Just had a reply from Skoda's European HQ to my enquiry as to when they would fit the VW/Audi DAB radio tuner to the Bolero.

They tell me this will not be an option for 2 to 3 years!! (Can't see why as there can't be a technical problem with it being fitted either as standard or as an option to the equivalent VW/Audi radios, but this is when European governments are expected to make DAB radios mandatory in cars allowing them to sell off the FM bandwidth.

So the option is to either pay up-front for a more expensive but future-proofed VW car with a DAB radio, or look to replace the Skoda's radio in a few year's time.

(No, I do not look to buy a new car every few years!! :yes:

Chris

Interesting, when the likes of Vauxhall and Ford now fit DAB as standard in their high end models.

I will be surprised if the government forces the change as I believe DAB hasn't been taken up as quick as they first anticipated. I believe it is less than 20%

Big Rich

I've yet to be convinced that any DAB switchover is actually going to happen - there's a lot of (technically) well-founded opposition which the ConDems seem to be taking a bit more seriously than the previous incumbents. For more details see eg:

http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/

And if a switchover were to happen would it actually be to DAB, DAB+ (not readily compatible with DAB) or what?

In the Yeti Technical section Great Yeti did a great guide as to how to remove the Bolero. The surrounding covers are thus seperate from the radio's insides and it should thus be very easy (albeit costly) to replace a Bolero with a VW DAB unit from a Golf (which is already available). I wonder though if it also would require a different aerial? That might be the rub.

But I'm also not holding my breath that there will be an actual switch off anytime soon.

I've yet to be convinced that any DAB switchover is actually going to happen - there's a lot of (technically) well-founded opposition which the ConDems seem to be taking a bit more seriously than the previous incumbents. For more details see eg:

http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/

And if a switchover were to happen would it actually be to DAB, DAB+ (not readily compatible with DAB) or what?

Quote:

"Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, recently met with the major car manufacturers and reaffirmed his view that “digital radio should be fitted as standard in all cars by the end of 2013.â€

"According to Ofcom, fewer than 500,000 motor vehicles are fitted with digital radio, but as part of the Government-Industry Digital Radio Action Plan, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said its members are committed to meeting the 2013 Government target for new cars. "

Once car radios have been modernised we will see the number of listeners increasing rapidly - allowing the sale of the FM bandwidth and hence FM radio listeners losing their stations!

Why do you think they are now standard in Minis, Fords, Vauxhalls, VWs etc??

Chris

I wouldn't be without Radio 7.

The problem is I have to take my portable Dab radio (albeit plugged into the armrest jack).

I need to buy a bean bag for the top of the dash as SWMBO gets fed up holding it. :yes:

It's still too easy to lose reception, however, which sometimes can depend just on which side of a hill you are driving.

tom

Once car radios have been modernised we will see the number of listeners increasing rapidly...

That's the problem as I see it - once people start to (try to) use it in cars, there'll be a swift realisation that in practice DAB struggles - outside of the larger urban areas or near to main transmitters - to compete in terms of signal strength, coverage etc with FM. And many people will realise that the authorities have been sold a technology that isn't really able to deliver good coverage to moving vehicles and will quickly lose interest in DAB.

Also, how is it really going to work with the UK hanging on to the old-fashioned traditional DAB, Germany (IIRC) going for DAB+, France probably doing something else again etc.

I'm really not sure that LTE mobile data (ie the successor to 3G) won't be largely taking over within 3-5 years and most people will listen to radio effectively via Internet radio. But we shall see...

Edited 1 October, 201015 yr by prodata

I don't feel it's the right answer for where modern day radio should move anyway. As eluded to above, if you've actually tried DAB in a car, you'll find quite quickly that it's not quite the ideal you expect, especially on a longer journey.

I tried it in an Audi A8 and quickly went back to stored music anyway. It was patchy, the quality wasn't discernibly better than a decent FM signal and I certainly wouldn't pay out for it as an option.

Steve

A DAB tuner is now an option in SEAT Leons, Alteas and Altea XLs now as well as VW and Audi. So what's up with Skoda????

If you don't want to buy you don't have to, but at least give us the option instead of making turn away from Skoda!

Chris

DAB.....you must be joking!!

We've been told we are unlikely to ever get a good signal here, if any, and they have no programme to improve transmission.

Can't even get a good signal on my DAB radio alarm clock sat still on my bedside cupboard.

DAB in the car passing trees and buildings and hills. they will have to improve it a lot before i would have it as a option KEEP FM

I have to say that my last car Vauxhall Vectra and my current car Ford Mondeo, they both have DAB radios and I only listern to DAB channels. I do a lot of driving throughout the Uk and there are only 2 places where reception is a problem. M6 north of Carlisle for a 5 mile stretch through the hills and in Mid-South Wales, where the signal was blocked by the hills. It must be mentioned that FM also struggled in these areas.

