I'm Still An FM Guy! TG

[XTRProf]

SINGAPORE: Digital radio services over MediaCorp's airwaves are set to end.

Come December 1, MediaCorp will discontinue its Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) service which was widely seen as the "replacement technology" for FM radio more than a decade ago.

MediaCorp was the first broadcaster in South East Asia to offer digital radio, which was launched in November 1999.

However, the effectiveness and reach of DAB was soon overtaken by technology which offered listeners a wider range of convenient access to radio alongside the FM services such as online streaming as well as mobile phone apps.

In a statement, MediaCorp also noted that the growth in DAB listenership remained stagnant against the rapid uptake for Internet radio and the MeRadio phone app.

"As a commercial outfit, MediaCorp needs to channel resources where the growth engines are. Having carefully evaluated the viability of the service, the decision has been made to discontinue the service," said MediaCorp in a statement on Tuesday.

It added that all DAB staff will be re-deployed to other operations.

- CNA/sf

Reference: www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1162810/1/.html





Wow, luckily I didn't buy DAB or DAB+. I'm still fully a FM guy and now with a powerful antenna "enough to capture the next dictactor".

So what about your part of the world? For instance, Finland started DAB transmission in 1997 but switched off DAB in 2005 due to low demand. Likewise, in 2010, low public acceptance of DAB led to its demise in Canada.

[xerxes]

It's hardly surprising that DAB hasn't taken off. The sound qaulity is poor and the radios and tuners have remained expensive compared to CD, DVD and MP3 players etc. When you consider that the DAC and other components inside are no more more complex or expensive than those in MP3 players etc., there doesn't seem to be any good reason for their high price.

[JohnnyBlue]

I have four DAB radios scattered around the house, but they are only used for listening to a news & sport station (Radio 5 Live) that is otherwise only available on AM, in even worse sound quality.

All my DAB radios also have FM, and switching from DAB to FM whilst tuned into Radio 3, even on these little trannies, is a revelation!

[PinkFloyd]

Are they still planning to cut FM off in the UK? If so it will be a sad day for my little Hacker radio collection.... they beat the crap out of any of these "digital" mediums and would pick up a signal on a piece of wet string

[Deleted]

I know what you're saying Mike.

I just got the better of the 2 Selenas up and running (just oxidised contacts were needing attention), the FM off this thing is the best I've heard off a radio of any sort in many a year. Not to mention the fun to be had across the 5 SW bands.

I think I'm going to keep this and the other one as a parts horse.

I believe the cut off for FM in the UK was pushed back to 2020 approx.

[Deleted]

I was a pal of one of the BBC guys who was setting up DAB in the UK and even he said it was crap compared to FM. He was working on the dreaded optimod ie Compression. Low bit rate, compressed audio. Everyone was to frightened to say at the time.

Analogue TV and radio are supposed to go next year in the UK!!

Funny thing - on Channel 5, Jason and Ortis in the Gadget show tested a high end piece of gear and compared it to the live performer. (They made a digital recording of the performer.

They were blindfolded and had to guess which was the live singer and which was the recording of the same song. Levels were set at the same and the speakers were focused right on where they were sitting.

They were very impressed by the hi fi (while blindfold) but as soon as the singer sang live, they knew.

Ortis mentioned the 'metallic' sound of the speaker in comparison. They were high end speakers too, so it seems that digital isn't as good as real life at all and is easily spotted by non hi fi people if they compare.

There is something wrong with the sound of digital music. I wish that they had continued with this on to high end vinyl.

Both mentioned that live was warmer sounding.

So DAB going seems like a good idea to me and back to FM proper.

Ian

[Deleted]

Analogue TV and radio are supposed to go next year in the UK!!

That would be a shocker if correct on the FM side, Ian.

I was told that the car industry has a big part to play in the delay of the planned FM blackout, being extremely slow to embrace the technology into standard equipment ICE and representing possibly the single largest listening group.

Analogue TV has already gone here.

[XTRProf]

Nov 9, 2011 7:52:36 GMT @cjarchez said:

I believe the cut off for FM in the UK was pushed back to 2020 approx.

I don't now dare to bet on that now after quite a number of countries are shutting down theirs including Singapore.

Btw, DAB doesn't have the range. FM has. So you can basically listen FM off the air, if your are not using the internet. Well, we can get nearby countries FM too. For car radios, need I say more?

Huh, talking of new technology going first instead of the old. Hmm, CDs before records?

[Deleted]

They were very impressed by the hi fi (while blindfold) but as soon as the singer sang live, they knew.

