Anyone else hear Leona Graham just introduce and play the new Alison Moyet single, When I Was Your Girl, "here on Absolute 80s"? Said it without a hint of irony.
Anyone else hear Leona Graham just introduce and play the new Alison Moyet single, When I Was Your Girl, "here on Absolute 80s"? Said it without a hint of irony.
Moyet is an 80s artist so her latest single fits well, it's an 80s themed station it doesn't say anywhere that all tracks played must have been released from 1980-89. As long as the track fits the general sound of the station what's the issue?
I actually think the track would sound more out of place on the main station.
On another note, how comes there no 'Radio' in the station name unlike the other decades stations?
Not sure why this has never changed but absolute 80's has always been called as such, but before others launched when they launched 90's there was already a station in Europe on the radio section of iTunes called absolute 90's to to differentiate them selves they listed it as absolute radio 90's and must has called all the other the same along with it when they launched...
I didn't really want to start a new thread about Absolute 80's so I chose this thread.:D
I enjoy listening to the station but was thinking about how much better it would be if there was a bit more interaction with the listeners. Its badly voice tracked but a bit more live chat and maybe a live phone in competitions would go down a treat.
Would that cost too much given their no doubt strict budget?
When everyone started bleating about it going mono I thought "who cares?" However, I've stopped listening as it sounds s*it! I just listen to Magic North or Gold now. Smooth UK is mono and sounds far better, so why do they sound so bad?
When everyone started bleating about it going mono I thought "who cares?" However, I've stopped listening as it sounds s*it! I just listen to Magic North or Gold now. Smooth UK is mono and sounds far better, so why do they sound so bad?
the bit rate has been reduced to 64kbps, that's why it sounds crap, 80kbps should be the absolute minimum for music, 64kbps is only OK for talk radio.
I enjoy listening to the station but was thinking about how much better it would be if there was a bit more interaction with the listeners. Its badly voice tracked but a bit more live chat and maybe a live phone in competitions would go down a treat.
Would that cost too much given their no doubt strict budget?
Recent speculation on Twitter suggests Bauer Media has bought Absolute Radio but no official announcement has been made.
TIML must be starting to cut costs to stay independent, maybe Bauer has boosted the bid and we will have to wait if this is the case and what it means for the stations if true? But this was a week ago and something would have surely been announced by now?
It's to do with the launch of a new station, TeamRock.
... which is in mono.
I have invested heavily in DAB over the years and even very recently with an aerial upgrade.
Silly me to believe all the early hype about near CD quality hi-def radio etc, when all you get now is a low bit rate mono broadcast.
Another con by the politicos - and to think that by now T Blair would have switched off FM for ever if he'd stayed in power.
Not all DAB radios are mono devices and some of us still like a big sound stage in our listening space - but the trend now is reminiscent of those cranky 1960s transistor mono radios that the teenagers of the era played on beaches and in parks to the annoyance of those nearby.
So much for progress.
I may be a lone voice but for what its worth I have written to Ofcom to protest at their standing idly by whilst quality listening disappears into the ether.
Whose side are they supposed to be on?
I may be a lone voice but for what its worth I have written to Ofcom to protest at their standing idly by whilst quality listening disappears into the ether.
Whose side are they supposed to be on?
... and breathe...:mad:
You can protest as much as you like, it won't make any difference.
It costs around £1 million per year for 128k stereo on Digital 1, that's the kind of fee which would result in many of the stations on there going bust. In reality they would probably just leave the multiplex and there would be around 4 stations left on there, as there was in 2009.
Is that the kind of heavy handed regulation which would really benefit the listener, by having most of Digital 1 and local muxes empty?
Whose side are they on? The side of common sense in a difficult economic climate for commercial radio.
I have invested heavily in DAB over the years and even very recently with an aerial upgrade.
Silly me to believe all the early hype about near CD quality hi-def radio etc, when all you get now is a low bit rate mono broadcast.
Another con by the politicos - and to think that by now T Blair would have switched off FM for ever if he'd stayed in power.
