Samsung Leads the Way for Radio with Screens

Samsung Galaxy S 5.0 Wi-Fi with built-in DMB and DAB+ is now on sale in Germany and Norway.

DAB has been on air since the 90s. Up to now all the radios for the European market have, with a few exceptions, been rather old-fashioned. They have offered radio and not much more. Absent were the possibilities for advanced functionalities that enable greater interaction with media savvy consumers through visuals and interactivity. Communication with the listeners is key, but radios have up to now not made such dialogue easy.

IDAG (International DMB Advancement Group), an organisation for broadcasters and DMB/DAB+ licence holders has worked closely with Samsung to change this.

The world's leading global electronics consumer brand has just launched a device that enables broadcasters to have greater communication channels with its listeners. The device, Samsung Galaxy 5.0 Wi-Fi combines DAB/DAB+ and DMB with the internet and supports TPEG. It is Android powered, Google approved, has a 5 inch touch screen and comes with two cameras, GPS Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. As TPEG can be supported too, there is a potential of making it a great navigation unit. It is not a phone, but a huge step in the right direction. The name of the toy? Samsung Galaxy 5.0 Wi-Fi with DMB/DAB+. Nice and short.

The best bit is that IDAG has worked closely with Samsung to gain access to the API of the device. The application protocol interface enables developers to control the DMB/DAB+ chipset at the same time as they can simultaneously communicate via the internet.

Established data services such as Slideshow, DLS, DL+, Broadcast Websites, EPG and Journaline all come to life in the first app that has been developed for the device by Syngenio of Germany. So does integration to Facebook and Twitter. Listeners can by the touch of the screen share information on which radio station they are listening to, which track that is playing or even share the slideshow that is on. This integration opens up for radio programs to easier enable and integrate comments and discussions. Not ground-breaking? Well, these services are obvious examples. Any other internet service that you can think of may be added on a layer "on top" of the broadcast. Expect to see betting, gambling, touch screen shopping, personal coupons with ads and much more soon on a tablet near you. Or a phone.

The Samsung mini tablet also handles mobile TV via DMB.

Such phones with the right chipset do already exist. In Korea. How about a Samsung Galaxy III with built-in DMB, DAB and DAB+? I'm quite certain that the first DMB/DAB+ enabled smart phone by a global brand will be on offer in Europe and beyond within 12 months from now. In the meantime, play around with the possibilities and find out what digital radio can do in a multiplatform future to benefit the consumer and keep radio relevant in a digital age.


A shortened version of this article is published in Eureka, the magazine of WorldDMB. 

Why Doesn't Everybody Drive Ferraris?

IBCed out. A random IBC delegate at the RAI.  

I was just at IBC in Amsterdam, one of the world's biggest exhibitions for professional broadcasting gear. There was also a conference there on DMB/DAB+, the de facto standard for digital radio and mobile television. DAB+ was presented from stage with cases from the UK, Germany and Australia, only 3 of over 40 countries around the world where the standard is being used.

Such conferences always attract a mixed crowd. There will always all sorts of questions, including some technical ones that often do not take into account that there are also issues relevant to the industry as a whole and the market. A typical questions starts like this: 'DAB is really old, why do you not go for [add a technology here] which is much better?' This was also the case in Amsterdam. A person asked the panel why they didn't rather go for 'amazing' DVB-T2 Lite instead of the 'old and inefficient DAB technology.' The panel dismissed his question as a technical one not related to the panel's topic. It made sense to do so in the setting.

Why not DVB-T2 Lite?

I'd however like to ellaborate a little. There are several reasons not to go for DVB-T2 Lite such as building costs, runnings costs and coverage issues. These three issues can proably be debated, and there will be a claim that the costs will go down with time. They always do, also for DMB/DAB+. I will not go into detail here. However, let me look at the main two reasons not to go for DVB-T2 Lite.

It is a non-proven standard that has not been put to use anywhere. Why not? It may boast impressive specifications, but there is no ecosystem around it. Where are the transmitters, the chipsets, the receivers, the car radios, the broadcasters, the development companies, the competence, the willingsness, the additional and parallell services? And last, but not least, where is the focus on radio?

DVB-T2 is a standard made for television, not for radio. The DVB Project is of course a serious one, do not get me wrong. They have 250 broadcasters as members, primarily focused on television. When Chairman Phil Laven asked his members which aspects of the DVB-T2 standard were most important, radio came in as 76th. There are 75 priorities in line before radio! Does this sound like the way to go for digital radio?

