The bi-annual meeting of the German DRM Platform was hosted by the Federal State Media Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate, the “Landeszentrale für Medien und Kommunikation” (LMK – an Associate Member of the DRM Consortium since 2006), on November 5th and 6th.
The group discussed worldwide DRM activity, including reports on the provision of DRM-based information services to seafaring customers and a successful test of the Emergency Warning System (EWS) in Bavaria. There were also updates from other countries, notably Denmark. In addition, there was a review of the July symposium in Kaiserslautern which demonstrated a portable digital transmitter with a multiplex generator for DAB and DRM+ in VHF band III. A YouTube video about the symposium is now available (although only in German): click here to view
At the end of the meeting Detlef Pagel, who has been a hard-working, knowledgeable and diplomatic Chair of the German DRM Platform for the last seven years, retired from both that office and his post at the State Media Authority of Lower Saxony (NLM). During his tenure, Detlef led the theoretical study of DRM studies and DRM+ field tests in the VHF Bands (II) and III. The world’s first DRM+ transmission in the VHF band was achieved as part of an NLM pilot project, with substantial support from the Leibniz University of Hannover and Institute for Communications Technology.
Although Detlef has stepped down from his NLM duties, he will not retire totally as he was unanimously elected Vice Chair of the DRM German Platform, a newly-created post. He will also in future act as advisor to Hannover company RFmondial, which he will represent in the Platform.
In his outgoing address Detlef Pagel said, “The constructive cooperation in the open and trusting atmosphere of the German DRM Platform led to the successful ETSI and ITU standardization of DRM+ in VHF.”
The new Chair is Joachim Lehnert, Head of LMK’s Technical Department since 1998, and a guest lecturer at the University of Applied Science and the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. Joachim is involved in the development of the digitisation of radio and television as DVB-T, T-DAB and DRM and is responsible for the technical studio facilities and distribution of the Community TV Stations in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Since 2005 he has worked on technical studies, software developments, laboratory measurements, coverage planning, recommendations of network planning aspects and field trials with DRM+ in VHF-Bands I, II and III, with the University of Applied Science and the Technical University of Kaiserslautern; all of which have contributed enormously to the standardization of DRM in Mode E (DRM+) at ETSI and ITU.
We wish lot of success to the new DRM German Platform Chair Joachim Lehnert!
For more information about the German DRM Forum, see: http://www.deutsches-drm-forum.de
