DRM The Complete Radio Digitization Solution Ruxandra Obreja, DRM Consortium Chair

DRM, like DAB, is an open standard so any local manufacturer can develop DRM-compliant equipment from published specifications and pay a one-off royalty to the IP owner at the point of sale.

The DRM standard has undisputable advantages, some which it shares with other digital systems and others unique to its global span:

More choice

“Invention is the mother of necessity – you will get further faster by looking for problems to fit with known solutions than you will by doing it the other way round”.

The broadcasting industry is a good example of this principle at work. Broadly, the invention of radio and television was not in response to demand; demand followed from the availability of a service which was provided as much because it was possible to do it as for any other reason. It is good to remember this when people ask: what is wrong with analogue radio?

Digital audio broadcasting technologies offer significant benefits over analogue – but competition between technologies has led to manufacturer uncertainty and low penetration of digital radios. Three key technologies are competing for global dominance in the digitalisation of analogue radio broadcast – DRM, DAB and HD.

Digital audio compression uses congested broadcast spectrum more efficiently – reducing interference, improving sound quality and allowing the transmission of data (EPGs, information etc) alongside audio signals. This is common to all three systems. But, the only digital radio system that operates in all the sound broadcasting bands, from Long Wave to VHF Band III, is Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM).

DRM’s AM solution (SW, MW and LW, known as DRM30) operates worldwide and its FM solution (the extension of DRM to VHF Bands up to 174 MHZ known as DRM+) looks set to be adopted in countries like India, which has committed to upgrade some FM transmitters to DRM+ compatible technology, and other large countries like Russia.

HD, a proprietary technology, dominates in the US. DAB has been adopted for some densely populated areas across Western Europe. In its DAB+ variant it is being introduced in major urban centres in Australia.

Each technology requires a different receiver design – so the scope for economies of scale is rather limited at present. Manufacturers are naturally wary of committing to one technology and consumer migration to digital receivers continues to be slow.

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The average radio today can receive some 35-40 FM stations and a handful of Medium Wave broadcasts.

DRM has the potential to bring to every radio a vast selection of new content. In addition, the supplementary digital data streams available in the DRM standard can be used to provide a variety of added value services. These could include web pages and links to the programme content or additional content for advertisers, such as text or web-based material for supplementing the voice advert with more details on the product or on local suppliers.

DRM30 can offer new programmes from the world’s leading international broadcasters. It also offers a choice to broadcasters on Medium Wave to select a variety of added value services through the ability to adapt the coding scheme and supplementary data channels. This would allow broadcasters to tailor the technical characteristics of their stations to offer good quality music, stereo/dual language content or high quality speech radio , focusing on national and regional topics.

DRM30 or DRM+ can help a world of small scale broadcasters providing local and community services find a voice via digital radio too.

No compromise in sound quality

The huge innovation that DRM brings is that Short Wave and Medium Wave broadcasts can now be heard with FM-like sound quality. And reception is excellent anywhere – in cities and in dense forests, indoors in a block of flats and outdoors while driving your car.

It is still a radio…

…and not a computer. This means that you don’t need an internet connection, a lot of processing power to listen or a Wi-Fi spot to tune in. As such, it is truly portable and mobile. You can take a DRM radio anyplace and listen to what you want, when you want, where you want.

A radio without boundaries

Because DRM supports single frequency networks and is also ideally suited to long range or wide area broadcasting, you can stay tuned to the same station as you cross regional and national boundaries and move

EMERGING STANDARDS