Psion Infomedia Wavefinder

Information & links about the Psion Infomedia Wavefinder, Digital Audio Broadcast receiver
Welcome to the Wavefinder pages on oocities.com/epoc_32
Psion Wavefinder
Wavefinder packaging
Affordable DAB!

After much anticipation, Videologic have finally released the first in a new line of affordable Digital radios. The Evoke-1 is a small stand alone radio that will comfortably sit on a kitchen worktop or shelf. It uses a modern chipset which as well as consuming less power, reduces the cost for manufacturers considerably. The Evoke-1 is available for just £99 (RRP). [1 July 2002]

Update

Special Update: Apparently, some PC World stores are selling the Wavefinder for £49.95. It's not clear whether this is a new fixed price or a special offer, or even a mistake, as the price on the box is still £99 but when the bar code is read the till displays £49.95 (And that's what is charged).

One year on from it's launch, 15,000 Wavefinders have been sold in the UK, giving Psion a 38% share of the ailing DAB receiver market. Many of those sold were bundled with PC's and laptops as part of a multimedia package. For the time being, PC World and some other UK retailers are selling the Wavevinder for just £99 however many new users are reporting problems attempting to use it with Windows XP, the OS with the tag line, Yes you can!

WinXP doesn't come with Java support (The Wavefinder software is written in Java) but even when a JVM is installed, the drivers either don't work or the sound produced has drop-outs. Psion are apparently aware of the situation... Incidentally, you should install Java from Sun Microsystems (the creators of Java) rather than Microsofts own obsolete download. For more information on that see the statement on Sun's site.

It will be interesting to see whether Psion Digital continue developing DAB products when a range of cheap and portable radios, from other companies, appear next year. Psion own a 3% share of Radioscape, one of the companies behind the Wavefinder chipset, however a new chipset from a rival company now allows manufacturers to make kitchen radios, hi-fi separates and even battery powered personal radios for between £100 - £200. These products should start to appear before next summer and it's expected that DAB receivers will then become commonplace on the shelves of most domestic Hi-fi retailers (Richer Sounds, John Lewis, Dixons, etc).

Navigation
 

Psion Wavefinder

An overview of the Digital Audio Broadcasting and data receiver from Psion Digital Solutions

The Psion Wavefinder is a Digital Audio Broadcast receiver that connects to a desktop PC via USB and lets you listen to Digital Radio through your PC's soundcard and speakers. Wavefinder itself is simply a receiver (DAB band is 217.5 - 230Mhz) and apart from being translucent blue like an iMac, and glowing red, green and blue in the centre like something out of Blakes 7, merely decodes the DAB signal (actually "merely" isn't a word that goes with DAB!) so it contains no speaker or tuner. Software supplied with it runs on the PC and uses the Wavefinder to scan the airwaves for DAB signals. You then have the options of listening to live audio in the background while you continue using your PC, record in real-time as MP3 or even MP2 straight to your HD, play back old MP3/2 files or view non-audio content contained in the DAB transmission.

Wavefinders are now available for under £100

Whether you're a Psion fanatic or an audio enthusiast there may well be a lot you're expecting to see in the Wavefinder that isn't there. Wavefinder isn't a stand alone radio so you can't just plug it in and turn it on, or move it around the house, it's a completely new class of receiver (OK there is a Bosh PCI card tuner but it's expensive, not widely available and doesn't do half of what this can do!). It can only be used by connecting to a PC and certainly doesn't work with any palmtop device, whether it's a Psion EPOC handheld, Compaq iPaq or other. This product also has nothing to do with Psion's computer divisions and does not use EPOC, take CF cards, use IrDA or even tell the time as some users might expect when they see the Psion badge. Wavefinder is relatively large compared to other peripherals such as webcam's or mic's with a long retractable aerial at either end spaning over two feet (685mm) and sits on top of your monitor. Alternatively you can wall mount it. Like almost every other DAB receiver it uses a chipset designed by Roke Manor Research, a British company owned by Siemens, who specialise in DAB platform technologies. The software is based upon Radioscape's DAB Decoding software (Radioscape part owned by Psion) and the final product is manufactured and assembled in Austria. What a mix!

The big problem with the Roke Manor chipset is that it draws an incredible amount of current and it's for this reason the Wavefinder is mains powered and can't even be powered from the USB connection to the PC. With this chipset being so widely used, it's a problem for practically all manufacturers at the moment and it's only now that portable DAB receivers are starting to appear. The first portable, stand alone machine will be released by another company later in the year and uses a heavy lead-acid battery, just like a car's but smaller! Owners of portable DAT machines will be familiar with this type of battery, and anyone who's carried one fitted with two cells knows how heavy they can be. The batteries used in the DAB radio are even bigger! The only receiver that currently doesn't use this chip set decodes DAB signals with DSP chips instead. This does use less power but the audio quality is noticeably poorer and no one else has shown much interest in using these chips either.

Digital audio quality

Audio quality on the Wavefinder is very good, though not exactly what could be described as "audiophile" however there is something that has the potential of spoiling all that clear, sharp, silent sound: The PC it's plugged into!

