Because the DSP technology is used on higher frequencies, this requires extremely fast and heavy-duty processing power. There are, however, a lot of advantages to IF DSP processing. As with audio processing, intermediate frequency DSP is used for filtering. It is also useful for noise reduction, passband tuning, notch filtering and several other purposes. All these functions are obtained from the power of the processor and the software.
Mechanical components are the most prone to failure.
In the future, when fast, low-cost DSP processors become available, you should be able to get more features for a lower price. There is no ageing or gradual deterioration of specifications during the set's lifetime. At the moment, DSP is still being developed. So processor technology has not advanced sufficiently to the extent that DSP intermediate-frequency processing can achieve the same results at lower costs than conventional high quality analogue techniques. However DSP can offer a few possibilities which cannot be achieved with analogue technology.