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5G Broadcast: CRITS participation in the standardization activities of 3GPP

During the last meeting of the RAN4 (Radio Access Network – Radio Performance and Protocol Aspects) Working Group of the 3GPP which took place in Athens, the Rai Centre for Research, Technological Innovation and Experimentation (CRITS), represented by Assunta De Vita (as EBU delegate), participated in the work that led to the conclusion of the standardization activity of the 5G Broadcast technology.

 

Now all the essential elements of 5G Broadcast are part of the 3GPP standards: further features and improvements are still being studied and will be proposed for the introduction of future releases of the standard, but with this Release 18 the standard is ready for the broadcasting of TV services towards mobile phones.

Design Manual for Accessibility and Enjoyment of Cultural Heritage. From Human Functioning to the Functioning of Cultural Spaces

“The Accessibility Project for RAI Cultural Spaces, born from the decade-long collaboration between the two RAI Directorates for ESG Sustainability and CRITS, has become the focal point of RAI’s contribution to the ‘Design Manual for Accessibility and Enjoyment of Cultural Heritage. From Human Functioning to the Functioning of Cultural Spaces’ by CNR, which was published in February 2024.”

Sound Sensation. Music Without Barriers. When Deafness Turns into Sound

From classical music to folk rock, from dance to Latin dances, through performances of ‘musical’ live painting: sounds, movements, and gestures capable of challenging and overcoming deafness. Because it is deafness that unites artists with cochlear implants from Italy, Austria, Finland, Germany, and Portugal who – on Sunday, March 3rd at 5:30 PM, at the Rai Auditorium ‘Arturo Toscanini’ in Turin, was livestreamed on RaiPlay – will bring to life “Sound Sensation. Music Without Barriers”.

Technical Papers at IBC2023: 5G innovative networks and services for the audiovisual content production and distribution.

The Rai Centre for Research, Technological Innovation and Experimentation presented two contributions at the recent International Broadcasting Convention (IBC 2023) held in Amsterdam  last September.

 

The articles illustrate the results of the National project ‘5G Audiovisivo 2022’ promoted and funded by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy  and co-ordinated by Rai Way, which applies 5G technologies to the whole chain of production and distribution of digital contents.

Digital radio broadcasting service coverage inside motorway tunnels: a simulation study for the service coverage optimization

During the COMSOL Conference 2023 held in Munich last October, CRITS presented a study on the propagation of the DAB/DAB+ signal in motorway tunnels. The analysis, based on Finite Element Electromagnetic Simulation (FEM) and measurements obtained in the field, provides useful suggestions for the design of systems to extend the digital radio service in tunnels.

Le nuove frontiere della Virtual Production: CLOROFILLA

The CRITS plays a prominent role in the recent television production “Clorofilla,” where CRITS researchers contribute their expertise in Virtual Production, an innovative technology that provides an extraordinary experience for viewers.

 

Immersed in virtual settings created entirely through the use of Unreal Engine, the hosts take the audience on an original and entertaining journey into the world of botany. Viewers will have the opportunity to analyze constantly changing plants that grow in real-time.

Dynamic HDR Converter tests

Despite the widespread commercial adoption of HDR technology, significant opportunities for improvement persist. Rai CRITS actively participated in recent tests conducted by the EBU Video Systems, highlighting that dynamic HDR converters can yield extraordinary results in terms of image quality, surpassing static converters, particularly in handling compression in high lights. It is important to note, however, that artefacts may emerge in certain circumstances, which is why research in this area remains ongoing.

The RAI 4K HDR course, in preparation for the La Scala premiere

The 4K HDR course, in preparation for the La Scala premiere, took place in Milan. The didactic sessions provided a comprehensive overview of the latest innovations in audio and video. This included an exploration of next-generation audio technologies and the ATMOS lab, as well as an analysis of the 4K TV production chain for video. Particular attention was given to the new BT2020 extended color space and the revolutionary HDR technology. The implications and opportunities of HDR technology in television production were thoroughly examined.

