Maybe an issue with the repeater in the city?
I found the post from @Ant5476.
It may not be this issue. Just putting it out there. The subsequent posts it was fixed.
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… confused?
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That first story is pretty much the fate I’m expecting Australian DAB+ to meet sometime in the next few years!
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If that happens they might as well switch AM and FM off as well in my opinion. Everyone will be streaming.
Plus there were no commercial operators on DAB in Ireland so it never stood a chance.
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Some border areas in Ireland should still be able to receive DAB from Northern Ireland.
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DAB+ will survive here because of its ability to give broadcasters cheaper/free royalties for online simulcast stations. CRA have demonstrated their significant influence so the Government are unlikely to lead the charge with a turn off, nor are the commercial broadcasters who are still happily pouring money into it.
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Australia needs a comms minister and ACMA with backbone and leadership. Happy to take some bumps and bruises along the way for useful reform and stop being beholden to media organisations.
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Well as a little side thought about the lack of movement forward of things in Aussie… look at the state of digital TV, we still have MPEG2 SD channels onair, we have tested DVB-T2 in Cap cites, TVs have been supporting MPEG 4 and T2 for how long now?
Yet we are still on-air with SD MPEG2 DVB-T.
So what hope have we got in making the radio space better when we can’t even get movement on the TV space which devices seem to evolve quicker then radio devices
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I think over the next 5 years there will be more regional areas switching on DAB+ but using category 2 licences to combine local Commercial stations with ABC/SBS and local Community stations.
This could be rolled out in places like Wollongong, Newcastle, Central Coast, Sunshine Coast.
In the longer term 5+ years, there will be more metro capacity added with another category 1 licence to allow for more commercial and community stations to broadcast on DAB+ in the metros.
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With a Category 2 licence the ABC and SBS would only be able to have a handful of stations. Why would they go for that option instead of having the full range available with a Category 3 licence?
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I’m not convinced its an easy path forward for TV (and radio for that matter) to have forward momentum in this space - there has to be a point at which a broadcaster has to “pick and stick” for a period of time and that period probably correlates closely with the expected useful life of the device that you use to consume the service.
Moving to MPEG4 in the TV space has some serious advantages, and I’m sure that the TV networks would be keen to make the move 100%, but they appear concerned that doing so cuts off a big enough chunk of their viewership that they are scared to do it. Alienating viewers at a time where there are alternate options to FTA TV by forcing their hand with an upgrade is a bridge too far.
That said, I see TV as a much simpler medium to do this on than what radio is - the majority of consumption of the medium is done on a device built specifically for that purpose (ie a TV) and they have a lifecycle of about a decade - whereas with radio the device is a very different prospect - we often dont listen on a single-purpose device (a standalone radio) rather we use devices where the radio is a feature (like cars) that have a much longer lifecycle
What should be a bigger concern is that the devices that have traditionally had or been used as a radio are moving away from including a radio in the traditional sense - this is something that the industry has little if any control over. I replaced my alarm clock last year with a Google Home Hub - rather than having to choose from (frankly a limited choice of) stations I can receive locally, I can wake up to radio from anywhere in the world
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Because it would save on costs not just for the ABC and SBS but for the commercial operators as well. As there are a smaller number of commercial operators in the regional markets, reducing the up front costs will make it easier to recoup their investment.
It may be uneconomical to have a category 1 licence for commercial/community operators where there are only 2 stations in a regional market for example.
Cost. A handful of stations really is enough for the ABC and SBS. Look at the measly ratings for some of their existing stations in regional areas.
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They should be allocating category 2 licenses in regional areas, simply because it’s essentially the only way you’d be able to get local radio. That said, dealing with how you get local market ABC Local Radio into regional areas with the spectrum available is like every other aspect of regional DAB, just thrown into the too hard basket.
That said the other option is the ABC/SBS just not. They haven’t launched a site at Mandurah despite that being in the DRCP for the area, they could easily decide that carrying the stations on digital TV is sufficient.
One reason to not do Category 2 would then be avoiding the ABC being dragged in to funding commercial digital radio by regional operators being able to charge them for access - thus spreading costs they would have otherwise had to bear themselves.
It’s a bit off topic here - but they should absolutely be substituting some of their digital offerings onto analogue in regional markets. ABC Country or Double J are much more relevant to many areas than Newsradio or ABC Classic, especially with SEN Track replacing some Country music HPONs.
Likewise it’s no wonder a bunch of SBS repeaters end up running SBS Chill, instead of the main service.
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You’ve nailed it. ABC definitely has little interest in DAB+ expansion.
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Double J on FM in some regional markets without DAB+ would be good but it would piss off a lot of listeners who like ABC Classic FM or Radio National or News Radio, if it replaced any of those.
I didn’t know SBS was running SBS Chill on some of its frequencies but it’s a good station, one of the best digital stations.
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Many countries are supporting DRM. Smooth transmission from analogue to digital:
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Brisbane has one DAB+ on channel relay which is either not operating or at a very low wattage.
It is also high on a ridge in the west of what was Caboolture Shire. It has the potential if operating at spec of the weaker OCR signal confusing radios on the other side of Brisbane where signal may be close to equal to the Mt Coot-tha output (as the Mt Coot-tha output, engineered in a pre ATV shut down, pre restack era is too low).
ACMA mentioned these concerns in the 2016 consultation documents (of which we are still waiting to be finalised and implemented by broadcasters).
CRA installed it as they were hoping for extended coverage, “fortuitously” outside of the Brisbane RA1 into the Sunshine Coast and that the one OCR would cover the weaker signal areas of the Moreton Bay council region where the limited signal from Mt Coot-tha due to pre restack limitations impacts reception.
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That’s usually standard due to as @dxnerd mentioned in the other thread, the largely water path.
I have received Melbourne digital very well in Apollo Bay on all occasions I’ve visited.
What’s a nearby cross street to where you received this so we have a general idea what location you received this @Dj_Cazzah
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