Digital Radio Plus: NOT - DAB+ and its minuses

Say No > Digital Radio Plus: NOT - Say no to DAB+ and its minuses

Introduction

Digital radio was introduced to the world since the early 2000s. More recently (2007 and onwards), a push is gaining momentum to try to get listeners to switch over to digital. However, digital radio is not all that it is striked up to be.

Promises of so-called 'better' sound quality, better reception, station name display etc are usualy marred by problems such as higher cost and limited transmission ranges that plague digital transmissions. As such, digital radio will only compliment analogue radio. It will never replace it.

The Minuses

Worse than FM quality. The DAB+ bitrate, usually 64 Kbps for nearly all stations, is dismal. Most shared DAB transmitters try to cram more 'stations' onto the one DAB frequency, leading to lower bitrates for each station, and subsequently the audio equivalent of image pixellation. The owners of DAB transmitters make more money by having more radio stations 'subscribe' for allocation on their digital services.

As one DTV forum member rightly pointed out:

Yes, HE-AAC shows its strength at 48kbps (actual). Unfortunately it is still only good enough for talk back radio and news at 48kbps (nominal) for my ears. I find the "writhing" and "hollow" basic sound, and the bursts of artificial treble, distracting and unpleasant.

We are seeing a lot of the DAB+ broadcasters in Australia using 64kbps (nominal). That produces a reasonable quality, but unfortunately still below the quality of FM in a good reception location with a medium price range FM tuner. With careful listening, there is almost continually noticeable artifacting of speech. Much music suffers too. Classical music in particular is noticeably compromised at 64kbps (nominal). However for casual listening, particularly at low volume levels, 64kbps (nominal) would be quite acceptable for many people.

There is nothing that sounds quite like analogue - DAB+ can have a harsh sound resulting from encoding artifacts due to the underlying AAC audio compression codec being used. Unless the DAB+ stations use at least a 128Kbps AAC allocation, the full potential of digital radio (i.e. CD quality audio) simply cannot be realised. It is not unlike listening to badly encoded MP3 audio by some pirating, iPod owning kid who should know better. In fact, some stations, notably Magic 1278 in Melbourne, have audio quality on DAB that is not much better than their analogue transmissions. And others, such as 3AW, have a 'normal', high quality station, along with a '3AW+' station which simulcasts the AM transmissions with much reduced quality. Why bother? What's the point?

The crispness and clarity of FM transmissions and the mellow sound of AM transmissions on the MW band simply cannot be replicated on digital transmissions that use lossy codecs such as AAC+ - especially at low bitrates.

DAB+ (on the majority of stations, as of 2010) can be described as an audio signal that has been split into a two bands, with the low (bass to mid) band sounding muffled (as if you had pillows or several sheets over the speaker), combined with an overly accentuated and crunchy high (treble) band for good measure. It may re-create some of the original sound timbre, but the results are disastrous for music such as a orchestral pieces (the stringed instruments lose most of their nuances). ABC Classic FM on DAB+ does no justice to the music.

Unless you enjoy the horrible 'tinnyness', raspy, metallic, youtube-like sounding audio compression used on DAB+ (in the current state of allocations), it would be better to stick to FM.

Delayed audio and latency. Nearly all AM/FM stations who simulcast on DAB+ will incur a delay of up to 7 seconds for the digital version. This is because the transmitter must encode the audio and 'buffer' a few seconds of it before being sent to the transmitter, and the receiver also needs to hold its own buffer of 1 - 2 seconds. Only a rare few stations deliberately delay the analogue signal so both analogue and DAB signals will be in better sync. But the delay on DAB+ can be very annoying to listeners who have the radio commentary running alongside their TV when watching live sporting events. In this case it is better to use an analogue receiver.

Higher power consumption - portable receivers are available on the market that can receive analogue as well as decode digital transmissions. When running in analogue mode, batteries can last for days or even weeks if used infrequently. But when in digital mode, battery life suffers significantly, by the order of 5 to 8 times less. The decoder circuits (microprocessor, DAC, RAM, etc) are all power-hungry devices. DAB+ uses the AAC codec which is complex to decode, leading to increased signal processing requirements and the need for a powerful microprocessor. It means the receiver can only run for several dozen hours on battery power.

