I am an huge fan of DRM, but the lack of receivers it's a good limitation for that.
That is true, although I know of one company close to production of a <10$ module for OEMs to integrate.
This will be fantastic.
I am looking forward to it!
Haha me too
> and lower bit rate codec to handle larger broadcast areas
That's why DAB is crap. Because people are greedy and don't care about quality.
Agreed, but the alternative here is AM which has never been good quality. DAB was a big step down from FM quality because the choice of codec / bandwidth assigned to stations was pretty bad (and bandwidth == $$!)
Are you referring to the original DAB (using MP2) or the upgraded DAB+ standard (using HE-AACv2)? I think most, if not all, stations have switched to DAB+. I'm told the quality is better than FM and based on my experience it's certainly not worse as far as I can hear. Of course, since FM is analog it degrades linearly whereas DAB+ is digital: it either works or it doesn't. This might skew the perception of quality.
You're probably right. I was put off by early DAB deployments, and haven't tried with DAB+. I would be interested to try again with the new standard.
Re:The end of AM radio in your car?
by cbm-vic-20 on Monday December 05, 2022 @04:39PM
(#33872281)
Obviously you know this, but AM is absurdly easy to implement. A pencil, razor blade, some wire and an earphone is all it takes to make a crude receiver.
Indeed. No way that replacing trivial to implement, ubiquitous communications technology with complicated, processing intensive, proprietary solutions could go wrong.
This sometimes happens on accident. I had circuits turning into AM radios when i touched them at specific screws or pads, with some random frequency hard-tuned in. At night, when the reception was better, you'd hear voices!
Re:The end of AM radio in your car?
by freedomben on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @04:35PM
(#33887396)
One of the first electronics kits everybody gets is a build-your-own AM radio. It's awesome cause it's easy enough for a beginner but also does something cool.
DRM (no not that DRM--Digital Radio Mondiale) is a modern digital standard that promises much better spectral efficiency, power efficiency and range. See https://www.drm.org/. It is similar in concept to DAB, using an OFDM carrier, but with more robust error correction and equalisation, and lower bit rate codec to handle larger broadcast areas.
There is a hope that this could upgrade existing AM broadcast infrastructure, allowing rapid coverage of large areas without the expense of building out new towers.
The MW/HF bands are great for coverage because of the longer wavelength, relative to the VHF bands used for FM and DAB.