[Five]

thanks for the link... what I really need to get is a sample of audio that is confirmed NICAM. The info in the link is based on technology from 1993 I'm wondering what is happening now in 2005 and who is broadcasting using it these days.

Back at STG there was much discussion about lossy sources. One of the topics that obviously had to come up is that FM broadcasts look a lot like mp3 because they cut off around 15kHz. The differences that can be spotted are the carrier ("red stripe") up high and the fact that the cutoff (aka "haircut" in SA) of an FM broadcast is uneven. Most importantly, while an FM broadcast looses a lot of dynamic response and high frequencies, that's about all. Mp3 actually digs in and finds pieces of audio to remove below the steep cutoff to further reduce the quality. Old FM is "lossy" in a sense, but not in the sense that mp3 and the like is lossy. When TTD was started there was much discussion about allowing webcasts and "best source" broadcasts from mp3-like sources and it was decided that we would keep STG's standard of not allowing them.

Listening to the rem show it sounds like an FM broadcast, with some slurring and reduction in dynamics but not quite like the familiar mp3 sound. Looking at it, the haircut is completely straight and the carrier isn't a stripe, it looks more like a strange chain for want of a better description. I also listened to the webcast and found it to be absolutely awful, especially compared to the DIME recording. I'm also not spotting the legolike squares punched in the lower frequencies that are characteristic of mp3-like lossy. So my thought now is to allow bbc broadcasts so long as they are of the same quality as the rem show. The show I mentioned at the beginning of this thread would also be allowed in that case, since it appears about the same and is from the BBC. Another show from the same seeder had a couple tracks with yet another signature and would have to be discussed further to be allowed either in whole or in part, but that's another discussion.

So thank you for opening my eyes, 4c. I'm just waiting on a couple more opinions from other members, especially ssamadhi97 before going ahead and opening the floodgates so to speak.