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I am not a "Digital Sceptic," maybe more of an Audiophile or Hi-Fi Snob.
Digitized Audio from a well recorded CD can produce beautiful sound through a high quality Stereo Hi-Fi system.
I am somewhat baffled by the phrase "Listen to that Beautiful Digital Sound" sometimes used to advertise Digital Radio.
Unfortunately, audio quality from Digital Radio Broadcasting is not necessarily beautiful.
I have done extensive listening to DAB, (Eureka-147) in both Denmark and the UK, and found the DAB audio quality is marginally better than AM, but not even close to FM.
Main reasons, I believe, are Bit Rates of 128 K or lower being used by the majority of stations.
Statements by a leading BBC Engineer claim that a bit rate of 256 K is necessary for serious music, 192 K or even as low as 160 K may sometimes be adequate for some types of Pop Music.
Many complaints from listeners, particularly in the UK tend to support the BBC statements.
Claims by certain officials that the DAB+ (AAC+) system now used in Australia, is twice as good as the old obsolete DAB, and therefore allows us have twice as many radio stations is utter uninformed and irresponsible nonsense.
DAB+ is better than DAB, but not twice as good, 128 K DAB+ is probably equivalent to 192 K in DAB and perfectly satisfactory for the majority of Commercial Radio Stations.
64 K DAB+ as used by most of the Australian Commercial Stations, equivalent to 96 K in DAB is simply not good enough and nothing to be proud of.
80 K DAB+ as used by ABC Classical, roughly equivalent to 128 K DAB is something they should be ashamed of, the DAB+ audio quality is notably inferior to ABC Classical FM.
ABC Classical should broadcast at 160 K which will provide the audio quality deemed necessary by the BBC Engineer.
I believe, due to political lobbying, that some Community Broadcast Stations will shortly have access to DAB+ at very low Bit Rates, why bother, the mind boggles.
Australia had a chance of being the world leader in Digital Audio Broadcasting by being the first country to adopt and use the excellent DAB+ technology.
Unfortunately, it looks like Corporate Greed by the owners of the Commercial Transmission Systems, and Political Wrangling between government controlled broadcasters and their internal departments, has "Blown" any chance of DAB+ audio quality in Australia being a "Benchmark" for other countries to follow.
To be honest, due to the low Bit Rates used, broadcast DAB+ audio quality in Australia is inferior to DAB as broadcast in Europe.
The Public Servant who some time ago "Brainwashed" an ignorant former Minister for Communications to state something like, DAB+ is twice as good as the old fashioned DAB, we can therefore have twice as many Radio Stations, must be a "Genius" at his job, almost like in the former TV Show, "Yes Minister."
Poul Kirk
re CBAA cutbacks
It's not a surprise that this organisation is failing. I recall going into their building in Alxandria and being appalled by the mess and chaos. My dealings with the staff were much the same.
They provide very little incentive for organisations to join them as they provide a fairly ordinary product via comrad sat plus they are a pretty ordinary lobby group that simply does not get results.
My impression of the staff was that of a nice casual job with very little need to generate results.
You tend to get a bad impression of an organisation when you turn up to a meeting in a suit and tie and the staff are wearing dirty jeans and tshirt one seem to know very little about radio.
Oh and it doesn't help when a staff member falls asleep during a meeting too!
Not surprised at all.
The suggestion that record labels and radio stations get "in bed" together really is a slide down the slope to payola along with locking artists out of the system. If it's all sewn up in Idol and major networks then I would suggest most musicians should go hock their guitars right now cos it's all over baby.