The Digital Audio Broadcasting Journey from the Lab to Listeners - the Czech Republic Case Study

Abstract

This paper describes the complex experiences and the results of the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+) implementation in the conditions of the Czech Republic. It analyses the background of the EUREKA 147 program, its targets, and to what extent they were reached. The main focus is concentrated on the evaluation of the real steps which had to be done during the implementation process before the first regular broadcasting could be started and the difficulties encountered. The key point became experimental broadcasting “DAB Prague”. It demonstrated the advantages of this new platform and gave the opportunity to test its functions and physical behavior in real conditions, under the different parameter settings. The important issue is the allocation of the band III by National Regulatory Authority and the capacity of DAB+ multiplexes. The paper also demonstrates the experience from the setup of the DAB+ headend. It describes the content solution in context of using non-entropic audio coding, setting the codec algorithms and the way to use accompanying multimedia services. The results of the tests and measurements presented in this paper were used in the real project of the regular nationwide DAB+ network.