February 2, 2009 The Age
Radio announcers will no longer be faceless as technology brings them closer to audiences, reveals Lia Timson.
As you read this, two rigging teams are perched high above Australia's capital cities, rushing to have five digital radio antennas installed and operational for the grand premiere of digital radio in Australia on May 1.
Digital radio will allow conventional FM and AM stations to slowly shift their operations to the digital spectrum (like the television industry is doing) to modernise, improve quality and free analog spectrum capacity for other uses.
Digital radio promises to serve up CD-quality sound, pause and rewind functions and new stations, since existing licensees will be able to use their allocated broadcasting capacity to launch programs for different audience tastes.
Several stations in Sydney and Melbourne have been taking part in a trial of DAB+ (Digital Audio Broadcasting Plus - the technology adopted by Australia) over the past few years.
It is the most advanced of all digital radio standards, some of which are now in use in Europe and Britain.
DAB+ allows text and pictures to be transmitted along with sound.
This gives stations the option to broadcast weather, traffic and other community announcements, as well as names of songs, artists and websites links (a feature that will be promoted heavily to the station's advertisers). Some units will have a colour LCD screen. These will be able to receive static pictures (such as band and radio announcer's photos) but not moving video, as this is prevented by the digital radio legislation in Australia.
Commercial Radio Australia, the body that has been trialling DAB+ on behalf of commercial and public broadcasters, estimates there are about 40 million radio receivers in Australian homes, cars and workplaces.
It admits it will take a long time for people to replace them with digital radio units but, nevertheless, the process is in motion.
When looking to upgrade your radio, you will need to keep a few basics in mind.
The first is to ask what you want the unit to do - most will come with a number of features (such as MP3 capability, for example) but some of the features may not be used as often, so why pay for them?
In-car units will also start to appear on the market later this year - some manufacturers already supply them ex-factory overseas.
We tried four new devices, including some prototypes: two DAB+ radios, one DAB+ and internet radio combined and one Wi-Fi internet-only radio to test the digital service and compare it with what's already available via the internet on PCs.
THE CONTENDERS
PURE EVOKE FLOW
Rating 4.5 out of 5
www.pure.com
This is the unit we were hoping for. It's a DAB+ radio, an FM radio and a Wi-Fi internet radio. The sound quality is superb on both DAB+ and internet stations. We liked this classic radio look and it brings internet radio out of the office and into the lounge or kitchen. We also liked the option to tune into our favourite local FM stations on DAB+ (thus with much better sound quality). Setting up the Wi-Fi radio is fiddly. It requires the usual wireless network access steps (it has a simple wizard to guide you) but then demands online registration at the Pure website, a warranty registration and two separate confirmation and activation emails for a registration code that needs to be entered on the device itself.
MiROAMER INTERNET RADIO INFUSION II UNIT
Rating 3
www.miroamer.com
This is not a digital radio but a small device that allows radio listening via the internet, away from the computer. It requires a broadband connection and Wi-Fi network, or access to an internet hotspot. It takes some time to set up but we loved the variety of stations, being able to listen to overseas as well as local ones, and the sound quality was surprisingly good. The unit is intuitive and easy to use. It's not too taxing on download quota and has a built-in FM tuner and alarm clock.
PURE ONE CLASSIC - DAB+ DIGITAL AND FM RADIO
Rating 4 out of 5
www.pure.com
We like the crystal-clear sounds of most stations and that the unit displays the stations by name. The scrolling text is slow but some of the information on weather and traffic is appreciated. There is screeching on a couple of stations with lower signal strength but this can be attributed to the trial. The sound quality is better in digital mode than in FM. The plug-ins for iPod and mini-discs are useful.
iRIVER ENHANCED DIGITAL RADIO + TV MULTIMEDIA PLAYER
Rating 3 out of 5
www.iriver.com
The small form factor, clicking screen (click on the edges to change stations and select menu options) and sound quality are all good. Screeching on the same stations as per above. This unit is an MP3, photo and video player but in Australia it will not receive television over the airwaves. We like the colour images, including pictures of radio announcers, and love knowing which song and artist is playing.
VERDICT
If you like fiddling with technology, the Pure Evoke Flow is the digital radio for you. It's full of features, great on sound quality but likely to be pricey (and it doesn't have colour pictures). If all you want is a replacement for an old receiver for the garage or the kitchen, the Pure One Classic will look good on the bench and will give you much better sound quality than your old device.
Sorry folks some of this is a bit of an add for products but its interesting to check out the links.
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