All posts by Michael Rogers
Below are all of Michael Rogers's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
DEAR SUBSCRIBER : Well you will be... We are sorry to hear of your technical problems, but are sure you will enjoy enhancing directors' bonuses and shareholders' dividends. Digiscam Inc is pleased to confirmn your irrevocable upgrade to our 5G subscription at only 5-times your current 2G rate, at a guaranteed minimum of 56kb/s bandwidth should you receive a 5G signal. Please note the microscopic fine print on page 333 of your original contract : FREEview means Flipping Ridiculous Electronic Exploitation.
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Mark: Dave is, of course, right. I am in
flippant mode, as you will have surmised ...
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We all LOVE retunes. Please Mr Ofcom, may we have a random re-arrangement of channels every week or so, preferably without pre-notification, so that we may delay the onset of Alzheimers with constant retune adventures?
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"They" often refer to "digital" rather than DAB with respect to coverage. So if you could, possibly, maybe, perhaps receive a digital radio signal on a 10meter diameter dish, 20meter high DAB yagi, on your Freeview living-room plasma 3D telly, or on your 20mb/s fibre-optic broadband (which almost all of us have, of course), then they sit back and await their inflation-busting annual bonus for over-attainment of performance targets. Medium-wave reaches nooks and crannies other modes on higher frequencies never discover - so let's get rid of it. Cynical, who, me? No : pure extrapolated empiricism.
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Maurice, Briantist's explanation is, of course, accurate - and exemplifies the painful DAB "gap" issue. Perhaps you could lobby the Scottish Assembly? Can you get Radio Scotland on Freeview television? My issue is related. I will probably never get my local BBC radio on DAB - and they plan to switch off FM, which, like DAB, doesn't sneak into all of our valleys and coasts - and AM, which does... Eventually, I will only get local radio by webradio (or the previously tongue-in-cheek cited 20m mast). Not exactly portable!
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Andrew : you should be able to get Deutsche Welle radio and television in English and German by satellite in the US - and possibly some via internet if your connection is fast enough.
Heinz : fast jeder Digitalempfnger wre geeignet. Einfach gegen den alten Analogempfnger austauschen. Evtl. wre ein neuer LNB erforderlich, wahrscheinlich aber nicht. lyngsat.com oder kingofsat.net wren empfehlenswert fr Empfangsdaten. "What Satellite" am Kiosk gibt Auskunft ber geeignete Technik.
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Some commercial operators are not renewing their DAB licences. That has to be a concern, not least where BBC local/regional radio can only be carried on a commercial multiplex. Commercial programme content appeals especially to listeners with an FM-only car-radio, less so to the few DAB static or mobile listeners. So FM may survive where DAB may struggle. DAB listeners appreciate the greater choice, but are frustrated by the low audio quality of low bit-rates. Webradio is catching up fast, especially with AAC, with an exponentially greater programme choice than DAB+FM for static listeners. It ain't going to plan...
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Mark : I am, on balance, pro-DAB, but you scare me. "Pure's latest UK models will receive DAB+ without the need for an upgrade." If too few have perceived the need to invest in DAB radios to ensure DAB supremacy, how will consumers respond when they learn that they will have to pay again for DAB-landfill and yet again for new DAB+ replacement radios - until the next incompatible "upgrade"?
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Tuesday 11 September 2012 10:39PM
"I am growingly optimistic that DAB will be quietly abandoned." Fear not, and rejoice in the tidings of the Brave New World of 4G. Soaring cost, shrinking coverage. Progress. Awesome!