DAB question re: multiple 5Live Sports Extra

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  • I've had a DAB digital radio for a long while now and it has always had multiple entries for 5Live Sports Extra when I scroll through the channels.

    Even when I "prune" the stations, or do a complete rescan, the duplicates return.

    Anyone know why?

    Or is it a quirk of my Roberts DAB model?

    Thanks in advance. :)

  • I can't say for sure, but it might be. My radio only has one entry for the station. To be honest, it's been such a long time that I've tuned on a radio now, that I'm not up with latest events. I tend to "watch" the radio through the V6 or on Freeview.

    Is it happening with any other station?

  • I can't say for sure, but it might be. My radio only has one entry for the station. To be honest, it's been such a long time that I've tuned on a radio now, that I'm not up with latest events. I tend to "watch" the radio through the V6 or on Freeview.

    Is it happening with any other station?

    I like that, "watch the radio". Takes me back to when there was no TV and we were glued to the radio listening to the latest episode of Biggles, Dan Dare, and The Archers and yes - we watched the radio in anticipation

  • I can't say for sure, but it might be. My radio only has one entry for the station. To be honest, it's been such a long time that I've tuned on a radio now, that I'm not up with latest events. I tend to "watch" the radio through the V6 or on Freeview.

    Is it happening with any other station?

    No. And it's always happened.

    I figured it was something to do with it not always having content on it, it being for overflow/non-regular events. But it still has always seemed strange.

  • It's because it exists as a service in its own right and as an additional service of 5 Live.

    Radio 4 also has Parliament and Daily Service as additional services but these aren't configured as services in their own right, so only appear once.

  • It's because it exists as a service in its own right and as an additional service of 5 Live.

    Radio 4 also has Parliament and Daily Service as additional services but these aren't configured as services in their own right, so only appear once.

    I think I know what you are getting at in first sentence. Why though?

    Also, is the duplication limited to certain models not implementing a DAB standard correctly? It just looks amateurish and confusing when I scroll through stations.

  • It shows up twice because it shows as a secondary service of C225 BBC Radio 5 Live and as C228 BBC R5LiveSportX. Two different services, so two different entries, both pointing at the same audio stream. I can't actually remember why the BBC did it this way, perhaps some equipment doesn't handle secondary services correctly.

  • It shows up twice because it shows as a secondary service of C225 BBC Radio 5 Live and as C228 BBC R5LiveSportX. Two different services, so two different entries, both pointing at the same audio stream. I can't actually remember why the BBC did it this way, perhaps some equipment doesn't handle secondary services correctly.

    Many thanks. Wish I could switch it off.

  • Maybe things will change when the BBC starts to see the benefits of DAB+. Assuming Boris doesn't tighten the screws on funding, if he does the extra radio channels will probably have to go, which would also solve the problem... :/=O

  • Maybe things will change when the BBC starts to see the benefits of DAB+. Assuming Boris doesn't tighten the screws on funding, if he does the extra radio channels will probably have to go, which would also solve the problem... :/=O

    Well the model of radio I have the weirdness hapoen on is not DAB+, but it's not from the 90s dawn of DAB either.

    I mainly use my DAB for 6Music, and a bit of 4Extra, so I would not be happy with any BBC station axing.

  • To me the problem with DAB is that there is no way to update the codecs on-line. The system will always be running on obsolete software.

    I will never buy a DAB radio as on-line services will always triumph on sound quality.

    That really depends on whether you buy a cheap supermarket brand or pay more for a model from the likes of Roberts Radio or Pure, many of which are upgradeable. You would probably be better getting a wi-fi radio to take advantage of the sound quality of online streams. DAB+ can match that but, as always with broadcast media, they tend to go for quantity of stations rather than quality.

  • I'm so behind the times, I've never even heard of DAB+. I shall look it up when I can, but I'm assuming it's a souped up version of the existing system.

    Better error correction and additional codecs which are far more efficient than basic DAB's MP2.

  • It's a shame you can't, on the whole, upgrade from DAB to DAB+ with software patch, but for hardware limitations or differences, particularly with old radios.

    I'd much prefer a radio station solution that uses broadcast rather than the internet, so as annoying as the DAB/+ situation is I'd rather use it.

    Not to say I don't use internet radio, I do. Dependant on circumstances, but never out and about, as no internet.

    The recent move from iPlayer Radio app to BBC Sounds left many older devices behind though, as the minimum requirements are higher for the latter, so many who used the iPlayer Radio app before they switched it off have to use the Sounds website now. But functionality has been lost, both from those that could successfully move to the Sounds app, and by those who are limited to the website. You can't download podcasts for offline use on the Sounds website.

  • The UK was slow to adopt DAB+ largely because of the amount of legacy DAB radios in use. As soon as other countries started using DAB+ the larger manufacturers started to make radios compatible with the new format. Unfortunately, the newer models weren't always sold with DAB+ features enabled to keep prices down. These models were upgradable on payment of an additional fee to the manufacturer.

    In more recent times, with internet streaming, things became even more difficult. A move to packaging formats with rights protection rather than basic MP2 / MP3 streaming meaning further upgrades were required. Even some upgradeable models didn't have the necessary hardware, processing power or even memory for these developments, making some models, largely, obsolete as the BBC converted internet streams to DASH. There is also the problem of not being able to update older models that are no longer supported by the manufacturer, or where the manufacturer has gone out of business.

    Podcasts have also been a problem with some outtages as the BBC tweaked their formats and manufacturers and their support services had to play catch up. On the whole, manufacturers have done a really good job of keeping the more recent models functional, even if it has often taken a long time to issue the upgrades.

  • I have a DAB radio in the kitchen and a Sony mini hifi system I bought off a market stall for £10. Perfect sound off both but then I go back to a crystal set under the bed clothes searching for Radio Luxembourg and then a tinny transistor radio

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