All India Radio confirms order for two Megawatt DRM MW transmitters
New Delhi, 3 Feb 2010: India’s national broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) has placed an order for the supply of two 1000 kilowatt DRM capable medium wave transmitters. These will replace old analogue transmitters of same capacity at Chinsurah (West Bengal) and Rajkot (Gujrat), with state-of-the-art solid state transmitters.
The new Megawatt transmitters can be operated in analogue, in simulcast or in DRM mode with automatic change-over between these three operational modes. The transmitters shall provide coverage to very large areas in the Indian sub-continent as well to the West, North, East and Southeast Asia.
This significant purchase was revealed at the recently concluded Broadcast Engineering Society (BES) India’s conference in New Delhi, attended by exhibitors and participants from all over the world. The need for cheaper digital radio sets and content innovation was highlighted by speakers during the event.
All India Radio has already chosen DRM as the technology for converting its vast analogue network to digital. This is part of its digital radio switchover strategy where more than 40 transmitters are to be made DRM capable in the near future. AIR is already broadcasting in DRM from one of its high-power shortwave transmitter located at Khampur near Delhi that covers an area of approximately 800 kilometre radius.
The DRM Consortium is delighted with this development which underlines the commitment made by India to new technology in general and the DRM standard in particular.About DRM and DRM+
Digital Radio MondialeTM (DRM) is the universal, openly standardised digital broadcasting system for all broadcasting frequencies up to 174MHz, including LW, MW, SW, band I and II (FM band). DRM provides digital sound quality and the ease-of-use that comes from digital radio, combined with a wealth of enhanced features: Surround Sound, Journaline text information, Slideshow, EPG, and data services. DRM on short, medium and long wave for broadcasting bands up to 30 MHz (called ‘DRM30’) provides large coverage areas and low power consumption. The enhancement of the DRM standard for broadcast frequencies above 30 MHz (‘DRM+’) uses the same audio coding, data services, multiplexing and signaling schemes as DRM30 but introduces an additional transmission mode optimized for those bands.
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AIR Pushes Toward 2017 Date With DRM
02.03.2010At the recent BES Expo 2010 in New Delhi, All India Radio outlined its “Road to Digitization” and confirmed an order for two 1 megawatt DRM-capable medium-wave transmitters.
AIR is aiming for a 2017 digitization of its operations, including digitization of studios and studio-transmitter links, as well as of transmissions using DRM and DRM+ technologies.
The two new transmitters will replace aging analog megawatt medium-wave transmitters in Chinsurah, West Bengal, and Rajkot, Gujarat. Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) is handling the installation, according to tender award documents posted by All India Radio.
Alokesh Gupta reports on his RadioActivity blog that the transmitters in question are Thomson S7HP units.
According to the DRM Consortium, AIR is already broadcasting in DRM from a high-power shortwave transmitter at Khampur near Delhi.
During the BES Expo, AIR conducted DRM multicast demonstration broadcasts, airing two different services on 6100 kHz simultaneously.
AIR is aiming to have 76 medium-wave, nine shortwave and 64 FM transmitters digitized by 2013, with the remaining transmitters in its network digitized by 2017.
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DD, AIR services to be fully digitised by 2017
The digital mode offers many advantages like efficient utilisation of available spectrum, better quality of picture and services
Published on 01/29/2010 –
New Delhi: The complete digitalisation of broadcasting services of Doordarshan, All India Radio and cable services is planned for a complete switchover by 2017.
Inaugurating the BES EXPO 2010, the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni emphasised that the government is committed to digitalisation of Doordarshan network to improve the viewing experience.
“While India has yet not declared any date for complete migration, it is now being increasingly felt that by 2017 we should aim for complete switchover”, Soni added.
The official broadcaster for Commonwealth Games 2010, Doordarshan has already installed High Definition Television, she added.
The digital mode offers many advantages like efficient utilisation of available spectrum, better quality of picture and services, interactive and niche services. It also helps in bringing transparency.
Acknowledging technology as the growth driver for many innovations in broadcast sector, the Minister urged the broadcasters to ensure that fruits of new technology actually reach the consumer.
Convergence in technology has to fast become a reality and broadcast engineers must play a crucial role in guiding the best possible options in the carriage of the content to the public, she added.
The ministry is also giving a serious thought to devise suitable policies for mobile television. On the FM front, the ministry is planning to incentivize the introduction of FM radio services in the North Eastern States, Jammu and Kashmir and island territories. The ministry is further liberalising the regulatory framework to provide for greater diversity of content and bring down operational costs.
The government is in the process of finalizing the FM Phase-III policy soon. The ministry is also hoping to set up around 4,000 community radio stations in the next three years.
The 3 day international expo and conference proposes to discuss topical issues such as ‘innovative technologies for coverage of Commonwealth Games, HDTV and beyond; new technologies for Digital TV and Radio; and frequency spectrum related issues under the theme of broadcast regulatory issues’.
—iGovernment Bureau
