Digtal doesn't neccessarily mean better.....

A lively debate can be heard on You and Yours (via Radio 4 listen again) discussing the switch to digital radio.

That section of the programme starts at around 34 minutes in but the rest of the programme is also very interesting, discussing other digital issues.

I think the government have this completely the wrong way round. National stations need FM, cheap for people to listen to wherever they are. Niche interest and ultra local stations would be at home streaming on the internet - cheap at the point of broadcast.

By all means have DAB as well but replacing all our radios with more expensive versions that draw more power is just not green or cost effective! I have a wind up / solar powered radio that costs nothing to run. I don't see that for DAB yet.

Just because it is digital does not mean it's better quality, the sound quality of FM is better than DAB because the broadcasters cut bit-rates in order to cram as many stations as possible into the bandwidth available. More stations doesn't necessarily mean more quality choice - look at digital tv for goodness sake. There's room enough on FM for all the choice we need. Many areas already have a local BBC station, several independent stations and a community station. Internet streaming can provide anything else we really need and the main mass appeal, large listenership stations can stay where they are and be listened to on the radios we already have.

If you feel as I do you can sign this petition on the number 10 website.

Digital Britain Report and channel 69 - what should we buy?

I've already commented on the transfer of the UKs radio stations to digital only by 2015 announced in the "Digital Britain" report yesterday. Also in the report, buried on p78 was an interesting comment on the channel 69 radio mic spectrum. It reads as follows;

"The Government is committed to the timely release of 800 spectrum and will work with Ofcom to understand and meet the technical challenges. It has already endorsed Ofcom’s proposal setting out its plans to clear channels 61, 62 and 69. The Government will facilitate this re-planning and will meet the costs incurred by broadcasters and PMSE users as a result of these changes."

It will be interesting to see what we are offered as current users of channel 69. The whole report can be read here.

I've been asked a lot recently what people should do if they need to buy radio mics now. As far as I can see their are currently three options as it seems very unlikely that the government will provide funding to replace mics in 2012 if they are purchased now.

1. Don't buy, rent instead. if that's going to cost you more than the value of the mic before 2012 then it might be worth buying anyway.

2. Buy a microphone that works on channel 70 (the licence free band), even if it includes channel 69 and you licence and use that up until 2012 at least you will be able to use channel 70 for free after that. This is probably the best option for community groups who may not want to buy a licence anyway. Be aware though that there may be more traffic on channel 70 after 2012 as others do the same thing.

3. Buy a channel 69 mic but be a knowledgable buyer! Ask your supplier if the mic you are buying can be converted to channel 38 in the future and what the costs will be. Ask them if they will "future proof" that mic for you by doing the conversion when you need it at a fixed price.

Chaos? - Government announces analogue switch off

The End of an Era

Not radio mics this time but something that is going to directly affect way more people. The Government has announced that all radio stations in the UK will be digital only by 2015. Most radios in the UK by far are analogue and they will all become pretty useless (in this country) in 2015 when the signal is switched off.

Just think how much junk that is going to generate. I don't know how many analogue radios there are in this country but I personally own at least four so that's got to be a lot of technology to throw away. I don't want to throw it away either, we throw way too much away. My car radio also plays CDs and talks to my ipod, but what it's doing most of the time is bringing me the wonderful radio four. I'm not sure I can even drive without it! On my allotment I listen to a wind up radio. I thought I was being green by buying it, but now I find that I am going to have to replace it with digital in 8 years time.

Sad that as I write that I'm thinking that 8 years is an ok lifespan for a piece of technology. Technology moves at such a pace we replace things like mobile phones and computers way more often than that, but radio had so far remained apart, sets my parents had when I was a child still continue to work with pleasurable reliability.

It's an overwhelming shame, the radio is such a simple piece of technology and so cheap to make and power. I grew up in a house with radio in every room and while that may not change, with stations streamed over wi-fi a beautiful simplicity will be gone. As a child I built a crystal set and marveled at being able to hear a scratchy signal from something with so few components. Will the children of tomorrow have anything to listen to if they make such a set?

Don't get me wrong, I love new technology. I love that I can listen to radio online or via freeview. I love that I can download programmes as a podcast or "listen again" these things have brought radio up to date. I shall miss the simplicity of analogue, it always works it's not reliant on wi-fi or broadband or even mains electricity. If people are still broadcasting, we can hear them, can we really not have both? The FM spectrum we are told is going to be used for "ultra local" and community stations, so at least the amount of analogue radios that are bound to still be in use in home and cars in particular may help to boost their audience.

The blurry picture at the top of this rant is a crystal radio set I made a year or so back, well it would be, but the diode is missing, but you get the idea of how simple and how few components it has. It also needs an aerial that's a piece of wire that goes all the way down the garden..... but try receiving a digital signal on something that simple that you can build with instructions from a ladybird book. The end of an era I say.

Radio switch-off
Crystal radio sets

BBC launches probe to find out why so many of us can't hear actors on TV

By Liz Thomas

Viewers are turning off modern television shows because background noise and music are drowning out voices.
Hit programmes including Panorama, Ashes to Ashes, Newsnight, Waking the Dead and Mistresses have all come under fire from viewers unable to hear what is being said.
Now the BBC is backing a major study into the problem of 'ambient sound' after pressure from influential lobby group Voice of the Listener and Viewer.

read whole article in The Mail Online