Mediatech 2011 - travelling forward into the future



Obakeng Phiri
SABC Radio Archives

 The SABC Media Libraries attended Mediatech 2011 as part of SABC Technology Division. Obakeng Phiri, the intern in the SABC Radio Archives, gives us an overview of what he encountered.

Mediatech 2011 was a great experience! It was like going through a time machine, so we can see what the future holds.

I got a broader understanding on how digital radio works. Also on what neighboring countries are doing and how much spectrum is available. I got an understanding about DRM, DRM30 and DRM+ and of its features in SW, MW and AM. People listening to radio will be able to see the title and other information of a song that will be played on radio. It will allow listeners to use the info to research or download the song. The quality of the audio will also be better. 

What caught my attention was the Zenon Media all in one audio radio solution designed easy to use for radio stations from a single broadcaster until nationwide networks. This is a system that runs on different server technologies such as clustering, ISCSI SAN networks for high redundancy and with different databases. Database and applications are multi-language and can be translated in each language. It also supports all broadcast formats. It comes with all tools for music scheduling, audio editing, statistics and full redundancy, seamless local switch and a switch to backup studio in case of emergencies. It works like Dalet, but better.

Mediatech gave me the opportunity to sharpen my skills in broadcasting and update me on the latest technology.

Thank you SABC for making it happen!