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Digital Audio Broadcasting (D.A.B)
Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) has been around in the UK since the late 1990's, and is set to replace the current FM and AM transmissions that everyone is used to.
DAB offers good quality sound in digital format, and using the dedicated receivers, can also transmit information about the song/traffic etc at the same time to an onscreen display. At the moment just text is sent to these receivers, but soon pictures will become the norm.
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DAB does not suffer the same problems as AM or FM. With DAB you get no dropouts or hissing. You either get a signal, or you don’t!
Some people might ask why we are changing over to DAB. Well simply put, DAB offers a vast choice of radio stations (in theory) for its listeners.
There is a raging debate going on at the moment about what is best, FM or DAB, and this can be found on another page. |
D.A.B digital radio is coming down in price, and now every Ford car that is built has a D.A.B radio as standard. It really is the future of portable radio in the UK. |
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DAB at the present time is expensive for what it offers, and needs to come right down in price and be part of hi-fi systems before the public can accept it.
As far as radio stations goes, it all depends on where you live as to what stations you can pick up. DAB transmit on "multiplexes", on each multiplex there are a number of channels, so unlike FM for example, if you cant get one channel on the multiplex, then you cant get any of them. |
D.A.B offers an excellent alternative to FM and AM, stations such as Talk Sport and Virgin come to life with no interference. That's just one of the benifits of D.A.B! |
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In this area (Neath/Swansea) there are currently 36 stations on 3 multiplexes. In other parts of the country, there are considerably more and considerably less!
All the BBC channels are carried by DAB, and other multiplexes carry different selections of stations.
DAB is radio for the future, and the future is now. Sadly however, many people are discovering that the sound quality is not from the future, but sounds worse than good old FM. |
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Conclusion
How many times we've debated the DAB/FM/DSAT debate on various message boards on the net. But all I can say for DAB is give it a go. If you're not into 100% pure quality sound, and want a nice range of radio channels, then DAB has a lot to offer you.
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