Not all DAB radios are mono devices and some of us still like a big sound stage in our listening space - but the trend now is reminiscent of those cranky 1960s transistor mono radios that the teenagers of the era played on beaches and in parks to the annoyance of those nearby.
So much for progress.
I may be a lone voice but for what its worth I have written to Ofcom to protest at their standing idly by whilst quality listening disappears into the ether.
Us people who do listen to radio on stereo or surround sound (Dolby Pro-Logic II) systems are just condescendingly dismissed and disregarded as a very small minority of "audiophiles" who should be expected to cough up a significant fee for a stream at least of decent quality and in stereo and then again for the same thing on a mobile device. At least the radio broadcasters haven't put their decent quality streams behind a substantial paywall - yet.
I have given up all hope for DAB+ to ever appear in the UK, it's vehemently opposed by the industry and experts alike.
I think it's quite a damming indictment of an industry when the next question I ask is when will the first music based station start regular, permanent broadcasting at 48k mono? It can only be a matter of time now.
You can protest as much as you like, it won't make any difference.
It costs around £1 million per year for 128k stereo on Digital 1, that's the kind of fee which would result in many of the stations on there going bust. In reality they would probably just leave the multiplex and there would be around 4 stations left on there, as there was in 2009.
Is that the kind of heavy handed regulation which would really benefit the listener, by having most of Digital 1 and local muxes empty?
Whose side are they on? The side of common sense in a difficult economic climate for commercial radio.
And where we are going to end up at is a situation where stations start considering 56, 48 and 32k mono. How low can the bitrates go before the masses start saying - you've gone too far? After all, consider the savings and choice of stations everyone will have if we went that far.
now seems to have 2 threads on this
But (according to Absolute http://onegoldensquare.com/2010/11/new-dab-encoders-being-installed-at-absolute-radio/ ) new encoding has made lower bit rates more suitable for music and making DAB (and online streaming) more affordable for broadcasters, especially with ad rates in decline.
from Rajar DAB listening is still growing and online listening even more.
All the main groups stay they are committed to digital and the main stations, BBC, Heart, Capital, Classic, Gold, Magic and the main Absolute station are still stereo on DAB in many areas.
But would be good good to get mono listening back to stereo as radio groups start to make profits.
But to work with music at 64k seems fine adjustments are needed and perhaps Absolute 80s need to sort this?
And where we are going to end up at is a situation where stations start considering 56, 48 and 32k mono. How low can the bitrates go before the masses start saying - you've gone too far? After all, consider the savings and choice of stations everyone will have if we went that far.
There is a minimum DAB audio quality requirement set by Ofcom of -2.0 diffgrade. I assume that the 64k and 80k mono stations pass this test or Ofcom wouldn't allow it.
As for DAB+, a digital radio operator would be mad to switch to it now in the UK, as there would be next to no listeners. It has to be phased in gradually when more people have compatible sets. Up to 30% of a multiplex can be used for non-MP2 services, including DAB+, under current Ofcom rules.
As for DAB+, a digital radio operator would be mad to switch to it now in the UK, as there would be next to no listeners. It has to be phased in gradually when more people have compatible sets. Up to 30% of a multiplex can be used for non-MP2 services, including DAB+, under current Ofcom rules.
I think the BBC should lead the way on this - e.g. move R3 to DAB+ (from regular DAB) at 96K, reduce Radio 2 (or 1) to 112K regular DAB and use the freed-up space for a DAB+ version of R2.
They could even do similar with the some of the other networks - i.e. reduce DAB bitrate and start broadcasting DAB+. The only way to drive adoption and get consumers buying future-proof technology is to provide something to listen to that uses the new format.
I also don't understand why some of the partially-empty multiplexes (e.g. Berks/N.Hants or Stoke) don't use some of the free space for DAB+ versions of existing stations to get things moving into the future.
The government and Ofcom have really dropped the ball on this one - they've mandated a system that's out of date and havent moved with the times on radio. Compared with the advances we've seen in TV it's still the dark ages in radio broadcast.
