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SOWNY » Pure Analogue » April 1, 2024 12:24 pm

Ian
Replies: 1

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Does anyone still go direct from mike to air in analogue? I was looking at some older CDs and noticed the ADD, DAD and AAD labeling to show buyers where pure analog still existed. And don’t forget that some albums proclaimed that no synthesizers were used to make the music. Queen were going up against Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream.

SOWNY » Is The T.O. Star Using A.I. To Generate These Articles On Its Website? » January 7, 2024 10:40 pm

Ian
Replies: 4

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My annual subscription to the Toronto Star expires mid January. Need I say more?

SOWNY » Why Cummings & Bachman Are Suing "The Guess Who" » January 5, 2024 9:23 pm

Ian
Replies: 5

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Canned Heat shows over 50 credited band members on Wikipedia. Not bad for a 4 or 5 piece band. And Steppenwolf had up to 4 bands touring under with the same name.

SOWNY » Would Having No Format Make For A Successful Radio Station? » December 3, 2023 4:48 pm

Ian
Replies: 18

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I find that CJRT manages to present quite a range of music by having themed shows. Different hosts and quite varied types of music. The stretch the definition of jazz to extreme but satisfying muical edges. So the station meets the criteria of a stable image, but packages music into varied formats.

SOWNY » Meta Confirms End Of News Availability In Canada » August 8, 2023 11:36 am

Ian
Replies: 6

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"For our Canadian community this means: 
=12pxPeople in Canada will no longer be able to view or share news content on Facebook and Instagram, including news articles and audio-visual content posted by news outlets."

I have now experienced this first hand. I posted a link to a news article that is now "no longer viewable". I can sympathise with big media if facebook is perceived as "stealing" content. However fair attribution of the originator could be seen as a free ad for the big media company. Much more pernicious are the piggy back news sites that blatantly lift copy and surround it with their ads. However these tend to pick from US news outlets. One in particular is DNYUZ which plagiarises from everyone, including the NYT which I actually subscribe to. 
 

SOWNY » Streaming Shows Set To Make Free Network Debuts Due To Strikes » July 19, 2023 10:49 am

Ian
Replies: 4

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Many of the streaming shows have liberal use of forbidden words. I wonder if they already have "safe" versions similar to aircraft-ready movies. Rember the "Monday to Friday" snakes, or "Cheese and Fries" in a British movie whose title currently eludes me.  Was Simon Peg was the responsible actor/producer?

SOWNY » Sky Sports Coverage For Canadian Grand Prix » June 18, 2023 6:05 pm

Ian
Replies: 1

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Highly knowlegeable commentators, many ex-drivers. Also, the TV director focussed a few shots on lazing/grazing beavers during the forced delay to practice this Friday! 

SOWNY » Huh? Why We're All Watching TV With Subtitles On » May 6, 2023 1:45 pm

Ian
Replies: 5

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Hansa wrote:

Loud music, mumbling, rapid fire dialogue and technobabble or unfamiliar terms. I tend to leave the captions on these days just so I can read them in case the dialogue isn't clearly audible or I miss something.

We had trouble making out dialogue masked by the sound effects. After much research on-line, I came to the conclusion that the sound was tailored for a multispeaker sound set-up. Moving our sound bar to the offending TV helped mitigate the problem. Why can't the sound be engineered for plain TVs. Not everyone wants to invest in a separate sound bar; which always needs a more advanced level of knowledge to properly set-up. It reminds me of the tale of the record producer who always checked his final mix through a $5 speaker before pressing. Of course, we still use subtitles for the fast flowing international TV for the reasons mentioned above.

SOWNY » PBS To Air Documentary On "The Greatest Rock Band You Never Heard" » April 16, 2023 11:30 am

Ian
Replies: 9

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I actually attended one of their shows in the early 70s. My recollection was that it was comparable to other all-male groups who performed in the same time period. They did a significantly longer set than The Troggs, who only managed 55 minutes plus one encore. I did note, that apart from the band, the surrounding company was solely male. They had quite a following in the UK.

SOWNY » A Real Rarity: A Radio Station Transmitting Antenna Based In A Tree » February 23, 2023 10:35 am

Ian
Replies: 9

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When my brother was "involved" with pirate radio in London (UK), not only the antenna was up a tree, but also the entire station On another occasion he was "discovered" by the GPO technicians sitting with a transmitter under a bush. In those days, one endeavored to remove or smash the valves so that technically it was not a transmitter.