Rai at the EBU Data Technology Seminar

Artificial Intelligence related technologies have quickly become central throughout the radio and television chain and the EBU Data Technology Seminar (DTS) is a reference for operators in the radio and television sector for the in-depth study and discussion of these technologies, applied, in general, to data available in this domain. CRITS contributed to the success of the event, which saw around 200 participants in presence and online, from the creation of the conference programme to the presentation of scientific papers. 

The announcement of the Media Studies Commission has been published

 

 

 

Digitization Audiovisual Archives Training

CRITS contributes to the training initiative

5G RECORDS

5G RECORDS (5G key technology enableRs for Emerging media COntent pRoDuction Services) is an EU project, part of the Horizon 2020 framework, which aims to investigate the exploitation of 5G technologies in the context of TV production.

 

Conceived from the synergy between media companies, network operators, equipment manufacturers and research bodies, the project focuses on the integration of already existing 5G components and the development of new ones, in order to evaluate their performance within three distinct scenarios representing the state-of-the-art in content production.

Alberto Morello awarded Honorary Fellowship of the DVB Project - 05/2022

The presentation was made during DVB World 2022 event in Brussels.

Media Studies Grant 2022: Call for Projects

The 2022 announcement of the FIAT/IFTA’s Media Studies Commission has been published online.

EBU - AIDI KICKS OFF SERIES OF VIRTUAL TOURS WITH SPOTLIGHT ON RAI'S AI WORK

The EBU AI and Data Initiative is the EBU’s cross-disciplinary exploration of AI and data in PSM, including regulatory aspects, technologies, organizational matters, skills, strategy and content developments. The AIDI Group defines the Initiative’s strategy and priorities and meets online once a month to discuss on-going work, common issues, and future opportunities. 

 

The initiative is managed by the Rai CTO Area Departments – Centre for Research, Technological Innovation and Experimentation (CRITS) and Information Technology ICT of Turin, with the support of the International Relations and European Affairs Department.

Collaboration agreement between “Aree protette delle Alpi Cozie” and “RAI Research Center”

Collaboration agreement between “Aree protette delle Alpi Cozie” and “RAI Research Center” for experimenting drones in naturalistic environment

Rai wins the Digital Diversity Brand Award 2021 for inclusion thanks to the Rai Virtual LIS platform developed by CRITS

Rai is the winner of the Diversity Brand Awards 2021.

Rai wins the “Digital Diversity Brand Awards 2021” thanks to the Virtual LIS – Didactics Platform, an important award that rewards attention to technological innovation in the filed of accessibility and social inclusion. The Virtual LIS – Didactics platform, developed by the Rai Centre for Research Technological Innovation and Experimentation (CRITS), allows to generate contents in sign language using avatars for new applications in didactic and cultural contexts.

Numero monografico dedicato al 5G

 

E’ stato pubblicato il nuovo numero della rivista Elettronica e telecomunicazioni interamente dedicato al 5G.

Two studies on 5G involving Rai-CRITS have been published as EBU Technical Review

As part of the activities promoted within the EBU relating to the study of future technologies for the distribution of audiovisual content and TV services for 5G, Rai Centre for Research, Technological Innovation and Experimentation (CRITS), in collaboration with BBC, IRT, Qualcomm Inc., Ericsson and Plum Consulting/SG3, has contributed to the development of various methodologies for the numerical modeling of future 5G broadcast network scenarios, analyzing possibile critical issues.

These studies, submitted and discussed within the 3GPP groups, have been published as EBU Techical Review.

5G Broadcast demonstration during the European Championships 2018

Rai-CRITS, in collaboration with the Technische Universität of Braunschweig (DE), is testing the most advanced precursor of 5G-broadcast technology, the feMBMS (Release 14 of the 3GPP standard). The technology was demonstrated in Valle d’Aosta during the European Championships, held in Glasgow and Berlin from 2 to 10 August 2018.

Mitigation techniques of the interference generated in TV distribution installations by 4G/5G signals in the 700 and 800 MHz bands

The activation in the UHF band of 4G/5G Base Stations can have in some areas an impact on TV reception, especially in case of community antenna installations. The adoption of proper interference mitigation techniques, such as the insertion of specifically designed filters at the head-end of the distribution network, allows to mimimise the effects in most situations.

