What is DAB Radio?

Digital Audio Broadcasting radio is a radio wave distribution system that delivers broadcasting in digital quality. It has been around since the mid-1990s and continues to make progressive strides. DAB radio requires special receivers to be able to receive the broadcasts.

Where and How

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) began in Europe and continues to hold popularity in these countries. It is also readily available in Canada and Australia, but the United States does not show interest in using DAB radios in the near future. DAB radios take traditional radio broadcasts and convert the waves into digital transmissions. The result enables more channels to be broadcast because of less interference from neighboring channels. It also offers clearer sound with static, or “white” noise, and no hissing from a weak signal.

Quality of Sound

When DAB radio first came out, the quality was much higher than regular FM or AM stations. Broadcasting the radio waves in digital signals produced CD-quality or higher sound on FM channels. In addition, AM channels were able to produce FM quality sound with DAB. However, the sound quality has not improved much in recent years. It is struggling to compete with the quality of digitally downloaded music from Internet sources. Also, FM quality has improved dramatically over the years, rising to and at times surpassing the quality of DAB.

Future

DAB radio continues to be used frequently in European countries. New DAB+ radio receivers have begun to be popular. These new receivers offer higher quality sound because of increased efficiency in converting broadcast signals to digital. However, former DAB receivers are not compatible or able to pick up the new DAB+ broadcasts. Consumers are required to purchase the new DAB+ receivers in order to pick up the better-sounding channels.