The
2016 General Assembly of the DRM Consortium took place on 5th and 6th of April
at the headquarters of Fraunhofer IIS in Erlangen, near Nuremberg (Germany).
The theme for this year's event was "Digital Radio Mondiale – Smart Radio for
Everyone".
This
event held in conjunction with the DRM European Workshop gave an opportunity to
Consortium members and invited guests to get together and exchange exclusive
information on DRM in one of the most innovative research institutes in the
world. During the General Assembly the participants reviewed the excellent
progress made in India, the interest shown in some of the Asian countries and
the planned DRM+ trial in South Africa. The commercial launch of the
full-feature DRM Indian receiver, of the line-fit car receiver in a top Indian
car model, the traffic information demonstration for cars, the multimedia player
and the software defined radio receiver were practical examples of DRM
progressing significantly in the past 12 months. The DRM members welcomed the
decision of Hungary to recommend DRM alongside DAB for its digitisation and
encourage therefore the production of analogue/DRM/DAB receivers.
Besides the country updates the company
updates, including that from its newest member, Panasonic, were the highlights
of the event.
The
DRM General Assembly elected its Steering Board and Ruxandra Obreja as Chairman.
It also welcomed representatives of the PBC (Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation)
and RRI (Radio Republik Indonesia) as observer members of the Steering
Board.
The
General Assembly approved the future strategy focused on getting DRM receivers
so that digitisation can be enjoyed by all broadcasters large or small for the
benefit of their listeners.
Ruxandra Obreja, DRM Chairman said: "DRM is
digital radio for all as became so evident during the presentations and
discussions on these two days and during the following European workshop. With
effort, dedication and open mind DRM can now turn promise into reality."
The
DRM European workshop which overlapped with the General Assembly also began
today (Wednesday 6th and also on the 7th), being organised by the Consortium,
Fraunhofer IIS and by the DRM German Platform. Joachim Lehnert, Platform
Chairman, explained that: "The event will focus on the receiver and car
industries. We need multi-standard radios in Europe which can and should include
DRM reception in the AM and in the VHF bands."
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DRM
Consortium