If you really want to get the most out of digital audio, as most people buying DAB devices at this early stage will be, then you'll know that a PC soundcard is hardly the best method- In fact the average soundcard in the average PC will probably make a mess of classical music and the like, so if you are one of those with a cheap 16 bit sound card with two tiny speakers built into the case that hiss, even with MIDI files, then perhaps you should think about doing some upgrading before you run out and buy a Wavefinder?

Psion Wavefinder- Top view

Data content & services

The Wavefinder Of course another advantage a device like the Wavefinder has over conventional DAB receivers is that it has a colour computer monitor to utilise along with your PC's existing software and the potential for this is immense. Many radio stations are already including non-audio content in their DAB transmissions and this can be anything from schedules, playlists, photo's or even real-time studiocam images, all of which can be viewed very clearly on your CRT screen. But with the bandwidth available (Wavefinder can cope with up to 1.5Mbps) that's all still pretty simple stuff. What would be a great use of DAB would be to transmit webpages and other content usually associated with the Internet.

Psion, ITN, UBC Media Group and several radio stations have joined together to supply this kind of content over DAB and already some of this is available for Wavefinder users right out of the box. Many programs transmit links that when displayed by the Wavefinder can be clicked on to take you straight to the site. Review shows could send out links as they talk about a product, allowing the listeners to see what's being reviewed and potentially, entire websites could be transmitted allowing PC users to "surf" them completely free without actually being connected to the Internet. Live stocks & shares information, news, weather and all other kinds of content could be available amounting to what is essentially a 21st century teletext service! Eventually, as chipsets evolve and become less power hungry, this technology could be incorporated into Psion's mid-level handheld computers allowing you to take your new Psion out of your pocket in the middle of London and check the weather forecast, all without the Internet, GPRS or WAP. Also since it's a receive only technology battery life would be excellent. At the moment DAB uses too much power which is why there are no personal DAB radios or small portables you can just stand next to the kitchen sink, but in a couple of years devices like these should be commonplace- They'll have to be for DAB to survive.

Like WAP or even the Web, all this may take time to develop but with so much money being spent on DAB by the radio groups and media groups it shouldn't be very long before Wavefinder users see this as a reality. The device is already out and should be widely available before Christmas. Dixons stores (Including PC World) in the UK will be selling them at full retail price and are to include a Wavefinder with certain mid range (£999+) Packard Bell or Advent PC packages so if you are planning to buy a new PC this Christmas and for some reason you actually like Dixons, then look out for the deal!

Psion Infomedia

The only concern for Psion is over their marketing strategy. Psion are known for being very secretive but radio and Hi-Fi companies love nothing more than to tell everyone about what they're working on for years to come! In this market people may take Psion's tight-lipped attitude to mean it has no firm commitment or solid strategy for the future. An example was that recently there were two exhibitions in London, the Hi-Fi show in Hammersmith and Live2000 at Earls Court. Both shows' runs covered the day of the official Wavefinder launch but Psion were only present at Live2000. When asked why they failed to appear at Hammersmith the reply was that they only had one Wavefinder! Not a good sign from the manufacturer on the day of release.

Only time will tell if the Wavefinder takes off but Psion are a very experienced and successful group (which is why their public relations staff know what they do and do not own within three months of starting work- You know who you are), and DAB is a new market so there's every chance of them becoming a common brand in home entertainment. Luckily there aren't any battles over format so it's purely a matter of who can offer the best features at the best price. With an initial price tag of £300 it may seem expensive but compared to other DAB equipment this isn't bad. The only shame is that it's taken so long to hit the shops. Already other companies are close to releasing similar and even stand alone receivers around the same price and although these may not have USB ports or be able to display those web pages they do just plug in and play your favourite radio station, and that's the important thing. As these come out no doubt the price of the Wavefinder will drop and I'm certain this is only the first in a line of Infomedia DAB devices to come that may have very useful features such as the ability to compile your own playlist and let the device scan all DAB channels, record those tracks and let you listen to them later, but no company is going to be in a position to rest on it's DAB laurels for some time to come...

Reviews, information and services

DAB broadcasters

Virgin Radio's Digital Audio Broadcast webpages

The BBC's DAB website

The Capital Radio DAB Web pages

LBC Digital radio webpage

DAB Bar website link

DAB bar is an alternative software package to use with your Wavefinder. Unlike the software supplied by Psion, this application uses far less overheads and requires little screen area, allowing you to comfortably listen to DAB audio in the background while working with other applications.

Wavelite - More alternate software for your Wavefinder that does away with many of the fancy features and concentrates on the audio!

DABexplorer - A new program, still in beta testing, that works with the Psion Wavefinder to receive digital radio while using less resources than the bloated Psion application. Planned features include MP3 recording and a timer.

WinDAB - Another alternative program for listening to Digital Radio with a Wavefinder. Like the others, it uses less system resources than Psion's own application and also allows recording.

Revoworld Revoworld review of the Wavefinder

Wavefinder retailers

August 2000

All material Copyright © 2000-2001.
Reproduction of content by any means prohibited.
Design Copyright © 2001 All rights reserved.

CSS2 validated HTML 4.01 validated

Symbian homepage


Download Opera link