Why I wont switch

My 2008 reg car has an neatly integrated FM/RDS radio with information on the head up display and controls in the steering wheel.

Unless they can provide a replacement for this that works exactly the same without having to use FM transmitter gadgets, external controls, something glued to the dashboard in a tacky manner, and looks straight from the nearest Essex Bling Shop for chaved up Novas, they can shove it.

Aside from that, FM is perfectly fine in the car, and I already use digital at home and work via Satellite and Internet Radio so have no need for crappy low bitrate over compressed DAB with its spotty reception.

I can see why...

you'd ignore analogue FM radios in PMPs and phones. I've never been able to get mine to work. Besides, they're a "me too" feature rather than a selling point. Where a product contains a radio which is almost never actually used then it seems silly to include it in the figures to prevent the switchover. Having said that, I've yet to see a reasonably sized (i.e. small) DAB radio. Until DAB radios can challenge the size of an FM radio you can't switch off the FM signal.

Long wave

Anyone know what the plan is for longwave? We use it to obtain shipping forecasts beyond (what I assume) the range of DAB.

It's not the punters you have to persuade

It's the manufacturers.

Once they stop trying to promote DIGITAL as if it's some sort of feature (instead of just a stealthy way of reducing the quality to the listener) and just make DAB the standard component in products that people buy - which now just happen to contain an FM receiver, then the problem just goes away. Let's face it. Hardly anyone goes out to buy a radio. We buy products that have a radio embedded: whether it's a radio/alarm, a gadget where radio is just a tick-box item or as part of an integrated music appliance. Just get the producers of these things to toss out the old, analog circuitry and replace it with an equivalent digital wotsit.

With luck, none of the buyers will notice it's digital and will ascribe the poorer audio quality to something else: like tinny speakers or their own inadequacies. That's the way to get DAB adoopted: sneakily, rather than going head-to-head with the established and better alternatives.

Is this unreasonable

After all how many people buying these "radios" are actually conciously intending to acquire a radio. From my experience of the FM tuners on phones and MP3 players fall into to the category of "nice to have it as its there" but then rapidly after trying to use it turns into "doesn't really work but I wasn't buying a radio so what". (N..b. I have an FM tuner on my DAB personal radio ... FM reception is cr*p but the DAB is great)

Damn and Blast

DAB = that or Dump and Burn.

Why can't Government back off and leave things alone.

As for GfK NOP, have you seen the volume of complaints on the net about their unwanted phone calls? They don't call me any more since I asked for 10 guineas to answer each question - payable in advance. Seemed fair as they get paid for the results.

Oh and yes, I am content to use guineas, shillings, and even metres.......of the 208 variety.

Sod progress and Nanny McBroon.

Sales?

This is not entirely an unfair thing to do - I certainly do not use the radio which is built into my phone, and the presence of a radio was not part of my criteria for getting that phone - I was buying a phone, not an analogue radio.

I am sure many here woudl regard it as very dodgy marketing if MS were to claim 100% of Windows PC uses 'bought' IE,to offer a possible similar claim!

"ghetto blasters"

Good to see you kicking it oldskool with that terminology Mr Orlowski!

Joking aside, internet radio, on demand play-list services and podcasts will probably take over "radio listening" in the traditional sense before they can turn off analogue anyway. These radio people need to get with the times! Also FM kicks DAB's low bitrate butt!

How do they...

Work out what share of listening is done on what sort of device? After all the plan is to begin the digital switchover when 50% of listening is done on digitial devices* How do sales figures help measure this? Knowing how many devices have been sold doesn't even begin to tell you how many analgue and digital devices are in use at any given time. How many DAB radios have been bought and aren't used? How many digital radio capable devices like STBs or indeed PCs are out there that have never been used to listen to radio?

Let's be straight about this; they haven't got a clue how many analogue or digital radio devices are in use. They haven't got a clue how to go about measuring it either. Or to look at it another way, by 2015 they will have worked out a way of counting that show that the 50% threshold has been passed.

* And for once can commentards please avoid the assumption that digital=DAB. Other digital radio devices are available.

@Various

@Marvin...

'I keep getting radios for free with other stuff, analogue ones, yet I haven't listened to radio in 7 years' - so? - some of us listen to the radio all the time.

@Pete 2

'Once they stop trying to promote DIGITAL as if it's some sort of feature (instead of just a stealthy way of reducing the quality to the listener) and just make DAB the standard component in products that people buy - which now just happen to contain an FM receiver, then the problem just goes away. Let's face it. Hardly anyone goes out to buy a radio.' - I agree with your first sentence, but not your bit in brackets - quality may be worse, but that is a by product of cramming more and more stations in the bandwidth. I do go out to buy radios - I research and find ones with good reviews and then make sure they function well - if the controls are fiddly I don't buy them.

I suspect too many non-Radio 4 listeners here.....

title this

I don't listen to radio outside of internet based community shows.

My radio alarm clock is always tuned into static and volume jacked up as music would only keep me asleep. Full blast wall of noise on a morning wakes me up, having it on the other side of the room gets me out of bed. Will there be a DAB static channel to replace that functionality?

Stop worrying...

...I'll give it 2 or 3 years, and they'll be giving DAB radios away in desperation. You'll probably get one free with your cornflakes...

And unless you very lucky, it still won't be a ha'porth of use...