08 Aug DRM hold their first ever workshop in South Africa
The DRM workshop was held during the Mediatech/SABA Expos 17th -19th July. DRM Consortium members Ampegon, Fraunhofer, Nautel as well as local companies, such as Radio Pulpit, LS Telcom, Starwaves were represented at the Workshop. Radu Obreja, Marketing Director of DRM sent this report:
The aim of our event on the 19th July was to familiarise the local stakeholders with the features and benefits of DRM, business considerations and implementations steps. I gave a presentation on the DRM developments around the world.
The workshop was very successful. We had over fifty delegates not only from South Africa but also from other African countries. They represented broadcasters, manufacturers, regulators and universities. The highlight of the event was the demonstration of the perfect reception of the BBC’s DRM transmission broadcast live from the Ascension Island which clearly demonstrated the benefits of the digital signal to the workshop participants.
Whilst in Johannesburg we met many DRM enthusiasts and supporters among broadcasters and other stakeholders. We visited the local signal distributor and also met with a local manufacturer who is keen to co-operate with DRM and the local broadcasters to produce desktop receivers and dongles.
South Africa and Africa in general appears to be keen to adopt DRM as their digital radio standard due to large territories and number of potential listeners. We have successfully started the ball rolling but a lot of work still needs to be done in order to make DRM a reality on this huge continent.
Radu Obreja