Fraunhofer DAB/DRM MultimediaPlayer

Providing the full potential of digital radio on smartphones, tablets and PCs via radio app

Exploiting the full potential of digital radio on smartphones, tablets or PC receivers is possible with the Fraunhofer DAB/DRM MultimediaPlayer radio app. The radio app fully supports the digital radio standards Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) and DIGITALRADIO DAB+.

Along with providing radio programs in stereo and 5.1 surround sound, the Fraunhofer MultimediaPlayer radio app offers a wealth of added-value features, including the parallel transmission of album covers, text messages, weather forecasts and sports results, all of which are displayed directly onto the player. As these features are transmitted together with the digital radio programs they are available without internet connection and free of cost.

Moreover, connecting the player with additional media sources – e.g. internet, telephone or navigation facilities – paves the way for the easy and intuitive operation of hybrid applications. For example, Deutschlandradio’s Journaline service has already finessed this concept by enabling its users to access online podcasts and providing studio contact details with just one click.

The transition between information stemming from the internet and information coming via broadcast is seamless. Both data streams come together on the MultimediaPlayer which enables the user to simply choose the desired information without having to locate its origin beforehand.

Radio receivers

Manufacturers of digital radio receivers can license the Fraunhofer MultimediaPlayer radio app. It is immediately available for PC platforms and Android based applications. Additionally, the radio app can be integrated into end devices as embedded software, enabling user access to digital radio information via Bluetooth or HTML5 streaming over wireless LAN. The dynamic user interface is based on HTML and can be designed in accordance to the manufacturer’s preferences.

Professional equipment for digital radio

The extended software version enables integration into professional equipment for digital radio. It is ideal for applications including professional monitoring and archiving solutions. This option not only offers support of the standard protocols for the Multiplex-Distribution (EDI/MDI) as an input signal, but also the display of broader receiver statistics. With these statistics a broadcast station can reconstruct which of the transmitted elements can be found on which transport level. This way the transmission performance can be examined. Remote access to the MultimediaPlayer’s interface via web browser is also possible, encompassing the reproduction of every audio and data service component within the HTML5 standard.

Digital radio at home

Digitalradio (DAB Classic/DAB+) - Exemplary application scenario:

When DAB+ was introduced in Germany in 2011, NOXON (Terratec) developed and launched the NOXON DAB-Stick as commercial product. There was a consumer and an OEM version available. In addition to being the first DAB receiver based on the Fraunhofer MultimediaPlayer, it was the first commercially available reproduction device for digital radio with 5.1 surround sound powered by the MPEG Surround standard. As the first of its kind, the DAB-Stick supported the additional standardized feature Journaline for the display of extended text information via DAB.

Today, there are still broadcasters such as DeutschlandRadio that provide free samples of the NOXON DAB-Stick at festive events. Due to the continuous maintenance and enhancements of the NOXON DAB MediaPlayer-Software which is based on the radio app, owners of a DAB-Stick benefit of the latest DAB features. To download the software and hardware driver for free, please visit www.noxonradio.de.

DRM (DRM-AM and DRM-FM):

The MultimediaPlayer software can also be employed for the digital radio standard DRM. Integrated into professional receiver solutions of various manufacturers it is used for monitoring.