Roberts DAB Radios

Dab Radio

DAB Radio Technology Ease-of-use

You no longer have to remember frequencies! Once the radio has found all the DAB stations available, you just choose the one you want by name. Simple.

Digital radios are much easier to use than analogue machines because they automatically search for all available stations.

Wider station choice

With up to 55 DAB stations available in many areas – and many more to follow – you’ll be spoilt for listening choice. UK stations broadcasting digitally include national BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4, BBC Radio 5 Live, Classic FM, talkSPORT and Absolute Radio. And, there are also great exclusive-to-digital stations, such as BBC6, 1XTRA, Core & Oneword.

Digital-quality sound

The days of crackle and hiss radio are over. Digital radio is not subject to the same interference as analogue, so you don’t have to spend ages fiddling around trying to get that perfect reception.

Extra features

DAB scrolling text, provided by the broadcasters, shows programme information, news, sports results or artist and track details. More advanced features include ReVuTM which allows you to pause and rewind live radio. An Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) helps you record programmes by using a timer.

Examples of possible extra features on DAB radio:

Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) EPG, broadcast by participating DAB stations, gives programme times and information for up to seven days, making pre-selection and recording of radio programmes a doddle. Intellitext™ gives you on-demand access to scrolling text information from participating broadcasters. Intellitext™ stores the scrolling text and allows you to navigate, by topic, straight to the news you want. ReVu™: Pause, Rewind and Record on Digital Radio with ReVu™ PURE’s revolutionary ReVu™ technology means that interruptions will no longer spoil your radio listening. You can pause live DAB radio broadcasts or simply rewind if you’ve missed something. textSCAN™ PURE were first with textSCAN™ allowing listeners to pause and control the scrolling text that DAB stations send out. USB allows you to upgrade your DAB radio. Digital radio is future-proof and not subject to the obsolescence common to today’s consumer electronics products.

Three examples of DAB products

EVOKE-2XT Luxury Portable Stereo DAB & FM Radio

The multi-award winning EVOKE-2XT digital radio boasts refined audio fidelity with hi-fi quality drive units and active audio filtering. There’s a handy clock display, a radio/tone alarm, kitchen timer and the capability of connecting your iPod, CD or MiniDisc player.

Stereo speakers and separate tone control
Clear white-on-blue display
Input for iPod, CD or MiniDisc
Kitchen timer and tone/radio alarm
Optical digital output
Six DAB and six FM presets
Battery, mains or ChargePAK™ powered*
USB connector for free product updates
Full UK DAB reception, plus FM

* ChargePAK/batteries not included.

Legato DAB/FM/CD/MP3 Micro System with ReVu™

The Legato CD-40 isn’t your average digital radio. Inside its compact sculptured casing is the very latest in digital audio broadcasting and audio processing. Revolutionary ReVu™ technology enables you to pause and rewind live DAB radio.

CD Audio, MP3 CD, CD-R and CD-RW playback compatible
ReVu™ technology for pause and rewind of live DAB radio
Digital optical and analogue line out for playback and recording
Auxiliary input for other devices
Large graphical display and easy-to-use interface
99 DAB presets, 99 FM presets
MP3 CD playlist support
DPAC-II™ for the most natural DAB sound
Infrared remote control
Matching speakers with high-performance, custom designed drive units
Full UK DAB reception, plus FM

ONE DAB/FM Portable Digital Radio

Affordable and portable, ONE is a superb DAB/FM digital radio. Perfect for when you’re out and about, it’s ideal for tuning into the latest sports coverage and the widest choice of music.

A perfect first digital radio, ONE is easy to use with some great new features – plus all the benefits of DAB – including more stations, crystal-clear audio, station selection by name and broadcast scrolling text. And, if you roam beyond digital coverage the listening doesn’t stop because FM with RDS is included too.

