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Message
from Joan Warner
As
2007 draws to a close, we can reflect on a busy year
for digital radio where much has been achieved. It’s
exciting to see broadcasters, radio
manufacturers and the Government
coming together to strongly support the launch of
digital radio in Australia.
Two
important milestones were achieved during the past year. In
May, the Federal Government passed the Digital
Radio Bill allowing for digital radio
to be rolled out in the state capitals
by
January 1 2009. The Act reflects the industry’s
key policy requests and the major role commercial broadcasters
will play in the success of digital radio.
The
second milestone was the confirmation Australia will
adopt the DAB+ standard, with the industry successfully
switching on the first
DAB+ test broadcasts in Sydney in July.
DAB+
is great news for consumers as it is two to three
times more efficient than the old DAB standard and
will allow radio stations to multichannel, providing listeners
with more choice, crystal clear
sound and many new features including text
and data.
There
has been lots happening on the receiver front with manufacturers
announcing their intention to release affordably-priced
DAB+ receivers in time for our launch. We are also
planning more briefings for electronic retailers and advertisers
next year to keep the momentum going. Bring on 2008!
What's
new in digital receivers
A number of manufacturers including Sanyo,
the UK’s leading digital radio brand, PURE, and Pioneer
will have a range of DAB+ radios ready for retail
sale in Australia by Christmas 2008.
In
the UK, Intempo has just released
the iDAB
– a device which plugs into the bottom of an
iPod and allows listeners to tune into digital radio
wherever they are. It has a four-line LCD screen which displays
the station name or song details. It’s likely
similar devices will become available in Australia in the
future.
Pure
announces in-car world first
At the Commercial Radio Conference in Melbourne
in October, PURE announced a new
product - the Highway, the world’s
first easy to fit in-car adaptor. The Highway
is DAB+ upgradeable and allows the user to listen
to digital radio on a car’s existing FM audio
system. It is possible to connect
an iPod or MP3 player and
listen to favourite tracks through the car stereo. The Highway
is an exciting breakthrough and could be a great kick-start
to the in-car aftermarket. Click
here to watch a demo.
Tony
King-Smith from PURE’s parent company Imagination Technologies,
also said PURE would have two other radios
- the Siesta
and Chronos
II clock radios – retailing in
Australia for less than $150. PURE has opened an
Australian commercial operation to support the launch.
iRiver
offers DAB+ upgrade
iRiver, in collaboration with the French
digital radio association DR France, is offering a
DAB+
software update for its B20 DMB multimedia
receiver. This is great news as the B20
can show broadcast images.
Digital
radio coming to mobile phones
Commercial Radio Australia displayed a new
digital radio-enabled mobile phone at the National
Radio Conference. The phone allows users to view,
navigate and store visual content such as images and data
broadcast by radio stations.
The
handset attracted a lot of media attention
as it demonstrated how radio can deliver compelling multimedia
content on a mobile platform including artist
and track details, news headlines, weather
and competitions. The phone was
developed as a demonstration in partnership with Cambridge-based,
The Technology Partnership (TTP), with broadcast
software by All In Media (AIM). Read more
here.
All
in Media expands into Australia
One of the UK's leading developers of DAB digital
radio data applications is poised to capitalise on
the growing interest in DAB+ in the Australian market, with
the launch of its Australian business, "All
In Media Pty Ltd". AIM is currently working
with Commercial Radio Australia to develop a multi-media
management tool for radio stations, called "AIM
Rapid". The product allows radio stations on
the trial multiplexes to more easily manage their existing
data services, and launch new multimedia channels. Click
here for details.
International
focus on Australia
Australia welcomed members of the WorldDMB
technical committee on November 30
for their first meeting to be held
in Australia. Digital radio experts from
12 countries attended the meeting, which examined
ways to future-proof digital radio through
extending into value-added data and interactive
radio services. Read the press release here.
Briefing for Japanese manufacturers
In November, Commercial Radio Australia's
Strategic Development Manager, Kath
Brown briefed Japanese audio makers Sony,
Panasonic, Onkyo, Denon, Teac and Yamaha on the Australian
radio industry's plans and schedule for rollout of digital
radio. The manufacturers, based in Tokyo and Osaka,
showed a high level of interest in the briefing and were keen
to know more about plans for new content.
Digital
radio DVD and brochure
Want
to know more about digital radio? For a quick summary
of the benefits of digital radio, download our brochure
or view our DVD
– Radio’s Next Generation.
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