Editing BBC Radio 3 (section)

== Operation ==
[[File:Broadcasting House and East Wing.jpg|thumb|right|BBC Radio 3's studios are located in Broadcasting House, London.]]
BBC Radio 3 broadcasts from studios inside the 1930s wing of [[Broadcasting House]] in central [[London]]. However, in addition to these studios, certain programmes and performances are broadcast from other BBC bases including from [[BBC Cymru Wales]]' [[Cardiff]] headquarters and [[BBC North]]'s headquarters at [[MediaCityUK]], Salford.<ref>{{cite web|title=Contact BBC Radio 3|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/?ref=/radio3/|publisher=BBC|access-date=10 July 2012}}</ref> The BBC also has recording facilities at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], the [[Royal Festival Hall]] and the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]] which can be used to record and broadcast performances at these London venues.<ref name="BBC Properties FOI">{{cite web|last=van der Woude|first=Julie|title=RFI20110939|url=http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/foi/classes/disclosure_logs/rfi20110939_property_portfolio.pdf|work=Freedom of Information Request|publisher=BBC|access-date=10 July 2012|page=6}}</ref>

Radio 3 is broadcast on the [[FM broadcasting|FM]] band between 90.2 and 92.6 [[hertz|MHz]], on [[Digital Audio Broadcasting|DAB Digital Radio]], the digital television services [[Freeview (UK)|Freeview]], [[Freesat]], [[Sky (UK and Ireland)|Sky]], [[Virgin Media]], [[TalkTalk TV]] and [[Virgin Media Ireland]] and on [[BBC Sounds]] both online and on the app, where Radio 3 programmes can be listened back to.

On its FM frequencies, the station uses less [[dynamic range compression]] of the volume of music than rival station [[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]]. On DAB it uses dynamic range control (DRC) which allows compression to be defined by the user.<ref>[http://www.planetaudio.si/portal/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=706 Acoustics & Audio Systems: Dynamic range and compression] (Microsoft Word document) "Since in-car listeners are a major audience, ... Classic FM uses it. BBC Radio 3 (in deference to hi-fi listeners) does not use it in the evening. Rock/pop/etc-music stations use it all the time." and regarding DAB "Classic FM apply some processing to their audio signal, which may vary from programme to programme. BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 do not apply processing but, in the digital signal, offer dynamic range control (DRC) which gives the listener the option of switching to a compressed form of the audio at the receiver."</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2010/09/bbc_proms_extra_high_quality_audio.html BBC Internet blog] (search that page for "dynamic range" to find several people have observed '''some''' compression being applied to Radio 3's FM signal even in the evenings, but not as much as Classic FM)</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radiolabs/2009/10/what_happens_to_the_proms_afte.shtml BBC Radio Labs] "The FM signal has dynamic range compression applied via an Optimod processor" (note this discussion is about The Proms, which are broadcast during the evening, so the source above which said it isn't applied in the evening doesn't appear to be correct)</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack+media/bbc The Guardian: Ask Jack (BBC)] "The BBC's online iPlayer gives the best quality with Radio 3 for two reasons. First, it uses a higher-quality codec than the other digital systems. Second, it and does not have any dynamic range compression (DRC) ... On FM, Radio 3 uses DRC to reduce the dynamic range ... People vary in their sensitivity to ... the effects of DRC, so I'm sympathetic to those who prefer FM to iPlayer, or vinyl to CD, or vice versa. However, an iPlayer signal should sound better if reproduced via the same hi-fi system."</ref>

The station also uses a BBC-designed [[pulse-code modulation]] digitisation technique similar to [[NICAM]], which is used for outside broadcasts running through a telephone line. This runs at a sample rate of 14,000 per second per channel.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} A similar technique was later used for recording at the same rate. In September 2010, for the final week of the Proms broadcasts, the BBC trialled XHQ (Extra High Quality), a live [[Internet]] stream transmitted at a rate of 320[[Kilobit|kbit]]/s, instead of Radio 3's usual 192&nbsp;kbit/s, using its AAC-LC 'Coyopa' coding technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2010/09/bbc_proms_extra_high_quality_audio.html |publisher=BBC Internet Blog, 3 September 2010 |title=Listening to the Proms in Extra High Quality |access-date=5 September 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100908004158/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2010/09/bbc_proms_extra_high_quality_audio.html| archive-date= 8 September 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> This technology was later developed further, and Radio 3 became the first BBC Radio station to broadcast permanently in this High Definition Sound (as it has been termed) format.<ref>{{cite web|title=Radio 3 – Help – HD Sound|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/help/hd-sound.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021033419/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/help/hd-sound.shtml|publisher=BBC|archive-date=21 October 2011}}</ref>