It’s time to turn on, tune in and pop out to buy a DAB radio with our guide to how digital is changing the wireless. Why go digital? Simply, digital radios offer far more radio stations and suffer from less interference. With 14 per cent of the UK now listening to DAB radio, sales of analogue radios are plummeting. DAB radio uses a completely separate network and only a radio sporting the DAB logo can decode the digital signal, but DAB isn’t just about sound quality: other services can also be provided such as scrolling news headlines, website addresses, email addresses and extra information broadcast with individual shows. The UK’s DAB network is so successful that trials are taking place to get mobile phones to receive digital radio stations, while others are testing mobile phone TV via the same network. Is the sound quality better? Yes, overall, and the bittrates of DAB radio stations in some countries can reach 320kbps with sound quality exceptionally high. However, here, they can also reach as low as 64kbps, with sound quality less than that of FM radio. This brings to mind the obvious differences in quality between analogue, such as vinyl, and MP3 formats with the latter distinctly inferior it seems. This is true, but with DAB radio – as with MP3s – there’s some obvious advantages of going digital. Unlike FM or AM frequencies, DAB radio suffers from no interference and can be recorded, with pause, rewind and record functions available on most DAB units. Some even integrate SD card slots, so MP3s can be played back through the DAB radio. What can I listen to? Because DAB radio networks broadcast computer code, there’s not just less interference, but also more bandwidth. The result is a wider choice of radio stations. Visit http://www.digitalradionow.com/home.php to see exactly which DAB stations you can receive. You can also listen to Virgin radio by visiting http://www.virginradio.co.uk/listen/dab_digital_radio.html. Can I record DAB? Yes. The optical digital output can be linked to a MiniDisc player for making exact, digital recordings, while some models have either hard disk drives built-in or SD card slots. Even the scrolling text transmitted can be stored and a very useful function is that ‘high-end’ DAB radios can access a seven-day Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), making it possible to search the week’s radio schedule and select what to record. Most DAB radios record onto a SD card in MP2 format, which can be played by iTunes or virtually any other PC music player – and even converted to MP3 format for playing on an iPod. Similarly, SD cards full of MP3s can be played back in most DAB radios with SD card slots. Buying tips • As a rough guide, around £50 will buy a simple, functional DAB, but the speakers are likely to offer basic sound. Reach £100 and you can choose any functions you want. • Opt for a DAB radio with a SD card slot if you want to play MP3s through your DAB radio. Models with this can usually record radio onto the SD card in MP2 format. • If you want to use your DAB radio as an occasional speaker for an iPod, PC, or portable CD player, choose any model with a stereo audio input. • Routing a DAB radio’s sounds into a home cinema amplifier or MiniDisc is possible through a basic analogue connection, but an optical audio output means this can be done digitally.