In analogue receivers, most of the electrical power is used to run the audio amplification stages. Very little is needed to run the receiving end of the radio. The opposite is true for DAB+ radios. Most of the electricity is used in the receiving and decoding stages, whist comparatively little is used for audio output. So running a DAB radio at low audio volume will not significantly enhance battery life as it does for an analogue radio.

When used a couple of hours a day, most analogue pocket transistor radios running off a pair of AA cells will last at least two to three weeks. DAB radios, even with their high-capacity lithium rechargeable batteries, will last at most two or three days away from AC power.

In short, portable DAB+ units simply can't compete with analogue sets when it comes to battery life.

Bulky receivers. At present nearly all DAB receivers are bulky, and only a rare few (such as the Sangean DPR-34+) would be classed as truly portable. The popular 'Pure One Mini' comes close, but you would still be struggling to fit that in an overcoat pocket. The good old compact analogue transistor radio will be with us for some time to come.

Weak signals unusable on DAB, less reach - whilst a weak, distant analogue radio station can still be received with some level of intelligibility (albeit with some background noise and static), a digital receiver will be unable to decode the weak signal, resulting in no audio at all. In marginal cases, the audio will cut in and out.

At the end of the day, digital radio is either all or nothing - when you have a good signal, you will have great sounding audio. You get nothing when the signal is even the slightest bit too weak for the radio's liking. If you want uninterrupted reception, stick with analogue. At least with analogue, the audio quality will gradually taper off as the signal gets weaker, rather than cut out entirely.

No ability for DXing. Dxing (or long distance listening) is a hobby some radio listeners engage in. The AM signals on the medium wave band can propagate several hundred kilometers (especially at night). With a suitable antenna, distant signals can be picked up with good clarity. Listening in to another MW radio station from a neighbouring state or town is not difficult.

However, because DAB uses VHF, signal propagation only allows for local listening, unlike medium wave. VHF communications generally require a near-line-of-sight path for a good useable signal, and more so for digital modes. It is near impossible to listen to a distant DAB+ signal.

Another gadget to clutter your car. Car manufacturers have been reluctant to install DAB radios in vehicles, and for good reason. DAB technology is still in its infancy, and there is no guarantee the technology won't be superseded with something newer in a couple of years time. Analogue AM/FM has been around for many decades, is a tried-and-tested technology and will be with us for the long haul.

To listen to digital radio whilst driving, an in-car DAB+ receiver is needed, which retransmits its audio on an 'empty' FM frequency so your car's existing receiver can pick it up for playback. But such a thing will clutter your car, competing with the GPS, cell phone charger, etc, for power from the cigarette lighter socket. You now have two things to turn on in order to listen - first, your car's built in radio, and second, your DAB receiver. Probably more trouble than it's worth, so you may as well just listen to analogue AM/FM.

When travelling to rural areas, DAB signals will be a rarity. You'll end up listening to the local analogue station (with no intention of switching to DAB anytime soon) or the stronger AM powerhouses back in town, whose signal actually has decent reach and coverage. Try that with DAB - not a chance! DAB is for local coverage only. No DXing.

Very susceptible to interference - Electrical impulse interference generally poses no major issues to an analogue receiver, only causing pops or crackles to appear on the received audio. Such EMI (electromagnetic interference) exists in many places, especially in the modern home, office and industrial settings. But on a digital bitstream, electrical interference can easily disrupt and corrupt the precise 1s and 0s being transmitted. The end result ranges from garbled sound for a split second to complete audio muting for several seconds. But in AM or FM, the only effect would be a slight fuzz, pop or crackle in the audio. With DAB, you end up missing out on bits of audio, but on analogue, you can still quite easily make out the programme material from any interference or noise.

Increased greenhouse gases and electronic waste (e-Waste) - as more consumers purchase DAB radios, perfectly working analogue receivers, clock radios, portable 'walkman' type receivers etc will be thrown out, adding to the problem of increasing e-waste. Moreover, the higher power requirements and component complexity will all generate more greenhouse gases in both production and usage. The factory manufacturing the radios will use more resources to produce a receiver. The receiver itself needs more power to run its power hungry decoder circuitry.

Loss of radio hobby and education - 'crystal sets' were one of the first easy to build AM radio receivers that an electronics hobbyist could construct. When all radio stations move to DAB, such a thing will not be possible. This will lead to the erosion of the electronics and radio hobby. More and more people will simply take radio for granted, rather than have an interest in the underlying circuits that make them work.

