Australia Digital | ACMA Reviews IPTV Growth

Digital Broadcast Vendor News is pleased to know that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has at last published its investigative report on IPTV and multimedia and Internet video. The report is most welcome for the fact Australia is behind in IPTV and Internet Video applications as cited by just five IPTV providers and fifteen internet video providers whose services provide full-length professional content directly to consumers. Digital Broadcasters Vendors News first glimpse of the report, which is to be found at the ACMA web site is that the contents are well researched, comprehensive and useful. The date of the report is May 2008.

Digital Radio Australia Trials DAB+ For First Time

Digital Broadcasters Vendor News Asia (DBVNA) was informed today that following other Australian digital radio systems trials, terrestrial broadcasters started the technical trials using DAB+ technology in Sydney, NSW. The test is using upgraded multiplexers from digital broadcast vendors: Factum and Radioscape (the "MAP250" and "fusion, version 6" respectively). Testing is to focus on the critical bit rates as applied to speech programming and jazz and pop music. Of the move, Joan Warner, CEO of industry trade body, Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) said that this is the first fully compliant high power broadcast of digital radio using DAB+ technology anywhere in the world. Ms Warner added that the test will send a very strong signal to the major radio receiver manufacturers that Australia is committed to launching digital radio using DAB+ and we will need a broad range of DAB+ digital radios in the market in time for our launch.” A number of radio vendors have indicated they will have DAB+ receiver products ready for overseas retail sale before Christmas 2007 according to CRA. In Australia, digital radio services will officially launch in January 2009 in the six capital cities Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, and expect consumers will want to access the digital broadcast services with not only digital receivers, but by mobile handphones and mp3 devices also. The DAB+ test is being coordinated by Commercial Radio Australia on behalf of commercial radio stations and public broadcasters, the ABC and SBS. DBVNA understands that Australia heads up a new DAB+ task force set up by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union - the ABU. Other task force members include Brunei, New Zealand and Singapore digital broadcasters. Ms Warner, representing Australia, heads the DAB+ task force, which is to encourage the take up of DAB+ within the region and the development of a wide range of low cost DAB+ receivers in diverse broadcast environments such as in China, India, Kuwait and Russia.

Digital Broadcasters | Radio Australia's Guangzhou Breakfast Goes Begging

Digital Broadcasters Vendor News wonders why Radio Australia's Breakfast Club in its upcoming East Asia, three city tour was able to co-opt host broadcasters in Singapore (938Live FM) and Kuala Lumpur (Traxx FM) to simulcast their editions but when Phil Kafcaloudes the program's co-presenter kicks off on April 27 in Guangzhou, it is not happening? Not even a breakfast 'club sandwich' will be shared? The Radio Australia press release said that the program will sample the styles, flavours and tastes of Asia. Perhaps if Radio Australia had sent co-presenter Adelaine Ng (a Chinese lady?) the outcome in Guangzhou may have been different? Kind of deflates the message that the release was trying to convey when it stated that: "The East Asia tour builds on the growing links Radio Australia has established with stations in the region....". According to Radio Australia, "The Breakfast Club" is the popular morning program, which provides an appealing and humorous start to the day capable of engaging audiences from India to Tonga. The Aussie national broadcaster also says that the Breakfast Club program is broadcast (re-broadcast? - Ed) across Radio Australia's expanding Asian and Pacific FM network, Not only that it is quickly becoming a regional media benchmark in interacting with wide audiences ranging across physical borders and cultural boundaries from India to Tonga. It does not elaborate on how it is doing that. I think they ought to Wiki that comment, and get it justified.

Digital Broadcasters | Australia | Saving Water by Radio

ABC Local Radio network in Australia, known as "The Backyard" informed Digital Broadcasters Vendor News of how a simple radio program idea helped most program participants cut their water consumption at home by a staggering 91 per cent in a 40 hour "drought" period. The program was part of an effort to build awareness of water conservation in a country suffering its worst drought this century.

And another outcome from "The 40 Hour Drought" radio project is that many Australians want their bosses to cut water usage too. Some 2000 participants registered across Australia. Of those, 80 per cent met the challenge: to limit water use to just 40 litres in the 40 hour period.

Normally, Australians use some 230 litres a day each, in their home - saving 630 000 litres of water. Compare that to an Olympic size swimming pool that holds one megalitre of water (one million litres).

The 40 Hour Drought ran from 7am on Wednesday March 21 to 11pm on Thursday March 22 March. It was the brainchild of four youngsters who attended the ABC Heywire (Haywire?) Youth Issues Forum. Saving water at work proved more of a challenge.

Dual flush toilets and awareness of water in daily life, where saving water as a talked over topic were matters that came out of the project noted Tony Rasmussen, Manager Network Development for Local Radio at http://www.abc.net.au/water.

Of all the messages to the ABC Local Radio message board, the ones that stand out relate to how much water is required to make something. Wayne Meyer is Professor of Natural Resource Science at the University of Adelaide. He's made it his business to know how much water is used in the production of food and fibre. 1kg of beef uses 50,000 ltrs of water, Wayne tells us. So a typical serving of around 200g would use 10,000 ltrs. That's the amount used by the grass and grains that the beast consumes. A kilo of clean wool takes 100 to 140,000 ltr simply to grow the fibre, without calculating the amount needed to clean it then manufacture cloth. Sheep are very efficient water harvesters, says Wayne. "The major amount of water which is involved, particularly in animal products, is associated with the evaporation in growing vegetation."

The best statistics in the Australian context though is beer versus wine making.

With beer, water is used to grow barley, the malting and then fermentation of beer. There isn't a lot of grain in beer so 100 ltrs ought to do it for a bottle of beer, Wayne feels. Add to that the volume in the beer itself.

Wine will use 270ltrs of water per bottle.

Beer is better in terms of use and as well, while Wayne notes a lot of grapes are grown under irrigation.

The ABC news release would have been so more meaningful if it had included something about the ABC Local Radio Network and its contribution to Australian national issues at a local level. (referred to as a boiler plate in PR jargon).

So here it is courtesy of Digital Broadcasters Vendor News. ABC Local Radio, known as "The Backyard" on the Internet, links ABC Radio's 60 local and regional radio stations and program websites around Australia. The Backyard reflects and extends the ABC's commitment to localism through the development of a web site for every ABC region in the country. It provides customised local access to ABC Online. The Backyard is focussed on the requirements of local ABC audiences all over Australia, who can now use their own web site to access a complete range of ABC broadcasting and community information in their region. Saving water is one such subject currently in focus.