There is a minimum DAB audio quality requirement set by Ofcom of -2.0 diffgrade. I assume that the 64k and 80k mono stations pass this test or Ofcom wouldn't allow it.
I'd imagine that the conversion to mono alone fails this test. If so, I assume they're over-looking this - i.e. AFTER it's been converted to mono, the step of encoding it to 80kbps isn't more than -2.0 worse than the mono version before encoding it.
There is a minimum DAB audio quality requirement set by Ofcom of -2.0 diffgrade. I assume that the 64k and 80k mono stations pass this test or Ofcom wouldn't allow it.
If, as David questions, they're actually enforcing this, I wonder who they're asking and what source material they're using? It depends so much on the material and the mix. Some stuff sounds OK. But Real XS (I think it was -- one of the stereo stations anyway) played Kings of Leon's Use Somebody last weekend and, through reasonable quality headphones, it sounded simply appalling. A totally awful, muddy, swishing mess.
I have invested heavily in DAB over the years and even very recently with an aerial upgrade.
Silly me to believe all the early hype about near CD quality hi-def radio etc, when all you get now is a low bit rate mono broadcast.
Another con by the politicos - and to think that by now T Blair would have switched off FM for ever if he'd stayed in power.
Not all DAB radios are mono devices and some of us still like a big sound stage in our listening space - but the trend now is reminiscent of those cranky 1960s transistor mono radios that the teenagers of the era played on beaches and in parks to the annoyance of those nearby.
So much for progress.
I may be a lone voice but for what its worth I have written to Ofcom to protest at their standing idly by whilst quality listening disappears into the ether.
Whose side are they supposed to be on?
... and breathe...:mad:
I paid £387.98,I feel for those who paid 3 grand for dab Hi-fi tuners only to get absoloute 80s to stream in mono
There is a minimum DAB audio quality requirement set by Ofcom of -2.0 diffgrade. I assume that the 64k and 80k mono stations pass this test or Ofcom wouldn't allow it.
As for DAB+, a digital radio operator would be mad to switch to it now in the UK, as there would be next to no listeners. It has to be phased in gradually when more people have compatible sets. Up to 30% of a multiplex can be used for non-MP2 services, including DAB+, under current Ofcom rules.
I thought all new radios was Dab+ compatible? I know mine is and it was not expensive.
Saying that I do know what you mean a mate of mine have got a older DAB tuner that is not DAB+, while he uses the FM part more than DAB, i am not not sure what he would think if the DAB part stopped working.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfie155 View Post
... which is in mono.
I have invested heavily in DAB over the years and even very recently with an aerial upgrade.
Silly me to believe all the early hype about near CD quality hi-def radio etc, when all you get now is a low bit rate mono broadcast.
Another con by the politicos - and to think that by now T Blair would have switched off FM for ever if he'd stayed in power.
Not all DAB radios are mono devices and some of us still like a big sound stage in our listening space - but the trend now is reminiscent of those cranky 1960s transistor mono radios that the teenagers of the era played on beaches and in parks to the annoyance of those nearby.
So much for progress.
I may be a lone voice but for what its worth I have written to Ofcom to protest at their standing idly by whilst quality listening disappears into the ether.
Us people who do listen to radio on stereo or surround sound (Dolby Pro-Logic II) systems are just condescendingly dismissed and disregarded as a very small minority of "audiophiles" who should be expected to cough up a significant fee for a stream at least of decent quality and in stereo and then again for the same thing on a mobile device. At least the radio broadcasters haven't put their decent quality streams behind a substantial paywall - yet.
I have given up all hope for DAB+ to ever appear in the UK, it's vehemently opposed by the industry and experts alike.
I think it's quite a damming indictment of an industry when the next question I ask is when will the first music based station start regular, permanent broadcasting at 48k mono? It can only be a matter of time now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfie155 View Post
Whose side are they supposed to be on?
... and breathe...
Not the side of audio quality, that's for sure. Unfortunately audio quality and commercial free market ideology go completely at odds with DAB.
At least 6 weeks on, Ofcom still haven't replied or acknowledged my letter.
Now we know whose side they are on.
... and breathe...
