The document provides an update on CRC's open and free DAB tools. It discusses the Canadian context of digital radio, explains why CRC develops tools with open/free licenses, describes several of CRC's DAB tools including CRC-DABMUX, CRC-DABMOD and Openmokast, discusses limitations and future plans, and concludes by emphasizing the benefits of open source approaches.

1. Update on
CRC Open and Free
DAB Tools
François Lefebvre
Communications Research Centre, Canada
WorldDMB TC, February 18, 2010
1

2. Candadian Context
Why/How Open/Free
mmbTools
Openmokast
CRC tools limitations
Licences, Governance, Copyrights
What Next ?
2

3. Canadian Context
- A few L-band DAB systems still operating in the
largest markets
- No business case for “Digital Radio” in spite of the
pressure from USA
- No interest for HD Radio by broadcasters
- No regulation in place for the use of the extra
channels provided by HD Radio Multicasting
- December 2009: Industry Canada began
Consultation about the future of L-band
3

4. Canadian Context
IC proposes :
Flexible use (fixed, mobile and
broadcasting) to deliver subscription
broadcasting, multimedia, mobile or fixed
broadband wireless access, or other
telecommunications applications in the
“DAB”portion of the L-band. (i.e 1452-1492
MHz)
4

5. Why Open & Free (CRC)
Tools developed during R&D activities
CRC is publicly funded R&D lab
Does not (always) have to generate revenues
Efforts to benefit industries AND public
5

6. Why Open & Free
(food for thoughts 1)
Software tends to become free
GNU/Linux, Android, ...
Hardware tends to become generic
Functionality provided by OS, Apps, SDR, …
Leads to increased economies of scale
Open source momentum in various industries
Smart phone OS' (key for DAB?), VoIP,
IDEs (Eclipse), Web Servers (Apache), …
Open & Free tech often not best tech..
But most of the time best ”bang for the bucks”
6

7. Why Open & Free
(food for thoughts 2)
Collaborate on single core software implementation,
Compete on quality of integration, service, extensions,...
DAB suffers from closed, vertical and
proprietary business models
… see: mobile handhelds, smart phones, …
Can business be done with Open & Free?
… see: Internet, Web, ...
Open & Free Infrastructures
more business made ”because of” highways than ”by” highways
No ubiquity without open & free? (CERN does not collect royalties for WWW)
MP2 DAB royalty-free soon?
7

8. CRC mmbTools
http://mmbtools.crc.ca
8

9. Trend: Software on Generic HW

12. Architecture
12

13. CRC-DABMUX
See specsheet on mmbtools.crc.ca
Free open source code since September 2009
13

14. G.703 Interface
CRC-DABMUX
CRC ETI Player
FarSync TE1
E1 (G.703 and G.704) Universal PCI card for Linux and
Windows
http://www.farsite.com
14

15. CRC-DABMOD
Software Defined Radio DAB Modulator
USRP: Ettus research

16. Software Building Blocks

17. Ubuntu Base System

18. Ubuntu Minimized

19. Ubuntu with CRC Tools

20. mmbTools live CD

21. “One Click” Transmitter

22. Announcement !
CRC-DABMOD
Released today as
GPL Open Source Software
Download at: mmbtools.crc.ca

23. mmbTools Web Appliances

24. CRC Openmokast
http://www.openmokast.org
24

25. Colliding Business Models
?
Broadcaster MNO
FTA-TV Pay-TV

26. Openmokast Stack

27. Openmokast Architecture
Receiver control
(RDI, DCSR, ETI)
FIC decoding
Demultiplexing
Application
decoding
Presentation
Generic C/C++ code, works ”as is” on many embedded platforms !

28. Adapt Openmoko Device

29. Adapt Openmoko Device

30. Openmokast Prototype

31. Screenshots

32. Android

33. Android
Openmokast Player Openmokast Player on
on T-Mobile G1 Android Market (MAS)

34. Mobile DAB Hotspot v2.0
DAB over Wifi
 IGEPv2
 Beagleboard
 Zoom
 ...
SDR?
Multi-standard?
Simply enabled by: iPhone App, Android App,
Nintendo DS,...

35. DAB Personal LAB

36. What CRC Tools Don't Do
We don't mind telling weaknesses out loud
... because we're not selling anything!
… In fact, we hope you will point out the problems ASAP
... Or better, fix them yourself !
Overall: No warranty, no reliability figures, no redundancy
CRC-DABMUX: No dynamic reconfiguration, no EDI (local
TCP/IP ETI)
CRC-DABMOD: Only mode 2 support, no synchronization
Openmokast: No audio decoding
LiveCD: no codecs, few applications (MOT decoder from
DReaM)

37. mmbTools Community
 www.opendigitalradio.org
 Receiver manufacturers
 Pre-market field trials
 Broadcast R&D lab
 University students
Creation of a mailinglist

38. Uses for the Tools
- Receiver testing
- ETI file production
- Apps development and testing
- Events / micro – broadcasting
- Field trials
- ”Hacking” and fun for the love of DAB
- other creative uses by users
- ....

39. Royalty-Free Codecs
• In broadcasting: most standards require non-RF tech
• Must pay royalties for most CODECS
- Can't distribute free software implementations at large
• CRC mmbTools and Openmokast now include CELT
fullband audio CODEC over DAB
• New IETF workgroup formed to look at Internet RF codecs:
- Candidates codecs: CELT, Broadcom, Skype, …
- RF codecs could be in mobile platforms soon
For Internet Apps (radio?)
Broadcast radio at disadvantage?

40. Licences, Governance, Copyrights
CRC projects licenses: GPL
- If you make changes to source code and distribute products based on it
- You have to open source your modifications
Governance: Not established yet
- now: you propose modifications, we check and integrate
Copyrights: True open source approach (proposed)
- Code contributors keep their copyright
- no copyright assignment to CRC
Of course, it is always possible to dual license the first released versions
- not the intent, but possible

41. What Next ?
• Maintain mmbTools and Openmokast
• HE-AACv2 real-time software encoders (sorry, can't be free!)
• Live CD:
• Support more standards: FM/RDS, ATSC/MH, …
• Update to recent Ubuntu releases (LTS)
• Openmokast: Bcast chipsets into open phones
• Openmokast: Port to Android
• New broadcast apps
• Royalty-free codecs: audio, video (CELT, Theora)
• OpenBTS as return link
• Broadcast apps in “App Stores”
• Micro-broadcasting: events,…
• Field trial: 3G radio reception
• …?

42. FM + RDS in mobile devices
GSM
Phones
© HTC
42

43. Conclusions
Open & RF & Software and Generic HW
= democratisation
= rapid innovation cycles
= adoption
= greater QoL (quality of life)
CRC-DABMUX, CRC-DABMOD = Open Source GPL
Openmokast = Open Source GPL
Hoping for: wide adoption of DAB
Hoping for: Open Source TPEG, EPG, ...
Watching other platforms coming: FM, Internet,
ATSC, 3G, LTE, Wimax,...
43

44. Thanks !
PROJECTS
openmokast.org
mmbtools.crc.ca
www.crc.ca/mmb
http://www.youtube.com/crcmmb
http://www.slideshare.net/tag/crcmmb
BLOG
Broadcasting20.org, Twitter: @fralef
francois.lefebvre@crc.ca