digital transition update - december 12, 2003
Digital Transition Update - December 12, 2003
The following page is reprinted from
the nprstations.org web site (http://www.nprstations.org/dt/update_121203.cfm)
and is included here for your convenience.
CONTENTS
- 1. Download Your Tomorrow Radio Station Demonstration
- 2. DTAC III - Highlights from Philadelphia
- 3. Tomorrow Radio Supplemental Channel Update and 1st Public Demonstration
- 4. Digital Radio Takes Off in Europe & Canada
- 5. Digital-Wise - A New Resource Calls for Your Submissions
- 6. HD Radio Reminders (Codec CD & Station Estimates for Conversion)
Thanks to Kenwood USA, NPR recently
demonstrated a working HD Radio with supplemental audio channel to the
NPR Board and FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy. Now, you too can
demonstrate the advantages of this new technology using a Flash software
HD Radio simulation. Take it for a spin at http://www.nprstations.org/dt/hdsimulation/index.cfm
Use this valuable tool directly from
the site or download it and take it on the road to enhance your HD radio
presentations to station staff, board members, donors, listeners and
other stakeholders.
Based on Kenwood's next generation of
HD Radios, the simulation demonstrates several "Tomorrow Radio" functions,
including:
- Supplemental Channel operation (hit the "Play/Pause" button)
- Station branding with your logo
- Closed captioning support
- Customized, graphics-rich faceplate
- Reading Service authentication and operation (hit "Play/Pause" again)
While graphics and reading services
functions aren't expected to be operational for another year or two,
the other functions will be supported in first generation Kenwood "Tomorrow-enabled"
radios.
An announcement regarding availability
through retailers is expected at the Consumer Electronic Show in January
2004. Additional features, such as support for Surround Audio, Conditional
Listening (i.e. addressable receivers - "Pledge Free" channel, anyone?),
and Personal Radio Services (aka "Tivo-Radio") are expected in subsequent
model years. Watch the Digital Transition Update for CES details in
January.
We welcome your feedback on the HD Demo
and would like to hear how you make use of it to educate staff and other
constituencies.
The Digital Transition Advisory Committee
met Oct. 1-3 in Philadelphia, adjacent to the Eastern Public Radio meeting
and the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Show. On the agenda:
Updates from our partners in the private sector, including iBiquity,
Harris Corporation, and Kenwood USA. Tim Eby, Ken Stern, Mike Riksen
and Vinnie Curren also presented the latest on funding and the legislative
and regulatory fronts. To view their presentations, visit the NPR member
station website at: http://www.nprstations.org/dt/dtac3_materials.cfm
One highlight of the meeting was a group
exercise to determine whether public radio is ready, willing and able
to take on the digital transition. The result? We have a lot of work
to do.
Stations, the networks, content providers,
manufacturers, funders and other stakeholders need to move together
in a coordinated effort, and the more planning we do together, the easier
it will be to muscle through this transition. One of the highlights
of the meeting was the DTAC
Hypothetical Timeline Exercise based on a theoretical effort to
launch digital-ready receivers to customers by Holiday 2005.
While this is just a hypothetical timeline,
it does provide an indication of the amount and intensity of the work
to be done, and of the deep level of interdependence between stakeholders.
As hard dates become available, we will revise the hypothetical timeline
to reflect reality and share updates with you as the transition unfolds.
Have a look at the milestones along
the Member Station row of the Hypothetical Timeline. Is your station
Ready, Willing, and Able to meet the digital challenge?
To further explore this question with
your station's digital transition team, you might want to check out
the DTAC
Readiness Station Self Assessment Quiz and evaluate your answers
based on the Ready, Willing and Able model. To view DTAC's response
to a similar quiz, click DTAC
Station Readiness Scoring Results . As DTAC members quickly discovered,
the quiz is intentionally designed to reveal some of the many areas
where more planning and discussion are needed. Working through the quiz
with your station's transition team can provide a thought-provoking
reality check to make your plan more comprehensive.
These exercises sparked a discussion
in which DTAC members acknowledged that some stations want to be on
the leading edge, while others prefer to take a "wait and see" approach.
Most stations will fall somewhere in between. While it is up to each
station to determine where they stand regarding the digital opportunity,
it is generally agreed that our collective degree of success in the
early phases will strongly influence the availability of funding later
on.
Currently, 34 NPR Member stations were
among the 42 grantees to receive seed market funding from the CPB. For
the second round of funding, CPB has earmarked $6.75 million to assist
stations, including those serving rural and minority markets, in making
the digital transition. Applications are expected to open before the
end of this month
Next week, NPR will invite seed market
grantees to respond to a short survey concerning their plans and priorities.
