The Digital Switchover Thread

[Markymark]

There have been a few weird decisions taken throughout the whole DSO process and subsequently, with services launching that it was known wouldn't be sustainable long term. BBC 2W for example and the temporary extra COM mux.

BBC 2W was a right old laugh. There was the 2005 DSO trial in Ferryside, where the local relay was supposed to have had all four analogue channels removed, and replaced with three (as they are today) PSB muxes. In the end, because of BBC 2W, BBC 2 analogue had to remain (and did so until actual DSO in 2009 I think)
Also, because back then C5 was carried on the SDN mux, which today is COM 4 , then Ferryside remains the only, so called 'Freeview Lite' transmitter to carry COM 4 in addition to the three PSBs

[nwtv2003]

S4C used to transmit on SDN/COM 4 didn’t it?

[Markymark]

I understand Bauer have turned off some AM frequencies over the past year or so. Certainly Absolute has seen a reduction in AM coverage, but they don’t promote 1215AM anyway. In Liverpool they left 1548AM when City Talk closed down. I believe they have shut off a few other frequencies elsewhere.

As said a Radio switch over is harder to manage, but at least the switching off from AM seems to be picking up a little. I really don’t know anyone who listens to AM/MW.

Nor me. Another difference between radio and TV DSO is that we don't need to clear FM and AM frequencies, in order to expand DAB.

With TV, in order to extend the coverage from the 75% or so pre DSO coverage, to 99% 'universal' then analogue TV had to be shut down, because the same UHF frequency band was being used. It was exacerbated by the fact the upper portion of the UHF band also had to be cleared to be auctioned off. (That was before the more recent scheme where the 700 MHz chunk has also been cleared)

[Markymark]

S4C used to transmit on SDN/COM 4 didn’t it?

It did. I've got a feeling now that (rather than C5) was the reason for the SDN anomaly at Ferryside ?

At DSO it moved to PSB 2

[Inspector Sands]

I understand Bauer have turned off some AM frequencies over the past year or so. Certainly Absolute has seen a reduction in AM coverage, but they don’t promote 1215AM anyway. In Liverpool they left 1548AM when City Talk closed down. I believe they have shut off a few other frequencies elsewhere.

Yep they closed their MW transmitters in the West Midlands - the ones originally Beacon, BRMB, Wyvern . Most of those were switched to a relay of Absolute Classic Rock when GHR launched on FM. On 30th April they're closing the GHR MW services in Lancashire, Manchester and Leeds - it's available on FM in these areas. Absolute Radio and Talksport have also closed some of their MW sites

Global have closed a few here and there, but quite a few because of licensing or planning issues - they had to close both of the former Radio 210 transmitters in Berkshire a few years ago because one site was earmarked for redevelopment. They closed Exeter and Torbay because of competition issues and Crawley (ex Radio Mercury) presumably because it's duplicated with the London version of Smooth. Two of the ex-Chiltern MW services went in October too

With Bauer's a lot of the sites closed have been where they're the only station using it, so presumably they pay more to Arqiva for using it than a shared site.


There's a good log of transmitter openings and closings and station changes here:
http://www.frequencyfinder.org.uk/updates_fa.html

[technologist]

Another reason why radio is taking time to change over is that no one / no one with Money wants the airwaves
- like happened with more broadcasters and then the mobile phone companies in TV

[Steve in Pudsey]

AM listening seems to be mainly:

5 Live/Talk Sport in vehicles
BBC Local radio sport opt outs
Out of area reception of a local station

The sport rights thing is probably what is preventing the BBC from pulling local radio from AM totally. Radio Leeds is now losing 774 but the DAB service has been split so they can do something different on the Leeds and Bradford/Huddersfield muxes which means that they can do a sensible three way split if all three teams play at the same time. Although it does mean Huddersfield town are on the Leeds DAB mux, but as that is tx'd from Emley that's not so bad.