Clock with kitchen and sleep timers
Intellitext™ for on-demand access to scrolling text information from participating broadcasters
textSCAN™ to pause and control scrolling text
USB connector for free product upgrades
Stereo headphone socket
20 presets (DAB or FM)
Exceptional battery life for 35 hours portable DAB listening
Battery, mains or ChargePAK™ powered*
Full UK DAB reception, plus FM with RDS

* ChargePAK/batteries not included.

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Dab Digital Radio

The Sony XDR-M1 DAB Radio. The Sony XDR-M1 DAB Radio is a compact DAB/FM Walkman that is stylish and compact and boosts high quality sound with mega base.

The XDR-M1 has a four-line backlit LCD display to navigate through radio stations; it displays information on the music, station, frequency, signal, battery life: DAB information displayed on music being played, such as track name or a web address, can be stored and recalled.

The four-button control panel of the M1 is user friendly as is the central joystick. The sound quality is good, however there can be interruptions to the signal, which will disturb your listening. The XDR-M1 is a slick DAB radio that is very portable, battery life lets it down some what and the price is on the high side.

However DABs are the future of radio, everyone will have it as it will replace radio. In the UK analogue will be switch off soon, so if you havent got you DAB yet then what will you listen to? Yes prices are high at the moment, but take it as an investment. Actually prices keep dropping by the season. Many people get them as a birthday or xmas present. So if your stuff for what to get, just say the Sony XDR-M1. Oh and although their designs are abit off putting for young people, the sound is great and mostly consistent untill you get signal failures.

Unbeatable.co.uk or Unbeatable.com in USA have, like the name  unbeatable deals on dab radios. If your looking for deals, reviews and news which are updated frequently, then check the sites out.

Jon tests out the Pure Highway DAB radio

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Digital Radio Dab

Traditionally, radio stations have always broadcasted in its regular, analog format. FM and AM radio could both be heard all over the world depending on the signal strength in each listening area. A couple of decades ago though, analog radio has been replaced by a better type of radio; digital radio. Digital radio has grown in popularity tremendously since it first debuted, and shows no signs of any decrease in popularity because it is all around better than traditional, analog radio. During the process of radio stations switching over from analog radio to digital radio, most stations broadcasted in a hybrid signal that could be heard by regular radio listeners as well as digital radio listeners.

Over time however, the hybrid signals were no longer used because the complete switch over to digital finally happened. Analog radio offered a selection of different AM and FM radio stations in each listening area but once the switch over to digital was complete, listeners could enjoy even more stations in their area thanks in part to the stronger digital signal. With digital radio, FM stations were broadcasted with such a clear and crisp signal that the music sounded the same quality as that on a CD. AM stations also improved significantly by gaining the same sound quality as traditional FM radio.

To listen to all of the advantages that digital radio had to offer, listeners would have to purchase a digital receiver to pick up the digital signals. Digital receivers could not only pick up all the newer digital stations, but they could also pick up all of the regular radio stations that were around before digital radio. The downside to purchasing a digital receiver lies in the cost; the cost of a digital receiver was considered rather pricey when compared to a regular, non digital radio.

Traditional analog radio did have its advantages, such as when the signal strength became diminished, the stations would lose their sound quality slowly. However, with digital radio, should the signal become reduced, the stations will usually cut out completely; this is one of the major disadvantages to digital radio along with the cost of a digital receiver. All in all though, digital radio is coming along and progressing further and further as the year progress. While FM radio has always been considered pretty good when it comes to quality of sound, digital radio is going to take FM radio above and beyond where it was previously with no signs of it slowing down.

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Digital Radio Alarm

Digital radio has struggled to make it’s place in the market. Most of the United States does not yet own a digital or satillite radio and the reasons are clear. The digital radio recievers are not only expensive at the present time, but you must also subscribe to one of the services available for a monthly fee. This monthly fee is more of a deterant than the high prices on the satllite radio receivers. Many stores that sell digital radio receivers are putting up many promotions in the form of discounts and rebates to try to entice the customer into buying.

