One can tell if a radio broadcast on the FM band is in stereo by just looking at the LED indicator on a radio set. When a broadcast is in stereo, the LED indicator will be illuminated.
One can tell if the audio output is really in stereo by using a pair of stereo headphones, or by just placing ones head directly in the middle between a pair of speakers of a radio and listen attentively. In mono, the audio output in the left and right speakers will be the same, while in stereo it will be different.
I find it strange that RTM's Traxx FM (formerly Radio 4, Blue Network) is broadcasting to Ipoh in stereo but its audio output for music and jingles is in mono. I have tried it with 2 radio sets, Winamp TV (on Windows XP), and Gnomeradio (on Ubuntu) and it is all the same. It has not always been this way though. I have some tapings of BBC World Service's "Top Of The Pops" that were broadcast about a year ago by Traxx FM and all were in stereo till around January 30th 2012. Everything went mono after that. And it still is today. I wonder why? Perhaps somebody forgot to flip on a switch or something at the transmitting station at Kledang Hill.
Never heard about this..
ReplyDeleteThat's the reason why I wrote this post. I am not too sure about Traxx FM in other town and states in Malaysia but in Ipoh the audio output is definitely in mono as described in the blog posting.
DeleteFor a time, I thought the problem was with the Winamp TV plug-in until I tuned in to Hitz, Mix and Lite FM when I heard music in stereo.