Visitors to IBC 2012 will have a chance to catch up with the latest developments in Hybrid Radio on the EBU stand (10.F20). Besides showing some applications that are already on air, we'll also be demonstrating new tools that have the potential to revolutionize the radio experience in future. Once again we're pleased to be joined by colleagues from RadioDNS to show how radio can be enhanced through combining the best of broadcast and broadband.
Visualization using RadioVIS is already available from many broadcasters in Europe and the US, viewable on receivers and mobile phones that are on the market today. RadioEPG, the application for Electronic Program Guide and Service Following is another recent feature. We'll be demonstrating these features in action using live stations from NPO and Global UK using RadioVIS.
Tagging content
RadioTAG is the name of a new tagging feature enabling personalization of programme enrichment. In our IBC demo, we will be showing a prototype implementation where programme elements can be tagged (or bookmarked) on a simple receiver without web browsing capabilities (here the Revo Axis), and the tagged elements displayed later on a more advanced receiving platform, such as an Android tablet (here the Enspert DAB tablet). Tagging could help to enable the listener to listen again, download podcasts, or access additional information about the content. The RadioTAG tagging application standard is currently being finalised.
Distributed authentication
An important enabler for this kind of personalized experience will be a reliable and simple user authentication system. This is a new topic for radio and no distributed neutral solution exists today to authenticate users across different channels on different devices. At IBC 2012 we will showcase a distributed Media Authentication mechanism proposal based on the OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol. The mechanism has been designed to achieve easy and seamless cross-platform and cross-channel personalization while avoiding to centralization of user credentials and data. The proof-of-concept permits the unique identification of listeners across channels from different broadcasters and on different receivers. Broadcasters maintain the privacy of their data, not sharing it with their competitors; listeners can be authenticated once and their account created in the location of their choice (receiver portal, broadcaster, etc).