Journaline

The digital radio text service

Journaline is a data application for the DAB and DRM digital radio systems that provides hierarchically structured textual information. The user can easily and immediately access the topics he is currently interested in.

• Hierarchical, categorized text messages
• Specifically designed for digital broadcast services
• Mandatory component of EWF (Emergency Warning Functionality) for DAB and DRM
  
• Extremely low bit rate requirements
• Import/transformation of existing broadcaster's content sources based on standard formats like XML
• Embedded and externally referenced images and graphics
• Optimized for inexpensive consumer receivers
• Very simple decoder resources and display hardware requirements for mobile receivers
• Metadata Option for high quality text-to-speech playback
• Hotkeys / station keys for quick access to favorite topics
• Reception quality tolerant push & store service
• Standardised technology for radio captioning (subtitles for the hearing impaired) according to ITU

Journaline is an international standard. Its specification is available as a free download from ETSI. The data service is currently broadcast as part of DAB/DMB and DRM digital radio transmissions. It is suitable for virtually any broadcast platform due to its low data capacity consumption – a key objective for the system’s development. With Journaline’s hierarchical topic structure, users can browse all received information – both program-related and program-independent textual information – and select their favourite news items.

Journaline allows radio stations to provide listeners effortlessly with information accessible directly at the radio set, which formerly could only be accessed after a media break from online websites. Broadcasters can interact with listeners and measure responses through Journaline's Hot-Button interactivity feature. In the context of Radio Schooling Services, Journaline represents the text book component, which is accessible by students at any time in a multitude of languages, and which gets referenced during the live broadcast sessions with a teacher. Public Signage services can be realised by combining dynamic and low-bitrate Journaline text pages and images with topical design template references for large-screen presentation. For EWF (Emergency Warning Functionality), Journaline is the core component responsible for granting listeners with on-demand access to detailed on-demand instructions and information, and for reaching hearing impaired users and non-native travellers. In addition, Journaline is the technical basis for Radio Captioning services to allow listeners with hearing impairments to more easily follow radio programs.