Dyb, dyb, dyb, DAB, DAB, DAB

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Im considering one of the many Chinese " Factory Fit Sat nav/ stereo " copy, units that are all over eBay, Amazon etc

We've got a very factory looking thing in an e46 BMW , that doesn't have DAB , but has everything else, including a reversing camera with guide markings that go into the sky!

So it shouldn't look too bad( I hate wires or anything non- standard cluttering car interiors.

My concern is that the only good thing about my Passat is the Bluetooth music streaming from my phone, so is it possible to get a DAB thing that's any good that will use this system to play in the car .

My experience with some very expensive cars with factory DAB is that at best it's patchy so not expecting miracles,, just the ability to listen to 4 extra occaisionaly.

[Guest Hooli]

I tried a co-pilot one. It was shite, always dropping out or just not finding stations.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Im considering one of the many Chinese " Factory Fit Sat nav/ stereo " copy, units that are all over eBay, Amazon etc

We've got a very factory looking thing in an e46 BMW , that doesn't have DAB , but has everything else, including a reversing camera with guide markings that go into the sky!

So it shouldn't look too bad( I hate wires or anything non- standard cluttering car interiors.

My concern is that the only good thing about my Passat is the Bluetooth music streaming from my phone, so is it possible to get a DAB thing that's any good that will use this system to play in the car .

My experience with some very expensive cars with factory DAB is that at best it's patchy so not expecting miracles,, just the ability to listen to 4 extra occaisionaly.

Same boat, a Chinese android mechless stereo is high on my want list as I'll get the moon on a stick without wires and cheap.....

 

My dad works in electronics though and says my car will go on fire and many nuns will die

 

Sent from my TA-1012 using Tapatalk

[Kiltox]

I've just installed one of those Majority devices in my own van and use it through the aux socket in the glove box. I have been very happy with it so far, I seem to do my driving on a Sunday when there's cock all on FM so having the extra stations is a boon. I'm getting into Talk Sport at the moment. I wish I had bought one earlier.

 

There is a DAB stereo in the work Citroen Relay and it is useless. I was driving back from Ipswich the other day, thought I'd listen to 6 music and discovered that the reception was rubbish. I don't seem to have any problems with the OE system in my Focus or the one I installed in my own van. Must be a Citroen/Peugeot/Fiat thing.

Is it a reasonably new Relay ?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I don't understand why they're even still making car stereos without Bluetooth. 

[Lacquer Peel]

I don't understand why they're even still making car stereos without Bluetooth.

Some new cars have Bluetooth without audio streaming. What on earth!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I didn't know that was even a thing! 

[Kiltox]

Some new cars have Bluetooth without audio streaming. What on earth!

Enter previously mentioned van with shite DAB

 

It’s a proper poverty “the fleet manager is a wanker” spec though - so I don’t know if a flash one would have it

[Noel Tidybeard]

+1 to the Baun oone from Aldis

 

union jack radio is even in stereo!

[BorniteIdentity]

+1 to the Baun oone from Aldis

 

union jack radio is even in stereo!

AAC encoding. It’s much more efficient use of bandwidth. Sadly, older DAB units can’t decode it and therefore can’t see it. Same as Jazz in stereo.

[I_am_Diesel]

Is it a reasonably new Relay ?

 

66 plate, so yes.

 

We had a Movano before and it was a far better van.

[Kiltox]

66 plate, so yes.

 

We had a Movano before and it was a far better van.

Same shite radio as my 65 plate then most likely. Does it have what looks like a radio antenna stuck to the windscreen?

[cros]

I recently bought one of these Majority DAB adaptors on the recommedation of a colleague for the princely sum of £34.95.

 

 

 

I haven't installed it properly yet, but I tried it out with everything just balanced on top of the dash and it seemed to work really well.

