Astra Digital Radio

Astra Digital Radio (ADR ) is the name for a digital radio transmission system, which was mainly used for broadcasts on the Astra 1 satellite at 19.2 ° East until 30 April 2012.

History

ADR was introduced in 1995 as part of the 40th International radio exhibition Berlin ( August 26-September 3 ) and enables you to transfer a digital radio program in stereo via a subcarrier of an analogue satellite television program. This data reduction in musicam format ( MPEG 1, Layer II, better known as MP2) is made. The data rate is always 192 kbit / s at 48 kHz. Special receivers are required for the reception of ADR that are not compatible with the digital transmission standard DVB -S. Briefly, there was next to the air waves on Astra individual broadcasts via Eutelsat satellites at 13 ° East, such as Radio Polonia.

ADR occurred in Germany for direct satellite reception in the place of the digital satellite radio (DSR ), which it past never more than 16 broadcast stations and was shut down after ten years on 16 January 1999. In DSR, although the sound quality was better because of the uncompressed transmission, but because of the variety of programs German ADR programs in Germany has reached a multiple of the DSR number of users, without, however, to find mass distribution. At its peak of ADR end of the 90s were about the system via Astra satellites virtually all FM stations of the ARD, almost all the channels of the Swiss SRG and about ten private radio stations to listen to. This program selection was unique at that time and was achieved via the standard DVB -S only in 2005.

In addition to the direct reception of ADR was also used to facilitate signal supply to transmitters and cable headends.

Many features of ADR were only half-heartedly used by the stations. Thus, for example, was initially used by very few stations the ability to display the track title and artist. In addition, ADR has the disadvantage that it can not continue to spread as a package in the cable ( the DSR package with 16 programs had been so well fed into the cable). The range of programs focused quickly on German TV channels. Meanwhile, the sale of ADR receivers in Germany was completely set, it is only used equipment available.

With the shutdown of all analogue satellite TV and radio programs on 30 April 2012, the broadcasting of radio stations from Germany in ADR mode is set. Even before all private channels had abandoned their dissemination through ADR. The public SRG SSR idée suisse in Switzerland has its ADR broadcasts set the end of 2004. The Saarland Broadcasting is the distribution of its programs completed by the beginning of 2006. Radio Bremen finished in June 2009, the distribution of its radio programs Bremen Eins and Nordwestradio on ADR; RadioBOB on 26 July 2011 and feeds its FM frequencies now has an IP -based solution.

Replacement with DVB -S

Replacement for the ADR offer, the much more widely used standard DVB -S, with an even larger number radio programs can be received. Since August 19, 2005 Nearly all radio stations of the ARD will broadcast on a private radio transponder of the satellite Astra 1M in DVB -S standard. This includes stations that were previously not heard about satellite.