Not the side of audio quality, that's for sure. Unfortunately audio quality and commercial free market ideology go completely at odds with DAB.
At least 6 weeks on, Ofcom still haven't replied or acknowledged my letter.
Now we know whose side they are on.
You can protest as much as you like, it won't make any difference.
It costs around £1 million per year for 128k stereo on Digital 1, that's the kind of fee which would result in many of the stations on there going bust. In reality they would probably just leave the multiplex and there would be around 4 stations left on there, as there was in 2009.
Is that the kind of heavy handed regulation which would really benefit the listener, by having most of Digital 1 and local muxes empty?
Whose side are they on? The side of common sense in a difficult economic climate for commercial radio.
Isn't there some supply and demand issue there? If 128k were the only option (eg, Ofcom ruled that any less wasn't acceptable for music broadcasting), then D1 would lower their prices to avoid making no money. Whether D1 would be viable or not in that scenario I don't know...
I'm not hardline on the issue - if a genuine niche station (say, BFBS or a religious station) can only get on at a low bitrate that seems reasonable. But for Kiss, Smooth and indeed Absolute 80s it's too much. The fact that there are now 2 stereo stations on D1 (one of which is nationwide on FM) must show we've gone too far...
Isn't there some supply and demand issue there? If 128k were the only option (eg, Ofcom ruled that any less wasn't acceptable for music broadcasting), then D1 would lower their prices to avoid making no money. Whether D1 would be viable or not in that scenario I don't know...
I'm not hardline on the issue - if a genuine niche station (say, BFBS or a religious station) can only get on at a low bitrate that seems reasonable. But for Kiss, Smooth and indeed Absolute 80s it's too much. The fact that there are now 2 stereo stations on D1 (one of which is nationwide on FM) must show we've gone too far...
I agree with you Russell,
I listen to UCB a lot and the only bit rate that they use is 64k but as most of the programming is partially made up of speech content I am content with it and on the music side of things, I get an extra buzz when I hear it on CD so swings and roundabouts in my opinion.
Isn't there some supply and demand issue there? If 128k were the only option (eg, Ofcom ruled that any less wasn't acceptable for music broadcasting), then D1 would lower their prices to avoid making no money. Whether D1 would be viable or not in that scenario I don't know...
They are not making any money now. They made losses in 2010 & 2011 and a small profit in 2012. The overall position is just about breakeven. As new transmitters get added the network becomes more expensive to run.
I thnk Ofcom know they need to tread carefully here. In the last few years they have had the licences for five regional multiplexes (MXR) and one national multiplex (Digital 2) handed back to them because nobody wanted to operate them.
If they make the minimum bit rate 128k stereo they may wake up one morning and discover that nobody wants to operate a national DAB licence at all. That kind of over-regulation doesn't always pay dividends for the consumer.
They are not making any money now. They made losses in 2010 & 2011 and a small profit in 2012. The overall position is just about breakeven. As new transmitters get added the network becomes more expensive to run.
I thnk Ofcom know they need to tread carefully here. In the last few years they have had the licences for five regional multiplexes (MXR) and one national multiplex (Digital 2) handed back to them because nobody wanted to operate them.
If they make the minimum bit rate 128k stereo they may wake up one morning and discover that nobody wants to operate a national DAB licence at all. That kind of over-regulation doesn't always pay dividends for the consumer.
Many thanks for confirming what I have been saying all along. If these DAB channels are struggling that much then where is the justification in handing them lifeline by letting them switch off their FM transmissions (if the FM switchoff goes ahead). At our expense.
Comments
Moyet is an 80s artist so her latest single fits well, it's an 80s themed station it doesn't say anywhere that all tracks played must have been released from 1980-89. As long as the track fits the general sound of the station what's the issue?
I actually think the track would sound more out of place on the main station.
Not sure why this has never changed but absolute 80's has always been called as such, but before others launched when they launched 90's there was already a station in Europe on the radio section of iTunes called absolute 90's to to differentiate them selves they listed it as absolute radio 90's and must has called all the other the same along with it when they launched...
