Originally Posted By Doobie This topic is for discussion of the January 23rd Diz Biz column at: <a href="News-ID150030.asp" target="_blank">http://LaughingPlace.com/News-ID150030.asp</a>.
Originally Posted By MouseBear Salutations Lee, I've never heard of digital radio. Is this the British version of satellite radio? This version of RadioDisney sounds promising. I find the one here a bit limited. Thanks for sharing, MouseBear
Originally Posted By narkspud Nope--it isn't satellite at all. . .it's a digital broadcast over the FM band. Basically they take a big honkin' chunk of the band and say "OK, we're going to put a big digital data stream here instead of regular FM stations. . .who wants a chunk of it for a digital radio station?" Sound quality depends on how big a chunk the station gets, so it can sound really good or really bad. As with satellite TV, the chunks get smaller as more stations are added, so quality suffers. As of right now, the FCC has approved a different version of digital radio in the US called IBOC (a/k/a "HD Radio"). This system allows current stations to add a digital signal to their existing analog one. It claims to provide "near CD quality" (oh no not that again) on FM and "near FM quality" on AM, while keeping the broadcasts more or less compatible with existing radios. It's rather controversial, both because the sound quality may not be all it's cracked up to be, and because both versions, but especially the AM, can cause severe interference to other stations. The AM version also audibly degrades the analog signal of the station transmitting it. This system will not allow any new stations on the air, and has the potential to drive the lower power "little guys" off the dial due to interference and prohibitive equipment costs. There are a few US stations on the air with IBOC now (none in LA, AFAIK), but radios aren't available yet. Most of the big radio groups have expressed support for the format, but Disney hasn't commented much, except to say that anybody who interferes with their signals is in for the legal equivalent of a whuppin'.
Originally Posted By leemac The U.K. has actually limited the number of multiplexes, so the quality is awesome in virtually all parts of the country. Digital takeup is huge in the U.K., especially with digital T.V., both satellite and terrestrial. I'm sure DAB will be equally successful.