Can be expensive to switch over. Avid radio listeners will have several radios scattered around living and work areas. One in the kitchen, lounge room, bedside, garage/workshop, car, office, pocket, etc. Replacing all of them could cost hundreds of dollars.

Of course, one could connect a personal FM transmitter (such as a Belkin TuneCast) to the DAB receiver so the digital station can be re-transmitted to other analogue receivers in the home, but there is still a problem with listening to it away from home.

Don't put all your eggs in the one basket. When a DAB+ transmitter fails, it takes all the stations on the multiplex with it. With some DAB transmitters cramming up to 20 stations onto the one multiplex, a transmitter failure can cause widespread disruption. Wheras in analogue radio, a failure of a transmitter would only cause an outage for the affected station. All other stations would still be on air.

With several popular radio stations being designated as 'official information stations' in the event of natural disasters (e.g. bushfires), switching off analogue transmissions is highly dangerous and could potentially risk lives. If a DAB transmitter fails during such an emergency, the public could be left in the dark if they cannot receive broadcasts of vital safety information.

Digital technology prone to change. When newer technologies are developed, DAB+ in its current form may be phased out quicker than expected. This could result in further e-waste issues as another wave of mass dumping of DAB receivers occurs.

Analogue radio has not changed significantly for nearly a century due to its reliability, simplicity, robustness and worldwide universal acceptance.

Because analogue receivers can be found almost anywhere, Analogue radio will be here to stay. Video may have killed the radio star. But DAB will never kill the analogue star.

Quote from Media Spy - Digital Radio - Forums

"Radio bosses are kidding themselves if they think digital radio is going to be paying dividends or scoring significant market share in the next few years. And experience from digital TV has shown that market adoption of the technology is slow and in TV's case it took almost a decade just to get to 50% market penetration. And so far DAB+ is only in capital cities. Radio I reckon will take a lot longer just by the fact that there are so many more radio tuners out there and people are not going to discard the transistor radio they bought for $5 twenty years ago in favour of a digital radio for $150 to hear mostly the same radio with a few extra stations thrown in. Prices are going to have to come a long way down and more models such as car radios have to become available before DAB+ becomes an option for the casual or everyday radio listener. Radio bosses should surely have seen that as the reality before they started digital?"

Comments

John, Mon, 24 May 2010 09:56 am: Reply

Say no to DAB??.

I say NO to people who set up endless pages on the Internet to whinge about something

Nick, Wed, 16 Oct 2013 10:42 am:

I agree, I have an Alpine head unit with DAB+ built in, I love it, it's perfect, at least I can listen to 3AW around Melbourne airport without the audio breaking up!

Jim, Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:05 am: Reply

Say no to tits like John who were born with the intellect of a mosquito.

Tim, Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:41 pm: Reply

All the comments about DAB+ radio are quite correct but you are kidding yourself to say that AM radio is superior.

DAB+ is in stereo with an audible frequency range almost double that to AM. My elderly father has just bought a DAB+ radio as the much better frequency response above 7Kz has restored inteligability into the announcers' voices.

A nearby severe thunderstorm can render AM radio unlistenable for an extended period and trying to listen through the crackle generated by overhead tram cables and power lines can be quite annoying.

As to DXing and long distance listening - try streaming audio on the net. Much more reliable than hoping 'skip' is working.

Yes it will take a very long time for all the radios around the house and car to 'die' and be replaced with a DAB+ version. Which is why AM/FM and DAB+ will be broadcast side by side for many years to come.

Merv, Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:55 pm: Reply

Hey, Jim who let you out of your cage??.

jono, Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:38 pm: Reply

i love mymp but a new ad on tak of the old ad from jono

Anonymous, Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:03 pm: Reply

Biggest pile of shit i've ever read.

ausGeoff, Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:32 am: Reply

"There is nothing that quite sounds like analogue..." Oh dear; I heard this (non) argument 20 years ago when CDs were introduced to the marketplace.

How many people are still buying vinyl LPs as their major music source? One in 10,000 maybe? It takes a true Luddite to mount all these nebulous argument against DAB+ radio.

I'm guessing the author of this blog is still watching black and white TV too.

I hate to think what crap he's going to write about microwave ovens when he discovers them LOL.

