B30 - how is that aerial?

[goodclimate]

Hello all,
I wondered if anyone knows if the iriver B30 will have better DMB/DAB reception than the B20? I was thinking of replacing a Cowon D2 with a dying battery with a B20. However, when I tested it in a Paris store, the B20 was unable to pull in any DMB digital radio stations with the earphones antenna option selected and just 7 of the 26 available with the external antenna extended. On the same spot and using the same earphones, the D2 pulled in all 26.
DMB here provides a rock-solid signal (unlike DAB in the UK) and it would be nice to take advantage. Is it perhaps a firmware issue?
Regards gc

[CrowdAds]

[Dreamnine]

DMB is the digital TV standard which we don't have in the UK.

DAB+ is the digital radio standard which we also don't have and is non-compatible with DAB. I don't know about France.

That said, Amp3 in Edinburgh is going ahead and stocking the B30.

From Wikipedia: France

In a public consultation on digital radio, the four largest French radio broadcasters objected to using the current DAB system; new stakeholders were in favour of keeping compatibility with the UK version. The French communications regulator CSA decided to launch a technical forum about the right choice for digital radio. Some broadcasters asked the regulator to strictly adopt the digital radio system in order to preserve transborder roaming (car radio) and some suggested to design technical variants of the European standard. Implementation of Band III has been strongly suggested by most contributors. The five largest French radio broadcasters are currently participating in a trial of the DVB-H and T-DMB digital broadcasting system in Paris.

Only one VHF T-DAB assignment is implemented. In France T-DAB is implemented in L-band. The percentage of households that can already, or are expected in the near future to receive the quoted number of VHF multiplexes is not significant. However, for the future digital Plan, France has decided to implement T-DAB in Band III. For the time being, CSA has authorised for 6 months an experiment over Paris for T-DMB on channel 11B. The experiment is established by TF1, Europe 1, Europe 2 and VDL, and for duration of six months, beginning on 15 October 2005. It is authorised to broadcast a set of programmes of radio or television having been already the object of agreements with the Council.
Regional implementations of DAB - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (26 August 2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regiona..._of_DAB#France
http://snipurl.com/res9f

[samkirk]

Originally Posted by Dreamnine

DMB is the digital TV standard which we don't have in the UK.

DAB+ is the digital radio standard which we also don't have and is non-compatible with DAB. I don't know about France.

AFAIK the B30 supports DAB and DAB+ much like the B20 before it (although the B20 required updating to firmware V1.04 - see http://www.iriver.at/fileadmin/uploads/files/b20fw.html). DAB+ where supported broadcasts with colour images, artist and track info, plus EPG support but despite some trials none of the UK broadcasters have embraced the standard to date.