From transmission to the receiver, Fraunhofer IIS develops and implements all technologies and components needed to build and support radio systems, standards and devices along the digital radio broadcasting chain. Fraunhofer IIS offers ready-to-use products, as well as flexible technology options, to cater to the specific requirements of broadcasters, broadcast industry manufacturers and component suppliers.

Fraunhofer’s complete one-stop shop line of technology offerings and dedication to ongoing research and design is complemented by the institute’s contribution to the design and standardization of many digital radio systems in the western hemisphere, including Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) as well as U.S. and European satellite radio systems, such as SiriusXM Satellite Radio, ESDR and DVB-SH. This industry perspective and expertise combined with full technology offerings allow Fraunhofer to deliver on the demands of the radio market.
“For over 20 years, Fraunhofer IIS has offered broadcasting products and development services dedicated to the design and implementation of terrestrial and satellite-based digital broadcasting systems,” said Harald Popp, head of the Multimedia Realtime Systems department of Fraunhofer IIS. “Our deep expertise and technology solutions provide a true onestop shop in digital radio.”

The transmission side of Fraunhofer’s digital radio broadcast solutions includes OEM radio broadcast encoders for Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). The Fraunhofer ContentServer product line is a one-box solution including real-time audio encoding, data service management and multiplex generation capabilities. Fraunhofer’s sender side offerings also include a broad product line of sophisticated test and monitoring equipment and measuring systems, designed to support the development and testing of transmitters and receivers.

On the receiver side of digital radio, Fraunhofer IIS offers reference designs for complete radio modules. From the tuner and baseband processing to the audio and data services decoder, the institute provides a complete integration of all components into one module. Setting itself apart in the industry, Fraunhofer IIS has the ability to incorporate customer requests and the flexibility to add new features as needed. For example, the DAB receiver kit allows receiver manufacturers to efficiently enhance their radio platforms with the full range of the DAB feature set.

In addition to complete systems, Fraunhofer IIS also offers individual components for transmitter and receiver equipment to manufacturers. This includes audio codecs such as MPEG Layer-2 for DAB Classic or MPEG HE-AAC for DAB+, data applications such as Journaline, protocol stack implementations, transport protocols and conditional access solutions such as HECA.

Fraunhofer is showcasing its one-stop shop transmission and receiver technologies for digital radio systems, including two new radio modules with tier-one U.S. electronic component companies, at NAB 2010, Central Hall, booth C1446.