IMDA - Internet Media Device Alliance

This section of the Fraunhofer IIS website represents an archive for the specification documents that were the result of standardization work conducted by the Internet Media Device Alliance (IMDA). Until its closure at the end of 2013, IMDA’s mission was:

”To develop and promote a set of open, interoperable standards and device profiles to maximize the growth of a global consumer market in internet-connected media devices.”

Our goal is to preserve the outcome of IMDA’s work and make it available to the Internet radio community and useable by anybody, including other SDOs. The documents are provided under GNU General Public License Version 3 and others are encouraged to follow, reference, copy or evolve the documents as a whole or in parts.

The IMDA released IMDA Automotive Profile 1, Revision 1 on January 10, 2013 as a result of the ongoing work done by its Automotive Working group. This specification provides a detailed technical description of mandatory and optional features and functionalities that an IMDA compliant Internet car radio supports. This is key information for anyone developing an Internet radio product for cars. It provides a strong foundation, upon which companies can build their basic, as well as enhanced; radio products with lots of room for differentiation. 

Current version: “IMDA _Automotive Profile 1, Rev 2”, May 2013.

The IMDA Broadcaster Guidelines are intended as a recommendation to broadcasters for the streaming of radio programs to cars and other mobile devices. The IMDA Broadcaster Guidelines match the IMDA Device Automotive Profile 1 and therefore, enable a reliable, high-quality listener experience. The Broadcaster Guidelines are tailored specifically for the varying and bandwidth-constrained conditions of a moving vehicle where Internet radio complements traditional forms of analog or digital radio, and competes with other forms of media such as local music playback. Developed jointly by IMDA members and partners from the broadcast, mobile and automotive worlds, the guidelines include recommendations on audio codecs, bit rates, transport formats, service metadata and playlists.

This is a draft version intended for industry review and should be considered a living document.

Current version: “IMDA Broadcaster Guidelines”, January 2013.

The Service Identification describes a standardized way for a broadcaster, or media organization, to expose their data to a hardware or software product (e.g. aggregator) managed by a third party. The media organization data contains details about itself, its brands and transport methods. The Service Identification includes technical information as well as editorial information, which allow the 3rd party solution to correctly categorize and expose brands to audiences; It also allows a solution to evaluate the appropriateness of brands for criteria provided by search functionalities or automated browsing features.

Current version: “IMDA Service Identification 2.2”, May 2012.

Profile 1 is the IMDA’s baseline Internet Media profile. It defines the basic set of features an IMDA-approved Profile 1 device must have. The goal of Profile 1 is, in line with the IMDA’s objectives, to promote greater understanding and adoption of Internet Media Devices and their associated technology. In order to achieve this goal, the IMDA has been careful to be as inclusive as possible of both existing devices and existing broadcast setups. Profile 1 does not attempt to describe comprehensively all possible Internet Media Device features and broadcast setups, or even all desirable ones. It is the hope of the IMDA that the inclusive nature of this Profile will encourage its adoption and promote the concept of standards in Internet Media Devices.

Current version: “IMDA Device Profile 1, Rev 1”, May 2010.