Hi Ian
Do you REALLY believe that if they had pre-recorded it to Vinyl, that the results would have been any different ?
They would more than likely preferred the sound of Vinyl due to it's added warmth and resonances.
Alex

[Deleted]

I still love my FM. I don't have a brilliant signal at home so I use a loft mounted dipole and this feeds the bedroom and office systems.... SQ in the bedroom is really good through my JBL Control Ones / Sony amp. I listen to BBC Radio 2 weekday mornings and either Classic FM or Radio Three at weekend mornings when for some reason, on Radio 2, good programming flies out the window... that 'Sounds of the Sixties' drives me nuts.. and I am a child of the sixties too!

In the kitchen I have a Pure DAB / FM set... and by some quirk the FM signal is good in one spot at one end of the window sill... and the DAB signal is total carp.

I have three more Pure DABS.. one in the bathroom where again FM is good but DAB is carp. My wife's bedside DAB / FM is set to FM, my side of the bed is a DAB only Pure... signal is OK on a small range of stations.. but overall I find DAB to be disappointing.

The conclusion has to be that for best SQ then use FM. And for the enjoyment of a wider range of stations then internet radio or satellite radio is the way to go.... DAB is OK with a really strong signal otherwise it's seriously wanting.

Derek

[pjc68]

still have my grundig yachtboy 500 sw radio.
150khz to 30mhz (am +ssb) and 88 to 108 fm (rds)
Little bit bigger than a vhs videotape and the fm sounds nice and clear
paddy

[Deleted]

They would more than likely preferred the sound of Vinyl due to it's added warmth and resonances. Alex

That was the reason they gave for being able to identify the real voice. It was warmer than the recording, Alex!!

Maybe digital files sound cold?

The both said that the live sound was less 'metallic' and warmer. Maybe the speakers had coloursed the sound but they were very good ones!! It was quite a high end set up. They had a sound specialist come in and set it up and measured volumes etc before the testees came in!!

In all fairness, it was probably a flawed test since the digital file may not have been recorded as well as it could have been. It was instant with both Jason and Ortis. The correctly identified the actual real voice straight away, so maybe hi fi isn't as good as we all think.

Ian

[PinkFloyd]

Nov 9, 2011 7:52:36 GMT @cjarchez said:

I know what you're saying Mike.

I just got the better of the 2 Selenas up and running (just oxidised contacts were needing attention), the FM off this thing is the best I've heard off a radio of any sort in many a year. Not to mention the fun to be had across the 5 SW bands.

I think I'm going to keep this and the other one as a parts horse.

I believe the cut off for FM in the UK was pushed back to 2020 approx.

Chris,

They really do benefit from a recap as we are talking almost 40 years old here Funny thing though, all the caps in my Hacker Sovereign tested perfect apart from one which had an ESR of 9 ohms... quite amazing considering the age of them!

I also popped all the potentiometers apart and gave them a good clean out ( I don't like using that switch cleaner stuff)... these old radios will beat any of the modern ones HANDS DOWN, they were built like tanks with superb parts... the little "DAB" things are an absolute insult to quality broadcasting... I was given one of those PURE things and it couldn't pick up FM here, let alone DAB! Absolute shite, no other word for it.

The only radios that will pick up a good signal here are the hackers and the TEAC in the workshop (which has a dedicated roof mounted FM aerial) all the others (modern) I have tried can't seem to fully tune in to the extent you spend more time with the tuning dial, and moving them around, than you do listening to the radio!

The old Hackers will pick up a signal ANYWHERE in the house and lock into it... once you have tuned in there is no need for adjustment. 40 years old, better than anything you can buy today AND.... still going strong!

8 inch elliptical British made driver also ensures it SOUNDS better than most of the crap in the shops these days too.... drivers are either ELAC or Goodmans (I prefer the ELAC for voicing).... On one of my Sovereigns (lV) I treated the goodmans driver with 3 coats of Damar varnish and the voicing is now superb (damar is a great substance to use on paper cone midrange drivers).... I have written about my experiences with it on the Hacker group (Yahoo).

Anyhoo.... going off on a tangent here.... the GOOD news is that a Hacker (which would have cost you a ton back in 70's) can be had quite cheaply on ebay so if you are serious about your radio listening then there is no better way to enjoy it than listen to a 100% British made (parts too) vintage Hacker.... all the caps, speakers, resistors, transistors... you name it... are made in the UK and the radios were built in the UK.... none of this Chinese garbage that takes 400 charges and is then bin fodder.

"Radio" is what first got me into all this and it is so sad to think that the days of dialing in a station with a big chunky knob will soon be over.... the "DAB" rollout probably WILL rollout (the dictators that govern us are stupid and won't listen to public opinion) and city dwellers / night people will have never had it so good (so the propaganda says).... I have been told (by a little birdie ) that it will be IMPOSSIBLE to roll out DAB in the Scottish Highlands (and other remote areas of the UK) so they will either say "fekk you" (and suggest you / pensioners etc. go down the internet route) or be forced into retaining an FM service.

