DRM in Cars
The Indian automotive market has achieved the fastest digital radio adoption in a relatively short period of time, with over 6 million new cars on the road equipped with a DRM digital radio receiver as end of last year.
The radio receiver industry both in India and abroad has invested millions of dollars in the development of DRM digital radio capable receivers for use in Indian cars. The car brands listed below are major international players and can equip their vehicles with a DRM digital radio in any country which is planning or rolling out the DRM standard.
Car Brands with DRM Digital Radio
According to the information made available to the DRM Consortium, the following car brands include DRM digital radios in India:
Please check with the actual manufacturers the availability of the DRM digital radios for specific models at the time of the order or purchase.
DRM Chipsets for OEMs
OEMs use available chips from various manufacturers, such as NXP, Skyworks, Bosch, CML Microcircuits and others.
NXP (www.nxp.com), the number one in automotive infotainment systems and the global market and innovation leader for car radio solutions has developed new DRM solutions for OEMs. The company has added FM band support to DRM, Journaline data forwarding, as well as the xHE-AAC audio codec for music and speech.
Skyworks (www.skyworksinc.com), a leading provider of automotive solutions, has expanded its DRM offering through the launch of its new Si469x4 coprocessor family supporting DRM for AM and FM in its popular family of automotive digital radio coprocessors. The new Si469x4 family will support DRM for AM and DRM for FM enabling customers to create a complete DRM radio solution in both AM and FM bands. When used with Skyworks’ broader portfolio of tuners and digital radio coprocessors, customers are able to design solutions for all global mainstream digital radio standards including DRM in AM/FM with unmatched price and performance scalability and configurability from entry level to high-end segments.
DRM Modules and Receivers for Cars
The Chinese company Gospell (www.gospell.com) has developed:
a. the car tuner module GR-500 for DRM in AM and FM featuring all key specifications such as xHE-AAC audio, DRM data services (Journaline, MOT Slideshow, text messages), Emergency warnings, alternative frequency switching, etc.
b. the DRM in AM and FM GR-520 single DIN car stereo digital aftermarket radio receiver with Bluetooth and USB/SD Player with the following specifications:
- DRM designed for AM and FM band
- AM/FM radio
- Bluetooth Handsfree Calling
- Music EQ (POP/ROCK/Classic)
- DRM Alarm Announcement Support
- Power Output 16-Watt x 4
- 36 Radio Presets Memory
- Steering Wheel Remote Control
STARWAVES (www.starwaves.com) is a German/Swiss company and has developed the Wrap-3 module for DRM in all frequency bands with a high frequency automotive tuner, a quad-core ARM processor. It supports:
- DRM in all frequency, with the possibility to upgrade to DAB+, if so required
- high performance automotive tuner
- quad-core ARM processor
- interference optimized
- Wi-Fi Hotspot and BT module
STARWAVES offers also after-market car radios with DRM. The same Wrap-3 module can be used also in desktop receivers.
RF2Digital (rf2digital.com) – South Korea – has created a module for the automotive, industrial and consumer electronics sectors, supporting various digital and analogue radio standard including Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) for both AM and FM bands and for China Digital Radio (CDR).
In addition, RF2Digital is developing an SDR solution for companies that provide automotive tuners for both DRM and DAB in countries which are considering both standards.
Inntot Technologies – India – (www.inntot.com) have developed an SDR based IP solution which powers DRM receivers of popular models of major car makers. Inntot's DRM receiver solution is highly cost effective with excellent RF and timing performance along with highly optimized CPU usage. It supports AM (LW/MW/SW) & FM bands. All features including optional and recommended features are supported. Software upgrade is possible and easy.
Inntot's solution provides a competitive edge to automotive Tier-1 customers.For more information on available manufacturer products and general DRM news and information, please go to:
