BBC doubles iPlayer radio quality, DAB weeps
Digital RadioAll of the BBC's national radio stations are now available streaming in Adobe Flash. The quality of live radio streams has been roughly doubled too, to the same format and quality the iTunes Store used at launch (128Kbps AAC).
This has been available for a while in the BBC Labs, but as of today the final versions are live on the public iPlayer.
Digital Britain: Wave goodbye to high-quality FM radio
GadgetsWe've long maintained that the idea of digital radio is a good one. We also like DAB, on the whole, but we can see it has quite a number of very obvious failings too. But now the government has announced in its Digital Britain report that it will be migrating all radio to DAB, and that it plans to switch off analogue radio by 2015. There's a substantial caveat here, in that at least 50 per cent of all radio listening will need to be via DAB before they'll consider flipping the switch.
We aren't yet sure how the government thinks it's going to get DAB listening up to such high levels. It's claimed it will work with vehicle manufacturers to ensure digital radios are installed in cars, which has been a massive barrier in the take-up of DAB. But even with brand-new cars potentially getting new radios, where does that leave the millions of older cars on the road? We can't scrap them all, even for a discount on our next vehicle. Continue reading...
The Prince Charles of broadcasting: Does DAB have a future?
Digital RadioIn the next few years, analogue TV will die a death. It will be a well planned, gentle and carefully orchestrated passing away, but make no mistake, it will be stone dead by 2013, and digital TV will reign. Digital radio, on the other hand, has no pre-ordained date of succession. If something isn't done soon, it will become the Prince Charles of broadcasting -- waiting for years and years for its moment, until finally it becomes irrelevant.
The main issue facing digital radio is the millions upon millions of FM radios in homes up and down the land. Look at your own dwelling -- we'll wager you've got quite a few of them, perhaps even ones you're unaware of. Lobbing an FM radio in any old thing is commonplace these days -- your phone probably has one, your AV receiver does, most DAB radios do, as do many Internet radios. Continue reading...
PURE Digital to launch MP3 store via DAB radio systems
Buying MP3s through your DAB digital radio will soon be possible, as British DAB manufacturer PURE Digital has announced it's developing an extremely interesting take on the music download store model.
We spent several hours this week with Imagination Technologies -- PURE's parent company, which licenses designs to chip manufacturers, and designed graphics processing technology used in the upcoming Samsung Omnia HD and Apple's iPhone 3G. During the trip we got a look at a very early version of the company's as-yet unnamed music store. Continue reading...
Interim Digital Britain report: Broadband for all by 2012
SoftwareLord Carter's eagerly awaited interim Digital Britain report arrived today, promising broadband to every house in the land by 2012. First impressions are that the report is more than a little vague, and although we were surprised by such a concrete commitment to universal broadband access, we're left with as many questions as answers.
Such as whether we really need broadband for all? How will it work? Is 2012 realistic? And the elephant in the room: who's going to pay for it? There is a recession on, after all. Continue reading...
PURE Digital Avanti Flow: Slick Net and DAB radio
Digital RadioBack in the day, Avanti was the name of a superb map on the original Half Life mod, Team Fortress Classic. It is also the name of a Durex condom. But now the name has been recycled for the latest and greatest Internet and DAB radio from PURE Digital.
Its full name is the Avanti Flow, and it's the second model from PURE to come with the company's Internet radio service, following on from the Evoke Flow earlier this year. The Avanti is much larger, with an integrated down-firing sub woofer and a pair of 76mm (3-inch) main drivers, backed by a power-efficient Class D amp. Continue reading...
Hands-on with the Tangent Uno FM radio
Digital RadioBeing at the journalistic forefront of the technological juggernaut that is the 21st century, Crave doesn't often cover tech that's been around since the first half of the previous century. We've made an exception today for Tangent's Uno -- a monaural, FM/AM tabletop radio.
"What? Are you high? There's no DAB? You must be joking," we hear you exclaim. Well, high (on the third floor of the CBS Interactive building) we may be. But joking, we most certainly are not. This is truly a back-to-basics piece of work from Denmark, with the main feature being its lack of features, a gorgeous design and a sub-£100 price tag. Continue reading...
