Tag Archives: DAB+

Sweden (Again) Rejects DAB

Degen-DE27 Digital Radio FM Europe blog is reporting Sweden wants to keep FM radio:

Parliament Confirms Rejection of DAB Radio in Sweden [updated]

Public radio continues on FM and will push for extending its remit to include digital radio online.

The Constitutional Standing Committee (KU) in Riksdagen (the Parliament) has processed the government missive regarding the 2015 National Audit review of digital radio in which the proposal for a transition from FM to DAB+ in 2017-2022 was rejected. After a short debate and without objection from any of the eight political parties Riksdagen today appended the missive to the protocol. This marks the end of 24 years of efforts to replace FM with DAB in Sweden.

Already in June 2015 the Government took the decision to reject the proposal for a digital transition for terrestrial radio. In November this was piggy-backed in the budget proposal to the Parliament.

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This vote in the committee did not come as a big surprise as there has been an increasing skepticism in most parties against closing the FM band. A year ago in the consultation round the proposal was put into question or rejected by most qualified state institutions as PTS the telecom authority, KTH Royal Institute Of Technology, the Armed Forces, the Transport Agency and the Competition Authority as well as organizations as Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Ericsson and the Community Radio Assn.

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KU has been listening to the arguments for DAB+ from the two commercial networks and the public radio Sveriges Radio (SR) as well as critical comments by the Public Service Council. KU notes that the Government in its missive says that it cannot be ruled out that the question of digitalization of terrestrial radio will be on a future agenda. KU is satisfied with the Government plan to observe international developments. However, there was no other comments by the committee other than the missive should be appended to the protocol.

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This marks the end of 24 year period of futile efforts to introduce the DAB technology in Sweden. SR started testing DAB in Stockholm continuous since 1992 and officially went on air 1995 the same year as BBC introduced DAB in the UK. 2005 DAB was rejected for the first time by the social democratic government. Program have been broadcast in an inofficial mode via DAB and DAB+ transmitter in four major cities but few listeners are reported.

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Today up to a third of all listening on the public radio channels are on-line. This is much due to the high smartphone usage on 3G/4G LTE networks in Sweden. While forced to leave the DAB agenda SR will now request that the politicians will include its Internet activities in the next public service remit 2018.

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The two commercial radio networks Bauer and MTG still hold licenses to start DAB+ broadcasting later this year. But they are not expected to go DAB alone without having the public radio onboard. 60 % of the radio audience in Sweden is listening to SR. In the consultation round the DAB proposal was rejected by the community radio organisations.

Robert Gulley, AK3Q, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Robert also blogs at All Things Radio.

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DAB Praha: Czech Radio begins digital broadcasting

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, David Iurescia, who shares this news and audio report via the Radio Praha website:

“10:55 on Thursday morning was an important occasion in the history of radio in the Czech Republic as it was the exact moment that full digital broadcasting was launched in the country. The new network carries nine Czech Radio stations, some of which were previously only accessible online. For now the service is just available in the capital and Central Bohemia, but there are plans to roll it out to other parts of the country in the next few years.”

Click here to read the full transcript at Radio Praha.

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In the UK, digital radio is not always well-received

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Many thanks to my buddy, Dan, who shares this article from the Daily Mail:

“It was supposed to be the technology that would transform the way we listen to the radio.

But audiences condemned DAB – or Digital Audio Broadcasting – as a disaster yesterday because of the poor quality of the signal.

They complained that it cuts out in the middle of broadcasts, while others claim the technology is already out of date.

One even joked on Twitter that while we can now receive close-up photos of Pluto taken billions of miles away, he ‘still can’t get a good signal on DAB’.

DAB had been heralded as less prone to interference than AM or FM, but household appliances including microwave ovens, laptops, mobile phones and TVs have all been found to affect reception. Power lines and the weather can knock out digital signals, while signal strength can be reduced in built-up areas, in basements and inside buildings with thick stone or reinforced concrete walls.”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3168864/Coming-loud-clear-gripes-digital-radio-Audiences-condemn-DAB-poor-quality-signal-cuts-middle-programmes.html

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Norway: first country to shut down FM analog radio

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The City Hall (Radhus) in Oslo, Norway. (Source: Public Domain)

(Source: Radio.no)

NORWAY TO SWITCH OFF FM IN 2017

Within two years from now, the shutdown of national FM-networks begins in Norway. The switchover will begin in the North and will be implemented region by region.

