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DAB+ is the modern sister of the old FM-Standards

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Even if the success of music streaming is in full swing: The good old Radio has not become obsolete. Whether in the kitchen, in the office, or especially in the car: millions of Germans on the Radio still turn a day, you can inform, entertain, or music music on in the background. Ironically, the Medium that celebrates itself as the fastest, the development appears to stand still.

This also applies to Radio: Digital is better. And actually, the Radio is ignored-Revolution already in progress for a long, just by the Public to a large extent. A digital radio is long since – if one has the appropriate channels. Here you will find some recommended values, current devices. From the outside, the make was not a particularly revolutionary impression. You have antennas, speakers and control buttons, and out comes music. However, in its Interior, a completely new technology works, “Digital Audio Broadcast”, a short DAB+.

diversity without the noise

At first glance DAB+Radios look like normal Radios. And the music that comes out sounds the time is not unusual. But one thing there is not in them, and the noise is perhaps the most important plus point of digital radio:. Because DAB+ has a non-stop CD quality. Bratzeln, hiss and Crack as in the case of FM, are abolished. Either one is in the transmission range, and it sounds good. Or not. Then the reception breaks off completely. Some critics want to hear in FM, however, a fuller Sound.

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Cheaper beginners: Sony XDR S61D

The Sony XDR S61D the best model without an Internet connection. In addition to the cheap price from 80 Euro it offers very good reception in DAB+. FM reception is fine. With a power consumption of 0.7 watts in operation, it attracts less than many competitors in Standby mode, and even works in classic with batteries. A drawback of the just “satisfying” sound. Overall rating: “good” (2.4) .

©manufacturer

the content coming from the digital radios, sound known. Most of the Digital channels blare otherwise FM radio. In Germany there are currently 13 programmes on DAB+: the Germany radio, as well as its transmitter of culture, Nova and DokDeb (all public law), in addition, ten private channels. This includes hundreds of regional listings, but vary depending on the state, strong. At best the offer is extended, in Bavaria: 86 of the transmitter are received on DAB+. There are big stations like Radio Energy, but also more offbeat, such as the Christian Radio Munich. A complete Overview of all the German DAB stations, you can find here.

More frequencies – more offer

the diversity is so great, it has technical reasons: In comparison to the FM Radio a lot more transmitters on the frequencies space. The “Multiplexing”. The digital radio can be sent on a frequency block (channel) of several programs. Only with the diversity of the Internet, it can’t record DAB+: Who knows how many stations – from Greenland to Japan – via the network to receive, you can impress.

in fact, more and more German Radio obtain the same from the Internet. However, DAB+-Radio rooms, especially in the area of his existence: Away from the Metropolitan areas, where there is reliable mobile Internet reception, for example. Also in the car DAB+ is in General more reliable than the mobile line. And yet a Consideration speaks for DAB+: The Radio is not the volume of data. Except for the purchase price of the new device, the reception costs nothing.

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Sonoro masterpiece

With around 1000 euros, the Sonor makes a masterpiece to his name. The German manufacturer of power amplifiers in this plant only high quality parts that of the five Class-D, Digital signal processors, up to what is indeed a near-silent CD-drive. The masterpiece can be connected to almost anything via the Optical input, even to the TV, so the master is then a sort of Soundbar.

©Sonoro DAB+ with interesting additional services

Speaking of the car: Just on the road, DAB+ plays to its advantages. Not only that, the provider promises a flawless, break-free Transmission, for example, on the highway. Also, the additional service TPEG via DAB+ traffic information offering, is a plus point for the new technology. The ARD function since the last year their traffic information via DAB+ directly in the GPS.

However, not only transport, but also other information transmitted in DAB+ invisible and inaudible. There is the service “Dynamic Label plus”, with the text on the Radio Display can be mapped: table tennis tables, for example, weather forecasts or election results. Even images (“slideshow”) can be sent over the radio signal. They appear for example in the Form of Album covers on the screen of the radio device if it has one. Some of the radio station to feed their shipments to the “Visual” Radio,” with concert photos of artists and others.

not Yet received anywhere

DAB+ is not the first attempt of digital radio in Germany. Already in the 1990s there was with DAB (without the +) a precursor, and the flopped terrific. Too little transmission power, to expensive devices, no need for the customer. Finally, DAB was stopped again. Who wants to buy a second-hand device, for example, in the case of Ebay, make sure that it is a device with a DAB+device (with+)!

still, the Argument of the environment. Ecological as it is the new digital radio should be, to emphasize the DAB+-initiators. And in fact, the transmission operation compared to power-intensive Internet radio, and to FM at an advantage, because DAB uses frequencies more efficiently. Nevertheless, the buzzword “Green Radio is a lie”, with the DAB+bookmakers boast a little bit in the bag. Because energy would be saved, of course only, if the FM would be operating at the same time and DAB+ replaces. At present, it is but a spark to perk up in parallel. And: The current DAB receivers consume at the time is still minimal more power than classic FM Equivalents.

DAB+ retrofit I have a connection to the Radio in the car, FM remains alive

in fact, the parallel operation will probably go up even more. A requirement for a shutdown would be anyway, that the Germans would have to cover until then nationwide with DAB+-capable devices incorporatedn. but That might take still. 11.8 million DAB+devices have been sold in Germany, 17 percent of German households have at least one matching device is in use, pending a study of the “worlddab renamed”. Of the mass distribution of classic FM radio this is a far but still far.

How fast is the change, nobody knows. The Grand coalition had decided in the coalition agreement to strengthen the digital radio “as a” low-threshold “Medium”. The stated goal is the digitization of the radio. In the summer, there was a moment when threatened, a partial FM shutdown for a completely different reason: The radio network operator, Media Broadcast had been sold at the beginning of the year, hundreds of FM antennas. The new operators charge significantly higher Rents for their services and threatened, in case of non-agreement of the frequencies to switch off. Only after Switch-on of the Federal network Agency, the dispute could be appeased.

the buyer of a DAB+device, the uncertainty has a clear advantage: so Far, every DAB+-Radio, there are in the trade, also FM – and is thus both backward-compatible and future-ready.