GENEVA�Feb. 10 marked the ninth anniversary of the EBU Digital Radio Summit. This year�s gathering in Geneva had 120 delegates, and the meeting started with two important topics: How can radio be made more modern? And what�s next for radio in the car? Other key areas of discussion included means by which a station can get themselves on to smartphones; the aggregation of data; the exploitation of sports rights; and the use of visual radio.
Speakers included Graham Dixon of the EBU, discussing how public service media can and do have a big impact on DAB, or as he put it with a twist �Delivering Audience Benefits.��
Richard Robinson (of Strategy Analytics) shared statistics indicating thegrowing importance for car manufacturers to include digital radio in the car. Interestingly, he noted that data may in fact be of more value to car manufacturers who want to improve their �smart cars� and ensure essential safety features.�
Additionally,new researchwas released during the event by Michael Hill, of Radioplayer UK, showing that �Eight out of ten new car drivers wouldnever consider buying a car without a radio, according to the biggest ever survey of drivers across UK, France and Germany.”�
The EBU also recently released its latestMarket Report on Digital Radiowhich offers a progress report of the roll-out of digital terrestrial radio in European markets and, when relevant, other digital platforms.
Delegates had the unique opportunity to hear from EBU Members and the industry as they showcased their developments in the annual proud to present session.
This year also marked the fifth anniversary of the EBU RadioHack event, a set of freeform workshops where developers, engineers and anyone interested in radio can experiment with the newest tools and techniques in digital and hybrid radio. The workshops are designed to have an informal, relaxed atmosphere, allowing participants to develop new ideas for tools and services and to start building them immediately.
RAI presented research on Hybrid radio content �the mixing of linear radio and on-demand content, program based on geolocalization and personalized radio.
A low cost, DAB single-frequency-network design, using free open-source software, and a $65 computer, was also presented.� Some of the other topics at RadioHack were SDK for receivers, service following, automated chaptering of radio programming, and a software-defined digital radio receiver.
For the rest of the afternoon � and well into the evening � RadioHackers shared experiences, collaborated and well, just hacked.�
As the organizer, the EBU�s Mathias Coinchon said, �It�s a great place to meet like-minded individuals and learn from one another.�
