Ian Nock:
Well I cannot better Denis McMahon 's technical description but I can probably add an opinion.
Firstly it is amazing how many things are done because of habit and based on old training, as well as what is requested. I can certainly believe that installations like as described are done because of old approaches.
The reality though is that more and more people are leaving the antenna sockets unused through the deployment of IP based video and audio delivery, whether via Smart TV, OTT dongle or 'Smart Speaker'.
...
I am afraid to say that I believe traditional broadcast RF transmission and reception is living on borrowed time compared to the utility of IP delivered content.
Denis McMahon:
My guess is that the connoisseurs of quality sound radio would use the digital services available on either Freeview or Satellite, as I do. Casual listeners would go for DAB, where quality is compromised by the ever-increasing range of programmes, at the expense of bandwidth.
There is an article about this in E&T https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2011/11/analogue-switch-off-aint-going-to-happen/
Denis McMahon:
Terrestrial or satellite broadcasting is more reliable in this respect. I don't think these more-traditional systems will disappear for a while yet.
Arran Cameron:
Back in a more youthful era of my life I used to notice X shaped aerials now and again. . .
Omnidirectional FM aerials were one of those 'wonderful' products from the 1960s and 70s (when FM radio still had an air of luxury about it) with the advantage of being able to receive broadcasts from all directions in exchange for a gain slightly above 0dBi. Well, if you want an aerial that approximates an isotropic then don't expect a gain any higher than an isotropic! They had a secondary advantage of being easy for consumers to install as almost no alignment was necessary.
More recently, a local housing association decided that it would not provide terrestrial TV aerial sockets in some of its apartments and instead it had a communal satellite dish that could receive both Freesat and Sky. It resulted in a mixed reception (pun intended) with some tenants being very pleased with being able to receive more TV channels than on terrestrial and not having to install their own satellite dish if they wanted to watch satellite channels, but other tenants were unhappy and uptight about having to buy a Freesat receiver if they just wanted to watch terrestrial channels. . .
Arran Cameron:
. . . Does anybody know if any DAB pirate radio stations exist in the UK? In London the FM band is absolutely packed solid due to the number of pirate radio stations which operate in the area but the pirates don't seem to have moved into DAB yet. Therefore pirate radio creates an additional market for FM radio receivers and antennas, and could be prolonging FM broadcasting (from a user's perspective) even if the legitimate radio stations migrate to DAB and switch off their FM broadcasts. . .
We're about to take you to the IET registration website. Don't worry though, you'll be sent straight back to the community after completing the registration.
Continue to the IET registration site