I personlly feel that digital radio receivers will follow the same path that most electronics follow. In the beginning the price point will be high and as technology improves and mass manufaturing processes are improved, then the costs will come down significantly. We have seen this trend in the past on items such as televisions, VCRs, telephones, stero equipment to name but a few.

Digital radio stations have thousands more options to offer the listener than regular old AM and FM analog radio stations. There is the quality issue. Gone are the days in which the radio quality would fluctuate based on whether or not you were driving under an overpass or passing by power lines. Through digital, there is relatively no disturbance from any outside sources which could disrupt your listening experience. This is one of the biggest pluses to digital radio. Also, there is no need for the guessing game when you hear a track you like and the disk jockey simply neglects to mention the name of it. With digital radio stations and an invention called “radiotext,” listeners will be able to read the name of the artist and title of the track right on their radio receiver as the song is playing. Radio stations will also be able to transmit information about the news, weather and traffic directly into text form on your radio receiver. I like these options very much.

Any station that currently says it is totally digital is lying. They are simply a hybrid of analog and digital where the radio receiver first picks up the analog signal and then homes in on the digital signal for a better quality broadcast. The possibilities do not end there though, as it may even be possible for digital stations to broadcast pictures and videos directly to your car or home stereo through the magic of digital broadcasting.

Although terrestrial digital radio stations are at least ten years off, there is a way to experience some of the benefits of digital radio stations today. Satellite radio, brought to you in America by XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio offer the closest thing to full digital radio. They provide the listener with high quality sound and radiotext to let people see what they are listening too.

Wait for it… alarm at 1:02! My camera doesn’t do justice to just how obscenely *LOUD* the “foghorn” alarm on this clock radio is. It sounds as if all the filter capacitors suddenly failed and it’s just feeding raw AC to the speaker. I used it one morning and it woke me up in a panic, so I devised a more permanent method of hitting the Snooze button.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Dab Digital Radio

DAB, or digital audio broadcasting, brought to the radio industry what the digital technology of cellular phones brought to the telecommunications industry–an alternative to analog technology. Using the Eureka 147 format, broadcast companies in Europe and the UK made the shift form analog broadcasting to DAB digital radio broadcasting; the Eureka format became globally standardized everywhere except in the United States.

The United States chose instead to have its DAB digital radio broadcasting formatted in hybrid-digital radio, which make it the only country to have done so, and more or less stopped the adoption of DAB digital radio technology altogether. In the United States, satellite radio has received all the broadcasters’ and broadcasting equipment manufacturer’s attention. Why?

Because satellite radio requires listeners to purchase expensive receivers, and in addition, to shell out the cost of subscribing each month. Radio listeners in other countries must simply raise their eyebrows at the prospect; they receive Eureka 147 and digital radio at no cost.

DAB Digital Radio Features

When the UK decided to make a massive commitment to DAB digital radio in 2001, all of the BBC’s public radio stations, and more than fifty private ones switched their operating systems from analog to the analog and digital hybrid. The radio receivers used to pick up HD audio broadcasts have the capacity to display information relevant to the audio content of the broadcast.

DAB digital radio transmits radio text to the listener, providing tidbits lie the name of particular musical artist when his or her song is being aired, or the plot summary of a radio drama for which the listener may have tuned in a bit late. It will identify the participants in a talk program, or give up to the minute scores for sporting events. For more info see http://www.digitalradio-review.com/Articles/Digital_Radio_Recorder.php on Digital Radio Recorder.

A DAB digital radio receiver eliminates the need for fine tuning the reception on your favorite station as you move through its broadcast area. All you need to do is scroll through the list of stations available and then hit a button to select the one of your choice, for crystal clear reception.

iBiquity Digital

In the United States, iBiquity Digital has been approved by the FCC as the only supplier of hybrid digital analog technology, which it claims enormously increase the amount of broadcast channels, improve the sound quality so that AM sounds like the FM of the past, and FM achieves CD quality.

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