WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.439 Hello, I'm James Cridland, the radio futurologist, 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:04.719 and every week or so I write a newsletter all 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:07.719 about radio. It's called Radioland, and this 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:12.679 is for the 25th of August, 2025. In Australia, 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.179 industry lobby group CRA has released a caps 00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:18.640 lock heavy release. Can you find the radio in 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:22.019 your new car? Urgent call for legislation to 00:00:22.019 --> 00:00:25.160 ensure access to local radio. It's accompanied 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:28.519 by a paper called The Fast Facts Keep Radio Easily 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:31.719 Accessible Anytime, Anywhere. Good old plucky 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:35.140 little Australia, the number 15 new vehicle market 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:38.679 in the world, with 1 .2 million sold in 2024, 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:42.619 is looking for prominent one -button access to 00:00:42.619 --> 00:00:46.060 Australian radio, AM, FM, DAB Plus receivers 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:49.759 and streaming audio in all cars, and also asking 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:52.939 for the government to act now. The fact sheet 00:00:52.939 --> 00:00:55.380 also promotes streaming radio and even podcasts 00:00:55.380 --> 00:00:59.380 in the same breath as requiring AM, FM and DAB 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:02.539 plus reception in cars. Well, the Australian 00:01:02.539 --> 00:01:05.640 radio industry has mistakenly long ignored the 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:08.219 work from Radio Player, which has been spending 00:01:08.219 --> 00:01:11.280 a lot of time to actively work with auto manufacturers 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:15.099 to make the radio experience work better in cars, 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:18.299 particularly ensuring that receivers can automatically 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:22.920 hand over between FM, DAB and IP, and not just 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.319 making sure that there's a radio button, but 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:28.319 setting clear UX guidelines to ensure that it's 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:32.739 easy and clear to use. is doing similar, and 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:35.060 in my view it would be better for the CRA to 00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:37.280 work together with other global organisations 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:40.239 here rather than treat them as not invented here, 00:01:40.420 --> 00:01:43.879 as the organisation has long done. The requirement 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:47.200 put forward by the CRA that connected cars and 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.260 devices with a terrestrial receiver continue 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:52.019 to provide prominent access to radio broadcasting 00:01:52.019 --> 00:01:55.359 services seems to leave the door wide open for 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:57.879 manufacturers to just remove the terrestrial 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:00.140 receiver altogether, something that we don't 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:02.829 really want. Better still, of course, that the 00:02:02.829 --> 00:02:05.870 public want broadcast radio enough to request 00:02:05.870 --> 00:02:09.240 it in their cars. Meanwhile, it would be churlish 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:11.900 to mention that the CRA's implementation of DAB 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:14.840 Plus radio in this country is not quite what 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:18.860 car receivers expect. Neither my Toyota Prius 00:02:18.860 --> 00:02:23.800 nor my MG4 decodes the CRA -operated DAB signal 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:26.360 correctly. The Prius can't even get the audio 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:29.580 without glitches, while the MG struggles to decode 00:02:29.580 --> 00:02:31.819 the programme type, the slideshow or even the 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:34.990 DLS in some cases. as well as a suspiciously 00:02:34.990 --> 00:02:37.669 long delay between tuning in to a station and 00:02:37.669 --> 00:02:42.430 the audio actually coming in. The ABC SBS multiplex 00:02:42.430 --> 00:02:44.889 is fine in both, and yes, I've reported it to 00:02:44.889 --> 00:02:46.750 all the right places, but nobody seems to want 00:02:46.750 --> 00:02:51.800 to acknowledge the issue, or indeed fix it. Elsewhere, 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:54.560 catch -up radio has been quietly added to some 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.639 shows on BBC Radio 4 on the international BBC 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.439 website. They appear in the schedule page, so 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:02.819 we can now listen to the Today programme, PM 00:03:02.819 --> 00:03:06.020 and other long -form news programmes, which don't 00:03:06.020 --> 00:03:09.219 appear in podcast form. The schedule also seamlessly 00:03:09.219 --> 00:03:11.639 links to podcasts, so if you press play on The 00:03:11.639 --> 00:03:13.919 Archers, for example, it plays The Archers podcast, 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:16.800 complete with ads, as it should be. However, 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:20.310 this isn't yet available in the BBC app. where 00:03:20.310 --> 00:03:22.110 if you manage to find your way to the programme 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:24.370 schedules, you'll not see these play buttons. 