World’s First: Diveemo – Real-Time Video over Digital Radio (DRM) Showcase based on latest VVC and xHE-AAC Codecs – A Global Breakthrough Premiering at IBC

Amsterdam, September 2025 – For the first time in broadcasting history, real-time video using the latest video and audio codecs VVC and xHE-AAC can be delivered over Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) in the AM and FM bands. This world novelty will be unveiled as a technology showcase at IBC 2025: the STARWAVES DRM Diveemo implementation, making it possible to stream video services alongside DRM audio and multimedia services such as Journaline over free-to-air broadcast – without the need for internet connectivity.

With this innovation, digital radio expands far beyond sound, turning into a powerful multimedia platform. The breakthrough is based on DRM’s Diveemo application technology, now leverages the Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard for unprecedented compression efficiency, seamlessly integrated into the DRM system. The result: DRM video broadcast services will be able to reach DRM receivers worldwide, even in the most bandwidth-constrained environments. Based on this technology showcase, the DRM Consortium will start the work on a new generation of the Diveemo specification.

“This is a true paradigm shift,” said Johannes von Weyssenhoff, Managing Director of STARWAVES. “By combining the most efficient video and audio coding with DRM’s global reach, we open up completely new applications – from e-learning in rural areas to public information services and infotainment – all available to people who may have no access to the Internet.”

The demonstration at IBC showcases:

• Educational content packages distributed to schools without Internet
• News and public information clips reliably reaching communities
• Infotainment and cultural media accessible everywhere

The project is powered by a strong innovation partnership:

• STARWAVES – leading the DRM video integration in its DRM receiver platform
• Fraunhofer IIS – providing the cutting-edge codecs, DRM ContentServer integration, and Journaline framework of the demo
• Adam Kiss / SZOMEL Kft – technical implementation of the demo

This world-first technology showcase proves that DRM is not only the most spectrum- and energy-efficient radio technology, but also the gateway to true multimedia broadcasting. It offers governments, broadcasters, and service providers a cost-effective and robust platform to bring video to everyone, everywhere – whether in dense cities, rural U.S. communities, or remote regions of Africa and Asia.

An impressive web-based copy of the demo showing the low bitrates of the content is visible here: https://vvcdemo.starwaves.com.

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