FM v DAB
- Thread starter pwebb
- Start date
Hi Peter,
My new Cayenne diesel arrived in March 2014. it has the DAB radio option. It doesn't work, as expected, where I live in Bucks, but it does work in West London. I have the Bose option and together with the DAB the sound quality is clear, crisp and clean - a good bit better than FM. I chose it with a view to making the car more saleable in some years time. There maybe little or no FM then and a car without a working radio might be difficult to sell.
You have chosen well.
Regards,
Richard
My new Cayenne diesel arrived in March 2014. it has the DAB radio option. It doesn't work, as expected, where I live in Bucks, but it does work in West London. I have the Bose option and together with the DAB the sound quality is clear, crisp and clean - a good bit better than FM. I chose it with a view to making the car more saleable in some years time. There maybe little or no FM then and a car without a working radio might be difficult to sell.
You have chosen well.
Regards,
Richard
DAB is in addition to "base" FM/AM - DAB quality is location dependent but clearer than FM when you have a good signal.
Hi Peter
I have had DAB in several cars since 2005 and I have never had any problems with digital reception wherever I drove in the uk from Wiltshire to Yorkshire to Devon & Cornwall when I was working. You will find that the DAB in your new Cayenne will have the ability to switch automatically from DAB to FM when you lose the digital signal. (I really miss DAB in my 991 but that gets rectified with the arrival of the GTS)
I never listen to FM unless I lose the DAB, The broadcast quality is just so much better.
Originally there was a plan to turn off FM in I think 2017 but that has been delayed indefinitely, however, Ofcom is under pressure to allocate more bandwidth and the FM broadcast channels take up a lot of space so I would definitely tick the box for DAB as I reckon FM could go within 5 years.
I have had DAB in several cars since 2005 and I have never had any problems with digital reception wherever I drove in the uk from Wiltshire to Yorkshire to Devon & Cornwall when I was working. You will find that the DAB in your new Cayenne will have the ability to switch automatically from DAB to FM when you lose the digital signal. (I really miss DAB in my 991 but that gets rectified with the arrival of the GTS)
I never listen to FM unless I lose the DAB, The broadcast quality is just so much better.
Originally there was a plan to turn off FM in I think 2017 but that has been delayed indefinitely, however, Ofcom is under pressure to allocate more bandwidth and the FM broadcast channels take up a lot of space so I would definitely tick the box for DAB as I reckon FM could go within 5 years.
mnk303
PCGB Member
I have really researched DAB and it's future 1st the government retracted the demise of FM where it was 2015 it's now unlikely for at least 10 years or more .
2 The licence fee to the stations for digital is £30k for FM per year £100k + for Digital
3 The standard of reception on DAB is very dependant on area , for instance in our household we have run BMW, and Mercs ,3 Audi's and Jap cars and all have suffered from drop out around West Sussex and SE London.
4 The ability to stream now from your mobile is now very much a possibility with ever increasing download limits.
Main points,
It is superior where reception is good, remember that in large parts of Europe digital is not established at all. That retrofit options are getting really good, the government is unlikely to shut down FM it's has massive benefits for longer range and difficult reception areas. It can't be compared to Frreview TV which is static.
BMW and Merc offer a very presentable retrofit option, I doubt Porsche will and together with its stringent warranty rules will allow cars made right up to the End of 2013 to have after markets kits fitted.
There are a lot of technical issues with DAB and I speak from being a Radio engineer and having worked in the transmission industry for many years. The pressure the government will be under though is that FM uses more bandwidth and so the government would like that space, no doubt to sell to more stations.
I have on my late 2013 cayenne just taken delivery of a very nice DAB kit about the half the size of a match box which feeds into the USB port on the pcm and displays stations and details similar to your iPod would, only issue is I don't have the guts to remove the window trim and install the aerial 'yet'
Want to read a bit more, governments stance
2 The licence fee to the stations for digital is £30k for FM per year £100k + for Digital
3 The standard of reception on DAB is very dependant on area , for instance in our household we have run BMW, and Mercs ,3 Audi's and Jap cars and all have suffered from drop out around West Sussex and SE London.
4 The ability to stream now from your mobile is now very much a possibility with ever increasing download limits.
Main points,
It is superior where reception is good, remember that in large parts of Europe digital is not established at all. That retrofit options are getting really good, the government is unlikely to shut down FM it's has massive benefits for longer range and difficult reception areas. It can't be compared to Frreview TV which is static.
BMW and Merc offer a very presentable retrofit option, I doubt Porsche will and together with its stringent warranty rules will allow cars made right up to the End of 2013 to have after markets kits fitted.
There are a lot of technical issues with DAB and I speak from being a Radio engineer and having worked in the transmission industry for many years. The pressure the government will be under though is that FM uses more bandwidth and so the government would like that space, no doubt to sell to more stations.
I have on my late 2013 cayenne just taken delivery of a very nice DAB kit about the half the size of a match box which feeds into the USB port on the pcm and displays stations and details similar to your iPod would, only issue is I don't have the guts to remove the window trim and install the aerial 'yet'
Want to read a bit more, governments stance
ORIGINAL: mnk303
I have really researched DAB and it's future 1st the government retracted the demise of FM where it was 2015 it's now unlikely for at least 10 years or more .
2 The licence fee to the stations for digital is £30k for FM per year £100k + for Digital
3 The standard of reception on DAB is very dependant on area , for instance in our household we have run BMW, and Mercs ,3 Audi's and Jap cars and all have suffered from drop out around West Sussex and SE London.
4 The ability to stream now from your mobile is now very much a possibility with ever increasing download limits.
Main points,
It is superior where reception is good, remember that in large parts of Europe digital is not established at all. That retrofit options are getting really good, the government is unlikely to shut down FM it's has massive benefits for longer range and difficult reception areas. It can't be compared to Frreview TV which is static.
BMW and Merc offer a very presentable retrofit option, I doubt Porsche will and together with its stringent warranty rules will allow cars made right up to the End of 2013 to have after markets kits fitted.
There are a lot of technical issues with DAB and I speak from being a Radio engineer and having worked in the transmission industry for many years. The pressure the government will be under though is that FM uses more bandwidth and so the government would like that space, no doubt to sell to more stations.
I have on my late 2013 cayenne just taken delivery of a very nice DAB kit about the half the size of a match box which feeds into the USB port on the pcm and displays stations and details similar to your iPod would, only issue is I don't have the guts to remove the window trim and install the aerial 'yet'
Want to read a bit more, governments stance
The only real solution to reception problems exists in the shape of Satelite Radio as offered by the likes of XM Radio. Porsche support this technolgy for cars delvered to the US market. Having experieced this fist hand I could listen to BBC stations with no reception issues at all. However, sadly the satelite footprint does not cover Europe.
Mike Cooper 33
New member
Have DAB in my 2013 Diesel S. It's great, would never order another new car without it. I drive down to the Cotswold's from London every week and the reception is fine.
Fred Hindle
New member
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/10520514/Reprieve-for-FM-as-Government-abandons-digital-radio-deadline.html
Sounds like something similar to the banks wanting to get rid of cheque-books.
Cheers,
Sounds like something similar to the banks wanting to get rid of cheque-books.
Cheers,
mnk303
PCGB Member
Something I forgot to add to my earlier post, A fact which shows you how poor DAB coverage is in the UK, 83% of cars on British roads don't have DAB , poor show when the government has backtracked on a technology because of poor implemtation, bit like fast fibre Internet great if you are in the area , absolutely crap if not.
It's a superior technology with poor coverage especially non BBC stations.
It's a superior technology with poor coverage especially non BBC stations.
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