Failing that DAB gives perfect reception right across the UK. I'm really dissapointed that Skoda aren't even offering DAB as an optional extra.

Hey Ho,

BigRich

As usual it's chicken and egg. While FM transmitters are still active DAB ones are restricted to low power so the listener experience is horrible.

I have one in the kitchen and it needs turning off and on again at least half a dozen times a day to re-aquire the multiplex. If it is this bad in a fixed location, no surprise it isn't a popular option in cars.

Incidentally, it isn't the set. I have another which is equally marginal.

Also, the quality, even when it is working is sub par compared with FM. This is because of the same greed exhibited with Freeview, Freesat HD etc. I.e. cram more channels into the available bandwidth at the expense of quality.

As usual it's chicken and egg. While FM transmitters are still active DAB ones are restricted to low power...

That's certainly true of the TV transmitter channels and the ongoing 'digital switchover' from analogue to digital. But are you sure that it's also true of DAB - the frequencies involved are completely different and there's no obvious reason why DAB should be artificially limited in power in the same way.

I must admit that I would have ticked the box in DAB was an option. Whilst the FM signal tends to be pretty good wherever you go I listen a lot to Radio 5 for the sport and also test match special on MW. I can get those channels reasonably well in the North East but as soon as I move around the country the reception quality varies considerably. This is particularly true of the cricket commentary which is on 603MW and disappears completely in large chunks of the UK.

I fully understand that DAB is not the great panacea that we were promised but unless we can move all channels onto FM then I would like the option.

Fair point Prodata. It isn't exactly the same problem. However the much higher frequencies used by DAB compared with FM do not travel as far, so either higher power or more transmitters are needed. So far, there are many areas of the country which either have no or limited coverage. I'm 20 miles with clear line of sight from the nearest transmitter and DAB reception is dismal. Freeview from the same transmitter is marginal in bad atmospheric conditions due to co-channel interference from French transmitters but then the power IS reduced until the 2012 switchover.

There are lots of places DAB is not receivable on domestic type DAB radios, you've no chance in a moving car. Even then the UK seem to going down the BAD rather than DAB+ route. So even if you had DAB in a UK car, it would not receive DAB+ on the continent.

Another shambles. Why cant we all just agree on one format. SAT radio in the USA is fantastic, why we can't go that way I dont know.

The EU should choose one format and stick to it.

Hopefully they will and Skoda can get on board. The Mk3 Octy better have this as an option or I'll be moving away to another marque in a few years time.

SAT radio in Europe is much harder due to the number of different languages and concentrated population centres meaning local terristrial transmitters fill in black spots. I believe that there is a chance that something might happen over here.

However, the real disgrace is that the Columbus SatNav head unit in my new Yeti (due soon!) doesn't even do LW let alone DAB. How on earth am I going to get Test Match Special?? (P.S. I know its on 720KHz in London on MW but I travel around the country).

What's more is that European Yeti's can get the Columbus with DVB-T. All the digital radio channels I need (5 Live Sports Extra, Radio7, 6 Music etc) are there already. Skoda UK say that its not possible in the UK. I suspect that they don't want a load returned to dealers because the TV reception is crap due to lower power transmitters over here. However, irresponsible and backwards manufacuters such as these are holding up development and takeup of digital services.

I am going to have to get a horrible PURE DAB add-on to my spanking new Yeti just to listen to the bloody radio. Progress? What progess?

It's so disappointing because otherwise the Yeti is such a good car.

However, the real disgrace is that the Columbus SatNav head unit in my new Yeti (due soon!) doesn't even do LW let alone DAB. How on earth am I going to get Test Match Special?? (P.S. I know its on 720KHz in London on MW but I travel around the country).

If you ever come up to the North East then it is on 603 but the North West seems to be a blind spot as I can never pick it up when I am over there. It is grim indeed as Test Match special is the ideal travelling companion on long journeys.

If you ever come up to the North East then it is on 603 but the North West seems to be a blind spot as I can never pick it up when I am over there. It is grim indeed as Test Match special is the ideal travelling companion on long journeys.

Skoda UK are starting to believe their own publicity and like so many other car manufacturers are now telling their customers what they can have rather than offering what people want! No DAB radios, no DSG on the 1.4TSi, no 16" wheels on higher spec cars etc. When you couple this with increasingly less competitive prices then Skoda UK will find that their popularity begins to wane and they will lose their competitive advantage.

In many instances it is better to buy a VW financially now.