What's more, I could pay using PayPal and it arrived double quick chop by courier, so I was well chuffed M8

4 of my vehicles don't have a radio, or even a place to put one in, but I like the look of this thing. If I were to purchase one could the output simply be stuck up the auxhole of a Bluetooth speaker? Those things sound pretty loud, at least the decent ones do, and all from such a tiny box. I'm suspicious that it might be a trick and that loud in the house might not be loud over the wheezing of a 1950's car, but its a very tempting way to save the bother of fitting speakers. What do you reckon?

[warren t claim]

Some new cars have Bluetooth without audio streaming. What on earth!

That'll be the majority of Mk4 Mondeos.

 

No fucking A2DP.

[CortinaDave]

DAB is a con, as pillock said most stations are in mono/low bitrate so sound as flat as hell compared to FM, so its proof that if you tell people something is newer/better they believe it even if it is noticeably worse

 

I have DAB in the car but only really bother when I fancy a bit of Absolute 80s

 

DAB has been around since the 90s and its only really now that its fitted to most new cars that it actually seems to be taking off, but there's still only around 30% of the radio listening population using it

[BorniteIdentity]

DAB is a con, as pillock said most stations are in mono/low bitrate so sound as flat as hell compared to FM, so its proof that if you tell people something is newer/better they believe it even if it is noticeably worse

 

I have DAB in the car but only really bother when I fancy a bit of Absolute 80s

 

DAB has been around since the 90s and its only really now that its fitted to most new cars that it actually seems to be taking off, but there's still only around 30% of the radio listening population using it

 

62% claim to own one.  Unless half own one but never listen to it.

 

Yes, the bitrate levels are poor.  With MP2 encoding (reserve of the early 90s) you need at least 192kbps to match FM.  But, as you know yourself, ask 100 right minded people if they want more choice or more fidelity, the majority will chose the former.  Myself included.

[chaseracer]

For 35 sheets, I'm giving that Majority DAB thingy a whirl.  Let's see how it goes in the Blingo.

[Pillock]

But why couldn't they invest in a solution that provides both? My rather limited understanding is simply that a high bitrate, stereo station takes more bandwidth and there's only a small amount to go around. Is this a limitation of DAB+ itself or something that will get better as other things turn off and the bandwidth expands?

 

I'm a minority, I simply can't listen if it's crap quality.

[Guest Hooli]

Isn't there a DAB2 that solves that now? it just not popular here yet.

[BorniteIdentity]

But why couldn't they invest in a solution that provides both? My rather limited understanding is simply that a high bitrate, stereo station takes more bandwidth and there's only a small amount to go around. Is this a limitation of DAB+ itself or something that will get better as other things turn off and the bandwidth expands?

 

I'm a minority, I simply can't listen if it's crap quality.

 

DAB took so bloody long to develop that by the time it was launched in the late 90s, it was already using legacy technology (MP2 compression).  If you're the same age as I am, you'll remember that mp3 was already standard by then when it came to music sharing - so they were already off the pace. 

 

That said, there's nothing inherently wrong with mp2 - it's just inefficient.  So you've the choice of putting approximately 8 stations on at 192kbps (same as Radio 3 and FM equivalent) or many more at a lower bitrate which most people will tolerate.  That generates the multiplex owners more money, and offers commercial radio operators the opportunity to generate more revenue.  Whilst DAB+ uses AAC compression and is far more efficient (you need approximately half the bandwidth to achieve the same result) a lot of recievers can't decode it.  Stations don't want to 'invest' in something that immediately limits their potential audience.

 

Since the IBA was abolished in 1990, audio standards have dropped significantly.  You can now put a radio studio wherever you want (in fact there are now examples of radio stations that have no 'base' - it's all in the cloud) where once before you had to build to IBA standards.  Even dynamic processing was a breach of code once upon a time!  Nowadays, the audience and the broadcaster decide what is and what isn't acceptable.  Poor technical standards are a frustration for a lot of people (not just anoraks) but i think we've found a relatively good compromise.  A good deal of listening is done on small speakers (38% of all listening is on devices not called a 'radio) so 80k mp2 sounds fine on a laptop/phone/portable unit.

