Digital audio broadcasting

… too little, too late, and too bad.

What may have been an OK idea for an alternative to FM broad­casting 20 years ago, is just a flop in 2017. A technology that is overtaken and made obsolete, should be abandoned – not enforced. Yet, enforcing DAB+ is what they have done here in Norway.

Actually no wonder the Norwegian Broad­casting Corporation (NRK) shut off their FM trans­mis­sions nation-wide, as that's the only way they could make at least some Norwegians buy DAB+ receivers and adapters.

The big switch from FM to DAB+ here in Norway, takes place at the wrong time and for all the wrong reasons. The future for big and small radio stations isn't FM and/​or DAB+, it is Internet Radio – consumed via stationary and mobile devices. That future is already here, and ter­rest­rial radio trans­mis­sions will at best end up as sup­ple­ments and emer­gency channels.

lost opportunity

The nation-wide shut-down of NRK's FM trans­mitters now in 2017, is nothing but a full-scale experi­ment. DAB+ coverage numbers exist only on paper and pretty unre­al­istic maps, while out in the country­side not even the best instal­lations can get a reliable reception on the move.

The technology behind DAB+ is working for stationary receivers – at least in theory. However, the opportunity to compete on quality was lost when they decided to cramp as much as possible into a band­width-limited stream, destroying audio quality in the process.

The system as a whole is not well prepared for stable reception in vehicles … our mountainous Norwegian terrain pose a real challenge. Garbled signals and frequent drop-outs are reported along all major cross-country roads, and along minor roads one cannot expect much of anything.

low bitrate…

By packing too many individual stations – channels – into each stream, the average bit-rate for each station becomes too low and quality suffers. The bitrate numbers presented in the example-picture, are all well below the very lowest limit for acceptable audio quality, regardless of content.

The better the original content, the more mangled digital compres­sion will make it sound. Thus, it won't help if all DAB+ channels sent all my favorite stuff 24/7, as the more I may like the original stuff, the more distorted the over-compressed DAB+ versions will sound to me.

For a critical ear most DAB+ channels sound like crap after only a few minutes of listening, compared to what we had on FM. And, if/​when they squeese more channels and services into the limited capacity, the sound quality can only get worse.

Never mention “HiFi” and “DAB+” in the same sentence, ever.

crappy receivers…

Add to the above that most DAB+ receivers and adapters on the market now in 2017, are sub­stan­dard products from the inside out. Some models have been recalled because they represented serious fire-hazards in peoples' homes, and dismal audio quality alone should lead to most of the others being recalled too.

Anyway, with low quality DAB+ trans­mis­sions being the standard here in Norway, who cares what DAB+ receivers are capable of.

When the signal is com­pres­sed to death before trans­mis­sion, it doesn't matter what equipment that is used and what condi­tions it is used under at the receiving end. What is lost can never be regained, so it isn't worth switching on even if top-quality receivers were given away for free.

The “low quality” stamp on the entire DAB+ chain is set in stone because of how the technology is applied, not because of what the technology in itself is capable of. Quantity over quality is the problem.

too bad…

Having spent quite a few years as technical advisor and responsible for a number of local radio stations and recording studios, I know what I want to hear when I turn on a receiver – or any other audio-capable device for that matter. DAB+ in its present form does not deliver.

Regardless of how much promo­tion and incen­tives that gets sent my way, I have no inten­tion of buying a DAB+ receiver. With all the avail­able alter­na­tives I simply can not see the point, and I most likely never will.

I may be just an old audiophile that is stupid enough to value quality over quantity. It is my choice to make though, and with DAB+ in its present form it's an easy one.

sincerely 

Hageland 27.nov.2017
last rev: 05.jun.2018