Thursday, the Ministry of Culture announced a national FM-switch off, to complete the transition to digital radio. Norway is making an historical move into a new radio era, being the first country in the world to decide upon an analogue switch-off for all major radio channels. With DAB and digital radio, listeners will be provided with more radio channels and greater diversity in content.

[Continue reading on Radio.no…]

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Chorus 4: The DSP chip that supports AM, FM, DAB, DAB+, HD Radio and DRM

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The London-based digital solutions company, Frontier Silicon, has announced a new DSP radio chip that offers a wide array of available modes and is even DRM ready.

I have seen no specifications for this chip yet, and do not know if it covers the shortwave radio spectrum.

Still, this might be the perfect chip to allow radio manufactures to design an inexpensive, fully digital product in countries where digital platforms are gaining strength (anywhere from the UK to India, for example).

Many thanks to Rob De Santos for apprising me of this. I’ll post the specifications when they become available. Read the full press release below:

(Source: Frontier Silicon Press Release)

Chorus 4 a single-chip solution, integrating four previously separate chips

London, 17th December 2013

Frontier Silicon announces details of Chorus 4, its next generation digital radio chip. Chorus 4 is a single-chip solution, which integrates four previously separate chips to deliver significant cost and energy consumption savings.

Chorus 4 is the fourth generation chip from Frontier Silicon. The chip is designed to encourage the continued advance of digital radio around the world by supporting all major global digital radio standards. Chorus 4 provides solutions for multiple devices, including consumer radios, the automotive aftermarket and, for the first time, smartphones and tablets. The company’s previous solutions have already powered over 20 million digital radios worldwide.

The key features and benefits of Chorus 4 are:

Low cost, single chip solution: integration of RF front-end, baseband, application processor and DAC (“four chips in one”) delivers significant cost savings which enable high quality, entry-level price point digital radios
Ultra-low power consumption – one month’s listening for 5-6 hours a day on a portable radio with four D cell batteries (comparable to FM performance)
Multiple solutions for portable and table-top radios, smart-device docks, wireless speakers, hand-held receivers, sound-bars and audio systems
Automotive aftermarket – solutions for head units, integrated convertors and low cost adapters
Smart devices – enables digital radio solutions for mobile phones and tablets
Bluetooth connectivity – connecting smart devices and digital radios to enable hybrid radio (with interactivity and additional content delivered via IP), music streaming and remote control
Integrated service guides – new software will enable listeners to select stations from a single list of digital and analogue stations regardless of platform
Multiple radio standards – including support for AM, FM, DAB, DAB+, HD Radio and DRM

Digital Tick compliant – Chorus 4 solutions meet all technology requirements of the UK minimum specifications for both domestic and automotive digital radio devices.
Frontier Silicon CEO, Anthony Sethill, said

“Chorus 4 represents a step change for the digital radio market. After ten years of development on this and previous solutions, we now have our fourth generation chip – an integrated, single chip offering enhanced functionality, lower cost and significantly greater energy efficiency. Chorus 4 will power multiple devices, including low cost automotive adapters and devices with Bluetooth connectivity. For the first time, digital radio in mass deployment smartphones will become a viable proposition. As a multi-standard chip, Chorus 4 will address emerging opportunities around the world. I look forward to working closely with broadcasters, transmission operators and device manufacturing partners to address these exciting opportunities.”

About Frontier Silicon Limited

Frontier Silicon is the world’s leading supplier of integrated circuits and modules for digital radio and connected audio products. Frontier Silicon is part of the Toumaz Group, a pioneer in low-power wireless semiconductor and software technologies for the consumer audio and wireless healthcare markets.

The group is headquartered in London, England, with design centres in Oxford, Cambridge, Hong Kong and Romania. The company also has sales and technical support teams in Hong Kong, China and Japan.

Frontier Silicon’s audio products offer solutions for DAB/DAB+, Internet radio and connected audio – from silicon through software to production-ready platform designs.

Customers supplied by Frontier Silicon include Argon, Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Bush, Denon, Dual, Geneva, Goodmans, Grundig, Hama, harman/kardon, Hitachi, JVC, Magic Box, NAD, Onkyo, Panasonic, Philips, Pinell, Pioneer, Pure, Revo, Roberts, Ruark Audio, Sangean, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony, TEAC, TechniSat, Tivoli Audio and Yamaha.

Frontier Silicon is a trademark or registered trademark of Frontier Silicon Ltd.

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