# Norway switching off FM radio, going all digital. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 19, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057 "2015-04-19T19:03:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057/21 "2015-04-21T21:40:13Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Is it going to be like the digital TV signal? Because that sucks. I hate the “all or nothing” of it. At least with analog if there is a weak signal you still get some picture and audio. Not so with the digital format. I weep for all the 12 year olds who will never have the thrill of seeing an occasional nipple through the static on a scrambled cable porn station. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057/22 "2015-04-22T11:01:06Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I weep for all the 12 year olds who will never have the thrill of seeing an occasional nipple through the static on a scrambled cable porn station. Yeah, those 12 year olds with infinite hardcore HD porn at their fingertips on their phones. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057/23 "2015-04-22T11:56:01Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > DAB uses old MPEG Layer II compression […] That’s only true if you consider DAB+, which allows HE AAC v2, a separate system and not just an update. > [@](#): > > […] with a max bitrate of 128 kb/s per program. If that’s true anywhere, then that’s just policy and not a technical limitation. For example, in Germany the highest bitrates in production use that I could find are 192 kb/s for MP2 and 144 kb/s for HE AAC. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057/24 "2015-04-22T19:45:41Z")
What about AM? here in the USA, AM seems alive and well. I have no idea how the industry is doing 9as regards profitability), but the AM dial (here in Boston) weems well-populated. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057/25 "2015-04-23T00:00:51Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > What about AM? here in the USA, AM seems alive and well. I have no idea how the industry is doing 9as regards profitability), but the AM dial (here in Boston) weems well-populated. like FM, it resides in part of the frequency spectrum that nobody is advocating a better use for. also like FM the digital HD radio transmission is overlaid on the analog signal. IOW, nobody wants the spectrum, so nobody’s trying to shut down analog radio. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057/26 "2015-04-23T00:30:50Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I weep for all the 12 year olds who will never have the thrill of seeing an occasional nipple through the static on a scrambled cable porn station. 😕 WTF does this mean? I have a small 5 inch screen TV that accepts digital transmissions that I take to the gym to watch while I trot on the tread mill and such. Problem is, the over the air digital broadcasts are “all or nothing”. If analog were still being broadcast I’d get a picture and audio all the time, albeit sometimes the picture might be 'snowy" at worst. With digital, if the TV doesn’t receive a full signal, you get nothing. Sucks! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057/27 "2015-04-23T00:33:35Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > What about AM? here in the USA, AM seems alive and well. I have no idea how the industry is doing 9as regards profitability), but the AM dial (here in Boston) weems well-populated. You know what’s weird? When I was a kid (60’s-70’s) a lot of small radios were AM but not FM. A small transistor AM radio was chump change, but one that had FM too was half a zillion. Now, one can buy an FM radio at the dollar store, my cell phone has an FM radio build in to it, but no AM radio. WTF? 😕 WHY? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057/28 "2015-04-23T00:59:42Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > 😕 > > WTF does this mean? it means “the way everything was when I grew up was perfect in every way, and kids who aren’t growing up in the same way are missing out.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/norway-switching-off-fm-radio-going-all-digital/718057.md?page=1)