March 15, 1999
New Product: UK, BBC and Arcam claim world first with digital radio on the air and consumer tuners available in stores

Cambridge, UK. British HiFi manufacturer Arcam today began selling at retail the world's first home digital radio tuner (DRT). The company has announced that its Alpha 10 DRT tuner is in full production, and that it is available nationally in the UK through around 100 Arcam dealers within range of BBC's digital transmitters.

The Alpha 10 DRT is a genuine world first. The first home DRT to be developed and the first to go on retail sale. This is a stand-alone component, easily added to any HiFi system, much as one would add a new CD Player. The retail cost of the tuner is £800 (UK). For comparison, that is less than half the price of a CD Player when CD started in 1984. Hundreds of units have been pre-sold to radio & hi-fi enthusiasts and broadcasters.

All BBC digital radio transmitters are on-air now, and over 60% of the UK can already receive BBC Digital Radio programmes. Rapid expansion of the network is planned and commercial radio in the UK is scheduled to go live in October 1999. Digital radio is expected to replace all current broadcasting worldwide over the next decade. In the UK, existing analog transmitters will all be turned off within 10-15 years.

Arcam says the key advantages of digital radio are:

• near CD sound quality
• interference-free reception: no hiss, just clear clean sound
• increased stereo programming choice (at least in the UK), as existing stations go national in stereo digital, and many new digital-only stations go on-air
• a built-in display shows full text info on songs, plays, presenters etc.
• tuning is easy because all stations can be found by name

Web Site: Arcam

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