If you ever come up to the North East then it is on 603 but the North West seems to be a blind spot as I can never pick it up when I am over there. It is grim indeed as Test Match special is the ideal travelling companion on long journeys.

Skoda UK are starting to believe their own publicity and like so many other car manufacturers are now telling their customers what they can have rather than offering what people want! No DAB radios, no DSG on the 1.4TSi, no 16" wheels on higher spec cars etc. When you couple this with increasingly less competitive prices then Skoda UK will find that their popularity begins to wane and they will lose their competitive advantage.

In many instances it is better to buy a VW financially now.

Most EU countries have dumped the DAB format being used in the UK, and either not trying anything else (Germany, France) or trying a dfferent and new standard (DAB+). Nearly all current DAB radios are not compatible with this standard, so every DAB radio that does not support DAB+ will need replacing.

The DAB format being used in the UK is based on technology thats nearly 20 years old (from the early 1990s), and uses outdated MP2 encoding technology. The sound quality of a 128K bit DAB station is far worse than a 128K MP3, and sounds like a poor quality internet radio stream.

Even worse though, is that due to bandwidth limitations most stations transmit at 96K mono which is a joke.

Its a bit like analogue and DVB-T TV, where Freeview and Sky etc. have issues with macro blocking in the picture, none of which is present on good old analogue.

I had DAB in car a few years ago before they decided to have quantity of stations over quality of stations, back then most stations were transmitted at 256kbps and sounded really good, but today I wouldnt bother.

1) I carefully started this thread with the word "option". If you don't like living in the digital world fine, you don't have to buy in (seen any vinyl records or 35mm film recently???) but others would clerarly like the option to futurproof our cars.

2) The DAB radios being fitted to other makes of cars are designed to work with all versions of DAB broadcasts, so it doesn't matter if you drive to mainland Europe or if the UK version of DAB is different to other countries. (And if Pure can offer an update facility to keep their DAB radios in line with changes I'm sure it can be dome by Blaupunkt etc.

3) The government are proposing to improve DAB coverage to equal FM coverage before switchover. As I struggle to find any decent FM coverage in some parts of the country I accept that there will be times when DAB will struggle as well. But as most of my journeys are on or near major motorways I wish to buy a DAB radio in my next car. If my Pure Highway with its windscreen aerial can give me an acceptable performance now, I'm sure a built-in DAB radio with an external aerial will be better and avoid needing trailing leads across my dashboard.

If Skoda won't follow the lead given by Audi, VW, SEAT, Ford, Mini etc they will not be supplying my next car. It's as simple as that!

Chris

Edited 9 October, 201015 yr by CJJE

I have to say that my last car Vauxhall Vectra and my current car Ford Mondeo, they both have DAB radios and I only listern to DAB channels. I do a lot of driving throughout the Uk and there are only 2 places where reception is a problem. M6 north of Carlisle for a 5 mile stretch through the hills and in Mid-South Wales, where the signal was blocked by the hills. It must be mentioned that FM also struggled in these areas.

Failing that DAB gives perfect reception right across the UK. I'm really dissapointed that Skoda aren't even offering DAB as an optional extra.

Hey Ho,

BigRich

Hi there,

new to Briskoda, currently driving a Mondeo Titanium, taking an interest in Skoda as their cars have recently appeared on my company car lists and my Mondeo is up for renewal in the next few months.

The Mondeo I have is fitted as standard with a DAB radio as standard and I have to say that I am very impressed with the sound quality, reception and station choice.

I mostly listen to Absolute, Radio 5 (+Sports Extra) and Planet Rock. I travel throughout the UK (Circa 45k miles annually) and it would be a feature / option I would definitely look for in my next car.

I note the next Passat (also on company car list) will have DAB radio on the SE spec model and above, surely it is time for Skoda to at least offer DAB as an option. It was an option on my wife's Golf, now standard.

Yes, there are parts of the road network where reception 'drops out' - M6 South of Tebay services for about 12 miles (FM and MW poor reception anyway), A69 around Haltwhistle about 7 - 10 miles (FM and MW available). In built up areas I have had no loss of signal and I am often in Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

My brother recently got a new Insignia and it also has DAB fitted and he said that it was 'a revelation' and can now understand why I have been 'banging' on about it since September 2008 - when I got my Mondeo.

So for me if given the choice of a Superb or Passat to have for the next 100,000 miles then I am afraid the latter would clinch it for me, if DAB available in Superb then I would no doubt go for the Skoda as I really rate the Superb.

The choice of a radio will I am sure seem 'petty' to some people and should not detract from the car itself but it is something which I will use and it will make the trawl up and down the UK Motorway system that little bit more bearable.

theno9!