Comments on: FM Decision http://www.digitalradioltd.com/fm-decision/ News from the Cutting Edge of Irish DAB Radio Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:30:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dusty Rhodes http://www.digitalradioltd.com/fm-decision/#comment-50 Dusty Rhodes Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:24:54 +0000 http://www.digitalradioltd.com/?p=327#comment-50 I agree with Jim that online radio will be a big part of the future. Making your own EPG, the sheer variety of content available, and much of it on-demand, is all great. However as Jim pointed out the clatter of various formats and signifcant bandwidth costs make it confusing and expensive. DAB broadcasting is much cheaper than FM or the internet. In addition, from a listeners point-of-view it's simple. Plug in the box, turn it on, done. I feel DAB will be the platform for mass market <i>broad</i>-casting and the internet will be great for niche and/or on-demand <i>narrow</i>-casting. I agree with Jim that online radio will be a big part of the future.

Making your own EPG, the sheer variety of content available, and much of it on-demand, is all great. However as Jim pointed out the clatter of various formats and signifcant bandwidth costs make it confusing and expensive.

DAB broadcasting is much cheaper than FM or the internet. In addition, from a listeners point-of-view it’s simple. Plug in the box, turn it on, done.

I feel DAB will be the platform for mass market broad-casting and the internet will be great for niche and/or on-demand narrow-casting.

]]> By: JimDHunt http://www.digitalradioltd.com/fm-decision/#comment-49 JimDHunt Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:47:19 +0000 http://www.digitalradioltd.com/?p=327#comment-49 The move from FM broadcasting to online broadcasting might now be as linear and smooth as it was from AM to FM. For a start there are a multitude of different audio formats, Real, WMA, MP3, OGG etc.. This will inevitably confuse people who are not technically minded. You also have a variety of different receiving platforms ranging from modern mobile phones to laptops to full out Wi-Fi Radios. Not to mention that this only deals with live transmission and not audio on demand programming. The choice over who dominates a national live audio platform will be decided by people who want a system that has an integrated EPG, controlled and edited by themselves online. The EPG is fed to their receiving device, a Wi-Fi Radio or laptop or phone, coupled with an audio stream using a single popular codec, i.e. MP3. Of course, this would require significant bandwidth costs on the part of the supplier and a solution to transcode multiple simultaneous radio streams to MP3. The costs of such a platform could only be offset by charging subscribers. Could the move from FM to Online Broadcasting herald the end of free over the air radio? The move from FM broadcasting to online broadcasting might now be as linear and smooth as it was from AM to FM. For a start there are a multitude of different audio formats, Real, WMA, MP3, OGG etc.. This will inevitably confuse people who are not technically minded. You also have a variety of different receiving platforms ranging from modern mobile phones to laptops to full out Wi-Fi Radios. Not to mention that this only deals with live transmission and not audio on demand programming.

The choice over who dominates a national live audio platform will be decided by people who want a system that has an integrated EPG, controlled and edited by themselves online. The EPG is fed to their receiving device, a Wi-Fi Radio or laptop or phone, coupled with an audio stream using a single popular codec, i.e. MP3.

Of course, this would require significant bandwidth costs on the part of the supplier and a solution to transcode multiple simultaneous radio streams to MP3. The costs of such a platform could only be offset by charging subscribers.

Could the move from FM to Online Broadcasting herald the end of free over the air radio?

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