Inntot Technologies provides cost effective software based digital radio receiver

Inntot Technologies provides software based digital radio receiver stack solutions that are cost effective and make costly hardware based implementations obsolete. Inntot is playing a pivotal role in the Analog Sunset of AM and FM broadcast radio transmission and paving way for mass adoption of digital radio transmission by lowering cost of entry for the end consumer. Supported by Unicorn India.


For more details, Click the link below

https://www.inntot.com/drm-software-receiver-stack/

Key Benefits of DRM (Digital Radio Technology

Read more about this in DRM Hand Book. V.5 available @ www.drm.org

Link www.drm.org

Digital Radio: The Time to Plan Ahead is Now

If COVID-19 has reset many parameters and changed our lives, some of the old assumptions have stayed strong.

One of these is that, despite the challenge from new platforms like internet streaming, expensive satellite and nebulous but undeniable 5G promises, terrestrial broadcasting still offers mobile reception that is both cost effective and reliable.

A recent study “Share of Ear” from Edison Research shows that listening in cars seems to be recovering after taking a hit during bleak pandemic summer months. And, at least in the United States, at home listening is now higher than pre-COVID 19. This reflects the work from home shift favored now by many companies.

Vital Services

For radio, there is more than this, however. At a recent ITU event for Africa the obvious but undeniable fact that radio reaches those parts that other newer technologies cannot was very evident.

Radio remains the most effective ways to deliver information and education in rural and remote areas, where information can educate and even save lives in emergency situations. Together with the growth of community radio, information and culture become more accessible to all.

Ruxandra Obreja

A new and vital component of radio services is increasingly becoming education or rather distance learning, with about 463 million students worldwide cut off from education. It was noted that in Africa, where AM, and particularly FM radio, remain extremely popular, the demand for new frequencies is increasing.

ITU and African Telecommunication Union (ATU) had already planned to optimize the GE84 Plan (the ITU frequency plan) for African countries in 2018. The optimization GE84 Plan was intended not only to respond to the increasing demand in analog sound broadcasting, but also to enable and facilitate the introduction of digital radio in Band II (DRM).

Looking ahead to 2021, three frequency coordination meetings are slated to take place in order to get all 54 African administrations to adopt common technical criteria and conditions for mutual agreements. During these meetings they will also submit their frequency requirements, run compatibility analyses and mutually coordinate their stations.

Stay Competitive

Clearly, there is quite a bit of planning going on for analog — as well as for digital radio. It’s now accepted that analog radio needs to make a transition to digital broadcasting to allow radio to add new programming and features. This move will permit radio to stay competitive in the new digital entertainment and information age.

More generally, as we know, some countries and broadcasters have strongly supported the transition; others are taking a more cautious approach. And some have expressed little or no interest.

We have quite a few good examples of planning on the arduous road to digital. Pakistan has put in place a three-stage costed plan to go DRM on all frequencies. Indonesia is following suit by starting with the Band II and digital FM (DRM) and showing how the DRM can be used for the vital emergency warnings the population needs.

Germany is planning a pre-Christmas marketing campaign on all platforms to promote the already rolled out DAB+.  This effort  also comprises the training of employees in over 1500 stores, presumably in order to increase the sale of DAB+ receivers.

For digital radio beginners (administrations and broadcasters, manufacturers, retailers etc.) going from evaluating and potentially increasing the number of frequencies or available programs to infrastructure upgrades (in the case of DRM) is not so simple.

Act Strategically

The planning also includes, or at least should include, a content schedule for broadcasters to include on these new channels. All India Radio is currently increasing its time of pure DRM transmissions and is comprising popular music, news, and generally attractive and different content from its analog offering.

The broadcaster is also considering the allocation of the third of three programs that DRM makes possible on one current frequency, for education. And then all this activity must run in parallel with planning for receiver availability and campaigns coordination, similar to the above-mentioned one mentioned in Germany.

DRM maps out this intricate process in its latest DRM video “DRM from Broadcaster to Listener.”

