30th Oct 2017, 3:38 pm | #441 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Outstanding good sound today, just been listening to the Archers on my Ekco A23, I wish it would permanently stay as clear and pleasant as this.
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30th Oct 2017, 4:37 pm | #442 | |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Quote:
The station sounds fine so unless there are complaints from the ITU or other stations I don’t think much will be done.
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5th Nov 2017, 1:19 pm | #443 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
I noticed yesterday that on all the reports on the VHF-FM Radio 2 news transmissions, the intake of breaths between sentences were very evident, making the correspondents sound distinctly asthmatic.
Switching to the news on Radio 4, the intakes of breath on the same reports were very less noticeable, sounding much better. Is this a normal 'artifact' in the different ways Radio 2 and Radio 4's audio responses are configured? best regards ... Stef |
5th Nov 2017, 4:43 pm | #444 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
The audio processing settings are likely to be completely different. If you have only noticed this recently, it's possible that the R2 processors have been reconfigured.
Many stations use heavy processing of the studio mics to create a distinctive station sound, and the BBC is no exception. Back to the topic of R4LW please. |
25th Nov 2017, 1:07 pm | #445 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
I am listening to BBC Radio 4 LW from Tacolneston and it sounds quite acceptable, albeit a tad compressed. In fairness, I never quite know just how much EQ is being used at any one time. I'm using my faithful and excellent sounding 1973 Grundig "Yacht Boy". However I suspect hat the AM RF/IF performance on this is better than the average late 1940s/early 1950s 5 valve superhet. Or is that heresy?!
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25th Nov 2017, 1:26 pm | #446 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Really??!!
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25th Nov 2017, 1:46 pm | #447 | |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Quote:
Well Classic FM is Classic FM irrespective of the platform. I seem to remember a time when the Test Match special, and the Daily Service streams were titled "Radio 4 LW" on DAB, but I may be mistaken. Are those programmes available on DTT, if so how are they presented to the listener?
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25th Nov 2017, 2:16 pm | #448 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Let's not go off topic please.
This thread is about BBC R4 198 kHz LW. Start another thread if you want to discuss other stations or other delivery platforms.
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25th Nov 2017, 2:57 pm | #449 | |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
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And it looks much better today... |
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25th Nov 2017, 3:32 pm | #450 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Tacolneston (which happens to be a transmitter site) is nowhere near Southwold where Edward lives.
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25th Nov 2017, 6:14 pm | #451 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Ahh, Graham you are so vigilant and dead right of course. In a retro AM mindset, I must have been thinking Band 1 405 line TV! Droitwich here we come....
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26th Nov 2017, 6:05 pm | #452 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
I am certain that the reason why Radio 4 LW consistently sounds so bad is because audio compression and limiting is now happening at both the transmitter and studio end in cascade with each other.
Whilst it is the producers overall responsibility for programme audio quality it is though to a BBC House Style dependant on the station. I have to say, the relevant document was on my screen only last month but can I find it now.... From memory, take for example Radio2. Here the dynamic range and compression is program and time dependant. According to the BBC, for the car radio/kitchen radio listeners morning and day schedules, a high degree of compression and perceived loudness is normal. This seems to include being the loudest station on air or so it seems to me. At night time, it is a different story. The arm chair listener will be hearing both a reasonably wide dynamic range and any compression limited just to give the station a little punch. With Radio 4 it is a different story. Because it is a speech station, intelligibility is the guiding factor and here compression, loudness and audio processing will be chosen to do just that. If only it was as simple as that. Before the advent of studio audio dynamic range compression software and when band pass limiting was only undertaken at the transmitter end together with a dynamics compressor to overcome AM radio general reception shortcomings, UK radio sounded just like it would from a “pantry” transmitter. Now we have loudness controls from the studio set to its meter “end stops”, automatic volume control, to help us hear the announcer breathing, a frequency dependant dynamic compressor to lift speech intelligibility and then on top of all this another dynamics compressor and gain node at the transmitter end doing the same. This, I suggest, is why the sound is so awful. Chris |
1st Dec 2017, 7:08 pm | #453 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Has anyone else experienced complete loss of signal on LW recently and spasmodically? That is for a few seconds at a time? This is on several radios and has been occurring for about 2 weeks , mostly in the mornings. My Philips IC 50 has a signal meter which shows this up well.
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2nd Dec 2017, 8:29 am | #454 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Morning Radio 4 198 LW still good this morning in Sheffield on my 1956 Saba Radio.
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11th Dec 2018, 12:39 pm | #455 |
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BBC Radio 4 198 kHz long wave sibilance.
It's pretty bad at the moment.
Aub
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11th Dec 2018, 12:42 pm | #456 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
Yep, it's been like that in Milton Keynes too.
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11th Dec 2018, 1:04 pm | #457 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
It's really bad here at the moment. Shame as it has been quite good for a long time, hope it's sorted soon.
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11th Dec 2018, 3:28 pm | #458 |
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Re: Radio 4 198 sibilance
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11th Dec 2018, 3:35 pm | #459 |
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Re: BBC Radio 4 198 kHz long wave sibilance.
Yes, much better. Thanks to whoever fixed it.
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12th Dec 2018, 11:23 am | #460 |
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Re: BBC Radio 4 198 kHz long wave sibilance.
I had a listen BBC R4 on 198 earlier this morning and can confirm its sounding very good.
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