Digital Broadcasts/Death of vintage Radio & TV

[NowhereMan 1966]

I think we will have analogue radio for a long time to come. I listen to radio a lot, I deliver auto parts, sometimes when I get a vehicle with XM, I listen to that when I get tired of the chatter of talk radio.

[ke4mcl]

would be sad if analog goes away but there aint much to listen to anyways. i listen to coast to coast radio at night and thats about it. as it is i have my own in house AM transmitter hooked to a laptop running a random playlist of bigband and do-wop 24hrs a day. i have working radios all over the house. the look on peoples face when they ask "does it work?" and i say go ahead and turn it on is priceless. when they hear swing coming out of the speaker they just flip!

[majoco]

If you listen to AM radio for whatever reason, write, e-mail or phone the stations you listen to and tell them that you are listening and get all your buddies to do the same. They use information like this to attract advertisers and so can afford to pay their staff. It's the apathy of the consumer that lets these good ole' things die, not progress. There will always be those who want to jump on the bandwagon to keep up with modern 'developments', but whether they are better or not, remains to be seen. Remember cassette tapes - gone. Remember 8-track - gone. CD and DVD - on the way out due to 'Blue-Ray? What about Beta format video - it was actually better than VHS but 'marketing' killed it. Phone up a talk back station and tell them why you're not listening to them!

Yes, you can buy general coverage scanners and communications receivers, and it's only analogue cellphones that have gone, as there is better coverage from digital cellphone technology. Reception of cellphones by general public has always been barred in the US, but most scanners can be 'fixed' to receive those frequencies. You'll hear nothing intelligible now anyway.

[stahlhart]

Originally Posted by majoco

You'll hear nothing intelligible now anyway.

If the drivel I'm occasionally stuck having to hear going into them in public places is any indication, it doesn't seem like we're missing much...

I think it's going to be a long time yet for analog broadcasting, though, mainly because of the installed automotive base. Satellite radio is bleeding money badly right now, which shows how incestuously tied to automotive sales it is. No one's buying it for their homes.

I just think that it's an apples-to-oranges comparison. Just because people eventually rolled over and accepted paying for television doesn't automatically mean that they'll do the same for radio. Who sits on their sofa in their home at night listening to the radio these days? What's the advantage to digital audio in the accoustically horrible environment of a car interior or a portable radio? What's going to lead anyone to think "this is better, and worth paying for" when they compare it to the free analog radio that they have now? Have you been into a Target or Best Buy lately -- who is even buying radios any longer, apart from a car purchase? More stations and a wider variety of formats? How many at a time do any of us really care about?

I only see digital audio phasing out analog in a similar business model to current broadcasting -- free to listen to, with paid advertising or public grants -- the only similarity to the television situation being that the analog transmitters will eventually be shut off when they're sure that the fallout will be manageable.