Date: 28 Sep 92 21:54:16 GMT
From: mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=0205925@mhs.attmail.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Digital Cable Radio (was Thoughts About WFMT Versus WNIB/WHIZ)
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 743, Message 2 of 8

Seeing the discussion of various classical-format radio stations over
the past few days has finally given me an excuse to rave to all of you
about something I've been raving about to my friends for months now:
Digital Cable Radio.  I have no financial interest in any cable
company or in DCR, I'm just one =very= satisfied customer ... as in, I
cannot imagine life without it anymore.
 
Digital Cable Radio is a service provided to CATV providers; it uses
unused channels on the coax to deliver:
 
 * 29 channels, expected to expand to up to 100 in the next year, of
 * CD-quality sound, taken straight off of CDs and delivered straight to
   their conversion box in a digital format at the same bit-depth and
   sampling rate, plus
 * stereo simulcast of about five common CATV channels,
 * 24 hours a day by seven days a week, with
 * NO INTERRUPTIONS ... no DJs, no commercials, and
 * a 24-hour toll free number to call to get the current selection and the
   two previous selections on any of the channels, listing artist, selection
   title, CD title, and publisher.
 
I'm writing this from work, so I don't have my cheat-sheet with me,
but from memory they've got two classical channels (one of which plays
full length symphonies and operas off and on throughout the week), one
children's interest, one "world beat", one alternative rock, two jazz
(classic and modern, and the modern channel has several "new age" time
segments), two oldies' stations (one covers big band to VERY early
rock, the other what is now called "classic" rock), one channel for
contemporary Latin music, one easy listening, one country, one just
for love songs, one for "urban beat" that seems to be about equal mix
rap, R&B, and hip-hop, and about a half-dozen other rock music format
channels.
 
 From talking to one of Cencom's engineers, I gather that this is all
run out of a studio (I think in Texas) and provided to the CATV
providers on a scrambled satellite channel.  (He was also telling me
that they have a similar and older system in Japan that currently
provides around 200 channels!)  They then pump it out on unused CATV
channels to a converter box that they provide you.  Where I'm at, it
adds $8 per month to your cable bill, including rental of the
converter box and a remote.
 
I've had it since right after Cencom started offering it, and after a
scant month or so I found that the sound of a radio commercial, or
even more so some DJ mouthing off with his halfwit opinions about the
music (or Gods forbid, some subject he knows even less about) to be
unspeakably loathsome.  Several months later, I can scarcely imagine
life without it.  And I've discovered some nice music by calling their
toll free number to see what that was I was listening to!
 
I'm telling you, if what you want to listen to is music, this is THE
thing to get; if your cable company doesn't provide this, call them up
and bug them about it.  I will warn you, though, that some of you who
have really cheap, low-capital CATV vendors may not be able to get it
for technical reasons; by definition, it requires unused channel space
on the coax and I've heard of single-pair systems where they had
already used up everything from 2 up to 40 or so.
 

J. Brad Hicks   Internet: mhs!mc!Brad_Hicks@attmail.com
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