00:03:24.710 --> 00:03:28.469 90 % of all on -demand audio is listened to on 00:03:28.469 --> 00:03:31.469 mobile. And the Archers podcast, by the way, 00:03:31.530 --> 00:03:34.590 starts with a superfluous BBC Sounds promotion, 00:03:34.889 --> 00:03:38.680 which really isn't hard to get right. Thank you 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.280 to George Wright, who shares Tuning In, an American's 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:44.199 Guide to British Radio Culture, the massive difference 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:46.879 between UK radio and that from the US, and why 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:50.060 most US radio leaves me entirely cold. It's worth 00:03:50.060 --> 00:03:52.060 a read. You'll find it in the show notes. In 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:55.039 Australia, Stephen Centovanti has updated his 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:57.819 radio technologist's resources, and there's plenty 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:01.039 there to read. Just released from the Radio TechCon 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:04.219 conference is Radio Land supporter Rupert Brunn, 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:06.699 talking about the pips, the time signal that 00:04:06.699 --> 00:04:09.229 you'll hear on... BBC Radio, especially BBC Radio 00:04:09.229 --> 00:04:11.909 4 and the BBC World Service. And there's some 00:04:11.909 --> 00:04:13.389 interesting information in there, particularly 00:04:13.389 --> 00:04:15.669 that the pips are produced every quarter hour 00:04:15.669 --> 00:04:18.569 and the strenuous work that went on in the BBC 00:04:18.569 --> 00:04:21.110 to ensure that they don't go out by mistake. 00:04:21.709 --> 00:04:24.449 There was a big orange light, apparently, but 00:04:24.449 --> 00:04:26.810 the big orange light didn't work. Instead, the 00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:30.069 more sensible plan was to automatically mute 00:04:30.069 --> 00:04:32.730 the pips channel between five minutes past two, 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:35.810 55 minutes to so that you only heard the correct 00:04:35.810 --> 00:04:37.660 ones at the top of the. hour, even if you did 00:04:37.660 --> 00:04:41.100 leave the fader open. In my quest for a little 00:04:41.100 --> 00:04:43.480 travel radio that picks everything up, radio's 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:47.079 Stephen Martin has pointed me... Well, he's Steve 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:50.019 Martin. When he's in radio, he pointed me to 00:04:50.019 --> 00:04:53.120 an amazing looking thing, the ominously named 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:57.639 DP666. Yes. First, it looks like an Anorak stream. 00:04:57.800 --> 00:04:59.959 It's the kind of information that the screen 00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:01.660 gives you. Everything from, you know, program 00:05:01.660 --> 00:05:04.540 type to EON information and all kinds of stuff 00:05:04.540 --> 00:05:07.300 for FM, RDS. Oh, it's going to be very exciting. 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:11.720 It uses a TEF6686 chip inside it and it's about 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:15.259 £50. The firmware for the chip is open source 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:18.319 and the radio is capable of tuning. in to DAB 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:22.160 bands but not decoding the audio but blogs about 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.579 it appear to indicate that you can also connect 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:26.980 your computer and treat it as an SDR receiver 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:29.180 so who knows whether that opens up additional 00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:32.360 things to do with DAB or you can make it available 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:35.019 as a web tuner instead so of course I now have 00:05:35.019 --> 00:05:37.959 one on the way so thank you to Steve Martin and 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:41.060 next weekend I fly to Radio Days Asia which I'm 00:05:41.060 --> 00:05:43.519 looking forward to I'm moderating some sessions 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:46.339 and playing MC for the podcast day if you are 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:49.240 going to be in Jakarta. I would really appreciate 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:53.100 saying hello. I'm speaking next then at Radio 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:56.220 Days Asia in early September. I'll be at Pennine 00:05:56.220 --> 00:05:59.800 Radio's 50th birthday and last ever get -together 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.079 in Bradford later on in the month. Pod Summit 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:06.120 YYC in Calgary. The Health Podcast Summit, which 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:08.920 I'm speaking at. I'm, I think, speaking at something 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:12.759 in the end of September in Istanbul as well. 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:15.980 I'm just waiting for information about that. 00:06:16.100 --> 00:06:18.759 And also Radio Days Europe in Riga in Latvia 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:22.660 next March. Thank you so much to the many supporters 00:06:22.660 --> 00:06:26.939 of Radioland, including Studio Media Results 00:06:26.939 --> 00:06:30.920 Inc. and Brunn Audio Consulting Limited for your 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:33.019 kind support. If you would like to support my 00:06:33.019 --> 00:06:35.199 work in any way, you can buy me a coffee, become 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:37.180 a member to give regularly or just give a one 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:39.939 -off coffee or five. Buymeacoffee .com slash 00:06:39.939 --> 00:06:43.500 James Cridland is where to go. My website has 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:45.699 more details about who I am and what I do and 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:47.399 whether I can help you further. That's james 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:50.139 .cridland .net and keep listening.