CRA has welcomed the decision by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to extend the DAB+ digital radio trial licences in Canberra and Darwin until 30 June 2015.

The scientific licences have been extended to provide an opportunity for broadcasters to experiment with new features and functionality on DAB+, as well as continue testing a range of planning techniques and equipment types.

Nearly 100,000 (97,177) new vehicles have been sold with a DAB+ digital radio, and digital radio listening is at an all time high with 21.4% or almost 2.8 million people tuning in each week in the five metropolitan capital cities alone. The latest figures are from official data released by Commercial Radio Australia today in the 2014 Digital Radio Report.
 

As demand for digital radio expands around the globe, Pioneer will release an extended range of audio devices capable of receiving digital radio, using Frontier Silicon’s DAB technology.

Hideaki Tsuchida, General Manager, Business Planning Division at Pioneer Home Electronics Corporation said:

“For some time, digital radio has been established in the UK, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and Australia, and following the launch of DAB+ in Germany in 2011, the European market is really beginning to take-off.

Radio receiver manufacturers around the world have developed a range of DAB+ radios, with many of them on show at this week's Digital Broadcasting Symposium in Malaysia.

The world's radio industry leaders are making sure radio broadcasts can be heard on all the new digital broadcast platforms, as well as through wifi streaming and on smart phone apps. Many of the receivers pictured use app-like screen displays and are enabled with wifi streaming as well as digital receiver chips.

The 50th ABU Broadcasting Symposium kicks off this weekend with a DAB+ Technology Workshop and Transmission Demonstration in Kuala Lumpur that will show participants how to save millions of dollars in radio operating and power costs. 

The two day technology workshop will showcase the DAB+ standard and demonstrate the features and efficiency improvements available compared to analogue FM broadcast.

Austereo's Director of Technologies Des Decean will retire on September 30 this year. Decean is one of a handful of engineering specialists who are responsible for the success of digital radio in Australia. He told radioinfo at the digital radio launch that Australia's launch is a "fantastic achievement" and the smoothest roll out of digital radio anywhere in the world, and spoke to us about his career.

The amiable engineer does not plan to just sit back and listen to the radio in his retirement, he expects to be kept busy doing consulting work.

In an unprecendented show of industry solidarity, more than 40 different radio stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide have put rivalries aside and broadcast simultaneously to a combined breakfast audience estimated at more than 8.5 million people in a massive outside broadcast to promote digital radio.

Commercial, ABC and SBS stations were side my side in open marquees in the main squares of Australia's top five radio markets, with huge crowds of office workers stopping to sample free coffees and snacks and take a look at their favourite presenters.

Today's digital launch had retailers' support in each city, with many models on display at the digital radio listener posts set up at every OB. Each brand offers different features, with Pure leading in the rewind function, Grundig displaying an impressive iPod dock style digital radio, and Roberts now offering a good quality top of the range model. But the best offering on display today was the latest iRiver, which has just been introduced into the country and is being sold at JB HiFi stores.

The world is watching what is happening in Australia as digital radio launches. With all capital cities now switched on, and the industry working together to encourage early take-up, Commercial Radio Australia has found itself busy hosting visitors who want to track the progress of DAB+ in this country. A Korean radio industry delegation is in town this week, and an Indonesian group of broadcasters is expected to arrive soon. Other international broadcasters are anticipated to attend this year’s Commercial Radio Conference in October to hear about developments.

TX Australia and Kordia won Innovation Awards at this year's SMPTE Conference Gala evening. The 2009 C+T Awards for Innovation are designed to recognise innovation in productions, projects and products in the media industries throughout Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. Work done for Australia's digital radio roll out was what won TXA and Kordia their prizes.

In the Radio Project/Facility Rollout section of the awards, 2SER was commended while TXA and Kordia won the award.

Kordia - Digital Radio Rollout