Trudy, Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:29 pm: Reply

Well, I just went and bought myself a DAB+ so that I could listen to My3mp and Magic at work. My wizz bang radio couldn't get AM reception in my office and I didn's want to stream over the internet. I am loving it. Thanks.

Dr, Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:16 pm: Reply

I considered responding the the mainly false and erroneous information but decided against it as a waste of time as most of the other commenters have already moved on to reality. BTW I just love the scrolling text and images I get on my Sensia in Sydney - fantastic, oh and it sounds great through my (big) stereo! enjoy

Craig, Sat, 08 Jan 2011 03:28 am: Reply

Oh for God's sake! Firstly..yes a lot of DAB+ stations are 64kps.. I think those whinging about the 64kps are getting MP3 and AAC+ mixed up. Yes you need 128kps MP3 for CD quality sound...with AAC+ being a far more modern & advanced codec...any bitrate over 64kps & the quality sounds the same! 64kps is fantastic sounding audio in AAC+ format. So not sure why you say that 64kps AAC is so terrible as it frankly isn't. As for comparing the crackly flat old AM audio quality to that on DAB+.. oh please..only a old fossil who was half deaf would say that AM sounded better. We're changing to a new radio system with far more stations, better sound quality, info on screen etc.. QUICK THE SKY IS FALLING!!! Yes the system is in it's infancy at the moment but be patient. There were complaints in the Melbourne CBD from people trying to listen to DAB+ in their cars and in buildings - so a DAB+ repeater has been installed in the CBD and DAB+ coverage on street and indoors is now excellent in and around the city. Something which scratchy old AM didn't have a hope of duplicating. The tram wires & clutter in the city all but killed AM signals. I can receive the DAB+ signals in Geelong indoors with little trouble on a portable radio. 3MP's signal in the city was terrible on AM and in the Western Suburbs..forget it. Now on DAB+ it's fine... If we'd copied the terrible British DAB MP3 format then I'd agree but Australia wisely waited and has adopted the DAB+ format based on the far more efficient AAC+ codec. I've connected my DAB radio to my pretty decent stereo & yes while some of the talk stations are compressed (on purpose I might add so there is no too much dynamic range when listening mobile etc)..the music stations actually sound excellent. MY MP sounds extremely good. There will be tweaking of audio & bitrates as time goes on but really - all the whinging & head in the sand - stuck in the dark ages complaining really is rather blinkered & ignorant. Craig - Broadcast Engineer - Melbourne

Craig, Sat, 08 Jan 2011 03:41 am: Reply

PS if you like the horrible flat lifeless AM audio quality of the old AM stations... then get a cheap audio compressor from Ebay ...compress the life out of the DAB+ audio...and then into a cheap equaliser...get rid of all the highs out of the audio... and BINGO!!..

1 x AM sounding audio signal so you can sit there all day and think about old times :-)

David, Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:14 pm: Reply

I agree that DAB+ is at present not suitable as a complete replacement for analog radio, but the Australian government approach to DAB is as a complementary, not a replacement technology. I think that your argument is biased by your resistance to anything new.

I laugh at your attempt to pass of the sound quality of AM radio as desirable. AM stations are compressed to buggery, and have harsh eq applied to help compensate for the appalling frequency response of the typical AM receiver of just 4kHz. And of course AM radio is mono.

My DAB+ receiver has proven to be quite immune to interference.

I am not however, totally satisfied with the sound quality of DAB+. The 64kbps AAC+ stream adopted by most stations at the moment is not CD quality by any means, it delivers an experience similar to FM radio. For true CD quality sound, standard AAC (not AAC+) claims transparency at 128kbps, but I disagree. Even at this bit rate, the highs above about 14kHz are not encoded. AAC+ can not deliver transparency at any bit rate. For audio that is truly indistinguishable from the source a bit rate of 256kbps is required. At this bit rate, the codec in use whether AAC as used in DAB+ or MPEG 1 Layer 2 as used in DAB becomes unimportant. Both deliver transparent audio at this bit rate. Currently 20MHz of spectrum is allocated to FM radio whilst 7MHz of spectrum is allocated to DAB+. If a similar 20MHz of spectrum was allocated to DAB, stations would be able to increase their bitrates and sound much better. Turn off Analog TV and allocate the spectrum to digital radio. Also, most of the digital only stations are just a waste of space. Get rid of them and improve the quality of the main stations.