Follow-up will include a report back to the group on the findings, and
development of a collaborative plan to support seed market station implementation.
NPR recently presented status updates
to the National Radio Systems Committee and IEEE Broadcast Technology
Society on Tomorrow Radio. Testing was completed in September on NPR
Member Stations KALW-FM, San Francisco; KKJZ-FM, Long Beach; WETA-FM,
Washington, D.C.; and WNYC-FM, New York. Some 480,000 data points were
gathered and are now being assessed and integrated into regression tests
using the new audio coder.
Many readers will recall that the broadcast
industry was successful at getting iBiquity Digital, the sole developer
of HD Radio, to upgrade the audio coder to what many consider to be
a "best of breed" audio coder. This upgrade necessitates regression
testing to corroborate testing done during August and September with
the earlier audio coder. It is expected this change will yield small
performance differences associated with how each coder handles error
correction in the data stream. Regression tests are scheduled for early
December, with final results planned for release to the National Radio
Systems Committee on January 9, 2004, during the Consumer Electronics
Show in Las Vegas. A full report to the FCC will follow.
It is expected that coverage for the
first generation radios supporting the Supplemental Audio Channel will
extend beyond the analog "urban grade" city coverage area, but probably
not as far as existing 1 m/V (60 dBu) contour. At 1/100 power, we have
the elimination of most multipath, and wide area coverage, but HD won't
extend your coverage area or provide coverage where the analog signal
is currently weak. Nonetheless, in each of the four test markets of
San Francisco, Long Beach, Washington, and New York, millions of listeners
would be within range of the Supplemental Audio Channel signal.
According to a growing number of industry
stakeholders, the Tomorrow Radio Project has the potential to reshape
and invigorate the radio industry's transition to digital radio.
After six years of hard work, an overnight
success is being declared for digital radio in the United Kingdom. Government,
broadcasters, and receiver manufacturers have worked closely to reach
the expected milestone of 500,000 digital radio receivers sold by the
end of 2003. Eureka DAB receivers (Europe uses a different digital radio
system requiring new spectrum) dropped to less than 100 pounds sterling
(currently about $175) this past spring and that model of receiver has
been nearly impossible the keep in stock. The reason? The BBC has ignited
demand with five new DIGITAL ONLY channels, along with TV promotions
to increase visibility for the digital only radio services. Radio Five,
Radio Six, Radio Seven, as well as new Sports and Asian channels, are
leading the way for growing consumer demand. Digital radio is succeeding
well in Denmark, Germany, and other European countries, but the U.K.
is decidedly leading the market.
Sony has announced entry into the DAB
receiver marketplace and this is expected to generate additional competition
across receiver models. So far, advanced text, graphics, and other features
being discussed for HD Radio in the U.S. have yet to appear. In Canada,
new remote display terminals are being demonstrated in major cities
as well as on gas-pumps with traffic maps (with short commercials) showing
current commuting conditions along the route of travel.
As suggested by members of the Digital
Transition Advisory Committee, NPR has created an online clearinghouse
where stations implementing HD Radio can share their materials and ideas.
Looking for inspiration? Go to: http://www.nprstations.org/dt/index.cfm
and click Digital-Wise - a venue for sharing HD web page samples and
other materials created by HD Radio pioneers. Please share your successes
and help your fellow stations through the transition. Just send your
HD Radio materials and ideas to psmith@npr.org
for posting.
Codec Demonstration Update & CD - There
is wide agreement among system experts that iBiquity has satisfactorily
addressed the quality issue that caused concern among pubcasters present
at their first demonstration in May 2003. Listen for yourself on the
HD Radio demonstration CD, available free from NPR. To request your
copy, e-mail psmith@npr.org.
Digital Conversion Costs - As a benefit
of membership, NPR contacted Member stations by e-mail with estimated
costs for their digital conversion. Flagship stations received separate
documents for each of their CPB Tower Call Signs. If you need another
copy of this information, please contact Page Smith, Project Manager,
Member & Program Services, 202-513-2753, or e-mail psmith@npr.org.
NPR's Digital Transition Team:
Jan Andrews, Engineering 202-513-2462, jandrews@npr.org
Greg Lewis, General Counsel's Office 202-513-2050, glewis@npr.org
Dana Davis Rehm, Member & Program Services 202-513-2747, ddrehm@npr.org
Michael Riksen, National Affairs 202-513-2741, mriksen@npr.org
Michelle Shanahan, General Counsel's Office 202-513-2055, mshanahan@npr.org
Page Smith, Member & Program Services 202-513-2753, psmith@npr.org
Mike Starling, Engineering 202-513-2484, mstarling@npr.org