Digital Radio via Satellite

"the most exciting listening experience of radio I have had in many years"
wrote a recent customer P.D London UK

To read what he thought of Digital radio from satellite click HERE

Click on the logo below to find out more about some of exciting stations on digital radio	Firstly, let me apologise if this page seems to be rather long, but there's a lot of information that I'd like to pass on to you, and to date, I've not found any other web site describing the reception of Digital Radio via satellite, in detail. I had an Arcam DAB receiver and was bitterly disappointed when the audio quality dropped at Christmas 2001, so I was delighted to find that it was possible to listen to BBC network radio at a higher audio quality level on satellite, than that which continues to be available today on DAB. FM, if installed properly can sound very good but of course, you can't get the extra stations which are exclusive to Digital satellite and DAB, and in some urban areas, reception of FM stations is often marred by radio 'pirates'. It is true that it's not possible to receive local radio stations on satellite which are available on DAB but I think that the higher sound quality and more robust widespread reception of digital radio via satellite is a greater advantage. Primetime Radio and BBC 7 are only available on DAB in mono. Via digital satellite however, both stations are in stereo. BBC Radio 4FM is also sometimes in mono on DAB. In addition to the new digital only stations, it's possible to receive BBC Radios 1, 2, 3, 4FM, 4LW, Ulster, Scotland, Wales, Cymru, Asian network and the World Service. In addition, many commercial radio stations can be received. Please note: that Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Live Sports+, for copyright reasons, can only be received on a BSkyB set top box with a viewing card. This also applies to TalkSport. All other BBC and commercial services can be heard without the need of subscription or a viewing card. DAB, apart from its lower sound quality, compared with FM or satellite, also suffers from patchy reception in some parts of the UK and is not immune from interference caused by atmospheric Summer weather conditions, just like the old days of 405 line television. (in actual fact, DAB uses the same frequencies that once carried black and white ITV) Some stations on satellite have less or no "processing" than FM, e.g. BBC Radio 3 has none. Also some stations e.g. BBC Radios 2, 3, 4 have a greater frequency response on satellite then FM or DAB extending to over 20kHz Please note: The soundfile is nearly 2Mb so if you are using a 56k or slower connection, it will be better if you right click the logo and save the file to your hard drive first. The main problem with DAB is that the Government only allocated a finite amount of spectrum to it, and the broadcasters believe that offering a large choice of stations will encourage more listeners to use DAB. Unfortunately, this means that the bit rate for each station has to be reduced to make room for more channels. As a result the audio quality suffers. Before Christmas 2001 BBC Radios 1 - 4 were transmitted at 192 kbps, at a stroke Radios 1 and 2 dropped to 128 kbps, Radio 3 was unchanged and Radio 4 dropped to 128 kbps and at certain times of the day is transmitted in mono at 80 kbps. More about bit rates can be found HERE. Satellite has, by comparison, huge amounts of spectrum available so the bit rates can be that much higher. A limited number of digital radio stations are available via the BBC's "Freeview" digital terrestrial television service (DTT). The bit rates used are, I believe, higher than DAB but unfortunately only the new digital services, 1Extra, 6 Music and 7 etc. are available. BBC Radios 1, 2, 3 and 4 are not available. The coverage of DTT has been improved since the days of On-Digital, but there are still a number of areas which receive poor or no reception.
BBC 1xtra black music.
6 Music is a network for people who are passionate about pop and rock music. Here you will find a rich mix of the contemporary and the classic ranging from The Clash to Sly & The Family Stone, via Beck, Bjork and Public Enemy.
Features classic spoken word radio, drama, and comedy including The Goons, Steptoe and Son, Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Around The Horne, Just A Minute, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, etc.
Plays the world's most memorable songs from the last six decades and today.
Timeless music from icons of pop and rock history, including The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Queen, providing music across many different genres, from Seventies Glam Rock to Motown.
Xfm is… challenging, informed, credible it is a respected lifestyle reference point, breaking new music and informing young upmarket youngsters on the new music and attitudes.
Music and intelligent presentation includes instrumental smooth jazz, blended with classic and contemporary soul. In the evening, jazzfm plays relaxing jazz standards and ballads Late Lounge features a mix of chillout and ambient jazz.

I have an Echostar connected to my Quad 33/303/ESL57s set up and it sounds great.

Because DAB sounds inferior, particularly when listening on quality equipment, I've decided to offer ECHOSTAR 1200
receivers for sale so that radio listeners, like myself, can enjoy the new digital-only stations
and possibly improve reception of existing services.

Although there are other receivers on the market I chose to supply the Echostar due to brand reputation and price.

The front and rear of the receiver is shown below.
The receiver is quite small, measuring 12½ ins wide, front to back is 10 ins excluding the plugs and it's 2½ ins high, and it doesn't get so hot you can't touch it, it gets barely warm.

A zip'ed Specification sheet for the receiver in pdf format can be downloaded HERE

Echostar, although not well known in the UK, have been making domestic satellite receivers
for the European and USA markets for over 20 years and their build quality is excellent.

I currently have 3 packages available -
A) The receiver £269.99
For households who already have a dish and no receiver or are Sky+ users
or for flat dwellers who have shared dish facilities available.

B) The receiver, 60cm dish and LNB £299.99
For households with no existing satellite system.

C) The receiver and a quad LNB £329.99
For households which already watch BSkyB
This package will allow the Echostar and the BSkyB box to be used independently of each other.

The audio output of the Echostar is at a similar level to a CD player,
therefore if the satellite receiver is used with a Quad 33, 34 or 44
I recommend using an attenuated cable. This cable is available at a special price,
if ordered at the same time as a satellite package, for £24.99
it normally costs £32.99 plus £1.99 P+P.

To Order Click HERE

If you're in the UK and have any questions about the packages or
Digital Radio in general, please contact me by 'phone on 0845 123 50 66
or e-mail dave@flashbacksales.co.uk

Postage and packing is included in the above prices. Please allow 5 working days for delivery.
The receivers come with a full RTB 12 month warranty.

Purchasers of packages B and C are advised to use a local satellite tv installation company to install it.

Personally I would recommend that the installer you choose
is a member of the Confederation of Aerial Industries (CAI).

For the technically minded, below are the bit rates used by some of the digital radio stations on DAB and satellite
As you can see, in the majority of cases, a higher bit rate is used on satellite