Will 'Digital' Radio Be Next?

[Sean Aaron]

Years away - 2017 at the earliest and that might never happen.

It's just doesn't make any sense at the moment, the coverage is just not there...

I think DAB is going to be a lost technology, by 2017-2020, god knows how we'll be able to stream radio...

Pretty much. The major problem in the UK is that the rest of Europe appears to be heading towards a newer format which apparently resolves a lot of DABs issues, but the government has fucked up the DAB rollout so badly (cars still using analogue receivers -- hello!) that it may not want to sink more money into digital radio. Consumers becoming aware that DAB is soon to be yesterday's technology are unlikely to jump on board the overpriced hardware and as indicated are mostly using TV Freeview receivers (again, genius move to split the market).

I'm sure something will happen eventually; it's a pity that either more of an effort was made to push DAB or the limitations were realised and no money was spent on it.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

DAB has been an interesting experiment (and my choice of listening since, well, joining this BBS in fact), but I still feel it will be ultimately superceded by internet-streamed radio. However, the extent to which DAB will supercede FM and AM (and streaming radio unto DAB) will only be determined by the coverage and the pick-up rate. FM and AM can be picked up almost anywhere in the UK. DAB has limited coverage at the moment, especially in the countryside, although by the time of the digital switchover, the power used by the analogue transmitters will no doubt boost the digital signal and provide wider coverage and higher quality broadcasts (as is also hoped will happen to digital TV).

If DAB, and in the future internet-streaming radio formats are to take over from FM as the de facto radio format, they will have to have the same breadth of coverage, portability and versatility as FM and AM have at the moment, and while it won't be easy, I will look forward to that day.

 

[Mr. B]

I doubt any benefits of HD / digital radio will be much appreciated by the public at large when we are raising generations of people who are satisfied with 'hot' CDs compressed to digital files heard though generic iPod earbuds.