DVB-T2 may be efficient and possible the best standard on paper, but it isn't widely available, it is not focusing on the needs for radio and there is no available ecosystem. There have been DAB services on air since 1995. And just a little reminder. It took 50 years to introduce FM radio. DAB has been much faster, despite being looked on as old. And old isn't necessarily bad. The wheel is rather old. It is still widely used. Even on Ferraris.

Ferraris
Very few people drive Ferraris as they are expensive, not widely available, impractical, need frequent services which are available from only a few shops, and can't run on most roads. They look bloody cool though, and the specs are incredibly impressive. On paper. It can probably do 0-100 km/h in 4 seconds and a top speed of 300 km/h. But you need a proper road, perfect conditions on it and no traffic. It almost sounds like the prerequisites for radio and television to work semi-decently via the internet.

The specs of DVB-T2 Lite may sound very cool, but to go for DVB-T2 Lite is expensive, the standard is not at all available, it is impractical for radio, not available in any shops and incapable of working in most networks (without replanning them). And of course, if you go for DVB-T2 Lite, you can bet that it won't take many years before the guy who asked the original question will ask another; 'DVB-T2 Lite is really old, why do you not go for [add a technology here] which is much better?' You cannot win against those who always look for nothing by the, on paper, best specifications. Just don't forget to consider the entire picture, because they wont.

DAB+ is the de facto standard for digital radio broadcasting for a reason. And with DMB (part of the same standard) you can add mobile television on the premises of radio. Not the other way around as is the case with the theoretical DVB-T2 Lite route.

And just to finish off, the fastest Ferrari ever built, the Ferrari F12berlinetta, comes with DAB+. I told you, Ferraris come with incredibly impressive specs.

Looking Outside the Box

Broadcasting has traditionally been seen as a way to distribute radio and television. Some has seen it as the only way to do so. But the industry is changing the views on what can be distributed, how it can be distributed and why a combination of various distribution technologies is the way forward.

The EBU's (European Broadcasting Union) annual conference on digital radio will in 2011 focus on how digital radio, mobile TV and the internet can be combined in order to reach out to more people with more programmes and with more possibilities for dialogue, interaction and additional services that make the radio stations and TV channels even more relevant, enjoyable and spot on.

The conference programme is not finalized yet, but speakers from around Europe will contribute to a conference which will show broadcasters, telecom operators, devicemanufacturers, network providers, politicians and beurocrats how to look outside the box.

One of the keynote speakers is Mr. Roger Solheim who is the State Secretary of The Norwegian Ministry of Culture. He will go in detail of why The Government of Norway has decided to switch off FM in 2017. He will also explain why going digital means many more radio stations for everyone across the mountainous country and cover the added possibilities for interactivity, on-demand programmes and additional services. A range of other speakers with insight of the broadcasting industry will share thoughts and ideas in Brussels.

The event will take place in the European Parliament on October 11-12.

Do watch this space for updates on the agenda.

The BBC Wants Mobile TV Urgently



Mark Thompson is in charge at the BBC. Creative Commons licenced  photo by Eirik Solheim.

Mark Thompson, the General Director of the BBC, spoke about mobile TV to the Guardian yesterday.

Thompson wants broadcasters which clearly includes the BBC, mobile phone manufacturers, telecom operators and the UK government to work together to create a "road map" for broadcasted mobile television.

"I believe that there's a strong case for the UK's broadcasters, mobile phone operators, Ofcom and government to come together to develop a roadmap for the introduction of mobile TV in this country. This would be complementary to the availability of TV content on demand, whether streamed or cached on the device and would enable the public to access time-critical content – news, major sports events and so on – wherever they are."

No meetings have yet been planned, but he calls for the process to be "kickstarted." So what does that mean? I have not spoken to Mark Thompson about this, but if you want to kickstart something, you are usually in a hurry. I do therefore believe that this may open the way to mobile TV in the UK in time for the Olympics in London next summer.

In order to do so, there is only one feasible standard out there, namely DMB. DMB services are being introduced in more and more countries as we speak (the last ones being Netherlands, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa, Dominican Republic and Belgium).

