What are the benefits of digital radio?

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is set to change radio as we know it. It claims to give better sound quality, easier tuning and it can display programme details as you listen. At present, only a small amount of information is displayed, but DAB does have the potential to present much more text and even graphics. This could be really beneficial for people with a hearing loss.

In our product review, the first thing we noticed with digital radio was that the broadcasts sounded much clearer and there was much less 'hiss' than on analogue radio. If background hissing annoys you, you'll love the clear, clean sound of digital radio. However, although we liked the sound quality of the digital radios we tested, some listeners felt that the sound was rather 'clinical'. If you like listening to classical music, you may still prefer the more involving sound of FM, as long as you can get good reception.

Many radios now have a digital display which tells you what frequency you are listening to or the name of the station itself. This makes it easy to tune the radio but on a digital radio it's even easier. With digital, you scan the radio stations by name alone so you'll never need to remember the frequencies. You also get a lot more information, including details of the programme itself, the type of station (pop music, speech, etc), the strength of the signal and the time and date.

How can I receive digital radio?

The most common way of getting DAB is by using a digital radio set, these are widely available and cost from only £50. You can also get  DAB via a digital TV set-top box. Many DAB radios also receive FM radio as well, giving you a wider choice of radio stations. Digital radios can be easily recognised by having the DAB symbol.

There are a growing number of digital radio stations. Some are the same as existing FM stations but many are digital-only. The BBC alone has launched several digital-only channels covering music, comedy and drama. But be aware that many FM and AM stations are not yet available on digital.