RadioScape, a world leader in digital audio and multimedia broadcast and receiver technology, will be exhibiting at Broadcast Asia 2006 on stand 8Q2-01. Dr Les Sabel, RadioScapes VP of Technology, will be presenting a paper on the companys Flexible platform for multi-standard multimedia solutions in the mobile world.
RadioScape is a key technology provider for Mobile TV trials* that are taking place around the world, he explained. RadioScape is unique in that it is the only company that provides both broadcast and receiver technologies giving integrated, end-to-end solutions that ensure robustness and reliability. The secret to the companys success in being able to provide flexible solutions, which can be easily adapted to incorporate a variety of standards in the rapidly evolving world of Mobile TV, is that it uses software to define the functionality, i.e. Software Defined Digital Radio. Underpinning this is a framework called RadiOS that enables modular software functionality to be loaded only when needed, hence allowing a wide variety of applications to be incorporated into high-end, feature-rich products.
The paper covers the rapidly evolving Mobile TV environment with numerous closely related but different standards, and the relative merits of ASIC versus a software-defined solution based on RadiOS in addressing this market. A copy of the paper is available from the RadioScape website at http://www.radioscape.com/Resource_Library/White_Papers/default.asp
Mobile TV trials
RadioScape provided the broadcast system technology for the following trials:- The DAB-IP trials in the UK in 2005-2006; The current joint trial by RTÉ and RadioScape in Dublin; The Centre of Excellence for Digital Broadcasting (CoEfDB) trial in the Netherlands; The DMB/DAB-IP Mobile TV trial in the UK that was announced on the 5th of June 2006; Trials in China with over nine installations in operation, some of which are now broadcasting commercially.
Demonstration on the stand at Broadcast Asia
RadioScape will be demonstrating Mobile TV in the form of T-DMB (Terrestrial-Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) and DAB-IP (DAB Internet Protocol), Electronic Programme Guide for DAB, Asian character set support on a DAB receiver and RadioScapes extensive range of multi-standard receiver modules.
Flexibility and future-proofing are key to RadioScapes success
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 DAB-IP and T-DMB via simple software selectable options. T-DMB is typically configured to provide H.264 QVGA sized pictures at a frame rates from 15 to 30 fps using 192 to 512 kbps and higher bit rates, while the Windows Media format focuses on lower bit rates. These multimedia broadcasts will cover news, financial information, music videos, sports, education, movies and the simulcast of terrestrial TV programmes.
Importantly, RadioScapes T-DMB and DAB-IP receivers can also receive DAB radio services bringing the benefits of digital clarity and a wider range of content than offered by FM broadcasting. Indeed, recent field trials for DAB-IP and DVB-H indicated that audio services were generally used more often than video services.