DIGITAL RECEIVERS GO MASS MARKETMajor radio stations ready, but receiver price still obstacle to wide acceptance
Crystal clear CD sound, interference free reception, all for just 999 dollars and available only in Toronto.
Yesterday at the CBC Toronto Broadcasting Centre, Pioneer Electronics of Canada Inc. launched its new black blox receiver for digital audio broadcasting, a new way the audiophile can listen to the radio.
Major radio stations are already broadcasting digitally, but few consumers have had the equipment to hear the new signal.
Now, receivers are being mass marketed in audio stores across the city. (To use the receiver, you must have a radio that's compatible with the unit).
"The change from analog AM-FM radio to digital radio is no less a change than vinyl going to CD", said Duff Roman, president of Digital Radio Roll-Out Inc., an industry group working with private and public broadcasters.
"You will be hearing music every bit as good as your CD player", he said, adding the digital broadcast also eliminates the reception static.
Right now, stations are simultaneously broadcasting their programs in both formats - analog and digital. But that could change in the near future.
"When we have the proper number of receivers in the marketplace we will abandon AM and FM", Mr. Roman said.
The price of the receiver is high, he agreed, but the cost should go down as more and more units are sold.
Montreal and Vancouver will be getting digital service at the end of the month.
The receiver offers a number of on-screen displays that differ from a normal tuner.
It shows the title of the song and the artist, information on radio promotions, commercial information and phone numbers.