Report on Receiver Availability

Transcription

1 Report on Receiver Availability Asaad S. Bagharib Chairman, ABU Digital Radio Forum Abstract Lagging behind the audio and telecommunication industries since the digital revolution in the early 80s, digital radio looks set to succeed the role of analogue radio. Since the dawn of the 21 st century, we have witnessed the launch of several digital radio standards such as the Eureka-147 DAB, HD Radio, ISDB-T, DRM, WorldSpace, XM Radio and Sirius Radio. The digital radio revolution has finally arrived but are the receivers in this revolution? This paper reports the latest receiver development of the various digital radio standards. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Perhaps the digital revolution actually began after the introduction of music CDs in the early 80s. This was soon followed by a myriad of DSP (Digital Signal Processing) based technologies in the pro-audio industry [1]. Until recently, radio has been lagging behind the audio and telecommunication industries for almost two decades. Analogue radio listeners have to bear with the lower sound quality and distortion from interference such as multi-path propagation. AM and FM radios have been around for many years since the 1920s and 40s respectively. It is about time that radio leverages on the strength of DSP in order that it remains relevant among the younger generations. In 1986, the Eureka-147 [2][3] digital radio project was launched with the objective to replace analogue FM radio. Although more commonly known as Digital Audio Broadcasting or DAB, the term also applies to the other digital radio technologies such as the HD Radio (High Definition Radio) [4]. Commercial rollout for HD Radio commenced in the USA in In Japan, the ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial) was designed to deliver both radio and television programmes [5]. For AM broadcasting in the short-wave (SW) and medium-wave (MW) bands, there is the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) system [6] developed by a consortium that was formed in Besides terrestrial digital radios, several digital satellite radio services were launched over the past few years that include WorldSpace, XM and Sirius Radio. So the digital radio revolution has finally arrived [7] but are the receivers in the revolution yet? This paper reports the latest receiver development of the various digital radio standards beginning with Section 2 for the Eureka-147 DAB then followed by Section 3 for HD Radio. An update on ISDB-T and DRM receivers are reported in Section 4 and 5 respectively. Section 6 reports the digital satellite radio receivers for WorldSpace, XM and Sirius Radio, before concluding in Section EUREKA-147 DIGITAL AUDIO BROADCASTING (DAB) The Eureka-147 DAB receivers have been on the market since 1998 [8]. There are currently more than 250 different types of DAB receivers in the market with the most affordable model costing less than US$60. A wide variety of receivers are available as shown in Figure 1 which include home tuners, kitchen radios, in-car receivers, PCI cards, USB receivers, clock radios, boomboxes, midi-systems, hand-held portable devices, and even 5-1-Asaad-Session5 Page 1 of 7

2 receivers with rewind/pause/record/mp3 functions. More than 5 million DAB receivers have already been sold worldwide. 3.0 HD RADIO Announced during the NAB 2005 show in April at Las Vegas, IBOC has been approved for terrestrial digital radio in the US by the NRSC (National Radio System Committee). More than 800 services are already launched in the US. Manufacturers such as Kenwood, Panasonic & JVC, have already begun shipping HD Radios to retailers. Receivers are currently available mainly for home and automobiles which include home tuners, in-car receivers, table-top and clock radios [9] as shown in Figure 2. At the time of writing, the more affordable model starts from around US$200. Experts predict prices will continue to drop by the end of 2006 both for the home and car models. 4.0 INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL BROADCAST-TERRESTRIAL (ISDB-T) Unlike the other systems, Japan adopts ISDB-T [5] as one standard which covers TV, radio and data services. Commenced since October 2003, digital radio broadcasting is expected to launch in Tokyo and Osaka in 2006, five years earlier than planned. Japan s public broadcaster NHK together with a new broadcasting company is scheduled to provide the coverage throughout the nation by The new radio broadcaster will be offering up to 30 music and sports channels including text-based traffic report and cell phone ringtone service. Although ISDB-T set top boxes are available in Japan, there are no known reports of any launch of dedicated digital radio devices. 5.0 DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE (DRM) The DRM Consortium was formed in 1998 when a small group of pioneering broadcasters and manufacturers joined forces to create a universal, digital system for the AM broadcasting bands below 30 MHz [10]. DRM since has expanded into an international consortium of nearly 100 broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators, research institutions, broadcasting unions and regulatory bodies. DRM has members representing more than 30 countries. In March 2005, DRM has voted to extend its broadcasting bands at up to 120 MHz. As shown in Figure 3, several early prototype DRM receivers (about 7 different models) have been developed including a software receiver. Prices for these receivers are still on the high side starting from around US$1000. Texas Instruments (TI) and RadioScape (UK) have also reported a joint release of an integrated digital base band chip and module that support both DRM and DAB. 6.0 DIGITAL SATELLITE RADIO Three digital satellite radio services were launched in recent years. While WorldSpace targets at the general audience worldwide, XM and Sirius Radios are competing services in the US market. This section gives the receiver update of the three digital satellite radio services. 5-1-Asaad-Session5 Page 2 of 7

3 6.1 WorldSpace WorldSpace broadcasts from its two satellites namely, AfriStar which covers Africa, the Middle-East and parts of Europe, and AsiaStar which covers the Middle-East across to Japan including China and South East Asia. These were launched in October 1998 and March 2000 respectively. A third satellite, AmeriStar which would cover America, the USA and Canada, is expected to launch at a future date. There are at least 10 different WorldSpace receiver models available in mainly hand-held portable devices and boomboxes as shown in Figure 4. The T most affordable model starts from around US$70 [11]. 6.2 XM Radio XM Radio uses two satellites which were launched in In July 2006, XM Radio reported that it has 6.89 million subscribers and garnered 70% of the US satellite radio market. There are about 17 different XM Radio receiver models available which include home tuner, handheld portable devices, and in-car receivers as shown in Figure 5 with the most affordable model starting from around US$50 [12]. 6.3 Sirius Radio Sirius Radio offers over 120 digital channels at the same rate as XM Radio at US$12.95 per month. As of July 2006, Sirius Radio has about 4.7 million subscribers attributing the growth to robust retail sales and expanding sales in its automotive distribution channel. There are about 7 different Sirius Radio receiver models available which include home tuner, table top, hand-held portable devices, and in-car receivers as shown in Figure 6 with the most affordable model starting from around US$50 [13]. 7.0 CONCLUSION An update on the receiver availability for the various digital radio standards was presented. Currently, the most widespread is the Eureka-147 DAB receivers which include home tuners, kitchen radios, in-car receivers, PCI cards, USB receivers, clock radios, boomboxes, midi-systems, hand-held portable devices, and even receivers with rewind/pause/record functions. More than 250 different types of models are available in the market with the most affordable model costing less than US$60. HD Radio receivers are currently available mainly for home and automobiles and the more affordable model starts from around US$200. Although ISDB-T set top boxes are available in Japan, there are no known reports of any launch of dedicated digital radio devices. Several early prototype DRM receivers have been developed including a software receiver. Prices for these receivers are still on the high side starting from around US$1000. There are at least 10 different WorldSpace receiver models available in mainly hand-held portable devices and boomboxes with the most affordable model starts from around US$70. For XM Satellite Radio, there are about 17 different models available while for Sirius Satellite Radio, there are about 7. Both services have the most affordable receiver model starting from around US$50. It is clear that the digital radio revolution has arrived, the future is finally here! Digital radio receivers have evolved and for most digital radio standards, it is no longer a chicken and egg issue. In fact, digital radio looks set to succeed the role of its predecessors once prices drop further and become comparable to that of an analogue radio. 5-1-Asaad-Session5 Page 3 of 7

4 8.0 REFERENCES [1] Roland K. C. Tan, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) in Professional Audio (Part I & II), Sound.Works magazine, (Jan/Feb 1997), pp and (Mar/Apr 1997) pp [2] W. Hoeg & T. Lauterbach (editors), Digital Audio Broadcasting Principles and Applications, publisher John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, West Sussex, England, (2001 edt). [3] Roland K. C. Tan, Eureka-147 Digital Audio Broadcasting, Sound.Works magazine, (Jan/Feb 1998), pp [4] C. Kelly, ibiquity Overview, ABU-AIR Regional Symposium on Digital Radio Broadcasting, (17-20 Nov 2003), New Delhi, India. [5] S. Nakahara, ISDB-T SB Overview, ABU-AIR Regional Symposium on Digital Radio Broadcasting, (17-20 Nov 2003), New Delhi, India. [6] P. Gordon, DRM Overview, ABU-AIR Regional Symposium on Digital Radio Broadcasting, (17-20 Nov 2003), New Delhi, India. [7] Asaad S. Bagharib & Roland K. C. Tan, "Digital Radio Revolution - The Future is Here!" Radio Asia Conference 2005 on "Asian Radio at the Cross Roads: A New Paradigm in the Digital Age", (15 Jun 2005), Singapore. [8] WorldDAB Forum website at [9] Ibiquity Digital Radio website at [10] Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) website at [11] WorldSpace Satellite Radio website at [12] XM Satellite Radio website at [13] Sirius Satellite Radio website at Asaad-Session5 Page 4 of 7

5 Figure 1 Photograph showing some examples of the Eureka- Figure 2 Photograph showing some examples of the HD 5-1-Asaad-Session5 Page 5 of 7

6 Figure 3 Photograph showing some examples of the DRM Figure 4 Photograph showing some examples of the 5-1-Asaad-Session5 Page 6 of 7

7 Figure 5 Photograph showing some examples of the XM Figure 6 Photograph showing some examples of the Sirius 5-1-Asaad-Session5 Page 7 of 7