I enjoy listening to the station but was thinking about how much better it would be if there was a bit more interaction with the listeners. Its badly voice tracked but a bit more live chat and maybe a live phone in competitions would go down a treat.
Would that cost too much given their no doubt strict budget?
the bit rate has been reduced to 64kbps, that's why it sounds crap, 80kbps should be the absolute minimum for music, 64kbps is only OK for talk radio.
http://radiotoday.co.uk/2013/05/bauer-radio-presenter-joins-absolute-80s/
The item also mentions TIML must be starting to cut costs to stay independent, maybe Bauer has boosted the bid and we will have to wait if this is the case and what it means for the stations if true? But this was a week ago and something would have surely been announced by now?
... which is in mono.
I have invested heavily in DAB over the years and even very recently with an aerial upgrade.
Silly me to believe all the early hype about near CD quality hi-def radio etc, when all you get now is a low bit rate mono broadcast.
Another con by the politicos - and to think that by now T Blair would have switched off FM for ever if he'd stayed in power.
Not all DAB radios are mono devices and some of us still like a big sound stage in our listening space - but the trend now is reminiscent of those cranky 1960s transistor mono radios that the teenagers of the era played on beaches and in parks to the annoyance of those nearby.
So much for progress.
I may be a lone voice but for what its worth I have written to Ofcom to protest at their standing idly by whilst quality listening disappears into the ether.
Whose side are they supposed to be on?
... and breathe...:mad:
You can protest as much as you like, it won't make any difference.
It costs around £1 million per year for 128k stereo on Digital 1, that's the kind of fee which would result in many of the stations on there going bust. In reality they would probably just leave the multiplex and there would be around 4 stations left on there, as there was in 2009.
Is that the kind of heavy handed regulation which would really benefit the listener, by having most of Digital 1 and local muxes empty?
Whose side are they on? The side of common sense in a difficult economic climate for commercial radio.
I have given up all hope for DAB+ to ever appear in the UK, it's vehemently opposed by the industry and experts alike.
I think it's quite a damming indictment of an industry when the next question I ask is when will the first music based station start regular, permanent broadcasting at 48k mono? It can only be a matter of time now. Not the side of audio quality, that's for sure. Unfortunately audio quality and commercial free market ideology go completely at odds with DAB.
But (according to Absolute http://onegoldensquare.com/2010/11/new-dab-encoders-being-installed-at-absolute-radio/ ) new encoding has made lower bit rates more suitable for music and making DAB (and online streaming) more affordable for broadcasters, especially with ad rates in decline.
from Rajar DAB listening is still growing and online listening even more.
All the main groups stay they are committed to digital and the main stations, BBC, Heart, Capital, Classic, Gold, Magic and the main Absolute station are still stereo on DAB in many areas.
But would be good good to get mono listening back to stereo as radio groups start to make profits.
But to work with music at 64k seems fine adjustments are needed and perhaps Absolute 80s need to sort this?
There is a minimum DAB audio quality requirement set by Ofcom of -2.0 diffgrade. I assume that the 64k and 80k mono stations pass this test or Ofcom wouldn't allow it.
As for DAB+, a digital radio operator would be mad to switch to it now in the UK, as there would be next to no listeners. It has to be phased in gradually when more people have compatible sets. Up to 30% of a multiplex can be used for non-MP2 services, including DAB+, under current Ofcom rules.
I think the BBC should lead the way on this - e.g. move R3 to DAB+ (from regular DAB) at 96K, reduce Radio 2 (or 1) to 112K regular DAB and use the freed-up space for a DAB+ version of R2.
They could even do similar with the some of the other networks - i.e. reduce DAB bitrate and start broadcasting DAB+. The only way to drive adoption and get consumers buying future-proof technology is to provide something to listen to that uses the new format.
I also don't understand why some of the partially-empty multiplexes (e.g. Berks/N.Hants or Stoke) don't use some of the free space for DAB+ versions of existing stations to get things moving into the future.
The government and Ofcom have really dropped the ball on this one - they've mandated a system that's out of date and havent moved with the times on radio. Compared with the advances we've seen in TV it's still the dark ages in radio broadcast.