A little DMB help from the EU
Todays speech by Neelie Kroes, the Commissioner for Digital Agenda, should also help Tompson pick the technology to proceed with when it comes to mobile tv. She mentions the usage of open standards, and DMB, DAB and DAB+ specifically. Those three are all part of the same family (they can use the same transmitters and antennas and be received by the same receivers), and BBCs various digital radio channels via DAB already covers 86% of the UK population (set to increase to 93% by the end of the year). 

Devices, as Mark Thomson mention, are also plentiful when it comes to DMB. There is already a wide range of available receivers on the market. And a new generation of terminals, mobile phones and tablet PCs (with GSM, 3G and/or Wifi that also enables interactivity and on demand programmes) are about to be introduced.

The DMB network in Greater Oslo was up and running less than 9 months after Norwegian Mobile TV Corporation was founded. There is still plenty of time to get everything up and running way ahead of the summer games in 2012. Especially if other broadcasters, device manufacturers, telecom operators and Ofcom (the British Post and Tele Authority) listen to Thompson's wish for a kickstart.

Death of a Standard

DVB-H was hailed by many as the solution for mobile TV. Most of whom worked for telecom operators. There are many reasons why DVB-H never took off anywhere. Despite millions and millions of dollars being put into marketing the technology and lobbying for it. Nokia was, for instance, rumoured to have employed 13 people full time in Brussels to make sure that the Commision headed by Viviane Reding would impose the technology on the EU countries. She tried hard, but was not successful as the EU never mandated the technology. In the end DVB-H ended up as one of many recommended technologies. As usual, it is the market that should decide.


Why DVB-H never made it, while DMB is on the rise. 

1. DVB-H as a technology was being pushed almost exclusively by telecom operators and phone manufacturers (mainly Nokia).
2. Broadcasters were virtually not involved, until TV content was needed.
3. Telecom operators do not know television. Television broadcasters do. Whether the screen size is 3 inches or 52 inches matters much less.    
4. There are many countries without available DVB-H frequencies.
5. In the countries where there in fact are frequencies, these are attractive also for HDTV and for mobile broadband. 
6. These frequencies are in the UHF band, which means pretty high up. That means that it costs more to build coverage, that it is more difficult to build such a network and that it will use more power.
7. DVB-T is built for rooftop reception, DVB-H needs to be built the same way or DVB will have to be totally replanned. You are unlikely to want to enter your roof to watch TV. Coverage indoor and between buildings will be limited. 
8.  DMB is an open technology and it is not tied to SIM-cards. DVB-H was controlled by telecom operators and mainly found in phones.
9. Freedom of choice of receivers is important. The users should choose what kind of device they want, not be dictated by which phone models their telecom operators decide to subsidize. 
10. Many of the receivers launched had hardware problems and provided unstable reception. 
11. DVB-H can be limited to certain phone models by a telecom operator. for instance to only the 3 Nokia handsets that is subsidized. It is as if the internet would only work on Dell PCs or TVs only on Panasonic televisions.
12.  DMB is a more robust technology and can handle high speeds and all sorts of weather. Colleagues of mine and I have watched MiniTV in almost 900 km/h in several airplanes up to 9km above the ground.
13. DMB is using the same distribution technology as DAB and DAB+, giving the audiences both radio and TV. In Norway there are over 20 channels available. 
14. DMB supports a range of additional services that also works for radio. 
15. There are many DMB devices available: mobile phones, GPS units, mp4 players, USB plugs, etc. 
16. There was and is a very limited selection of available DVB-H devices.
17. DVB-H chipsets are tricky to make. One chip maker lost 20 million dollars on developments.  
18. A DVB-H chipset needs higher processing power and uses more energy than a DMB chipset.
19. DMB is now being launched, tested or planned in many countries on four continents, something that makes receivers cheaper and opens up for experience sharing and the usage of the same applications and business models.
20. There are ZERO DVB-H successes in the world. 
21. Stelacon, a Swedish independent research institute, reported this to the Swedish government in 2007:

•  For 90% DMB coverage of Sweden only 2-300 transmitters are needed.
•  For only 25-30% DVB-H coverage of Sweden, 3,000 – 11,000 transmitters are needed.

And similar figures have been presented for France: 

• DMB: 95% coverage to cost 2 million Euro per channel.
• DVB-H: 25% coverage to cost 8 million Euro per channel.