Digital radio is a new technology available to the public that carries microwave radio communications as a digital signal instead of an analog signal. It has the ability to transmit any digital type of information including Internet radio broadcasts, television, digital audio and short-range digital wireless.
Digital broadcasting must follow a set of global agreements and standards initiated in Europe in the 1980抯, known as the Eureka 147 Standard for digital audio broadcasting (DAB). It is coordinated by the World DMB Forum.
Most stations transmit using a 128k bit rate or less. This results in quality not quite that of analog FM however it offers a better signal-ro-noise ratio and dynamic range. CD quality is reachable with a 256k bit rate.
Approximately 1,000 radio stations worldwide broadcast using DAB or pure DAB radio and the technology is very popular in Europe. The first digital radio broadcast took place in 1995 and digital radios have been available for sale since the late 1990抯.
2007 brought about a big improvement with DAB+ which is twice as efficient as DAB but not forward compatible. The increased efficiency is made possible by the adoption of the AAX+ audio codec. Listen to the difference and you will agree it is far superior.
Ways to Listen to Digital Radio
Internet ?Select from over 1,00 radio stations through your Internet browser. There are applications such as iTunes that will create lists of stations by type. The Dell Inspiron laptop computer is capable of staying online continuously and features a 7 hour battery option.
Digital Television in the UK - Satellite TV (Sky TV, Freesat) offers all of the BBC national radio stations.
Freeview digital television offers digital radio through Radio 4 FM. Virgin Cable TV broadcasts Radio4 FM on channel 904 and Radio 4 LW, channel 911.
Digital TV Recorders - The digital tv recorder has the ability to access the internet and access digital content of all types including video libraries, music services and digital radio stations.
Pure DAB Radio ?there are many DAB+ digital radio receivers available with numerous options.
Sony psp. Playstation ?The Playstation has a built-in browser and can connect to the Internet over wireless wifi. Click the 揂bout Internet Radio?button and the Playstation will connect to the access point and obtain an IP address. If a short period of time, the PSP will display the Internet Radio home page where you add an Internet radio player. It is necessary to download the tuner application. The memory stick must be able to accommodate this download. Download the player and an Internet radio icon should appear on the desktop.
MP3 Files ?Some radio programming is available through a MP3 download. Podcasting software is available that will download the programming automatically.
There are many ways to listen to digital radio broadcasts from around the world with quality never before available. Look for the prices of Pure DAB radios to come down over time.
