First of all, I just want to express my excitement about Australia becoming the latest country to get Digital Radio! I’m not talking about the DAB format that other countries are using, which uses the MPEG2 audio codec, nor the format the US is using (I can’t think offhand what that one is), but we are using the DAB+ format, which uses the AAC+ audio codec, similar to the one used in iTunes! I am hoping to get my very first digital radio sometime either this week or next week! I’m really looking forward to it, mainly because I’m sick and tired of having AM stations go all distorted on me when I’m trying to listen to a good song on my clock radio.
Right now while I’m writing this, I’m listening to my favourite AM radio station called 4KQ and they’re playing Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged version of Layla! I love that version of Layla better than the rockier version, but I can’t enjoy it at the moment because of the distortion, and the only place I can sit my old clock radio is under my bed for the best sound, and even that isn’t good enough.
For me, Digital Radio has come at a great time! I’m looking forward to enjoying tuning by station name instead of frequency and being able to find out the name of a song I like instead of having to ring a number or SMS a word to a number I can’t even access, not to mention the crystal clear sound compared to analogue radio distortion! For anyone who wants to know more about digital radio and the technology it is using, just go to the Digital Radio Plus website. That website even has a list of digital radios to check out! Brisbane got Digital Radio switched on Monday, May 25 while Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide got it a week or two before!
Sydney was supposed to have Digital Radio on May 30th, but thanks to the weather situation, will now be delayed until June 10th, unless there are further delays again. Once Sydney has Digital Radio switched on, then all the major capital cities of Australia will have it. From what I’ve read on the Digital Radio Plus website, they could be getting rural parts of Australia to go digital as well! The good thing is no one is being forced to hurry up and get a digital radio yet as normal analogue AM and FM will still be around for some years yet! That is a good thing because as Digital Radio is still new in Australia, the cheapest radio you can get is at least $130 in Australian Dollars, which in a way is annoying, but then considering the technology going into them, I kind of think it is worth it!
Stay tuned for a review of my Digital Radio experience some time in the coming weeks!
