DRM Consortium makes strides at BES Expo, showcases latest broadcast technologies

The Digital Radio Mondial Consortium had is most ambitious BES presence so far at the 28th international BES Expo (Broadcast Engineering Society – www.besindia.co.in) on Broadcast & Media Technology in New Delhi, India between 15-17 February 2024.

The DRM Consortium and several of its Indian and international members and partners (CML Micro, Fraunhofer IIS, Gospell, NXP, RFmondial and Starwaves) welcomed for three days hundreds of visitors to its booths.

On the 15th of February, the DRM Consortium showcased DRM Digital FM reception on a mobile Android phone. What was shown was that DRM Digital FM reception does not depend on proprietary receiver technology. It can be received on a mobile phone using an existing, off-the-shelf analogue FM tuner chipset, as already used in billions of devices.

A car parked in the spacious DRM booth gave visitors the chance to compare old analogue sound with excellent live DRM digital Medium Wave audio and text in a car.

During the exhibition, there was great interest also for the CML Micro’s new energy and cost-saving all-band DRM1000 receiver module, which available in volume soon.

NXP, whose chipsets are already used in millions of Indian cars, presented its new, enhanced version of the one-chip solution for automotive radio and audio, commercially available from 2025. Live DRM medium wave and FM band broadcasts were received at the booth on several Gospell radios.

Fraunhofer IIS exhibited its latest innovation for DRM transmission and reception including DRM ContentServer and MultimediaPlayer technologies (available for manufacturer integration), showcasing a series of applications like emergency warning and public signage services, vital for users and listeners.

RFmondial, a company offering professional products and services for the digital broadcasting industry, demonstrated the advantages of their DRM multichannel single-transmitter solution for maximum cost-efficiency when digitising the FM band.

For STARWAVES the BES exhibition was the place to demonstrate its newest W2401 receiver with built-in Wi-Fi hotspot.

The BES conference held in parallel with the exhibition included two DRM contributions on “Digital Radio – Ingredients of Success” detailing the success of DRM in Asia and “Digitising FM – the Way to a Win-Win Solution” focusing on the great opportunities of DRM when introduced in the FM broadcast band.

DRM members Inntot, Nautel and BECIL had their stands nearby.

For the DRM Consortium Chairman, Ruxandra Obreja, “BES was a great opportunity to show that the DRM standard is offering the same benefits in all frequency bands. This has been recognised in India and in other big Asian countries that are rolling out DRM in AM and FM.”
BCS Bureau