Under the overarching theme “DRM - Advanced Radio for All” the DRM Consortium planned for a virtual showcase to share with participants the practical advances of DRM in various parts of the world and the recent improvements to the DRM performance, equipment and receivers.
The event hosted by the DRM Consortium brought together specialists from India, Indonesia, UK, Germany, Pakistan, China, Brazil and many more places. A record number of companies/organisations and their specialists, like Ruxandra Obreja, DRM Chairman, Simon Keens - Ampegon (Switzerland), Lindsay Cornell and Nigel Fry - BBC, Tim Whittaker - Cambridge Consultants (UK), Alexander Zink - Fraunhofer IIS (Germany), Haochun Liu - Gospell (China), Rajith Nair - Inntot (India), Philipp Schmid - Nautel (Canada), Ghulam Mujaddid - PBC (Pakistan), Albert Waal - RFmondial (Germany), William Kim - Rf2Digital (South Korea), Frederik Ndolu - RRI (Indonesia), Johannes von Weyssenhoff - Starwaves (Germany) and Consortium representatives Yogendra Pal, Radu Obreja presented the technical, geographic and technical progress made by DRM since IBC 2019.
Over 100 participants from all continents and countries as far apart as Australia, Romania, Brazil, India, Germany, and Indonesia took part and addressed questions to the organisers. The highlights of the event included details on DRM progress in places like India (more DRM MW transmitters announced), Indonesia (successful use of DRM for FM transmitters also for emergency warning), Pakistan (announced as a DRM country with a comprehensive implementation rollout) South Africa (with a new digitisation policy also mandating DRM) and Brazil.
DRM-compatible receivers were a main topic of the presentation. Gospell and Inntot companies promoted a variety of receivers and solutions for standalone and car. Starwaves highlighted the Tuk-Tuk receiver and launched its new receiver W293BT demonstrating excellent DRM in shortwave reception. RF2digital showcased their multi-standard SDR option. Other information came from Cambridge Consultants regarding new developments on low-cost, low-energy receivers and from Avion.
Presenters from RFmondial, Nautel and Starwaves demonstrated the way in which DRM can be the most efficient standard in broadcasting up to 18 DRM channels within 600kHz on one frequency, from one single FM digital transmitter and antenna. One presentation that attracted a lot of interest was the use DRM for emergency warning and especially education (both in receivers and for public signage).
Ruxandra Obreja, the Consortium Chairman, says that: “this was a unique and rich event which demonstrated the commitment of our members and of all those convinced of the DRM superiority and efficiency. The recent great improvements and receiver developments of the only all-band digital radio standard, even in these challenging times, demonstrates that DRM is even more attractive now when some its extra features and possibilities like delivering education and emergency warning come to the fore. These are extra benefits while DRM can deliver full country coverage with increased energy savings and spectrum efficiency.”
Info: www.drm.org
Notes: Press Release - DRM Consortium - 9th September 2020
