractors and fans, while not a single person has said anything nice about HD radio. In fact, out of 130+ posts so far, only two people have acknowledged listening to FM radio of ANY kind, and then only for sports play-by-play. The overall take on American commercial radio is so overwhelmingly negative that it's shocking, IMHO. And while these people are not representative of the majority of US or global listeners, they will be one day as technology becomes more accessible and cheaper. Radio has done jack squat to lure these people back into the fold, and they are never coming back. And why should they, when "online" or their personal music collections offer them so much more.
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
I think they are nuts. I don't see how FM can cover into fiords as it is - seems to me that each fiord would need at least a translator to cover people living it in. Then to switch to something as problematic as digital would be mighty foolish.
Click to expand...

There is a map online showing Norway's DAB coverage, it is actually very good. The only areas that appear to have no DAB coverage are extremely remote areas. The populated areas around the fjords, islands, and valleys all seem to have good coverage.

They also have excellent internet service there, and much of radio listening in Norway (by the younger demos, especially) is online.

From what I understand (from an article I read a couple months ago) FM will still exist after the switchover, mainly for local radio and some commercial stations.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom