AVT Software Assists With Emergency Alerting Through DAB

Founded in 1996, AVT Audio Video Technologies GmbH equips broadcasters and service providers with products supporting audio codecs, telephone hybrids and DAB/DAB+ equipment.

DAB is particularly well-suited for transmitting emergency warning information, said the company. “It offers another way of communicating with the public when cell networks are overloaded during a disaster.”

By default, DAB offers native functions for emergency announcements, explained AVT. The EWF Emergency Warning Functionality is a combination of different services such as Alarm Announcement, Service Linking, Program Associated Data and Non-PAD, and can distribute multimedia and multilingual information.

AVT has supplemented the existing concept and implemented it in all of its multiplexers. The Emergency Warning Break-In offers, in addition to the EWF functions, a simultaneous replacement of all audio program by the emergency announcement. In addition, information texts and warning pictures are sent via the PAD channel.

The EWB procedure is also compatible with all old DAB receivers. Modern receivers are also switched on automatically with EWB and can display information via other data services.

EWB is currently used in 17 regions in Poland, added AVT.

For the technical implementation, a standard AVT DAB+ audio encoder is required. The audio encoder enables the live announcement, the insertion of the emergency PAD and generates the control commands to the AVT DAB Ensemble Multiplexer. The company says the multiplexer replaces all audio programs with the provided emergency content without delay. Provisioned PADs are available on all audio services.

AVT’s new MAGIC DABMUX Plus ensemble multiplexer supports this function natively. Existing DAB headends can be extended with a low-cost EWB repeater based on the MAGIC DABMUX Go.