Source:- https://www.redtechtribe.com/guest-commentaries/digital-radio-the-time-to-plan-ahead-is-now/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

The  DRM video is an easy introduction to the benefit of the only all-band digital radio standard. Digital Radio Mondiale, accompanied by a clear explanation of how best to deliver local, regional national and international coverage. The steps that a country needs to consider are presented in a lively and easily understandable manner. The DRM video turns any digital radio novice into a DRM practitioner.

Source : https://youtu.be/V-DpTa5yU28

Coverage- AM V/S DRM

Coverage- AM V/S DRM

Digital radio technology has revolutionised the communications industry, improving many aspects of the radio user's experience. There are several benefits of using digital radios, but the most obvious benefits are:

Clearer signals – Unlike analogue radios, there is no background noise when using digital radios, so when the signal weakens the voice clarity remains the same. When the signal is fully lost the digital radios stop receiving.
Increased coverage – Digital technology increases coverage by up to 20% over analogue radios because the unwanted background noise is filtered out. Digital radios are also able to correct errors in weaker transmissions and therefore fill in the gaps.
Secure transmissions – It is much more difficult to listen in to digital transmissions than it is to listen in to analogue transmissions. Digital radios also offer encryption as standard.
Robust equipment – All manufacturers are investing their efforts and money into producing the very best digital radios, and therefore the quality and reliability of the equipment is excellent.

For details click here: www.drm.org

ALL INDIA RADIO (AIR) TO EXPAND DRM DIGITAL RADIO SERVICES

After the disruption caused by the pandemic, All India Radio (AIR) decided not only to restart transmissions in pure digital mode but also to expand DRM MW digital Radio services.

According to a recent decision of AIR, the stations with single DRM MW transmitters are to carry two digital audio channels in simulcast mode and three audio channels in pure digital mode with Journaline. All the DRM MW stations have been asked to carry out test transmission immediately, to ensure readiness and sustainability of the transmitters for regular transmission of DRM in pure and simulcast modes. This will be an opportunity to carry out field survey . In simulcast mode two digital audio channels and one Journaline (if feasible) is to be tested. In pure digital mode, three audio channels will be available with one Journaline (if feasible). Whether in simulcast or pure DRM the first channel will be News 24×7and second channel will be primary/main channel. In pure DRM the third channel will be the popular Vividh Bharati music programme.

It has further been decided that five major stations (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Rajkot), which have 2 MW DRM transmitters each, will operate one of these transmitters in pure Digital mode throughout the day.

Six more stations (Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Jagdalpur, Bhawanipatna, Sambalpur and Jeypore), which have digital ready MW transmitters, have also been asked to test these transmitters for DRM digital transmissions. In fact test transmission in DRM has already started from Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam is almost ready.

DRM Advanced Radio for All

 

The recent DRM virtual showcase proved to be a real box of delights and new announcements demonstrating that the digital radio industry remains resilient and innovative even in pandemic times. “The best DRM IBC show with the lowest carbon footprint and best attendance” was one of the many feedbacks received. And there were lots of things to excite the over 100 participants from literally all over the world.

The highlights were grouped around some big themes like DRM in practice, extensively proven and used in the FM band; DRM and its possible major role in delivering educational content to large and remote areas in times when many students cannot attend face-to-face lessons; use of DRM in public signage which can be applied for both education, health and emergency announcements; a new and “live” way of monitoring on-air transmissions, which can be beneficial to both the engineers and the editorial staff of broadcasters.

[Read: Can Digital Radio Standards Coexist?]

While the all-band, open DRM standard is stable and well-established, technical improvements can always be implemented like the recent updating of the DRM system specification ETSI ES 201 980. Three improvements were announced by the DRM Technical Chair (BBC) and are to do with removal of some obsolete or unused modulation features and enhanced signaling when using emergency warnings. The changes, which are backwards-compatible, will make DRM’s implementation in chipsets and receivers more reliable, and add additional support for receiver text displays to be able to also support different scripts from around the world. We now know that the publication of the new ETSI version is expected early in 2021.

