Friday, July 13, 2012

DRM+ presented first time to German local broadcasters

During the Nuremberg Local Broadaster Days, DRM+ was presented for first time to German local and regioncal broadcasters. DRM+ is the configuration of the Digital Radio Mondiale standard that was recently recognized by ITU as a worldwide recommended technology for digital radio, and published by ETSI for use in all VHF bands.

Senior members of the German DRM Platform could talk to an interested and well-informed audience, pointing out the benefits of considering DRM+ as a perfect complement to the DAB+ networks, which had been successfully launched in 2011in Germany.

Detlef Pagel, chairman of the German DRM Platform and CTO of the Media Authority Lower-Saxony, started with a full overview of the DRM Consortium, the history of the DRM technology, and the basic features of DRM+.

This presentation was follows by a discourse on the applicability of DRM+ in the FM band II or the VHF band III by Joachim Lehnert, technical director of the Media Authority of Rhineland-Pallatinate. He came to the conclusion that a start of DRM+ broadcasts in band III would be the most suitable option, and immediately be possible both from a technical as well as a regulatory stand point.

Finally Alexander Zink, Co-President of the DRM Association and vice-chair of the DRM Consortium’s technical committee, pointed out that DRM+ and DAB + form a perfectly harmonizing family of digital radio standards, with identical functionality from a listener’s as well as broadcaster’s perspective by comparing features such as modulation, audio codec, available data applications, and service linking. While DAB+ is the efficient system for a large number of broadcasters sharing an identical coverage area, DRM+ was identified as the missing solution for local and highly regionalized broadcasts with their individual coverage areas.

The discussion following the presentations led to the conclusion that DRM+ might be the perfect opportunity to complete the digital radio infrastrcture in Germany, and a detailed discussion on regulatory and financial aspects with all relevant parties will be the logical next step.

Alexander Zink, Fraunhofer IIS

 
(Source : DRM Consortium)

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