Wednesday, September 23, 2015

DRM Receiver to Hit Market in October


Avion Electronics, a Communication Systems Inc. brand, unveiled the first, ready-to-ship, India-made Digital Radio Mondiale receiver at IBC2015, during an event hosted at the Fraunhofer IIS booth.
 
According to the disclosed technical specifications, the final version of the AV-DVR-1401 supports DRM in both shortwave and medium-wave bands, analog medium wave as well as analog FM with RDS, and will display images and information on a 3.5-inch TFT color LCD unit.

With a detachable remote control, the receiver supports music and picture playback, as well as DRM radio recording, through the built-in SD card reader. EPG, Journaline (a text-based information service), TPEG/TMC, DRM Emergency Warning and Alert, digital audio output and the xHE-AAC audio codec by Fraunhofer IIS are also included.

"During last year we enhanced both the features and the design of the DRM receiver we pre-launched at the IBC2014, in order to best fit consumer expectations," said Ankit Agrawal, technical director at Communication Systems Inc.

"The first batch of 2,000 pieces will be delivered in October, and a second batch is expected by the end of 2015. There is a firm commitment from the Indian government toward DRM, and we see a growing interest in both radio stations and consumers."

Ruxandra Obreja, DRM Consortium chairman, also took part in the event to test the effectiveness of the DRM Emergency Warning and Alert feature in a live DRM broadcasting chain set up at the Fraunhofer IIS booth.

Almost immediately after pressing a red button, the ongoing music program was interrupted, the DRM receiver showed a visible alert message on the display and reproduced the relevant warning message at a higher volume than the original program.
 
Avion's AV DVR 1401 DRM receiver is scheduled to go on sale through Amazon India as of October 2015 for $175.
 
— Davide Moro

http://www.radioworld.com/article/drm-receiver-to-hit-market-in-october/277136

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Via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, DX India YG