Poll: DAB+ is the future? Digital terrestrial radio broadcasting

[rpmmatt]

DAB+ is free-to-air. No SIM card required, no annoying contracts with greedy GSM operators.




lol 100$ monthly charge.

Yeah, the price of new technology never decreases.

My mobile contract is less than £12 a month and I get effectively unlimited data almost anywhere in the world I need/want to visit, something that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago.

The only reason your DAB sales figures are so high is because almost everything comes with it as standard. It's not a demand driven shift if it's government policy to restrict choice. That is like boasting Freeview sales are great when that is only choice available. The few boomers left watching live TV would be just as content of they were still using their 4:3 CRT TV rented from Rumbelows. The market didn't decide, government did. The question your asking is if DAB+ is the future. The answer to that is no.
DAB is only a thing because governments want more shekels for the spectrum, it's not a consumer led technology, and that's why it will ultimately be nothing but a quirky subject for YouTube nostalgia videos.

 

[lucid]

Sales of DAB+ devices increase by almost a quarter

There is no surprise to this. The EU has set up a situation that forces manufacturers to include DAB+ reception in certain classes of audio product. [See European Electronic Communications Code (EECC)].

To summarise, in 2018 the EU rolled out legislation regarding the inclusion of DAB+. The deadline for member countries to adopt this and write it in to their local laws was Dec 2020. The EU directive grants the power not only to insist that DAB+ be included in cars, but also allows for member states to force manufacturers to include DAB+ reception in home audio products too.

What they've done then is give manufacturers and consumers no real choice in the matter of whether DAB+ is included as a feature of a new purchase, but then dishonestly proclaim the success of DAB+ in the resulting sales figures.

There are a couple of interesting points within EECC 2020 though. First, it includes the provision of IP services. Second, it doesn't preclude the continuation of FM, or the continued inclusion of FM (and AM) reception in car audio products.

DAB+ is free-to-air. No SIM card required, no annoying contracts with greedy GSM operators.

No. Just greedy Governments and greedy broadcasters.

lol 100$ monthly charge.

Regarding Starlink, it's a service aimed at filling in the gaps in coverage not served by the current (but expanding) GSM network. So of course it is relatively expensive at the moment. For someone with no ISP service, or very slow speeds, then the cost might be justifiable as a better-than-nothing option.

Also, Starlink isn't limited to providing music streaming and internet radio. It's a full Internet service, so to judge it purely on a direct comparison with DAB/DAB+ is rather a stupid approach.

 

[jpaul]

Happy to just use both our cars inbuilt wifi hotspots / data plans and have good audio quality with more choice.

so is coverage and bandwidth good enough to sustain spotify ~200Kb/s , or an internet radio ... road trips are where I'd want it to work most. ?

My mobile contract is less than £12 a month and I get effectively unlimited data almost anywhere in the world I need/want to visit, something that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago.

hadn't appreciated it had become so cheap; if we had good gsm coverage/wifi-calling could get rid of that land line.

 

[lucid]

I have no such expectations - internet connectivity is not needed in the cars and I am generally against it.

BIB: Really. Why?

BMW thinks it's important WiFi in the car: How does it work? (bmw.com)

So does Audi Wifi Hotspot | myAudi FAQs | Audi UK

and Volkswagon Connected Car | Volkswagen UK

and SEAT What are connected cars? Full Link technology, SEAT digital cockpit, IoT | SEAT

and Skoda ŠKODA Connect | ŠKODA UK (skoda.co.uk)

and Mercedes Mercedes me connect (mercedes-benz.co.uk)

and Porsche Porsche Connect - Porsche Great Britain

and Mini MINI Connected App | MINI UK

All the above are German owned brands, aren't they?

I haven't bothered listing the German-owned high-end automotive brands such as Rolls Royce, Bentley, Maybach, Lamborghini, Bugatti, AMG in case it invites accusations that these aren't brands for ordinary people.

Then there's the other European, American, Japanese and independent brands. (Hint: many of those include mobile Wi-Fi hotspots tech too.)

You may be against it, but it seems that large portions of the car industry have a different view.

 

[rpmmatt]

Car manufacturers have to give customers what they want.
Customers want their in-car infotainment to be an extension of smart phone experience, not a tinny, mono sound of bland, generic, repetitive advert filled DAB stations.

 

[jpaul]

The eu were(still are?) tring to mandate car connectivity for diagnostics/recalls ... and ... presumably you can use it for tolls, priced road, identification.

 

[rpmmatt]

From 2018 cars sold in the EU have had to have a GSM system built in, which will call the emergency services automatically in the event of accident. It's called eCall.
Not much of step to for data connections be become standard.

so is coverage and bandwidth good enough to sustain spotify ~200Kb/s , or an internet radio ... road trips are where I'd want it to work most. ?


hadn't appreciated it had become so cheap; if we had good gsm coverage/wifi-calling could get rid of that land line.

I can drive UK to the arctic circle with constant streaming on my roaming data. Good enough for audio and even Netflix and YouTube. Only interruptions are if it switches provider at country borders, that's a matter of minutes. Only other loss of signal was on the Hirtshals-Larvik ferry as it's a 4 hour trip.
Even the Dover-Calais service there's only a 30 minutes to drop out, you maintain reception a good 3rd of the way across the channel these days, but they have complimentary Wi-Fi, at least upstairs in the lounge.

 

[Firestar_3x]

so is coverage and bandwidth good enough to sustain spotify ~200Kb/s , or an internet radio ... road trips are where I'd want it to work most. ?