SOWNY » US Prescription Drug Ads » November 13, 2022 9:11 pm

Ian
Replies: 8

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What is the legal position when ads that are prohibited in Canada "leak" across the border? i am sure the drug companies factor in the Canadian benefit when placing US ads.

SOWNY » Was Fat Bottomed Girls The Encore? » September 20, 2022 11:15 am

Ian
Replies: 8

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I can think of worse songs he might have chosen. (Seasons in the Sun)

SOWNY » Wooden stylus for metal disc? » July 29, 2022 3:25 pm

Ian
Replies: 2

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I remember using fibre? needles on elderly wind-up gramophones. You could try a cactus needle. Visit your local hot house with a sample steel needle and you might get an interested employee to "pluck" some samples! Does U of T have a botanical section?

SOWNY » Introducing the Amazing Compact Disc: 1982 » July 25, 2022 9:44 am

Ian
Replies: 35

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And one (or two) more down-in-the-weeds details surrounding the introduction of CDs. Album producers made much of the digital production details. My copy of On Every Street (Dire Straits) is labeled DDD, meaning digital recording, mixing and manufacturing. Some CDs were AAD or ADD, suggesting a "different" level of fidelity. Although I still feel that the initial sound acquisition, be it from a microphone or a guitar pickup, is still from an inherently analogue device. And of course at the time with the rise of synth groups such as Tangerine Dream producers were keen to emphasize "no synthesized sounds".  Does anyone still use analogue mixers? If not, then how can a "DDA" have a better sound than a "DDD" ? Perhaps the rare "direct to vinyl" meets that criteria.

SOWNY » Introducing the Amazing Compact Disc: 1982 » July 24, 2022 6:36 pm

Ian
Replies: 35

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There were a few albums in the UK that drove the adoption of the CD player as opposed to LP reissues on CD. The one that convinced me to invest was Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits. I also remember a BBC program called Pot Black that used Snooker to show off  (and drive the adoption of) the newly introduced colour TV.

SOWNY » Rogers Outage » July 24, 2022 1:43 pm

Ian
Replies: 102

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cash wrote:

Rogers unable to switch customers to Bell, Telus, despite competing carrier offers
https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/rogers-unable-to-switch-customers-to-bell-telus-despite-competing-carrier-offers-1.5999705

I learnt something new here, namely that if you remove the SIM card your cell phone may able to find another cell signal that can be accessed for 911 calls. Perhaps the media could have told customers of this option (if Rogers themselves had publicized this fact) . Is this universally true for all cellphones? Maybe the manufactures should consider adding software that specifically tries other cell networks if a 911 call fails to complete in a defined time. CRTC intervention  here?

SOWNY » rogers screwed up my roku » July 9, 2022 5:06 pm

Ian
Replies: 7

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Lots of audio dropout/and video stutter. Also no access to previously recorded shows via Ignite. 

SOWNY » Bell Slapped With $7.5 Million Fine For Actions Against A Competitor » June 15, 2022 1:42 pm

Ian
Replies: 6

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The cable over his property feeds customers, so will likely be allowed, but I would raise a question about the equipment box that needs so many service visits.  

SOWNY » New Guidance About Using "Breaking News" Language » June 7, 2022 9:16 am

Ian
Replies: 3

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News is by its very name NEW. There are plenty of alternative adjectives if only the news writer has permission to discriminate. BREAKING NEWS can be used when details are sparse and are still arriving during the news broadcast. Other word choices include: THIS JUST IN (which I personally hate), ONGOING COVERAGE...., LATEST FROM THE SCENE...,Variety never hurts.

SOWNY » Ontario Election Coverage On The Radio » June 3, 2022 11:59 am

Ian
Replies: 25

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Only 19 minutes in and the CBC called it for the Conservatives. Is that a record?

SOWNY » If You're A Fan Of The CBS Comedy "Ghosts," You May Want To See This » June 3, 2022 9:29 am

Ian
Replies: 2

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Thanks for the info. I have been waiting to catch the UK version after seeing a positive review. I am intrigued by the variations in success rates when the US remakes a foreign show. There were some dismal failures but also quite a few successes. The writing needs to relocate the comedy characters and situations to relatable North America situations and stereotypes. Good examples are All In the Family, Sanford and Son, Maud, and, of course, The Office. A dire failure was Coupling. As far as non-sitcoms, Canada has had reasonable success with the Great Canadian Baking Show, when I believe the US version failed to catch fire. And unfortunately the Canadian Great Talent (CGT) is a pale shadow of both the UK and US versions. Possibly due to the low budget production and pandemic restrictions at time of recording.