Roberts solarDAB: Pray the Sun keeps his hat on
Digital RadioAs the Earth's population gets more and more obsessed with making friends with trees, being nicer to clouds and refraining from weeing in rivers, the consumer electronics industry has been making some shrub-friendly innovations. So many in fact, our good friends at SmartPlanet have built an entire Web site dedicated to talking about such objects of dreadlockian desire.
One of our favourite hippy-friendly devices is the Baylis Eco Media Player -- an MP3 player that's powered with pure-grade elbow grease. But Roberts Radio knows something more powerful than the human arm: a little thing called the Sun. Continue reading...
PURE Digital One Mini: Outdoor DAB bargain
Digital RadioIf the Digital Radio Working Group has its way we'll all need to chuck out our lovely FM receivers and invest in DAB equipment before too long. Good news, then, for PURE Digital, a DAB favourite of ours. And it's just released its new One Mini -- an affordable and portable version of the popular PURE One.
It's a little monaural speaker-equipped radio that'll go for about 40, and with an optional battery pack will serve as a decent companion to any sun-drenched UK picnics, festivals or glue sniffing you've got planned for yourselves and the kids. Continue reading...
Denon D-M37DAB: High-end name, low-end price
MP3 PlayersFor those of you who can't stretch to the gorgeous Denon CX3 system, a much more affordable entry into the Denon world is coming your way towards the end of June. It's the D-M37DAB, and as you may have guessed from the title, it's got an integrated DAB radio receiver. Brill.
It's a contemporary design, sporting the sleek brushed silver look we've come to expect from even more expensive hi-fi separates, and comes with or without a pair of Denon SC-M37 speakers. Continue reading...
Hands-on with the Intempo iDAB: iHate it
MP3 PlayersThe iPod's lack of radio functionality is a frequent source of complaint, so Intempo has created the iDAB -- an accessory that clips into the the docking port of the iPod, giving you digital radio wherever you have your iPod classic, touch, nano or iPhone.
In theory, this sounds great. The problem -- well, there's a list of problems, actually -- is that this thing doesn't work at all like you'd expect. You would imagine it would use the iPod's display, its headphone socket, its navigational buttons. You wish. The iDAB basically just uses the iPod as one giant battery. You even have to have the iPod playing music to itself just to keep the iDAB functioning. Continue reading...
Roberts Gemini 31: Doesn't give a DAB about live radio
Digital RadioPURE Digital gets a fair wallop of love when it comes to the DAB world, but we're changing feet today and having a look at a snazzy little offering from Roberts. It's the Gemini 31 -- aka the RD31 -- and while it's generally a fairly standard DAB/FM radio, it's got a hella useful 'PausePlus' feature that lets you pause and rewind live radio for up to 40 minutes at a time.
It's essentially the same deal as PURE's ReVu technology, which uses built-in memory to record 40 minutes of audio as you listen live. If you want to rewind, you simply backtrack what's been captured as the system continues to record the broadcast, meaning you can easily fast forward and resume live listening. Continue reading...
UK broadcaster axes DAB stations: Is digital radio doomed?
Digital RadioBritish commercial radio company GCap Media has decided to axe two DAB stations -- theJazz and Planet Rock -- despite almost a million listeners, claiming that DAB was "not economically viable."
Together, the two axed stations had 927,000 listeners, but FM's retention of followers, combined with the growing popularity of Internet radio simulcasts, has hindered DAB's growth.
Last September, the British trade body DRDB -- Digital Radio Development Bureau -- forecast (.pdf) household DAB penetration to hit 40 per cent by 2009, and almost 60 per cent by 2011. Perhaps with the continuing rise of Internet radio and the increasing uptake of broadband in the UK, these figures could be significantly lower than anticipated. Continue reading...
Intempo 'Daisy': Wi-Fi Net radio for your pocket
Digital RadioWe're living in happy times right now. Happy, because the Internet is no longer restricted to devices with wires. Yes, in 2008 the wireless Web is maturing like the finest cheese or the the tastiest wine. Ready to exploit the growing ubiquity of a Web without wires is Intempo, whose portable Wi-Fi radio is designed to be used on the move, obviously with the intention of being used near Wi-Fi hotspots. All very well in big US cities, but is it too early for the UK?