Around that time a DRM medium-wave pilot to be run by the BBC for the Middle East is also expected to start, as out of the 468 million people tuning to the BBC worldwide, we were told by the BBC representative that a quarter are still doing so on AM. And shortwave, a bit of a blast from the past for some, is not forgotten in places like Russia, China, and many other countries, as the demand for SW digital transmitters is quite healthy. As mentioned by the Ampegon representative the demand is mainly now for bigger capacity transmitters, above 25 kW going to 50 kW, able to cover wide areas with good analog and digital sound and delivering big energy savings. In its new factory Ampegon is working on satisfying these demands.

Improvements were also announced at the level of professional monitoring all these transmissions. So RFmondial announced the upgraded HTML5 GUI in its DRM/AM Monitoring and Measurement Receiver Family RF-SE and the possible software update of older versions. A new exciter version was also unveiled by the German company. Their German colleagues at Fraunhofer IIS also completed the picture with end-to-end implementations offering solutions (content server and multimedia player, data services like Journaline and Emergency Warning Functionality), services for supporting DRM field trials and rollout, as well as  unique expertise.

But the DRM Showcase was not all about better hardware. It was also about technical innovation. And the one that elicited most of the questions was the extended DRM multiplex for FM, an idea that benefited from the input of Nautel and RFmondial engineers. This solution allows one analog FM transmission (200 kHz) and four DRM channels (two in each of the 200 kHz guard spaces as a DRM channel only occupies 100 kHz). Or if the whole 600 kHz are used in pure DRM then up to six DRM channels (each service with up to three audio and one data services) can be offered from the same transmitter, same antenna with possible sharing of costs among several broadcasters. The individual broadcasters remain in control of their transmissions without the involvement of third-parties.

As usual, participants were also interested in what is happening in the various countries about implementing DRM. While India remains the top DRM country (alongside China), the adoption of DRM in all bands by Pakistan and its public broadcaster (PBC) was one of the big surprises of the showcase. The comprehensive three-phase costed plan to introduce DRM in FM, and medium-wave, first, in all the key areas of the country has been endorsed and praised since the “DRM—Advanced Radio for All” by top Pakistani officials.

Indonesia and its public radio (RRI) representative also presented its five FM transmitters which went on air over the last few months and the excellent results of the Emergency Warning Functionality demonstrated on a DRM FM transmitter in Jakarta in August. The recent tender for digital DRM transmitters in SW, MW and FM in Brazil was welcome news and the expectation is now that a locally produced SW DRM transmitter will be soon transmitting from the key public broadcaster central site.

Africa always gets a mention though South Africa has really scored a first with its policy announced two months ago that it recommends both DRM and DAB as a way to digitize radio in the country; a true torch-bearer for other African countries so reliant on AM and FM radio.

Over 2.5 million of cars with DRM receivers are placing India in a class of its own. Receivers are fitted at no cost in cars from the top brands. Work is continuing to increase pure DRM hours for five All India Radio (AIR) transmitters to full day and diversify content. Possibilities are being explored to have an educational channel and invite also some private broadcasters to use the extra channels available through DRM on AIR transmitters. Six more medium-wave transmitters are to be added to the existing 35 MW DRM transmitters. One of these new batch of DRM transmitters using all the extra DRM features will be launched officially in Hyderabad very soon. The increase of the DRM presence and the general technical effort being made will stimulate the receiver production and availability.

And a good part of the DRM event was devoted to the development of receiver and receiver solutions. One trend we noticed was the extension of DRM reception to FM so that it can cover analog and AM as well as FM broadcasts. Most of the receiver manufacturers proudly announced the availability of attractive features like support for xHE-AAC codec, Journaline, Emergency Warnings. The receivers introduced in excellent videos like that of Avion (India) came in all shapes and forms; from the rich variety of Gospell (China) and its GR series and DRM car stereo, to the Indian multifunctional receivers and SDR-based solutions of Inntot (India). RF2 digital (Korea/Germany) also came up with an SDR receiver solution for analog and all DRM bands, being also a multistandard device. Cambridge Consultants (U.K.) is working on a very low-energy and low-cost solution. The same idea was embraced by Starwaves (Germany/Switzerland) which presented a “tuk-tuk” radio (stripped down but very functional). It also announced the world premiere of Starwaves W293BT receiver, available now upon orders.

