ASIA

‘Derek Kong, Private Detective’ is Malaysia’s first online radio drama, presented by Theatre of the Mind (TOTM) ), supported by the Cultural Economy Development Agency (Cendana), MyCreative Ventures and the Malaysian Creative Industry Stimulus Package (Prisma).Featuring a star-studded cast headlined by actor-director Gavin Yap, the show which is produced by Anita Woo is set to premiere on July 31 on Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube and Apple Podcasts.Yap and Woo are part of the voiceover cast, together with Sharifah Amani, Douglas Lim, Radhi Khalid, Natasha Mohdali and Caleb Ng Kah Lok.

Derek Kong is written and created by Amina Jindani, with audio design by Tribe Audio, foley sounds by Muhammad Yunus and Yeop Mahidin, music courtesy of PremiumBeat.com and Envato Music, and jingles courtesy of 101 Studios.Amina said she created the radio play to “avoid becoming bored” during the two-year Movement Control Order (MCO) during Covid-19.Derek Kong tells the story of a detective based in TTDI who works alone and solves cases by fantasising that he is a character in a 1950s noir drama.In the pilot episode – ‘The Zucchini Bicycle Case’, a waitress presents Derek Kong with a case of a missing cyclist who has mysteriously disappeared from social media without a trace. When the clues lead to a known dangerous gang, Kong has to give chase and find him.Derek Kong can be assessed at YouTube TOTM Malaysia , Soundcloud Theatre Of The Mind – MY and Facebook Theatre Of The Mind TOTM . […]

This story first appeared on RadioInfo.asia

RCS AsiaPac Vice President, Keith Williams (right) spoke on the opening day of the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union workshop in Malaysia along with RCS Malaysia Manager Micheal Low presenting ‘Radio in the Cloud’ talking about Zetta Cloud and Revma streaming as part of the three-day event held at the Melia Hotel in Kuala LumpurThe workshop was titled Cloud Technologies for Media Services and drew over 60 members from as far as India, Pakistan, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and a big contingent from Malaysia including Radio Television Malaysia (RTM).This workshop focused on the applications of cloud-based technologies and platforms in the media environment being deployed by broadcasters for production, distribution, storage and delivery of their services.The sessions looked at how media operators can leverage cloud technologies and what areas would be the most beneficial to implement both in production and distribution. The sessions discussed various topics including cloud technologies, media workflows, system integration, distribution, media asset management and playout. […]

As the digital consumption of entertainment and news grow multifold in India, digital radio is set to change the entire creator economy landscape, giving millions of people options to discover music and live programming in a brand new way, Ashruf El Dinary, SVP, Digital Platform at US-based Xperi Corporations, said on Saturday.In a mobile-first country with more than 500 million smartphone users, music and content streaming has seen a tremendous rise on hand-held devices in India.TV has also seen the phenomenal rise of OTT and FM radio 2.0 is the way forward to tap millennials and Gen Z listeners.“Radio is still analog in most parts of the country. HD Radio broadcasting allows broadcasters to compete with the pure play digital platforms and meet consumer expectations for a media rich experience. The technology will allow expansion of media voices and content in a cost-effective broadcast,” El Dinary told IANS.HD Radio by Xperi Corporations is currently available from more than 40 manufacturers across 200 passenger vehicle models in more than 75 million vehicles.It also supports both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The HD Radio broadcasting has been successfully deployed across many countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Philippines and Romania.According to El Dinary, their talks with the Indian government have been fruitful so far in bringing the digital radio technology to the country.The All India Radio (AIR) recently submitted its report to Prasar Bharati about the digital radio technology trials conducted recently, and the further testing is on.

“Whenever the decision is made in this regard, the industry will begin laying over the infrastructure needed for digital radio expansion,” he said.HD Radio did a trial with AIR and demonstrated its tech feasibility, signal quality and more.“We completed trials in 2021 and reports have been generated in multiple ways. Our tech has been very mature as we have developed an entire ecosystem around digital radio in many countries,” El Dinary said.The HD Radio system leverages “whitespace” between allotted transmission frequencies to transmit additional audio channels and programming on the same broadcast infrastructure and antenna system.The result is a hybrid digital/analog signal within a broadcaster’s existing FM band. […]

Every year on July 23, India celebrates National Broadcasting Day to commemorate the first radio broadcast in India from the Bombay Station under the Indian Broadcasting Company in 1927.Radio broadcasting services started in India during British rule in 1923 under the initiative of the Radio Club of Bombay. In 1927, the Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) was made a private entity and granted permission to operate two radio stations. IBC went into liquidation on 1 March 1930, following which the government took over the broadcasting facilities and started the Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS) on 1 April 1930 on an experimental basis for two years.Eventually in June 1936, it became All India Radio.  At the time of independence from the British Raj, there were a total of six radio stations – Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Tiruchirapalli, and Lucknow. FM broadcasting started later, almost 30 years later on 23 July 1977 in Chennai.Since 1956, All India Radio (AIR) has been known as Akashvani. In terms of the number of languages broadcasted through it, AIR is the world’s largest radio network.AIR now comprises 420 stations across the country, reaching nearly 92% of the area and 99% of the total population.  AIR is owned by Prasar Bharti, which is a statutory autonomous body set up by an Act of parliament and besides AIR, it comprises Doordarshan Television Network and Prasar Bharati News Services. […]

Three diverse and complimentary DRM events (live and virtual) at the IBC 2022 show, to be held in Amsterdam from September 9 to 12, will illustrate this year’s overarching theme “DRM for FM and AM – The Radio Platform for All”.The first pre-IBC DRM virtual event is scheduled for September 6 and its theme will be “DRM – A Platform for All”. This will be a chance for all those interested in the performance or the manufacturing of DRM to get a full update from the comfort of their office or home or on the move. The event will be an exciting showcase of the practical advances of DRM during 2021 and2022 with a well-illustrated, and global view of the DRM standard and its latest receiver developments and projects.For those who will be in person in the Netherlands, DRM has organised on September 10 a “Meet and Greet” with the DRM members and specialists at the Fraunhofer IIS stand. At this informal get-together participants will be able to share news and information face to face and connect or re-connect to the DRM family.This will also be the preface of the main DRM event in the afternoon of the same day, September 10, at the Nautel stand. “DRM Is Ready for FM” is an event co-hosted with Nautel which will bring the latest on the India DRM for FM trial, more information on the multi-configuration in DRM for FM, new receiver solutions and transmitter improvements. It will be a useful DRM overview and a chance to network in the very relaxed atmosphere of the friendly Nautel space.According to the DRM chairman, Ruxandra Obreja: “This will be an excellent opportunity to attend a series of great DRM sessions, blending a virtual event with face-to-face ones. Each will be unique and different so that together they offer enough information on their own or are experienced as stages in a journey of discovery which demonstrates that DRM for both for FM and AM is the radio platform of the future. DRM is more attractive and in tune with the needs of the world than ever before, with its energy and spectrum cost savings and some extra features and possibilities, like delivering education and emergency warnings.” […]