Satellite Radio - Works in India ?

[jango]

In Lage Raho munnabhai, they show a worldstation receiver connected on the gypsy of the police officer...Has the police dept advance so much !!

[condor]

Ftiezzi = Ferdinando Tiezzi
He is with JAST in Sales & Marketing

[navin]

Originally Posted by condor

Ftiezzi = Ferdinando Tiezzi
He is with JAST in Sales & Marketing

I have advised him to read TBHPs Rules and Regulations.

[jalsa777]

for its price....the diva is real good hardware

did any of u contact world space whether if offers installation in vehicles and the like
????

[crimsonorb]

I am yet to buy a Fiat Palio Stile.
Is it possible to fit a satellite radio inside the car.

I called up WorldSpace (i am at Bangalore) for this specific Qs.

The only thing the lady cud answer was worldspace is in the process
of such a superb thing....

any help ???

where will be the antennae be fitted??? won't it be a dish antenna???

[Absar]

Well! As far as I know, satellite radio isn't avaiable in India yet for cars. However if Worldspace has such an accessory available, it would be connected to a fin like how you see on the BMW & the Merc's..

A

[condor]

Crimson & Absar, Pls do a search before you post - your questions could have already been answered.

Pls check these threads:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...rks-india.html (Satellite Radio - Works in India ?)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-en...rks-india.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ription-2.html (World Radio subscription)

or do a search for "Worldspace" on TBHP


Mods, close thread ?

[DerAlte]

No, there was no definitive answer listed in those threads.

The issue, as I know it, is of the proper sensitive omni-directional antenna for the Worldspace portable receivers. For Bangalore, the satellite appears somewhere in the eastern sky. The directional antennas that come with the Worldspace-authorized sets have to be pointed East (fortunately not as direction-sensitive as the dish antennas used for TV signals). If you use the sets in a car, you have to perpetually travel east to get continuous music - not very practical always. The omni-directional antenna would catch the signal coming from the east no matter which way the car is headed.

XM / Sirius, the systems in use in US, are technically the same as Worldspace. Of course, no one has taken a Worldspace receiver to US to check whether it works. The inner workings do not have any dependancy on the antenna, as long as the antenna is able to grab enough of the microwaves from the WS satellite(s).

BUT , perhaps an adventurous soul here could get an XM / Sirius antenna (the car-mounting type) from the US and try it out with a portable Worldspace receiver in India? Should work, even if the signal quality may not be OK sometimes (interference from buildings, trees etc.). Since the transmission is digital, one will experience silent passages at those times.

As far as Worldspace India is concerned, one cannot expect answers to questions not in their FAQ! They are Sales-oriented, but lacking the passion of ICE-makers such as JBL, Blau etc.

[condor]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

No, there was no definitive answer listed in those threads.

There's nothing definitive from Worldspace, either. They say licences required and stuff, but we are still where we started.

Guys, pls continue discussion in any of the previous threads.

[DerAlte]

I have had my share of woes from them. Licenses? Wow, that's a good one from them, their FAQ must be smaller than a refrigerator's FAQ.

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, pls continue discussion in any of the previous threads.

Good idea, @Condor.

Perhaps the Mods can merge this thread into the original Worldspace thread?

[theEnd]

I remember doing a little research on this. Basically, Worldspace said they would have to install local repeaters (or something of the sort) which basically take the signal from their satellite and then re-transmit it over traditional radio frequencies. They said that this is the only way to recieve Worldspace from a moving vehicle. (unless, like DerAlte said, you only drive east!).

Then the FM operators complained because Worldspace would basically destroy the competition if they did that. Also I think there was some controversy regarding whether Worldspace would have to pay for licenses just like all the other FM broadcasters.

[santosh.s]

Originally Posted by theEnd

Then the FM operators complained because Worldspace would basically destroy the competition if they did that.

I could be wrong, but I believe normal analog FM sound quality is better than worldspace. I have not bother to subscribe to them because I listened to it a few times (in showrooms) and I felt like their broadcast is nothing more than poor mp3s. More so for Indian channels, probably due to lesser bandwidth allocation as compared to international ones.

Is that true? Does the quality vary too much among their receiver models?

[tsk1979]

Note from mod: Threads merged, please use search function before posting

[DerAlte]

Thanks for the merge and rejuvenation!

Originally Posted by theEnd

I remember doing a little research on this. Basically, Worldspace said they would have to install local repeaters (or something of the sort) which basically take the signal from their satellite and then re-transmit it over traditional radio frequencies. They said that this is the only way to recieve Worldspace from a moving vehicle. (unless, like DerAlte said, you only drive east!).

Then the FM operators complained because Worldspace would basically destroy the competition if they did that. Also I think there was some controversy regarding whether Worldspace would have to pay for licenses just like all the other FM broadcasters.

Local repeaters? Re-transmit it over traditional radio frequencies? Pure bovine excrement. Hilarious. Whoever said this at WS does not understand rudimentary communications technology.

Worldspace, XM and Sirius signals are always direct transmission from Satellite to Receiver, similar to DTH TV (Tata Sky, Dish TV, DD DTH etc.). The antenna for that is either a sort of small Yagi (like the old TV antennas) or a small directional phased array (a small squat square box with a kind of honey-comb structure inside). The ones available for XM, Sirius and the European systems for automotive use are just special versions of the array - designed for omni-directional use. This looks and works the same like a GPS antenna, only at a different microwave frequency.

This is more of an internecine "license fee" war like GSM versus CDMA, nothing to do with technology. What can the FM companies do other than fret and fume - try and jam the satellite signal? Fat chance.

Originally Posted by santosh.s

I could be wrong, but I believe normal analog FM sound quality is better than worldspace. I have not bother to subscribe to them because I listened to it a few times (in showrooms) and I felt like their broadcast is nothing more than poor mp3s. More so for Indian channels, probably due to lesser bandwidth allocation as compared to international ones.

Is that true? Does the quality vary too much among their receiver models?

No, Santosh, since the transmission is digital audio modulated on a higher frequency carrier than FM, the effective bandwidth of the audio signal is more towards CD quality than FM.

The Indian music channels perhaps use inferior source material and hence sound that way - most of the time they are playing stuff from Akashvani archives copied on inferior media!

Beyond that, the receiver quality does vary from just tolerable to great, but that has more to do with good (or bad) portable audio equipment design than the digital RF technology. The showroom guys are selling a novel concept, not a Hi-fi audio system - have a heart, they don't relate to it.

I use a Hitachi receiver (looks like the old Philips All World portable transistors) which I have coupled with a PC 2.1 speaker set for my wife's entertainment in the kitchen. Played through my old Technics system, it sounds like a decent audio CD player.

I love Riff, the channel that plays good Jazz and Blues. My wife loves surfing the audio channels, like she does with TV.

[santosh.s]

DerAlte, you probably have a high quality receiver. I tried digging out this merged thread (following the note from mods) and could find a few guys who would agree with me. What I heard did not sound like even 128kbps mp3s (again most of the Indian channels, rest were somewhat better). By bandwidth I actually meant bitrate used for compression, in the previous post. I am sure they can't afford to stream raw audio. I believe "CD quality" is an abused term when it comes to marketing of satellite radio or DTH.

Originally Posted by Vivekphadnis

The Diva acts funny all the time. I own one too. ....
And the sound is nowhere near CD quality.

Originally Posted by gunbir

Its MPEG 128kbps streaming. The sound pretty much sucks. I wouldnt buy one.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

the diva is cheap & it sounds very cheap too. i was desparate to buy a WS radio, but listening to diva, i decided its not worth it. hope they bring out better radios. i heard that tongshi is better, but how much better is the question here.