Newsletter

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Partners,

The Consortium is busier than ever. Key members have just returned from India and Malaysia. They participated in the BES exhibition and conference. This was a good opportunity to focus on DRM and especially on its imbedded Emergency Warning Functionality demonstrated while in Delhi to both AIR, NDMA staff and BES participants. More on the DRM presence and activities in India below. You might also want to check airbengaluru.comto see how the full complement of DRM features is now run from Bengaluru AIR transmitter.

We will also mention the speech by Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO, Prasar Bharati, at Broadcast & Media Technology 2018 on the need to now start working on the full digital radio ecosystem in India.

DRM Consortium has also welcomed the recent TRAI recommendation on radio  digitisation. And this was of interest to the participants in the Digital Broadcasting Symposium (DBS) held by ABU in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of March. DRM presentations and a workshop were included in its programme. 

This newsletter also gives details about a big DRM project started in the Middle East and previews the webinar with the Caribbean Broadcasting Union as well as the approaching General Assembly of the DRM Consortium in Spain, 17-18 April.

Finally, please do not forget to join us on Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

And if you want to join the Consortium please contact projectoffice@drm.org.

Ruxandra Obreja
Chair, DRM Consortium
ruxandra.obreja@drm.org

Latest News

DRM Excels at BES 2018

In February 2018 the DRM Consortium participated again in the  BES (Broadcast Engineering Society of India) events..  The Consortium had a booth (jointly with DRM Consortium member Gospell receiver manufacturer) at the BES exhibition featuring Gospell and Avion receivers. Two Hyundai cars with line-fit DRM receivers (including the mass market Elite, launched at the beginning of February) were placed inside and outside the exhibition hall. Read more 

DRM Experts Share Digital Radio Expertise at ABU DBS 2018 Conference

Key DRM experts presented updates on the latest DRM developments and discussed the hands-on experience and practical steps in implementing the full DRM technology at this year’s Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Digital Broadcasting Symposium held from 5-8 March, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  The Consortium also sponsored Session 2 of the Conference.  Read more 

Kuwait Updates  Shortwave Transmitters with DRM Digital Radio 

The Kuwaiti Minister of Information Mohammad Al-Jabri, recently launched a project updating shortwave transmitters from analogue to Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) broadcasting systems, at KABD radio station.  Read more

AIR Bengaluru 

The full complement of DRM features is now run from Bengaluru AIR transmitter.  More here

CEO Prasar Bharati on Radio Digitisation 

Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO, Prasar Bharati made a speech at the Broadcast & Media Technology 2018 on the  “Future of Television and Radio Broadcasting: Role of Content Creation and Distribution” an excerpt is shared below:

“Same thing on the digital radio side that we have put transmitters but nobody's listening because there is no ecosystem of receivers, how do we create that, how do we spur that market and again it’s the same debate that unless we create that market opportunity, we show the way, it will not happen. 

We can’t just say that I have put the transmitter, my job is done. So we have to actively partner with the ecosystem to create that win-win proposition for both of us."

DRM Welcomes New Associate Member from India

The DRM Consortium welcomed Inntot Technologies, the latest Indian company to join the DRM Consortium. Inntot Technologies focuses on cost effective and performance optimized software based media receiver solutions. The Software Defined DRM Receiver solution of Inntot Technologies is field tested in Indian cities. The DRM receiver solution of Inntot is customer validated, CPU performance optimized and meets the DRM Minimum Receiver Requirements (MRR). The solution also supports DRM Data Services like Journaline, Slideshow, EPG etc.  They join All India Radio, BECIL and MaxEye Techonlogies, who are also members.

DRM E-Book with Updates and New Information Successfully Published by Radio World International 

The first DRM e-book titled, “DRM Drives Forward”, has been successfully launched and is now available for download.  The book includes in its 25 pages updates, succinct news, information and articles authored by key DRM members, Ampegon, BBC, Fraunhofer IIs, Kintronics, Nautel and RFmondial. In an attractive and colourful format, it also features some of the very successful Radio World blogs written by Ruxandra Obreja, DRM Consortium Chair.  Read more

Watch DRM Drives Forward

Caribbean Broadcasting Union Starts Digital Radio Webinar Series for Members with DRM Webinar 

The Caribbean Broadcasting Union will give its members the opportunity to learn more about digital radio technology with a series of webinars that gets underway on 22^nd March 2018.  Kicking off the series is a webinar on DRM digital radio, the universal, openly standardised digital broadcasting system for all broadcasting frequencies.  The series is supported by the CARICOM Secretariat which will be represented by the Head of the ICT4D Unit, Ms Jennifer Britton.  Read more 

Digital Radio Mondiale to hold this year’s General Assembly in Spain

Under the banner “Digital Radio Mondiale Drives Forward”, the 2018 General Assembly of the DRM Consortium is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 17^th and Wednesday 18^th of April, at the Palma Bellver Bay Meliá Hotel on Mallorca being hosted by RFmondial and Bosch.  Members and guests will meet to review all the activities of the past year receive global updates and vote to elect members of the leading bodies of the Consortium.

Around the Web

Great Radio Inventor, Trevor Bayliss Dies

African Union of Broadcasting Members Discuss Digital Broadcasting

Switzerland Votes to keep Public Broadcaster

EBU Director General writes on radio

Did you know?

• Following requests from our readers, we have updated the DRM schedules on our website. So please check for yourself!  List of DRM transmissions Interactive map

• Over 30 broadcasters carry regular DRM transmissions, covering almost half the world’s population.

• The DRM standard is now fully endorsed by the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) and ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute).

• The DRM Introduction and Implementation Guide have been updated to include the latest information on DRM for local coverage and the most recent tests and are available online, in English and Russian.  

• The DRM standard as recommended by ITU and ETSI includes built-in Emergency Warning tools for swift and effective mass-notification in crises.   Listen here.

• DRM publishes a special monthly Noticeboard for India, and a new India page pulls together key DRM information on India.

• DRM Receivers will be available in new cars coming on to the Indian market from Hyundai

• You can still contribute to www.drmrx.org.