Coverage for data seems to be better than DAB, when driving through some small towns / villages we struggle for DAB reception yet data is fine.

 

[4K8KW10]

BIB: Really. Why?

Because it's expensive, closed in private networks and very inconvenient.

Car manufacturers have to give customers what they want.

No, they give the GSM operators what these want. Large scale of corruption.

 

[lucid]

Because it's expensive,

Are you saying that you think GSM access is simply being purchased solely as an alternative to your "free-to-air" DAB?

closed in private networks

Are you saying that you think Internet radio isn't available to anyone with web access so long as the stations have the appropriate "broadcast" rights for the listener's country?

and very inconvenient.

Are you saying it's inconvenient to step in to a car and have the phone connect to the car audio system?

 

[4K8KW10]

Are you saying that you think GSM access is simply being purchased solely as an alternative to your "free-to-air" DAB?

I don't purchase data plans from my GSM operator.
I have my phone for calls only and rarely use Wi-Fi connectivity which is limited to indoors, as it should be.

Are you saying it's inconvenient to step in to a car and have the phone connect to the car audio system?

Of course it is more inconvenient than to step in to a car and simply push a button to play the DAB+ radio.


Let's not mix technologies and put technologies to areas which don't belong to them.

 

[picnic]

My mobile contract is less than £12 a month and I get effectively unlimited data almost anywhere in the world I need/want to visit, something that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago.

Prey tell how you get this, I'm sure many of us are unaware of such good deals. TIA.

Also if we're all driving around listening to Radio 4 (or whatever) via streaming is there sufficient radio bandwidth. I remember the days when driving passed Almondsbury you could guarantee a phone call would drop out as there was insufficient capacity as you went passed Orange's headquarters.

 

[jpaul]

My mobile contract is less than £12 a month and I get effectively unlimited data almost anywhere in the world I need/want to visit, something that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago.

hadn't appreciated it had become so cheap; if we had good gsm coverage/wifi-calling could get rid of that land line.

Best looks about 60GB month for £10/month , so that would be 2 hours listening per day at 1G/h 256KB/s ... which would be ok for my car use

 

[lucid]

I don't purchase data plans from my GSM operator.
I have my phone for calls only and rarely use Wi-Fi connectivity which is limited to indoors, as it should be.

That wasn't the question I asked.

Just because you choose not to do something it doesn't mean that the rest of us have to follow the same.

Please answer the original question.

Of course it is more inconvenient than to step in to a car and simply push a button to play the DAB+ radio.

The phone connects automatically to provide access to my contacts list and messaging. There's no button pushing required.

You seem to be about 5-10 years behind the curve in terms of technology. Perhaps you should get more experience of what's happening in the real world?

Let's not mix technologies and put technologies to areas which don't belong to them.

As demonstrated from the small sample from the car manufacturer list, integration is increasingly seen as part of a core feature set.

Once again you show how out of touch with reality you appear to be.

 

[rpmmatt]

Prey tell how you get this, I'm sure many of us are unaware of such good deals. TIA.

Sorry that was a typo. £22 a month that's for Unlimited data, phone, texts and tethering. Roaming has a data cap but can be made unlimited for £5 if I remember right. That's on 3. I used them mostly as they had better roaming but other networks have caught up a lot in recent years, contract is up soon so hoping I can get cheaper if I threaten to switch.

As for quality, I drive UK to northern Norway most years at least once. Since 2014 the roaming has gone from patchy speedwise to pretty consistent across northern Europe. My phone will be sat as satnav while streaming Spotify. When up in the mountains of Norway I easily stream Netflix/YouTube, which wasn't possible a few years ago on roaming.

Point remains though. With connectivity getting cheaper for better speed and coverage the existence of terrestrial broadcasting becomes less relevant everyday.

 

[5punk3monk3y]

@lucid, I wouldn't bother replying, whatever you say is wrong in his eyes, he's worse than PS.

 

[lucid]

I know what you mean, @5punk3monk3y. At the same time though I'm reminded of the quote (I'm paraphrasing here) "All evil needs to triumph is for good men to stand aside and do nothing"

Don't read to much in top the specific wordage. The point is more that if we leave people with extreme views to spout unchallenged then their views become the norm. That can't be right, can it?

 

[5punk3monk3y]

I know what you mean, @5punk3monk3y. At the same time though I'm reminded of the quote (I'm paraphrasing here) "All evil needs to triumph is for good men to stand aside and do nothing"

Don't read to much in top the specific wordage. The point is more that if we leave people with extreme views to spout unchallenged then their views become the norm. That can't be right, can it?

I concur, however he's been like that since joining the forum and I don't think any reasonable, well written, factual response will change his mind.. scratch that lead him to the light.

Remember this is the guy that posted the below.

I have a 4K TV without HDR support and it's perfect. HDR is just a marketing gimmick for the clueless.
Sub 500 nits is the maximum brightness level which you normally will never ever reach.

Actually, I decrease the brightness level manually in order to protect my eyes from bleeding.

 

[TALON1973]

I concur, however he's been like that since joining the forum and I don't think any reasonable, well written, factual response will change his mind.. scratch that lead him to the light.

Remember this is the guy that posted the below.

That just almost made me spill my pint can lol

 

[5punk3monk3y]

That just almost made me spill my pint can lol

He also started a DAB+ thread in the mobile section but that one didn't gain traction. Spouting on about some add on we can buy for Android phones that doesn't work in the UK anyway.