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 News From You
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Week ending September 13, 2008
WorldDMB and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) today announced a major step in achieving a unified digital radio market for Europe with the publication of a set of minimum features and functions for all digital radio receivers, known as the WorldDMB Digital Radio Receiver Profiles.
This announcement, which has the backing of Europe’s major broadcasters and manufacturers, effectively creates a single digital radio market for Europe. Receiver manufacturers, broadcasters and most importantly consumers will benefit from this industry-led initiative.
The WorldDMB Digital Radio Receiver Profiles specify a set of minimum requirements and features to be built in to different classes of digital radio receivers, ensuring the interoperability of all new digital radio receivers across European countries whose broadcaster are using either DAB, DAB+ or DMB. Together these are known as the Eureka 147 Family of Standards.
The manufacturing specifications comprise three complimentary Digital Radio Receiver Profiles: the Standard Radio Receiver (Profile 1) expected to drive the price-sensitive mass market for radio devices; the Rich Media Radio Receiver (Profile 2) for table-top radios with colour screens able receive audio, advanced text and picture applications; the Multimedia Receiver (Profile 3) for devices such as mobile phones, personal media players, able to receive advanced forms of multimedia including mobile video.
Features and functions appropriate to in-car systems are also defined including automatic retuning between digital and analogue services, and advanced travel and traffic services for real time satellite navigation. These Profiles will enable drivers travelling across borders to receive all Eureka 147 digital radio broadcasts on their car radios.
The announcement will ensure that digital radios bought in France, for example, also work in Germany, Italy or Norway and vice versa, and will apply to any country in Europe or beyond using the WorldDMB Eureka147 Family of Standards.
Lieven Vermaele, Technical Director, EBU said: “There was a critical need to create a unique set of specifications for digital radio receivers for Europe – for manufacturers, broadcasters, and the public. The European consumer will in future be able to buy receivers which will provide them with digital radio services across Europe. This is a major achievement.”
Quentin Howard, President, WorldDMB today said: “This important step provides the assurance radio manufacturers have been seeking to create a single consumer market. In doing so, consumers benefit from the scale and through more competition resulting in a greater choice of innovative digital radio products. Broadcasters can plan around any of the standards with confidence, safe in the knowledge that these new digital radios will receive their services. This is a positive message to the broadcast, manufacturing and retailing industry and gives the consumer further confidence that the future of radio is digital’.
P2P-Next, a pan-European conglomerate of 21 industrial partners, media content providers and research institutions*, is releasing its first version of NextShare, an Open Source P2P (Peer-to-Peer) video delivery platform today at IBC 2008. NextShareTV is a STB (Set-Top-Box) implementation of the NextShare content delivery platform running on low-cost embedded hardware.
The P2P-Next research project has successfully released and tested the first Beta version of their P2P live streaming technology. This new technology allows anyone to broadcast a live stream, such as a webcam feed or TV channel, to millions of Internet users. Key is the bandwidth efficiency of this technology, by expanding the proven BitTorrent protocol you can stream to thousands of people using roughly the same amount of bandwidth as for a single user.
NextShareTV is being demonstrated at the IBC 2008 exhibition at the EBU Village (Hall 10 Both D21).
“This is an extremely ambitious project which will create a viable broadcast platform that would enable large audiences to stream and interact with live and on-demand (VoD) content via a set top box or a TV receiver. In addition, it is our intention to allow audiences to build communities around their favourite content via a fully personalized system. We are enthusiastic about the P2P-Next plans to test the P2P-Next system for major international broadcasting events”, declares Lieven Vermaele, EBU Technical Director.
“The harnessing of Open Source P2P video streaming technology like NextShare by low-cost consumer electronics represents a change and an exciting opportunity for the market. Pioneer recognises that consumers are demanding greater choice and quality content on demand, together with integrated devices that are easy to use. The next step is to agree Open Standards for interoperability between CE peer devices across Europe”, says Mark Stuart of Pioneer Digital Design and Technical Director of the P2P-Next project.
George Wright of BBC, Creative Director of the P2P-Next project states: “The BBC is excited to be part of the world's first end-to-end streaming of live TV via a P2P network to a set top box using professional content at professional quality. Working with partners around Europe and content producers from the public service broadcasters of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), commercial and microformat areas will allow a new distribution system to be tested, evaluated and assessed.”
The P2P-Next project will run over four years, and plans to conduct large-scale technical trials of new media applications running on a wide range of consumer devices.
The project has an open approach towards sharing results. All core software technology will be available as open source, enabling new business models. P2P-Next will also address a number of outstanding challenges related to content delivery over the internet, including technical, legal, regulatory, security, business and commercial issues.
Abitare, the monthly magazine published by RCS MediaGroup, dedicated to architecture, design and interior décor - sector leader in Italy - will be launched in Bulgaria in November 2008.
The Bulgarian edition will be produced in partnership with QM Ltd, the leading publisher of high-profile magazines in the sector, previously behind the local editions of Bravacasa, Amica, L’Europeo and Max.
The new edition of Abitare - also available in a Chinese edition - represents another important step in the group’s expansion strategy in countries experiencing rapid economic growth: Bulgaria estimates annual growth of 12% in the publishing market in 2009 (source: Advertising Expenditure Forecasts 2008 – Zenith Optimedia).
The launch of Abitare in Bulgaria brings the number of RCS MediaGroup titles in the country up to five, confirming its policy to consolidate its presence abroad, partly via the creation of key partnerships through which to build a successful publishing business.
Tomorrow, Wednesday 10 September at 3.00am GMT, BBC World Service will broadcast a live debate from LA centering around the theme: “What does the world want from America?”
The debate will be co-hosted by BBC World Service’s World Have Your Say presenter Ros Atkins and KPCC radio station’s Larry Mantle.
Panellists are Tom Campbell (Dean of Haas Business School, UCLA, and former Republican Congressman), Kantathi Supamongkhon (Senior Fellow of International Relations, UCLA, and former Foreign Minister of Thailand), Martha de la Torre (CEO of Latin American newspaper El Clasificado and former Hispanic Businesswoman of the Year), Richard Schiff (Toby in ‘The West Wing’ and campaigner for Barack Obama) and Steve Grove (Political Editor of YouTube).
The BBC World Service debate will also include questions from a studio audience. Likely topics include foreign policy, the economy, immigration, the environment, the link between the entertainment industry and politics and how new media has transformed campaigning.
Video voxpops, filmed around the world, will feature within the debate. Members of the public from countries including Germany, China, Brazil, Pakistan, Kenya, Mexico, Iraq and Afghanistan will voice their opinions on what they want from America and its next President.
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