 With so many digital distribution systems available these days, the
market will eventually decide which systems are economically viable and which
will survive, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) Chairman, Peter Senger, told
broadcasters today.
Speaking at the ABU Digital Radio Convention, Mr Senger,
who is also the DRM Director of DW-Germany, said budget limitations made it very
difficult for broadcasters to use every new system and decide later which ones
to keep.
He said systems such as Eureka-147 DAB, DRM, HD Radio and
DVB-H all had their respective advantages, and their usage should not be uniform
among broadcasters across the Asia-Pacific region.
Another approach to going digital, Mr Senger added, was to
look for the digital replacement of existing analogue networks and operate them
for some time in parallel or simulcast mode.
The analogue system would be later switched off when a
certain market penetration had been reached.
The savings in full digital mode can finance the higher
operational costs during transition and the investments, he said.
In his keynote presentation at the four-day conference,
which began today in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Senger said the ABU convention was timely
and important as it could help radio broadcasters find a suitable solution for
their respective stations.
ABU Secretary-General, David Astley, said: While a few
broadcasters are well advanced, others are either just beginning to think of
digital radio or in the process of evaluating systems. The question to be
answered by this convention would be when to move and how to do it.
The convention was opened by Malaysian Deputy Information
Minister, Chia Kwang Chye, who said that spectrum issues were of key importance
and that digital technology promised to pack more radio services into scarce
spectrum space.
Mr Chia also inaugurated an exhibition held in conjunction
with the convention, featuring exhibits and demonstrations of the latest
technologies from broadcast equipment manufacturers and service
providers.
The principal sponsor of the four-day event is Harris
Corporation. Others include HD Radio, DRM, Thomson, THL Group, VT
Communications, Broadcast Australia, CRA-Australia, WorldSpace, Klotz Digital,
on, and AM Radio Networks.
Delegates to the ABU Digital Radio Convention were later
treated to a dinner hosted by the Malaysian Information Ministry.
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