You'll be able to use the new radio -- codenamed 'Daisy' -- with about 6,000 Internet radio stations, or with Real or Windows Media audio streams. But you'll have to connect to a hotspot first. Despite its growing popularity, Wi-Fi isn't commonly available out on the streets here in Britain, potentially posing a problem. Continue reading...
Intempo RDi iPod speaker dock: Dabbling with DAB
Digital RadioSo you're thinking about Christmas gifts? Perhaps on one hand you're considering a new DAB radio. On the other, you might be considering an iPod speaker system. It's time you put those hands together. Intempo's snazzy RDi iPod docking system is both a digital radio and a set of speakers for your iPod.
This sort of convergence makes sense, especially since the iPod is natively sans-radio even this many years into its life. The RDi dock has a price tag of 129, so it's only slightly more costly than DAB experts PURE Digital's promising Chronos iDock system -- a 99 setup that offers near identical functionality, and which we'll be getting our hands on soon. Continue reading...
Hands-on with the PURE Digital Chronos II
Digital RadioPURE Digital's original Chronos bedside digital radio scored an impressive 8 out of 10 last year. It was also nominated for our prestigious 2006 Editor's Choice award. Its cute design, ease of use and good price point earned the Chronos our respect. Now we've got hold of its successor, the Chronos II.
At first glance you might not notice much difference between this and its younger brother: it's the same shape, same colour, same price and has the same button layout. But there are a couple of changes under the hood. Firstly, the Chronos II has FM radio in addition to DAB, something that lost the original model a few marks. Including FM means, obviously, your radio enjoyment needn't be sacrificed when you're out of DAB coverage. Continue reading...
Freecom MusicPal: Video won't kill this radio star
MP3 PlayersFreecom may not be the household name for music streamers, but the Dutch manufacturer has come out with an attractive 100 solution for the home. The MusicPal can pull MP3s and WAV files from a PC (or a Mac) over your home network, and can suck Net radio down your connection too.
The company is working on an update that adds support for WMA files. There's a built-in speaker, composite and line-out and support for WEP and WPA Wi-Fi security. Interestingly there's also some love shown for RSS feeds, such as those used to distribute podcasts. M3U playlist files are also compatible, so building a fat list of your favourite tunes for remote access isn't out of the question. Continue reading...
Hands-on with Bose's SoundDock Portable, Wave music system DAB and MusicMonitor
MP3 Players'It sounds very good, but it's very expensive' tends to be Crave's verdict on Bose kit, and its latest releases are no exception. Of most interest to us at Bose's recent touch-and-try session was the new iPod dock, the Bose SoundDock Portable.
It's a redesign of the well-received original Bose SoundDock, but with a slimmer design and a re-chargeable battery. Bose says that you can get 24 hours of life out of the battery at 'normal listening levels', although this reduces to three if you turn the speakers up to full volume. Continue reading...
Photos: Hands-on with the Onkyo T-4555
Digital RadioLet's finish our Cravetasitc week with something special for you radio audiophiles -- our favourite 'philes, we might add. We've got hold of the Onkyo T-4555 DAB/FM tuner and our first impressions are extremely positive. The solid construction is just what you'd expect from a 300+ separate -- the brushed-aluminium front panel boasts some sturdy metal buttons and a stylish dot-matrix display. Continue reading...
Vote to win: Denon D-F103HR DAB hi-fi up for grabs
MP3 PlayersNeed an upgrade to your ageing stereo system? Simply vote for your favourite products in our 'Vote to win' reader poll awards and the sophisticated sounds from the 1,000 Denon D-F103HR DAB hi-fi could launch you into the 21st century -- for free.
This hi-fi system includes a hard drive that can hold up to 10,000 songs, and rips your CDs and CD-Rs straight onto it. It offers support for AAC, MP3 and WMA files, and you'll also find DAB digital radio, FM and Internet radio capabilities. For connecting your iPod or your decks, it integrates a USB port and phono turntable input -- a rarity on stereos these days, and perfect for DJs and vinyl enthusiasts. Continue reading...
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters