Digital Audio Broadcast:
The future of broadcasters in the new millenium

Recently London’s New Media Knowledge (nmk), a university-based non-profit group working to assist in the growth of new media companies, held a Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) seminar. The panel included Gavin Robertson, Managing Director of Musicindie, a new arm of UK’s Association of Independent Music (AIM); Natasha Billing, Head of Content for Digizone, a unique DAB data service; Paul Bennum, Director from broadcast and interactive production company Somethin’ Else; and Kevin Franklin, Head of Business Development at Digital One, the owner/operator of the UK’s only national commercial digital multiplex broadcasting 10 stations to over 80% of the UK population.

DAB cheaply broadcasts audio and data content with CD quality sound. Using two digital technologies called MUSICAM and COFDM, DAB produces a reliable, efficient broadcast method. MUSICAM is a compression system that drastically shrinks the information or data for broadcast. COFDM technology splits the MUSICAM signal, which means no re-tuning when travelling. It also means that you can receive a DAB broadcast on your mobile phone or PDA.

DAB may, one day, allow diverse independent producers in film, video, music and new media affordable ways of presenting original artistic content and greater access to alternative marketing avenues and thus to larger audiences.

Describing DAB as ‘new radio for people supplying new channels to new audiences’, Robertson says, "The key (point) is it takes radio away from the limited content boundaries of the last 50 years. DAB creates an entirely new suite of stations not competing with current offerings. That is good for artists at all levels as it gives them a new audience, a channel to their audience that would not have been available before."

Currently DAB signals are received by digital receivers like the ‘Wave Finder’ from Psion. One of the UK’s foremost technology companies, Psion produced the Wave Finder which can be purchased for £99. I spoke with Peter Langley, CEO of Origin Ltd, patent council for Psion and Radioscape, designers of the software for the Wave Finder and the broadcasters. Langley says, "You can actually make your facilities available to a more diverse range of content providers. Typically, for example, if you wanted to showcase new black talent, you could get a slot on someone’s DAB systems. You would be able to add to the digital content. There is a new mixture of multimedia broadcast being conjured into existence."

Digizone’s Billing is in the business of delivering multimedia content. She says, "Using Psion's Wave Finder, the Digizone receives and broadcasts games, pictures and audio content including CORE, a strictly digital radio station. Before the Digizone could be created, the owner had to get a licence for the bandwidth but you can access text, graphics, animation, and web based flash. For example, comic strips, it’s fairly simple to translate the graphics to mobile phone or pda. To be very idealistic, (one) would be able to subscribe to a comic service for example. DAB would be the delivery mechanism of that content."

Professor of Signal Processing Mark Sandler, a 23-year veteran electronic engineer at Queen Mary, University of London specializes in all things digital and audio. He says that DAB actually began in Europe in the late 1980’s and explained why the UK is one of the leaders in DAB. "Compression is the thing that underpins DAB. There’s a European standard and at least one technique in the States. Unlike the American system, which shares digital frequencies with existing FM or AM signals, the European system uses brand new frequencies. Nothing else occupies the frequency so there is no compromise (of the signal). With the American system this means that receivers would get digital interference."

Currently the BBC and Digital One are the main digital multiplex systems. DAB broadcasters must still apply for a licence for which there is a hefty fee. But £100,000 is a far cry from a million or more, which allows DAB to be the affordable alternative for those wanting to create diverse high quality digital programming across the country. That is, except for one thing. As Langley says, ‘the future is portable DAB receivers’, which would allow DAB to move beyond the narrow market currently offered by desktop computers. Langley contrasts the economic model behind advertising driven media such as TV and radio. He suggests that with DAB there isn’t the dependence on traditional advertising models. When adequate mobile receivers are in place, DAB will grow through direct sales portals using the DAB back channel that transmits the additional content. "You have a DAB channel, then you close the circle with some kind of back channel which would allow you to send basic data, like commercial transactions. Shopping is a good example. If you had a fringe black artist, with this new data channel you could sell tickets, CDs, merchandise, etc (directly to the consumer)."

The panelists at the nmk seminar suggested that there will be a major push to make mobile and PDA DAB receivers available over the next 18 months. Anyone with ideas for digital content can find out more about DAB at these online resources:

rab.co.uk

bbc.co.uk

ukdigitalradio.com

nmk.co.uk