Alistair, Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:26 am: Reply

David, re your last sentence; the digital only stations are a welcome addition to the 'main' stations. They provide a very different music selection and have little or no annoying ads.

Craig, Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:11 pm: Reply

I've just re-read some of the points made at the top of this page..showing up all the 'negatives' of DAB+. I must say there is some serious nit-picking going on up there! Every single minor thing that you can pick on DAB about, you have!

If you're that interested in saving power etc... how much better is it for the environment to have 1 or 2 transmitters on a hill transmitting 40 or so radio stations? As opposed to each FM station having 1 transmitter...each AM station having 1 transmitter...guzzling electricity like there's not tomorrow? It also means less 'antenna farms' like Lower Plenty was a few years ago here in Melbourne where all the AM transmitters were. Etc...As for DAB+ lacking because it cuts off above 14Khz...the average 30+ adult can only hear between 12-14KHz maximum anyway. A lot of people are listening on small DAB+ radios with small often tiny mono speakers. I think some of us are getting a little 'audiophile' and carried away really. If you plug a DAB+ radio into any average stereo system it sounds fine. The average person off the street would say it sounded just as good as a CD or MP3. I'm not sure of any broadcast system the claims "CD Quality" audio. DAB+ claims "better sound quality"...and for the majority of stations that's obviously correct...especially if they were AM. FM radio has notch filtering (very strictly) at 15KHz anyway to prevent higher audio frequencies interfering with the 19KHz stereo pilot tone...so 14KHz or 15KHz... not really a huge deal as on most DAB+ or FM radios..with the average listener's hearing.. it's going to make zippo difference anyway. Craig

Jono, Thu, 17 Mar 2011 04:07 pm: Reply

no tolk bak just music plese dere r no new dab pluse radio stashons on dab webpage

jono, Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:07 pm: Reply

plese up dat this web page

jono, Sun, 20 Mar 2011 06:18 pm: Reply

i wold like to se geelong bay fm hav a test trasnsmitter hop i can here it better

ex-engineer, Tue, 22 Mar 2011 06:55 am: Reply

The issue for me is, why invest in a "new" - possibly temporary - technology when existing technologies can do the job? I have an old Sony AM Stereo receiver, an American Fanfare FM receiver, and a new Sangean DAB+ radio. Since I live in a rural area, the DAB+ radio has trouble getting sufficient signal to be useful. If I go outside and walk up to the nearest hill to get DAB+ reception, the sound quality (important for me) is worse than its analogue station equivalents. In particular Magic 1278, which used to sound very good when it was in analogue AM-Stereo (and remember, good AM reception depends on the receiver; most AM receivers are simply pathetic) - sounds echo-y and stutters on DAB+, due to I suspect to a poor bit rate. On analogue, ABC Classic FM from my Fanfare tuner leaves its DAB+ equivalent for dead. Like nuclear power, DAB+ is an interim technology, and will appeal to those who live in metropolitan areas who, believing MP3 sound is as good as it gets, have no knowledge of real broadcast sound quality.

Ex-Engineer

JASON FROM BORONIA, Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:47 pm: Reply

i love listening to 1377 mtr their annoucers are better then 3mps annoucers and jono learn to spell it is spelled stations not stashons and it is spelled plus not pluse and it is transmitter not trasnsmitter where did you learn to spell? the chinese two dollar shop!

Nick, Fri, 14 Feb 2014 12:34 pm:

Maybe you should learn some grammar Jason, you didn't capitalise the start of your sentence (I not i) and you didn't capitalise Chinese, this action makes you look rather childish and stupid.

ROBERT, Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:58 pm: Reply

HEY JASON GO AND STICK YOUR FUCKING HEAD IN THE GROUND YOU DEMENTED ONE EYED ONE LEGGED OSTRICH WITH NO HAIR!

jono, Sat, 23 Apr 2011 03:38 pm: Reply

happey ester

jono, Sat, 07 May 2011 10:36 pm: Reply

3mp mymp r playing dood stuff sow lisin day olsow play jopbox favrits

WiLLy WoNKa, Sun, 08 May 2011 06:53 pm: Reply

3mp mymp are playing good stuff so listen they also play jukebox favourites.

jono, Sun, 15 May 2011 05:29 pm: Reply

day hav djs on mymp and its sonse good

jono, Wed, 01 Jun 2011 02:23 pm: Reply

eney new radio wif more music coming soon

geek, Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:29 am: Reply

If you have a hearing-problem are there a lot of reasons for that also in young people.
Anyone with some technical background know that a good vinyl record as there are much more information contained in a LP than a CD and much less information in any MP3 file. If you are an engineer you know that is a fact.
We can't hear a nice display, but it needs it's date from some place...
The problem that fools us is the fact that we are constructed to to hear the sound that is available, not the missing sound.
We do know little about what our brain do when it understands that some sounds are missing...

