In article .com,
writes
Opinions please.

First, I should mention that I am a bit of a vinyl junkie: my prefered
music source is my Linn LP12, although I also enjoy CDs played on my
Linn Ikemi.

My options for getting Radio 3:
1. I could have a VHF aerial placed on the roof of my house, and
probably upgrade my tuner;
2. The digi-box that supplies cable TV also gives radio: connecting it
to my amplifier gives music that is at least not unpleasant. At the
moment the signal has a long and indirect route between digi-box and
amplifier, but this could be changed;
3. I could buy a new DAB tuner.

So I would welcome your opinions and experiences about which option is
likely to prove most satisfying for me.


Pending some other topics that Jim Lesurf bought up which I'm awaiting
the time and equipment to all be in the same place, you ought to sub to
alt.radio.digital where there is a growing disquiet re FM and DAB for
Radio 3 that is currently being debated.

Herewith is one posting;(

-----------------------

LongJohn wrote:
I must admit I am relatively spoilt when it comes to DAB, because I
only record stuff from Radio 3.

I find 192kbps acceptable (just) compared to FM, but absolutely loathe
the recording quality one gets when they run at 160kbps in the middle
of the day. Last Sunday I conducted a trial in which I recorded a Radio
3 program at 160kbps, while at the same time recording the same using
my crap PC FM radio through a software capture package called 'Total
Recorder' (very good actually) in MP3 at an average bit rate of
224kbps.

The 160kbps BBC DAB rendering was so poor as to be virtually
unlistenable to compared to my digital recording of the (rather) poor
FM broadcast.

Well most of the stations I would like to be able to listen to broadcast
at 128kbps.
So you can probably understand whey I don't listen to them on DAB.


How can the BBC continue with such a shoddy service?

The BBC reduced bit rates to fit in more services.

I have read some suggestions on the NG, that the BBC thought they would
eventually get more capacity, to restore their bit rates back to the way
they used to be.

However instead of that, they just seem to have encouraged nearly all
the other broadcasters to also use 128k, and now it looks like the BBC
will never get the extra capacity they need.


Who can one write and complain to at the BBC?

Well from what I hear, writing to the BBC complaining about DAB sound
quality, will usually result in a reply from reception advise.
Completely in appropriate.

I tried writing to my MP once, and he passed my letter onto OfCom. It
didn't achieve much, as OfCom just wrote back with a load of b*ll sh*t
justifying their use of low bit rates.

One thing you could do is click on the petition at http://www.digitalrad
iotech.co.uk/
It sends an Email to the BBC. Not that one Email would make much
difference, but if a lot of people do it then they might take some
notice.


Sounds like a typical British approach of 'they won't mind the quality
so long they get the quantity' (and we get the money..).

And the same goes for freeview. Loads of stations, but I frequently find
myself distracted by the appearance of pixel squares.



Many German stations seem to broadcast DAB at 192kbps (and one at
224kbps)

Well in the UK OfCom only seem interested in giving the commercial
broadcasters what they want. The commercial broadcasters want more
stations, because that way they can sell more advertising, and hence
make more profits. The fact that the public might not appreciate the
resulting poor quality seems to be something that OfCom go out of their
way to ignore.

The BBC, have indicated that they would like to improve the quality of
their DAB services, but they have backed themselves into a corner. They
can not increase bit rates because their national multiplex is already
full to bursting point, and they can not get any extra capacity.

Since the BBC want to encourage the use of DAB, and they can't improve
DAB, they seem to be deliberately decreasing sound quality on their
other digital radio platforms. This reduces the difference between DAB
and other platforms, so that DAB doesn't seem quite so bad. Trouble is,
many of us still find DAB unlistenable.

Probably our best hope for the future, is the eventual introduction of
better digital broadcasting systems. It might not happen, but we can
still hope. For example DABv2 would allow the BBC to drastically improve
sound quality without needing any extra DAB capacity. If that does
happen however it will not be until several years into the future.

Richard E.
--
Tony Sayer