Analog Radio Vs. Digital
The first official analog radio broadcast in the United States happened in 1920. Fast forward 73 years later to the introduction of digital radio in the U.S. What’s the difference between these two broadcast mediums?
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Function
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Analog radio broadcasting works by converting sounds into electrical signals. These electrical signals are then transmitted by carrier wave to your analog radio receiver, which converts the electrical signals back into audio. Digital radio, by comparison, converts sounds into digital information (numbers), which are then transmitted by carrier wave to your digital radio receiver.
Listening Quality
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When signal reception is strong, digital radio sounds clearer than analog radio. The sound quality difference is comparable to audio playback on CDs (which is a digital medium) versus cassette tapes (which are an analog medium).
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Additional Features
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Along with the audio information transmitted by a radio station, digital radio broadcasts also include data information. With analog radio all you receive is audio; with digital radio you can receive audio, picture (such as artist pictures) and text information (such as song titles).
Reception
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Digital radio signals are better able to withstand interference compared to analog radio signals.
Signal Degradation
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It takes analog radio signals much longer to degrade in contrast to digital radio signals.
Prevalence
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A growing number of radio stations in the U.S. are hybrid, broadcasting in both analog and digital formats. Still, U.S. radio stations which broadcast only analog signals are much more prevalent than radio stations that broadcast in both formats.
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References
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