pouët.net

Digital Radio

category: general [glöplog]
 
Hey fellows...
I wonder if you noticed that a new digital radio standard is being developed (http://www.fh-kl.de/~drm/) namely Digital Radio Mondiale Plus. The old DAB standard is almost dead in a few countries (like Germany) as the content is nothing special (you can get it on FM as well) and the receivers are too expensive.
I want to write a receiver software but I'm not sure if anybody is ever gonna use it...

Therefore I'd like to get your opinions on that:
- Do you actually listen to radio?
- What do you think a digital radio could offer you, what an analog radio can't?
- Would you buy a digital radio or would you expect it being part of your mobile/iPod/whatever?
- Do you think radio (digital or not) or broadcasting in general has a future?

Thanks!
added on the 2008-02-13 09:33:02 by hashdash hashdash
Quote:
- Do you actually listen to radio?


Rarely. I try to avoid it because everything that's on Finnish radio is shit.

Quote:
- What do you think a digital radio could offer you, what an analog radio can't?


Nothing.

Quote:
- Would you buy a digital radio or would you expect it being part of your mobile/iPod/whatever?


I wouldn't buy a digital radio. And I prefer to put what I want into my iPod, not listen to someone else's choices.

Quote:
- Do you think radio (digital or not) or broadcasting in general has a future?


None whatsoever, unless they're personalized net radios (like last.fm channels).
added on the 2008-02-13 09:37:43 by Preacher Preacher
Preachers: Of course Finnish radio sucks, I imagine having to listen to Boomfunk MCs all the time must be horrible.
added on the 2008-02-13 09:49:13 by kusma kusma
I listen to radio sometimes for news in the car. What could digital radio offer that's better? Just less interference. It would have to cost almost the same as a normal radio, or it wouldn't be worth it.
added on the 2008-02-13 10:05:38 by psonice psonice
- Yes, I listen to radio (all the Finnish radio channels/shows don't suck).
- Nothing new, probably.
- Only if I'd have to.
- Why not? In some form there is future for everything.
added on the 2008-02-13 11:28:14 by zefyros zefyros
phear darude on the radio
added on the 2008-02-13 11:37:47 by psenough psenough
- not much, but yes. mostly netradio or the news in the morning / in the car
- more advertisements. so nothing, really. for the consumer, radio is the most passive of all media, which is why video never killed the radio star. so any sort of interactiveness would sure not help much. all i can think of is being able to call in to the studio without having to type the number into your phone. marginal stuff.

oh wait, one thing that could work is sub-channels. basically listening to the same radio with the same commercial blocks (or not) and the same deejays (maybe) but different music for people who like different styles. semiautomatic; one deejay could do six morning programmes at the same time, and tell the same jokes. or something. a bit like the awesome regional news they have here in denmark. oh by the way aunt margit's cat wouldn't come out of the tree and yesterday a bloke in glostrup almost shoplifted a bakery but then decided not to.

- not before the're in every car. and then i guess i'd buy the car that comes with it as well.
- definitely. the only thing that could kill it is too much choice so people have to go through a lot of effort to get some background music playing. but i guess portals or presets in the radio can fix that.
added on the 2008-02-13 11:57:37 by skrebbel skrebbel
- Do you actually listen to radio?

Yep, usually the news or comedy on BBC Radio 4 or documentaries on the World Service.

- What do you think a digital radio could offer you, what an analog radio can't?

Being able to recieve channel schedules (like on a digital TV) would be handy. I've no idea if DAB already supports this.

- Would you buy a digital radio or would you expect it being part of your mobile/iPod/whatever?

Yes I have one, it lives by my bed.

- Do you think radio (digital or not) or broadcasting in general has a future?

Sure.
- I don't listen to radio anymore, except: www.byte.fm (geman, sorry).
The "shows" on the regular radio are so shitty, the music is all charts shit and they have advertisements almost as often as on tv. It truly sucks.
Quality is a common problem with media these days and the main reason I don't watch tv (I have no tv set) and listen to radio...
There are a few regular/web radio station actually worth listening to (see above).
- Nothing I can think of...
- No and No.
- I dont see a bright future for FM/DAB/etc. radio.
added on the 2008-02-13 13:21:25 by raer raer
It's about the content man.. Technology has nothing to do with it.
added on the 2008-02-13 13:22:59 by _-_-__ _-_-__
Arent there enough software DRM decoders around already, or am I missing something here?

BB Image
added on the 2008-02-13 13:47:29 by Teehase Teehase
For DRM there are ~2-3, not for DRM+ though.
added on the 2008-02-13 15:53:02 by hashdash hashdash
Hello.

I wouldn't want to listen to any kind of digital radio on my PC, since there is internet...

I don't have a car, but if i had one, i would consider installing a miniature PC with BSD or Linux there and using such a radio service, among other things - such a PC would also be useful as a jukebox and whatnot...

On the go by foot or public transportation means a laptop is useless... However, if one could get or build a portable receiver cheaply, say for <100 EUR, i would consider getting it, if the advantages would be a large reception range - at least 20km through urbanized area, 50km in mixed areas - and a good selection of public service and alternative channels.

Anyway, the portables we have now are all wrong. :D i don't like having an MP3 player in my cellphone, since it increases the chance to drop the phone - i have a nice track record of loosing and breaking MP3 players. Instead, imagine a tiny standalone player, like the ones we have now, they are not larger than a cable remote that were popular before. They should additionaly get a communication like bluetooth. Considering they usually have a microphone built in, they should double as cellphone headset with the earphones of your choice. Besides, they should allow communication with audio storage and receiver devices, which can be larger and cheaper built to stow away in your bag. Possibility to copy from storage to portie should also be considered.
added on the 2008-02-13 16:30:00 by eye eye
I like having everything in one. I want a device with windows mobile, or any other OS, a camera capable of recording at 720p with a decent quality, phone, gps... with the size of my current phone. Not too big, not too small... I'm a busy person. I need all that shit at the same time!
added on the 2008-02-13 17:14:43 by xernobyl xernobyl
thats why gez claims tax worldsupremacy.
added on the 2008-02-13 18:34:41 by mad mad
Nobody listens to radio, besides -- DAB just made it's appearance here in Norway and people hate it.
added on the 2008-02-13 19:40:39 by gloom gloom
The only thing I can see digital radio offering is text information on what's playing... with moar it would just stop being a radio.
added on the 2008-02-13 19:42:51 by xernobyl xernobyl
*I* for one still listen a lot to radio .. Maybe I'm showing my age? (I can forsake TV but not radio)

I think the only point about digital radio is the cost of entry and possibility of having more channels from more diverse actors. However since there's always capitalistic consolidation in the end...
added on the 2008-02-13 19:49:02 by _-_-__ _-_-__
Afaik, DRM+ only differs in carrier frequency and bandwith, so unless you want a challenging project to practice your coding skills, I don't see why one would reimplement a software radio that's already available as an open source project.
added on the 2008-02-14 14:30:26 by Teehase Teehase
Because DRM+ differs in Carrier Frequency, Bandwith, Channel Coding, Pilot Structure and Multiplex Structure.
added on the 2008-02-14 15:31:23 by hashdash hashdash

login