RadioScape, the world leader in digital audio and multimedia broadcast and reception technology, has announced that it has just won further contracts to supply DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) and Enhanced Packet Mode (EPM) infrastructure systems for Mobile TV. RadioScape is unique in that it supplies solutions for all stages of the delivery process from the initial trial stages, where its Research and Test Systems and Field Monitoring Receivers are used to evaluate reception conditions in the field, through to complete broadcast installations, such as those used in the recent trials of the BT Movio service for Mobile TV in the UK and in the roll-out of DMB in China.
Mobile TV trial in the UK
Nick Banks, RadioScapes Product Manager for Digital Radio Infrastructure, said, The BT Movio trial demonstrates the benefits of using the unique, end-to-end solutions on offer from RadioScape. The RadioScape Professional Broadcast system is used to multiplex the multimedia streams using Enhanced Packet Mode to ensure the robust delivery of valuable, rights-managed content to mobile phones. The phones used by BT Movio last year to prove the viability of their service received broadcasts from transmitters using RadioScape’s world-renowned software. The ability of RadioScape to offer both broadcast and receiver solutions enables our customers to accelerate time-to-market whilst incorporating leading-edge functionality, secure in the knowledge that the whole system is fully integrated from end-to-end.
Leading provider of Mobile TV broadcast equipment in China
In China, RadioScape has just won contracts to supply a further five multiplexers bringing the current total number of multiplexers to nine, some of which are already broadcasting DMB Mobile TV and DAB audio. We are the leading provider of DMB broadcasting systems in China, said John Hall, RadioScapes CEO. We have been working closely with the major Chinese broadcasters over the past two years and, having won contracts with leading broadcasters in the major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, we are confident that other broadcasters will follow their lead and specify our solution.
RadioScape now has systems that are broadcasting or shortly coming on stream at Beijing Jolon Digital Media Broadcasting, Shanghai Oriental Pearl (Group), Guangdong Yue Guang Digital Multimedia Broadcasting and others soon to be announced.
Leading provider of test equipment in Korea
RadioScape has now supplied over twenty DAB/DMB Research and Test systems to Korea, which are being used by leading companies and research institutes to allow them to develop and plan the highly successful roll out of DMB networks and receiver products. For example, RadioScapes portable Field Monitoring Receivers enable broadcasters to determine the actual performance of their DMB network and compare with the predicted performance to make their network planning significantly easier.
Korea is leading the world in Mobile TV, added John Hall. They have recognised that DMB provides a means of delivering Mobile TV now as it is based on proven working technology and spectrum is already available in most countries unlike rival technologies. Korea has taken a dramatic lead in DMB in the same way that the UK leads in DAB. As a result, Korean manufacturers have a ready and growing home market for their DMB handsets so that handsets are available in volume and at competitive prices for other countries as they deploy DMB-based Mobile TV. For example, half a million have already been ordered to support the rollout of DMB in China.
Rest of world rolling out DMB and DAB
Many other countries are following the lead of Korea and China with RadioScape recently supplying full broadcast multiplexes, trial systems, and test equipment into the Netherlands, Germany, France, Taiwan, Australia, Canada, the UK, and Slovenia.
Flexibility and future-proofing are key to RadioScapes success
DMB and EPM technologies are based on the highly robust, proven technology of Eureka-147 Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) for which RadioScape is the worlds leading provider with a large number of installations around the globe including the worlds largest commercial DAB broadcast infrastructure deployment in the UK. This gives RadioScape unparalleled systems expertise to drive the rollout of DMB and EPM solutions.
RadioScapes DMB and DAB products are the solution of choice because of the flexibility of being able to be quickly adapted through software to cope with any changes or enhancements in the DMB specifications as they evolve. For example, the RadioScape Broadcast System can be configured to support both Enhanced Packet Mode and T-DMB via simple software selectable options. T-DMB can provide H.264 QCIF and QVGA sized pictures at a frame rates from 15 to 30 fps using 384 to 512 kbps and, with the Windows Media format used by BT Movio, it can be configured to even lower bit rates. These multimedia broadcasts will cover news, music videos, sports, education, movies and the simulcast of terrestrial TV programmes. DAB radio will also be broadcast bringing the benefits of digital clarity and a wider range of content than offered by FM broadcasting.