Cheers,
David.
If, as David questions, they're actually enforcing this, I wonder who they're asking and what source material they're using? It depends so much on the material and the mix. Some stuff sounds OK. But Real XS (I think it was -- one of the stereo stations anyway) played Kings of Leon's Use Somebody last weekend and, through reasonable quality headphones, it sounded simply appalling. A totally awful, muddy, swishing mess.
I paid £387.98,I feel for those who paid 3 grand for dab Hi-fi tuners only to get absoloute 80s to stream in mono
I thought all new radios was Dab+ compatible? I know mine is and it was not expensive.
Saying that I do know what you mean a mate of mine have got a older DAB tuner that is not DAB+, while he uses the FM part more than DAB, i am not not sure what he would think if the DAB part stopped working.
Originally Posted by Alfie155 View Post
... which is in mono.
I have invested heavily in DAB over the years and even very recently with an aerial upgrade.
Silly me to believe all the early hype about near CD quality hi-def radio etc, when all you get now is a low bit rate mono broadcast.
Another con by the politicos - and to think that by now T Blair would have switched off FM for ever if he'd stayed in power.
Not all DAB radios are mono devices and some of us still like a big sound stage in our listening space - but the trend now is reminiscent of those cranky 1960s transistor mono radios that the teenagers of the era played on beaches and in parks to the annoyance of those nearby.
So much for progress.
I may be a lone voice but for what its worth I have written to Ofcom to protest at their standing idly by whilst quality listening disappears into the ether.
Us people who do listen to radio on stereo or surround sound (Dolby Pro-Logic II) systems are just condescendingly dismissed and disregarded as a very small minority of "audiophiles" who should be expected to cough up a significant fee for a stream at least of decent quality and in stereo and then again for the same thing on a mobile device. At least the radio broadcasters haven't put their decent quality streams behind a substantial paywall - yet.
I have given up all hope for DAB+ to ever appear in the UK, it's vehemently opposed by the industry and experts alike.
I think it's quite a damming indictment of an industry when the next question I ask is when will the first music based station start regular, permanent broadcasting at 48k mono? It can only be a matter of time now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alfie155 View Post
Whose side are they supposed to be on?
... and breathe...
Not the side of audio quality, that's for sure. Unfortunately audio quality and commercial free market ideology go completely at odds with DAB.
At least 6 weeks on, Ofcom still haven't replied or acknowledged my letter.
Now we know whose side they are on.
Ofcom's policy is explained here:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/futureradio07/statement/
Isn't there some supply and demand issue there? If 128k were the only option (eg, Ofcom ruled that any less wasn't acceptable for music broadcasting), then D1 would lower their prices to avoid making no money. Whether D1 would be viable or not in that scenario I don't know...
I'm not hardline on the issue - if a genuine niche station (say, BFBS or a religious station) can only get on at a low bitrate that seems reasonable. But for Kiss, Smooth and indeed Absolute 80s it's too much. The fact that there are now 2 stereo stations on D1 (one of which is nationwide on FM) must show we've gone too far...
I agree with you Russell,
I listen to UCB a lot and the only bit rate that they use is 64k but as most of the programming is partially made up of speech content I am content with it and on the music side of things, I get an extra buzz when I hear it on CD so swings and roundabouts in my opinion.
They are not making any money now. They made losses in 2010 & 2011 and a small profit in 2012. The overall position is just about breakeven. As new transmitters get added the network becomes more expensive to run.
I thnk Ofcom know they need to tread carefully here. In the last few years they have had the licences for five regional multiplexes (MXR) and one national multiplex (Digital 2) handed back to them because nobody wanted to operate them.
If they make the minimum bit rate 128k stereo they may wake up one morning and discover that nobody wants to operate a national DAB licence at all. That kind of over-regulation doesn't always pay dividends for the consumer.
Many thanks for confirming what I have been saying all along. If these DAB channels are struggling that much then where is the justification in handing them lifeline by letting them switch off their FM transmissions (if the FM switchoff goes ahead). At our expense.