R2OK!

nod · Joined: 24 Dec 2006 Posts: 3558

Chris said he only had access to 42,000 tracks for his request show, doesn't sound many to me for R2 Shocked

firewirefred · Guest

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

I'm very surprised as radio stations like Smooth Radio would have a lot more.

firewirefred · Guest

nod · Joined: 24 Dec 2006 Posts: 3558

SantaFefan · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:59 am Post subject:

Mind you, with all that pointless shouting in the show, he wouldn't need any more than that would he?

_________________
Johnnie Walker read out my message on Pirate Radio! Very Happy

13/8/07
I have heard how radio should be.

Arcader · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 220

I'm still not sure why Evans bothers playing music, given that 99% of the time he talks over a large chunk of it, adds sound effects or cuts it short so he can move onto the next talkie bit.

Methinks Steve Wright has a hand in all this ............ Wink

DLT'S PIPE · Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Yorkshire

42,000 is alot for a radio station as most ILR stations run on about300-600

firewirefred · Guest

I would say that 42,000 is only an insufficient number for a station that actively encouraged its presenters to dig out less "common" tracks. In the case of most R2 shows, the system only needs to store about 20 tracks in total.

kingman6024 · Joined: 03 Feb 2007 Posts: 9

radio scilly[smallest radio station ] has access to 4000 tracks

nod · Joined: 24 Dec 2006 Posts: 3558

an ipod can hold more than that !!

but maybe thats all the scilly's need and have Wink

firewirefred · Guest

MIKERAPHONE · Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2007 3:07 pm Post subject:

42,000 tracks.
Say 15-16 songs maximum per hour.
That would keep ANY radio station going for months.
Yet as stated we still get
:
Dancing Queen
Brown Eyed Girl
Sweet Home Alabama on a regular basis.
More one hit wonders and more 50's and 60's would be very welcome.
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Triumph Herald · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 85 Location: Bucks

Ian Robinson · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:35 pm Post subject:

firewirefred · Guest

The BBC has the largest music library in the world, but the problem is that you can't get everything (even if it's in digital form) onto the remotely-served playout system that is accessed by the studio desks. We often hear Johnnie Walker saying things like "I wonder if we have on the system" and that's the key. Remember also that although there's an increasing use of MP3 format files, they're more likely to be saved at bitrates of 192kbps or even higher - the default iTunes rate of 160kbps isn't good enough. 256kbps is now becoming the norm - especially for Apple DRM-free downloads off its iTunes music store.

Ian Robinson · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:30 pm Post subject:

Triumph Herald · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 85 Location: Bucks

firewirefred · Guest

Mark Mayhew · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 2897

Hi Fred-I thinks its excellent we have you on this forum-I consider you our technical expert on here explaining techi stuff in such a way that idiots like me can have a hope of understanding.

Keep up the excellent work.

firewirefred · Guest

Well, I'm flattered you think so but in reality I just know what I know because of my involvement in the business of generating video and audio signals and moving them from A to B! I am critical of technical standards at the moment, however. DAB is heralded by the people in broadcasting as being a big deal, but in reality it's something of a step backwards. What it does do is enable us to cram much more data into he spectrum due to the fact that it uses heavy compression at the transmitter stage which is then decompressed at the receiver end. It's like MP3 (which actually stands for MPEG1 Layer 3 - it's compressed and decompressed, and the lower the data rate the heavier the compression which will then produce artefacts that you hear.

They also talk of digital TV being the great panacea of TV broadcasting, but again it's designed not for quality but for capacity. How does a single spectrum allocation convey so many channels? By shoe-horning them into a given space. Freeview and Satellite use a form of the same compression - MPEG2 - that is used to make everyday video DVDs and, if you look closely, the quality isn't very good especially when colours are murky and there's fast movement in the frame.

MPEG2 compression is undertaken to a factor of approx 20:1, so you get to see the scale of the shoe-horning!

Lots of small radio stations (I call them "spare bedroom stations") the world over, whether over air or on the web, are using software much like iTunes (which I use and I love, by the way), but they're also cramming a lot of tracks into the storage by encoding at low bit-rates, such as 160kbps. But although that's OK for many people's ears it's not really good enough by audible quality standards.

Remember when Radio 3's transmission output (compression data rate) was reduced a couple of years back and thousands of listeners complained that it didn't sound right? Though they didn't know it, they were noticing the effects of increased compression - it really is noticeable. The BBC's Real Media web streams, which give little more than 56kbps if the wind's blowing in the right direction, are another perfect example of where a reduction in data rate leads to a perceptible drop in quality. In other words, it shows.

I'm afraid that with shifts to DAB, Digital TV and - of course - that great big marketing con trick called HDTV, we're going to see more of the same. HD uses a codec (compression-decompression system) called MPEG/H.264 which requires a massive amount of compression to get it to your receiver. When it looks good it's very good, but when it doesn't it's horrible!

In my humble opinion, nothing sounds quite as good as a solid, well set-up FM Stereo transmission in good old analogue, much the same as the sturdy 24-track multitrack analogue sound studio recorder sounds fab. Maybe I'm getting older now!

Still, I'd happily to listen to superbly produced radio and TV however it was transmitted - I was quite happy with the Pirate Essex broadcasts in August even though technically it was a lash-up! It was hugely entertaining radio. The same can't be said for much of Radio 2's "high-tech" radio, despite all the new technology.

Thankfully, there are lots of technical people (if there are any left!) in the BBC and other organisations who agree with me. Wink

SantaFefan · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:28 am Post subject:

and I thought the C120 cassette was pushing the boundaries! Laughing

_________________
Johnnie Walker read out my message on Pirate Radio! Very Happy

13/8/07
I have heard how radio should be.

firewirefred · Guest

Rachel · Guest