NRK switches from Analog FM to DAB+ with IZT’s innovative broadcast encoder system

Erlangen, Germany – July 29, 2014 – IZT, a technology leader in innovative high-performance products for capturing, modifying and generating radio signals, provides the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) with its proven DAB ContentServer system, which combines audio encoding, data service management and ensemble/service multiplex generation in one box. The system offers broadcasters valuable savings in terms of rack space, energy cost and maintenance time.

The Norwegian government has set the switch-off date for FM broadcasting to January 2017. Conditions for the FM shutdown stipulated that before 2015, the public broadcaster NRK must achieve a coverage of 99.5% of the population and there must be added value for the listeners in going from FM to DAB, both in terms of available content and in terms of user experience.

NRK, whose offerings on TV, radio, internet and other platforms, are used by almost nine out of ten citizens, selected IZT’s DAB Content Server to provide the country’s population with reliable access to more radio stations and improved reception quality. The selected ensemble will be broadcast in seven regions and comprises of regional DAB+ radio stations and a set of national stations, which will be available throughout Norway.

The proven DAB Content Server is a pure software solution based on IP interfaces and standard hardware, which enables fully remote controlled administration and monitoring. The system can be easily integrated into any existing infrastructure and more functions can be added. Due to integrated audio coding, broadcasters benefit from lower hardware costs, fast, easy and cost-efficient maintenance and a significantly lower risk of failure.

IZT’s DAB Content Server processes AES audio signals into a central data stream, thereby creating the fundamental component of the new DAB digital radio network infrastructure. The system enables multi-stream real-time audio encoding and broadcasting of all standardized and proprietary DAB data applications and signalling options.

Rainer Perthold, CEO of IZT Labs: “Our highly professional system is now trusted by broadcasters all over the world as it has repeatedly proven itself over the past decade. And having NRK, a true pioneer in the field of DAB, select the IZT DAB Content Server is a great achievement for our company. NRK was the first in the world to launch a digital radio station back in June 1995*.”