I don't have much time here (racing to go to bed, up early type thing) but I must mention the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation).... without the BBC we would ALL be royally "ass" fekked... the BBC licence may cost £145 but, my god, it's a price worth paying to ensure that quality broadcasting remains part of our (and millions around the world) lifes.

There is so much discussion to be had out of a thread like this and I cannot (don't have the time) to explore it all but, as usual, corporate greed is at the bottom of all this.... the next thing you know we will be paying "per minute" to listen to the radio...... The BBC is about the only broadcasting company IN THE WORLD that doesn't have adverts and about the only broadcasting company that broadcasts "quality" (on the whole).... I am starting to get really pissed off with all these low end outfits (who quite simply are feeding off the BBC infrastructure) offering "bolt ons" and "packages" for what, essentially, should be a free service (as long as you have paid your BBC licence).... it's a complex situation but I hope that the BBC doesn't go down the same route as all the other "British" institutions (GPO becoming BT, BT becoming a "service provider" for a bunch of crooks for example)....

The BBC is about all we have left to be proud about.

[Deleted]

Mike,

Ref. the recap, yes I was thinking that and need to have a shoommy round to see what fits. It also needs new bulbs but they are an odd rating so I might do an LED mod I found. (basically remove the glass of the old bulb and fit an LED and resistor into the screw cap.)

I'm not keen enough to go in search of Hackers or the like but seeing as I have this one there's no harm having a tinker.

[pjc68]

Fed up with your local fm station
Why not have your own
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqDo2yLsGo0&NR=1
paddy

[XTRProf]

My old man is still a BBC World Service guy. Seriously, very good quality sound coming out from the BBC World Service FM transmitter in Singapore. It's in Stereo too. He likes it a lot after having gone to England on a Loughborough U technical scholarhip after WWII. When the old Sony portable receiver, which I bought for him after my first pay cheque, packed up, I bought him another Sony portable for his bedside. He's a very happy old man for that!

[pagan]

some info for DAB

www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_vs_dab+.htm

also
if you think standard 128k is not good.....
the standard for Aus is set for 64k and below

Allan

ps I don't have a DAB radio

[Deleted]

Nov 11, 2011 22:48:26 GMT pagan said:

some info for DAB

www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_vs_dab+.htm

also
if you think standard 128k is not good.....
the standard for Aus is set for 64k and below

Allan

ps I don't have a DAB radio

Allan
That is not correct. At least one Sydney station is over 100K, and most are not 64K, .
There was a report a little while back in S.C. about what many stations are actually using.Nevertheless , they are clearly too low a bit rate for at least Classical Music lovers.As an example, low bit rates can never make audience applause sound anything but weird sounding.
I not only don't have a DAB radio, but I no longer have a FM stereo tuner either. At the start, FM stereo was fabulous, then they nearly all started trying to sound like the loudest station on the FM band for interstate visitors etc. in their cars, followed by Mega oop 3 carts to automate broadcasting so they no longer needed a night shift etc.
Alex

[XTRProf]

Nov 11, 2011 23:23:57 GMT @sandyk said:

At the start, FM stereo was fabulous, then they nearly all started trying to sound like the loudest station on the FM band for interstate visitors etc. in their cars, followed by Mega oop 3 carts to automate broadcasting so they no longer needed a night shift etc.

Err, you mean FM in Australia also have loudness war? Luckily not so for Singapore and most of the time the programmes are still manned by actual radio DJs. I'm not too sure after midnight though as chances are I'm already zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Deleted]

DAB Bit rate-Sydney.

Attachments:

[Deleted]

The BBC is about all we have left to be proud about.

X2

[PinkFloyd]

Nov 17, 2011 0:11:39 GMT drymdrum said:

The BBC is about all we have left to be proud about.

X2

X3

[XTRProf]

My old man ..........

X4

[Deleted]

IMO the only quality broadcaster in the UK is the BBC. I never really liked the switch from Light Service etc to Radio 1, 2, 3, and 4 because it split the audience into sections of society whereas the old Light Service stopped the exclusivity that we now have on each channel.

Sometimes, I like to hear light music, serious music, rock music and plays and even discussions and in the bad old days, the Light Service provided a rather nice mix. (No pop music though so we often went to pirate stations)

I loved Sundays with Jimmy Clitheroe, Sing Something Simple. Hancock, Steptoe, scattered with all kinds of music.

DAB would have been better suited to speech.

One station I sometimes listen to and enjoy now is Planet Rock.