Speaking of broadcast standards, a sore point with me is the attempt by the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) to push a lashed-up DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) AM and FM radio format onto the industry. This IBOC (In-Band-On-Channel) system is supposed to allow AM and FM stations to broadcast digital audio in parallel with their current analog signals (which the NAB wants to phase out)
However, tests have already demonstrated that skywave propagation of IBOC DAB on mediumwave (AM) doesn't work, which destroys the range advantage enjoyed by high-power AM stations. (Since AM is mostly used for talk radio rather than music, CD-quality sound isn't necessary anyway.) Even on FM, the difference in quality between DAB and analog isn't worth the effort, in the opinion of many audiophiles who have compared the two. Also, the AM IBOC system has problems with mutual interference between the parallel analog and digital signals. In addition, the new digital AM and FM formats would make obsolete tens of millions of analog AM and FM receivers. I have no desire to replace all of my many radio receivers. The whole thing is just an example of a solution in search of a problem that doesn't exist. If the NAB wants digital radio, they should emulate Canada and establish a digital radio service in another segment of the radio spectrum. -- Jason