So, DRM is making great strides technically, geographically and in coming up with ingenious receiver solutions. To encourage as many digital radio practitioners, stakeholders and decisionmakers to embrace and implement digital radio, DRM, the consortium launched on Sept. 9 its own new video, “DRM — From Broadcaster to Listener.”

Source  :-  https://www.radioworld.com/global/drm-advanced-radio-for-all

A NEW ERA BEGINS FOR BRAZILIAN RADIO BROADCASTING 22 SEP A NEW ERA BEGINS FOR BRAZILIAN RADIO BROADCASTING

A new era begins for Brazilian radio broadcasting with the arrival and installation of a first shortwave digital radio DRM transmitter developed and manufactured in the city of Porto Alegre by BT Transmitters. The transmitter will be sited at the public broadcaster (EBC) Rodeador Park, near the capital Brasilia, to be connected to one of the huge HF antennas of EBC (National Amazon Radio is transmitted from there).

The equipment (a transmitter of 2.5 kW) will be tested on an experimental and scientific basis with the help of the University of Brasilia (UnB) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The National Radio of the Amazon broadcasts from Brasilia especially to the Northern, Amazonian region of Brazil. The signal will be also available in the neighbouring countries to the north of Brazil. This is primarily a domestic shortwave digital project aimed at the Amazon where about 7 million riverside and indigenous people live. They are far from any other means of communication as there is no mobile phone or internet coverage.

Rafael Diniz, the Chair of the DRM Brazilian Platform, thinks that: “Shortwave digital radio (DRM) for the Amazon region will ensure a new level of communication and information as Nacional’s programming is both popular and educational. It brings audio and much more at low energy cost to whole communities there. With the adoption of digital radio, one of the major problems, that of poor sound quality affecting at times shortwave, will end. Listeners will be able to enjoy DRM broadcasts in short wave with a quality similar to that of a local FM station together with textual and visual multimedia content.”

“This is a huge step forward, says Ruxandra Obreja, DRM Consortium Chair, “not just for Brazil but for the whole of Latin America. When everything else fails or does not exist, DRM will provide information, education, emergency warning and entertainment at reduced energy costs.”

Source :- https://www.drm.org/a-new-era-begins-for-brazilian-radio-broadcasting/

How to receive DRM signals through SDR

How to receive DRM signals through SDR.

SDRs are used for radio communication based on software-defined wireless communication protocol. Instead of components (such as radio frequency amplifiers and mixers), these use software on embedded or computer systems.

Software-defined radios (SDRs) are available at cheaper prices online, which can be used to receive DRM transmissions. Some commercial wide-band SDRs are RTL-SDR V3 (cheapest), FUNcube Pro+, Airspy, SDRPlay, HackRF and BladeRF.

An SDR can be simply plugged into the USB port of a laptop or desktop computer. An external antenna is connected to the SDR. Length of the antenna depends on the distance between the computer and transmitting station.

Another aspect of DRM reception is suitable software. Some free and downloadable software to receive DRM transmissions are HDSDR, SDSharp and Dream.

Configuring the SDR with suitable software for DRM reception can be tricky. Most manufacturers provide a quick start guide to help set up. For receiving a particular modulation (like AM, FM, DRM, SSB, USB or CW), a compatible program is run on the computer to control the receiver.

Source: Electronics For You.

For details click link below.

Link: https://www.electronicsforu.com/technology-trends/tech-focus/digital-radio-mondiale

Decoding Digital Radio Mondiale DRM Using software

Decoding DRM Using Dream Decoder

Using DREAM DRM SOFWARE
Dream is a fully Open Source DRM30 and AM Software Radio with advanced features for both amateur and professional use. It runs on Mac, Windows and Linux and can be used with any receiver supported by the Hamlib radio control libraries. It supports decoding of audio, text messages, EPG, AFS, BWS, Journaline and MOT Slide Show. It fully supports the RSCI for professional remote logging.

For details click link below.
Link:https://www.drm.org/pc-based-receivers-and-software/

To watch related video.click link below.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lextsInwtUQ