[Cassia Tuna]

As Techmoan explains, DAB radio uptake in the UK has been a bit of a disaster, for various reasons, not least due to the fact that it just sounds poorer than FM. In addition, it seems that some car manufacturers are still classing DAB as an optional extra and only bundling their vehicles with standard FM/AM receivers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27w3quNTP84

[Markymark]

As Techmoan explains, DAB radio uptake in the UK has been a bit of a disaster, for various reasons, not least due to the fact that it just sounds poorer than FM.

There are indeed reasons why DAB uptake in the UK has been poor, but the poor sound quality is not an issue for the vast majority of listeners, so that's not a contributory factor for the 'great unwashed'.

[Stuart]

S4C used to transmit on SDN/COM 4 didn’t it?

I never understood why they called it SDN (S4C Digital Networks), when it was gifted spectrum also to TeleG and the rest went to the highest bidder.

Ultimately SDN was sold to ITV plc, but I think they still use that name as much as COM4.

[VMPhil]

As Techmoan explains, DAB radio uptake in the UK has been a bit of a disaster, for various reasons, not least due to the fact that it just sounds poorer than FM. In addition, it seems that some car manufacturers are still classing DAB as an optional extra and only bundling their vehicles with standard FM/AM receivers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27w3quNTP84

A disaster?! DAB has been very successful particularly since the explosion of stations and the launch of a second multiplex in the past five years. Not to mention small scale DAB.

The vast majority of cars come with it as standard now.

[Cassia Tuna]

As Techmoan explains, DAB radio uptake in the UK has been a bit of a disaster, for various reasons, not least due to the fact that it just sounds poorer than FM. In addition, it seems that some car manufacturers are still classing DAB as an optional extra and only bundling their vehicles with standard FM/AM receivers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27w3quNTP84

A disaster?! DAB has been very successful particularly since the explosion of stations and the launch of a second multiplex in the past five years. Not to mention small scale DAB.

The vast majority of cars come with it as standard now.

Did you even watch the video? As Techmoan explains this "explosion of stations" is part of the problem, as more stations are being squeezed into the spectrum thus lowering the overall quality, instead of providing just a few but high quality sounding stations. I mean, who really wants to listen to Jazz FM at 32/kbps?

[Markymark]

As Techmoan explains, DAB radio uptake in the UK has been a bit of a disaster, for various reasons, not least due to the fact that it just sounds poorer than FM. In addition, it seems that some car manufacturers are still classing DAB as an optional extra and only bundling their vehicles with standard FM/AM receivers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27w3quNTP84

A disaster?! DAB has been very successful particularly since the explosion of stations and the launch of a second multiplex in the past five years. Not to mention small scale DAB.

The vast majority of cars come with it as standard now.

Did you even watch the video? As Techmoan explains this "explosion of stations" is part of the problem, as more stations are being squeezed into the spectrum thus lowering the overall quality, instead of providing just a few but high quality sounding stations. I mean, who really wants to listen to Jazz FM at 32/kbps?

I do as I matter of fact. I'm too busy driving my car to worry about the less than perfect sound quality. It does the job

[Steve in Pudsey]

I think the experience depends on where you happen to be driving and which station you happen to be listening to.

BBC or D1 in a reasonably flat area well populated area, probably fine.

D2 in hilly rural areas, less so.

[VMPhil]

As Techmoan explains, DAB radio uptake in the UK has been a bit of a disaster, for various reasons, not least due to the fact that it just sounds poorer than FM. In addition, it seems that some car manufacturers are still classing DAB as an optional extra and only bundling their vehicles with standard FM/AM receivers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27w3quNTP84

A disaster?! DAB has been very successful particularly since the explosion of stations and the launch of a second multiplex in the past five years. Not to mention small scale DAB.

The vast majority of cars come with it as standard now.

Did you even watch the video? As Techmoan explains this "explosion of stations" is part of the problem, as more stations are being squeezed into the spectrum thus lowering the overall quality, instead of providing just a few but high quality sounding stations. I mean, who really wants to listen to Jazz FM at 32/kbps?

You said "DAB radio uptake in the UK has been a bit of a disaster" which I was disputing. Sound quality is another matter but it’s been successful despite that because most people don’t care, especially on mono kitchen sets.

EDIT: changed to correct quote.