Radio Stations moving to DAB+

[csp]

I can listen to stations like Absolute Radio that only transmit DAB+ in my 2020 Jazz SR e:HEV and both the official 2020 & 2023 Model year specifications state that UK e:HEV are DAB+ compatible so I am confident that Classic FM DAB+ will be available on my Jazz. It might be necessary to rescan the stations but I expect the station will be on the same transponder so I don't think that should not be necessary.

I don't think dealers even read the specifications of the cars they sell now days. When I have asked about turning on the traffic sign recognition speed limiter on in one of my cars the salesman didn't know it even know it existed.

[coldstart]

Only true if outside the UK.  I would appear that UK models are NOT DAB+. 

First I want to express my sceptisicm that Honda would ship specifically modified models to the UK (they are driving on the left hand side in Japan as well).
Secondliy DAB+ is a superset to DAB which means a DAB+ radio is capable of receiving a (deprecated) DAB signal whereas a DAB radio will never be able to render DAB+ because it lacks the necessary CODEC.
Thirdly: Simply trust your fellow fora members that current MK4 Jazzes can render DAB+ radio like a pro!

And: Happy New Year to all!

[embee]

First I want to express my sceptisicm that Honda would ship specifically modified models to the UK (they are driving on the left hand side in Japan as well).

And: Happy New Year to all!

Japan drives on the left but there are other regs for things like lighting and emissions which usually make Japanese domestic models different to UK and other RHD markets. Traditionally Japanese spec cars didn't get much in the way of underbody corrosion protection,  don't know if that's still true.

[nowster]

The MK4 Jazz and Crosstar have DAB+ capable tuners.

However, I can't vouch for the audio quality as many stations are low bitrate.

Classic FM is 64kbps DAB+ (HE-AAC, 32kHz stereo)

Heart UK is 40kbps DAB+ (HE-AAC v2, 32kHz stereo). Heart 70s is 32kbps.

Boom Radio is 24kbps DAB+ (HE-AAC, 32kHz mono).

There are three levels of MP4 encoding:

 * LC-AAC - lowest compression, as used by BBC Sounds
 * HE-AAC - LC-AAC at higher compression with Spectral Band Replication
 * HE-AAC v2 - LC-AAC at even higher compression, with SBR and Parametric Stereo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Audio_Coding

[maestroman]

All radios have been DAB+ for a few years. Household sets for a longtime and Car stereos (when fitted) by law in the UK since September 2020.

[nowster]

All radios have been DAB+ for a few years. Household sets for a longtime and Car stereos (when fitted) by law in the UK since September 2020.

Which law would that be?

[CB72]

Breaking News: National radio station Classic FM will switch from DAB to DAB+ in January 2024, but remain available on 100 – 102 FM.

[Geoff_W]

I can confirm that Classic FM is still available on my Crosstar in both DAB and FM formats. So clearly the UK Jazz head unit has a DAB+ radio.

[ColinS]

I can confirm that Classic FM is still available on my 2018 HR-V in DAB as well as FM.

[nowster]

Breaking News: National radio station Classic FM will switch from DAB to DAB+ in January 2024, but remain available on 100 – 102 FM.

It switched on Tuesday 2 January: HE-AAC, 32 kHz Stereo @ 64 kbit/s

It used to be 128kbps stereo MP2.

http://www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html#D1

[Geoff_W]

Breaking News: National radio station Classic FM will switch from DAB to DAB+ in January 2024, but remain available on 100 – 102 FM.

It switched on Tuesday 2 January: HE-AAC, 32 kHz Stereo @ 64 kbit/s

It used to be 128kbps stereo MP2.

http://www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html#D1

Is that better or worse quality with the change to HE-AAC but a lower bitrate?

[5thcivic]

AAC is not a bad codec, better quality per kB than mp3, but going from 128 to 64 might be broadly equivalent. Mind you by the time these stations have compressed all the dynamic range out of  their output the quality almost seems mute.

[CB72]

I cant find any voice commands for changing radio stations. There are commands for AM and FM to tune to a frequency Who knows the frequency of any radio stations unless you are a radio geek. Anyway I'm talking about DAB stations. Ive tried different combinations of Play <station> or Tune to <station> etc etc but no luck, there's nothing as far as I can see in the manual. Changing stations whilst on the move is bit dangerous, even with the presets

[Geoff_W]

I cant find any voice commands for changing radio stations. There are commands for AM and FM to tune to a frequency Who knows the frequency of any radio stations unless you are a radio geek. Anyway I'm talking about DAB stations. Ive tried different combinations of Play <station> or Tune to <station> etc etc but no luck, there's nothing as far as I can see in the manual. Changing stations whilst on the move is bit dangerous, even with the presets

When I first got my Crosstar I spent a lot of time trying to use voice control to change stations. In the end I just gave it up as a bad job. As I only tend to listen to Classic FM in the car, changing station isn't an issue for me.

[coldstart]

... Changing stations whilst on the move is bit dangerous, even with the presets

You can cycle through your preset stations with the skip buttons on the steering wheel.
Easy to do without looking. In addition the new station name shortly flashes in the central display.