 

As for a solution that provides both?  The future of radio has, for a long time, been 'multi-platform'.  FM/DAB/Streaming/Social/Video - so it's sort of resolving itself.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Hah!  I wish dynamic processing was still limited on non-speech stations.  The brickwall limiting/compression on most music stations just about kills music listening on the radio for me - bar Radio 3.  I am, however, a sound anorak...

[Pillock]

Thanks for the insight BI

 

I actually think the standards are a good thing, perhaps not quite so tight as to say where you can and can't broadcast from but to guarantee quality it's useful to have some rules.

 

I've been listening to Primordial Radio for about a year, they call themselves radio but are online only (they have their own app, web player, TuneIn etc). Whilst it's nice that they could do this - the only reason they went this route was that Team Rock Radio where they used to work couldn't afford to be on DAB any more - it does mean that sometimes, it goes off air or struggles a bit because nobody is enforcing any rules.

 

It's an interesting model, I'm paying £6 a month for essentially one station as are about 1400 other people so they're making money without adverts. Whether that's enough to pay presenters remains to be seen, they've got three paid and the rest volunteer I think.

 

Anyway, apologies for the thread swerve.

[SierraMikeHotel]

The massive choice available now (on DAB and TuneIn) is really attractive. I'm also a bit of a HiFi perfectionist but I'm less bothered in the car - over road noise and through cheap 16 year old speakers I'm not going to notice a difference in quality.

 

Sorry, I'm sure that post was going somewhere but it ended up a slightly disconnected thought...

[GrumpiusMaximus]

The massive choice available now (on DAB and TuneIn) is really attractive. I'm also a bit of a HiFi perfectionist but I'm less bothered in the car - over road noise and through cheap 16 year old speakers I'm not going to notice a difference in quality.

 

Sorry, I'm sure that post was going somewhere but it ended up a slightly disconnected thought...

 

 

Still doesn't stop me from playing with the EQ and L/R balance...

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

62% claim to own one.  Unless half own one but never listen to it.

 

Yes, the bitrate levels are poor.  With MP2 encoding (reserve of the early 90s) you need at least 192kbps to match FM.  But, as you know yourself, ask 100 right minded people if they want more choice or more fidelity, the majority will chose the former.  Myself included.

 

I am in that 62%, I have four DAB capable radios at home! I never use them for DAB, but I have them.

 

In the UK, 50.9% of all radio listening hours by the first quarter of 2018 were through digital platforms, with DAB making up for the majority of digital radio listening (72.3%), and 63.7% of UK households claim to have access to a DAB radio set. However in the second quarter, digital listening had dropped back to 50.2%

 

After 23 years, DAB has achieved 72% of 50% of radio listening. Pack it in, boys. Give the spectrum to the mobile phone companies. 

[iainrcz]

I had a dab radio once, it went pop.

 

I haven't bought another.

 

Although to be fair, I only listened to football on it.

 

 

Sent from my VFD 710 using Tapatalk

[BorniteIdentity]

 

I am in that 62%, I have four DAB capable radios at home! I never use them for DAB, but I have them.

 

 

After 23 years, DAB has achieved 72% of 50% of radio listening. Pack it in, boys. Give the spectrum to the mobile phone companies.

Is the 200 MHz band of much interest to them?

 

I don’t know much about who uses what spectrum wise these days.

[Guest Hooli]

I've always got Absolute Classic Rock on DAB at home, except for saturday mornings as Frank theunfunnyirritatingfuckwitcunt Skinner is on.

[beko1987]

I can't pick up absolute classic rock in Oxfordshire, which is annoying as dad gets it in lincs and it's quite good

[Guest Hooli]

I can't pick up absolute classic rock in Oxfordshire, which is annoying as dad gets it in lincs and it's quite good

 

Listen online? or are you talking in the car?