SOWNY » What does radio do better than TV? » May 11, 2022 8:28 pm

Ian
Replies: 2

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For a start, consistent sound levels between stations. I do realize that compression and shaping can modify the apparent loudness, but I don't need to drastically change the volume settings when changing stations, unlike my cable TV channels. Surely with all the extensive and varied standards for video encoding that all result in a watchable image, there still seems to be a dearth of standards to properly manage the sound levels. 

SOWNY » Can't Stand Newstalk1010 New Rush » May 5, 2022 12:58 pm

Ian
Replies: 13

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Agree. The tone is strident, consistent, predictable, and with too much authority. In a nutshell, it's as boring as a sports commentary when there is no action, and the commentators are not throwing random asides at each other. This is not sports radio, it needs to be standalone entertainment in the afternoon. However, I will still wait a little longer to see if we eventually get good wine from this batch or simply bad whining. 

SOWNY » Jay Michaels leaving Newstalk 1010 » January 28, 2022 8:51 am

Ian
Replies: 49

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Ted Woloshyn was one of the few hosts who also got to say goodbye to his listeners when he was removed from the morning show. He also stated at the time that it was a "mutual" departure, although that was later revealed to be untrue.

SOWNY » When is news actually "breaking" » November 12, 2021 8:15 pm

Ian
Replies: 3

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Seeing RAs post about illogical teasers used on CTV news, brings up one of my bugaboos. It is not one that I can recall that CFRB inflicts on us. When should the term "breaking news" actually be allowed to be said? Certainly not when reporting on already aired items. In my opinion, it should only be used when either the very first reporting of an event, especially when details are still sparse. The other time, which is probably the source of the term, is when a broadcast is actually interrupted. It may be a non news show, or it may be during  a news show that is mid broadcast. Anything else is simply a "developing story" or an "update" on a previous first report.
 

SOWNY » Evan Solomon Goes On Rant After Being Told What Questions To Ask » October 14, 2021 9:54 am

Ian
Replies: 10

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As Glen implied earlier on this topic, the BBC does seem to give their interviewers free reign to go after their guests in a tough but professional manner. I particularly enjoy HardTalk on the BBC World radio service. Strong and long format interviews with key politicians from some more difficult regimes, including Pakistan, Iran and Myamar. With all of these seasoned interviewers one must assume that the subjects know the calibre of the interviewer and willingly put themselves in a challenging situation where they can fall into the largest of elephant traps.

SOWNY » Different weather alerts » September 8, 2021 3:08 pm

Ian
Replies: 12

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Thanks for all the great comments and explanations. Clearly the weather alert system is complex. I did mis-speak (or mis-type?) a little, and wrote 680 instead of 640 but the observation is still valid. I can see also why the station host may choose not to acknowledge the alert if the show is needed in pristine format for a later reroll. It still does not explain why only the CJRT listeners need to be advised of the potential hazards of a mobile home and not the loyal AM crowd. Perhaps the smaller audience of CJRT make them less expendable? And it also prompted me to examine the coverage patterns for each of the stations. 
 

SOWNY » Different weather alerts » September 7, 2021 9:14 pm

Ian
Replies: 12

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I heard the weather alert Tuesday evening. First on 1010 then switched over to 680. Both had the same well synthesized female voice giving a short alert which referenced southwest Ontario. Then I switched to CJRT and heard a completely different message. It used a poorly synthesized male voice and came on about slightly after the other one finished. It was much longer and addressed Flesherton, Walkerton and places in Grey County. It even included advice to vacate mobile homes.
Why totally different messages?  Don't these stations have the same coverage envelope? Also, it seemed the hosts on 1010 and 680 did not seem to know about the interruption, but the CJRT was able to start a music track when it ended. Does the alert enter the system at the station HQ or is it piped direct to the transmitter?
 

SOWNY » Inconsistent volume on CFRB Internet » July 18, 2021 4:44 pm

Ian
Replies: 6

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Is this just an internet phenomenon? I hear CFRB in the car, but on such short journeys that I don't notice too many separate spots. I wonder if this is some sort of auto-leveler gone wrong, that no amount of board monitoring can detect. This is from the internet site and not IHeart radio. This problem only adds to my physical juggling when chopping vegetables and riding the gains as the station moves from round table, to traffic, to patched in TV news, then commercials, promos and back to the live hosts. 

SOWNY » Inconsistent volume on CFRB Internet » July 15, 2021 5:00 pm

Ian
Replies: 6

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Is anyone else finding that spots on CFRB have volume levels inconsistent with the main programs? I listen on the internet.

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