I have done some measurements on original sounds and what is left after the digital handling it goes through, before it is presented as the real music.
You can do it yourself by simple means. Just think about it...
If you can't hear it, it is possible to measure it!

jono, Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:35 pm: Reply

hop der is a new digital station coming

jono, Sun, 03 Jul 2011 07:59 am: Reply

its good we hav a 90ts radio coming soon

jono, Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:23 am: Reply

mtr is gowing yes wot a crappey station it wos hop its a new music station

Jono and Ben, Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:27 pm: Reply

Hi,
MTR was going to shut down but now they're not.I reckon MTR should go back to Sydney were they belong.MyMp should change to a digital version of 3MP with DJ's and not play the same songs over and over again.It'ld be good to get more variety on MyMp and competitions etc,also it'ld be good if MyMp did special formats on the weekend such as Love Songs or A-Z of Variety.
From Jono and Ben

Jono and Ben, Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:33 pm: Reply

If you're a Christian you should listen to this new station called Light Digital starting on the 1st December and it's a great digital station and they're doing a test at the moment. Everyone should listen to it as they play great songs and Praise and Worship songs.So,you can listen to it from 1st December.
From jono and Ben

jono, Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:09 pm: Reply

light digital 1 december coming out

jono, Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:27 pm: Reply

happey christmas

davo, Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:08 pm: Reply

We just bought a DAB radio. 3MP- myMP digital you are magic... no...better than MAJIC AM. Why do we have to suffer the rubbish on the AM staions on our car radios when you are "ON AIR". We now want a DAB reciever in our cars.
Bring on digital AUDIO. My wife and I LOVE it.
And no adverts on myMP.

Davo

jono, Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:09 pm: Reply

wen u klik on mymp it taks u to sen sport dat shod not happen

Jamie, Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:24 am: Reply

I have been using DAB+ Radio for the past year or so. I have found it fantastic - i love stations such as Zoo Smooth Hits, Mix 80's & Mix 90's. I have recently purchased a JVC DAB+ Head Unit, and really notice the difference between FM & DAB mainly due to absence of static. I live in Penrith (50+ Km from the Sydney TX sites). The head unit came with a stick on DAB antenna that goes on the windscreen but it was useless. I have purchased an Aerpro (APDAB4) antenna adapter which allows me to use my normal car antenna for both DAB and FM, only catch is i can only extend the antenna 30 cm high for best DAB reception). On my trip to work from Penrith to North Ryde (45Km) it does not cut out or loose signal once.

jono, Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:39 am: Reply

ocr 887 fm in a polo bay the best

jono, Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:50 pm: Reply

day shod mac the play list longer for mymp sow peple can lisin longer

Jono and Ben, Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:19 pm: Reply

They should make the playlist longer so people can listen longer to MyMp and they should play the song "high" by the Lighthouse Family sometimes.MyMp should do countdowns and I think MyMp should change it's name back to 3MP as then I think they'ld get more listeners.

Bono, Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:28 pm: Reply

Jono... yoor a lejend !

jono, Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:29 pm: Reply

i hop 3mp is bak for good

Jono and Ben, Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:04 pm: Reply

I'm glad MTR is gone and I hope there's a new station replacing it soon,hopefully one like the old 3MP.Hopefully they'll have good DJs on it that'll play a few requests like Casey FM and the people here are really nice and play lots of the songs which are requested by a lot of people and hopefully this'll make the rating go up ,not like MTR were the ratings went down.I hope there's a lot of listeners happy now and hopefully the new station will play the song "High" by the Lighthouse Family as this is my favourite song.From Jono and Ben
P.S.Bono you're a legend also and I hope you're happy about MTR finished.

