Which? has got it wrong about DAB+

22nd May 2007

Consumer magazine Which? has covered digital radios in its current issue, but they're saying that DAB radios won't be obsolete when DAB+ starts transmitting, and that existing DAB radios will be upgradeable to support DAB+. But I'm afraid they've got this wrong, although it may not be their fault, because it seems that they've been in contact with the broadcasters and Ofcom, and the broadcasters in particular have been feeding the public with disinformation about DAB+ just so that people don't stop buying DAB radios.

I wish existing DAB receivers were upgradeable to support DAB+, as Which? claims, because then the broadcasters could start using DAB+ from tomorrow if they wished to, but unfortunately the DAB receiver modules in existing receivers were designed to receive DAB, not DAB+, and DAB+ needs a faster processor and more memory (e.g. the software code to implement the AAC+ decoder has to be stored somewhere) than existing DAB receivers have got.

Anyway, how could receivers be upgraded? The vast majority of receivers don't have a USB socket on the back to allow software upgrades, so the vast majority of receivers couldn't be upgraded even if the DAB receiver modules were capable of being upgraded to support DAB+.

So the advice remains that if you want a future-proof DAB receiver then you will need to wait for DAB+ receivers to come out. Thankfully, there isn't long to wait now before we see the first DAB+ radios in the shops.