Nicole, Sun, 04 Mar 2012 11:19 pm: Reply

RIP MTR. You were a good radio station but Melbourne never was open minded enough to give you a chance. The next federal election will be decided interstate - Victoria always votes Labor no matter how whipped we are. 3MP = 3 Melbourne is Parochial. Are we that insular that we think that we are better than the rest of Australia?Should we succeed from Australia? :)

peter, Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:32 pm:

Nicole you are completely wrong MTR will NOT be coming back as their ratings were bad (1.4%)and melbourne has voted and 3mp/mymp will be staying on 1377am and if you are that desperate to listen to a talk back station just listen to 3AW 693 or ABC 774.

jono, Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:08 pm: Reply

is thes nicole from my work

jono, Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:39 pm: Reply

wen is der a webpage for mymp

Jono and ben, Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:32 pm: Reply

Hi,
I think Aussie digital radio station should change and play. a mix of easy listening hits only from English bands and Australian bands ..On it there should be a mixture of music from the decades of the 60's,70's,80's ,90's and maybe on the weekend they should play a top 1000 countdown of the best songs of all time.I think SEN should play the sport and Aussie should just play music.I think it's rubbish that we now have a digital radio station called "Battleship" and nobody knows about it.
From Jono and Ben

Jono and Ben, Sat, 24 Mar 2012 02:07 pm: Reply

We had a look at a webpage called "Talkers" and on it,it said that there's no news on MyMp when they do have the news on MyMp so this webpage is wrong.

Jono and ben, Sat, 31 Mar 2012 01:31 pm: Reply

We think it's rubbish that Light Digital isn't listed on the Digital Radio + wesite(www.digitalradioplus.com.au) as Light Digital is now operating in Melbourne and it's a Christian Station and you can request your favourite worship songs if you're a Christian.

Steve C, Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:44 am:

Light Digital is not listed because it is a community radio station not a commercial one. The digitalradioplus website is a commercial radio website. Try http://digital.radius.org.au/

Jono and Ben, Sat, 21 Apr 2012 02:29 pm: Reply

Hi Steve C,
Light Digital is a commercial station,it has ads on it,how do you know it's not a commercial station?
From Jono and Ben

Jono and Ben, Sat, 21 Apr 2012 02:34 pm: Reply

Hi everyone,
Just a comment to say that Light FM and Light Digital are having a free Open Day next Saturday 28th April 2012.It goes from 10am-3pm and there'll be a free sausage sizzle and free jumping castle and free icecream for the kids.
From Jono and Ben
P.S. MJ is doing a fantastic job at Light Digital as the Music Director.

Jono and ben, Sat, 05 May 2012 02:22 pm: Reply

Hi,
Do you know that 91.5 FM is changing it's name to Smooth Hits FM in 16 days.I think the rates will really go up for Smooth Hits as I think it's going to be a great station.Also,
I do the weather on 3mdr on Mondays at 8pm and so if you want to hear me doing the weather,listen in.
From Jono and Ben

jono, Mon, 21 May 2012 06:55 pm: Reply

dere is a new stashon out cald smoth fm 915

trev., Wed, 30 May 2012 06:26 pm: Reply

The only reason why digital radio is being encouraged,is that it is more spectrum efficient which means that fm stations that are replaced by DAB radio will in most cases have their previous frequency allocations sold off to the highest bidders.

Analogue stations may take up more frequency space but because of this,you get good natural quality of sound,a thing that is missing on all DAB radios.

As with most things in life,you don't get something for nothing.

Long live Analogue.

From a classical music lover.

Neil, Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:40 am: Reply

We listen to 3AW at work and as we have concrete on every side AM reception died when we moved here. Digital fades in and out and you have to move the aerial every day. Have also constructed a bi-pole aerial in the ceiling, but it's of minimal advantage. I have purchased two digital radios and they have the effect of stereo out of sinc. The volume is also poor in the workspace.

Peter, Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:25 pm: Reply

Wanting to listen to 3AW during the day in a factory and thinking of buying a pocket digital radio with DAB+, has anyone got any idea of which brand radio is worth buying !

Howard, Sun, 10 Jun 2012 10:03 pm: Reply

For myself digital radio has been disappointing , I work at different locations every day in and around Brisbane . The first portable digital radio was rather crappy even at the high cost reception was lousy with little or no reception unless you were right close the the city . The second one was a bit more improved on reception , but this is my main complaint this new format will NOT succeed unless reception is matched with the same distance normal AM FM can achieve .I remember many years ago when we were visiting Bundaberg we were able to pick up Star FM now River 94.9 from Ipswich Digital ? not a shit shows chance in hell I am afraid .I will admit the AM stations when they can be received have a much more improved sound on Digital .

Jono and Ben, Fri, 29 Jun 2012 02:28 pm: Reply

Hi,
I just wanted to tell everyone to donate to Light FM and Light Digital today as they currently have an appeal on and want to receive $780,000 by 10pm tonight.They have target totals throughout the day and you can see all this live on their website now .If you've never donated to Light FM I'ld urge you to think about doing this as they're a very good station and I'ld like to see them stay on air.They're dependant on donations to stay on air.If you go on the website and listen to their music it'll change your life forever.
From Jono and Ben

jono, Thu, 19 Jul 2012 08:35 pm: Reply

it wood be good if mymp playd 80 70 90 hop dat happends soon

Colin, Sun, 09 Sep 2012 09:51 pm: Reply

Perhaps digital tuners suffer from the same problem as FM tuners. Most FM tuners are very poor. So I have compared my only DAB+ tuner with my BEST FM tuner, and the FM wins hands down. DAB+ is intolerable. I have one of the best sound systems most people have ever heard so I think the comparison of the two tuners is not affected by the system. I am genuinely surprised to hear that 64kbps is enough for good sound from DAB+, because in my case, it is not, and neither is 80K. Perhaps I will try some other DAB+ tuners and see if it is a tuner problem. From my experience, don't waste your money unless you want it for talkback or the races or some thing where audio quality is not much of an issue.

jono, Tue, 18 Sep 2012 04:15 pm: Reply

its good dat elf radio coming bak at christmas time

jono, Thu, 03 Jan 2013 12:02 pm: Reply

cool shod be playing 60 70 80 90 jono

Jono and Ben, Sat, 02 Mar 2013 02:21 pm: Reply

Hi,
I think MyMp should go back to easy listening music as this is good.I reckon MyMp should just play music and have no DJs.I also think they should play 60's,70's,80's and 90's music and not just 70's and 80's.
I think they should have a Love Song weekend or A-Z of Variety or a top 500 count down with all the great songs of easy listening variety.I think they should play "High" by Lighthouse Family as this is a great song and I think MyMp should go back to be like 3MP was like as this was a great station and lots of people used to listen to it.
From Jono and Ben

Jono and ben, Fri, 28 Jun 2013 06:20 pm: Reply

Hi everyone,just letting you know it's electric with excitement at Light FM at the moment as they're having an appeal which finishes tomorrow evening on 29/6/13.Please everyone that can give money to them,please donate as they're a great Christian station.They've already received $600,466 and hope to receive another $247,534 by evening of the 29/6/13.
Also,if anyone has a comment to make about Light Digital or Light FM,please put it on this website as we're interested to know what people think about these radio stations.Also,does anyone think Light Digital should have some new programs and we think they should take the R&B and rap off on Saturday nights and instead have normal Christian music on in this timeslot instead?Please make a comment on this website about this.
From Jono and ben

Jono, Sat, 31 Aug 2013 01:53 pm: Reply

Hi,
I think it's time for new digital radio stations to come out in Melbourne as we haven't had any new ones for a while.I reckon the old 3MP should come back and get rid of all talkback and some new easy listening stations should launch.I think the ads on Chemist Warehouse Remix should go or another option for this station would be to play 7 songs in a row and then just have one advert on.
From Jono and Ben

Natas, Fri, 29 Nov 2013 03:05 pm: Reply

Fuck Christian Music!

And while I'm at it - Fuck children's music too.

When I was a kid I had to listen to what my parents played. There was no bloody Wiggles, Bieber or O.D (previously known as 1D). The world was a better place back then.

Nack ing cole, Thu, 02 Mar 2017 01:19 pm: Reply

Amen!

Mark, Mon, 09 Oct 2017 11:36 am: Reply

Thanks John for these comments. I was wondering why my DAB player sounded like it was playing low quality MP3's. Sadly music quality in general is worse than in previous years / formats due to digital compression and a general apathy from the listener masses. Why shouldn't we have the best audio quality available matching other countries where DAB is crisp and exceeding other broadcasting formats. Particularly when we pay good money for high quality players. We should surely never complain about wanting the best available.

MTR

Say No > Digital Radio Plus: NOT - Say no to DAB+ and its minuses

Introduction

The Minuses

Comments

Add a comment