News 2021 March 16

The announcement of the Media Studies Commission has been published

Digital Archives Group

The 2021 announcement of the FIAT/IFTA’s Media Studies Commission has been published online.

Activity within the Rai-LIS Project

AN AVATAR FOR ITALIAN SIGN LANGUAGE

Rai realized four virtual LIS interpreters, developed by adopting the latest computer graphics technologies and the use of innovative platforms.
This research activity will allows RAI to manage the entire process of generating new contents in LIS for future services for deaf people.

News 2020 November 04

Rai participates in the 2020 IASA - FIAT/IFTA Joint Conference

Digital Archives Group

For the first time in more than 25 years the FIAT/IFTA Executive Council and the IASA Board have decided to join forces and organize a joint conference with an integrated programme.

News 2020 October 26

Antennas for reception of TV broadcast services on mobile terminals: “Best Paper Award” at the COMSOL Conference 2020

Assunta De Vita, Bruno Sacco

The possibility to design compact broadband antennas for digital television reception on mobile terminals conflicts with the physical constraints dictated by the small size of the devices. The aim of this work is to investigate possible solutions that allow to optimize the antenna system for its possible use in 5G technology.

Progetto attivo dal 2018

Modeling and characterization of a GTEM cell

As part of a collaboration with Rai WAY, the electromagnetic behavior of an open GTEM cell at different operating frequencies (from 250 MHz to 1 GHz) has been analyzed, implementing an accurate finite-element model of the device. The analysis, conducted both from a simulation and an experimental point of view, has allowed to characterize this electromagnetic structure as to the field uniformity, a quality necessary to carry out field probes calibration or electromagnetic compliance tests.

Progetto attivo dal 2018

Early Warning System: an innovative system for satellite DTH transmission of alarm signals embedded in DVB-S/S2 signals

A new method to generate and transmit alarm signals to alert the population in the event of natural disasters, embedded in satellite TV transmissions has been devised by Rai-CRITS and proposed to DVB. The prototype developed in the project allowed us to test in the laboratory the effectiveness of the method and the backward compatibility with existing DVB-S/S2 receivers.

News 2020 February 19

The announcement of the Media Studies Commission has been published

archividigitali

 

 

It’s online the 2020 announcement of the FIAT/IFTA’s Media Studies Commission.

News 2020 January 10

Graduated with honors in Cinema Engineering

Roberto Borgotallo

Last December the neo dott. Ing. Giuliano Cammarata graduated with a 110/110 score at the Polytechnic of Turin with the thesis entitled “The preservation of films. Strategies for scanning, archiving and restoration proposed as part of the DigiMaster RAI project“. The thesis, starting from the practical experience of internship carried out at Centro Ricerche, Innovazione Tecnologica e Sperimentazione (CRITS), investigates the digitalization and digital preservation workflows of films with special focus on 35mm format.

CRITS launches RAI Bridge

RAI Bridge a new way to watch TV

Alberto Messina e Fulvio Negro

On last October 26th, CRITS experimented, in collaboration with RAI Gold, the new application RAI Bridge. Designed entirely by CRITS, RAI Bridge is not just a companion screen application, but a true end-to-end system for creating interactive experiences with TV programs.

News 2019 October 08

Antennas for shooting on the move: "Best Paper Award 2019" at the COMSOL Conference in Cambridge

Assunta De Vita, Alessandro Lucco Castello, Bruno Sacco

During the recent “COMSOL Conference 2019” held in Cambridge, the Research and Technological Innovation and Experimentation Center (CRITS) in collaboration with Tecnologie Riprese Esterne of Turin (ING-PROD) presented a work entitled: “Design and optimization of circularly polarized antennas for mobile shooting of sports events”, receiving the prize “Best Paper Award”. This activity, concerning the project of antennas used during the last “Giro d’Italia” in May, is part of the long tradition of research and innovation in support of the transition to digital for shooting sports events on the move.

News 2019 September 30

Technical Papers at IBC2019: Smart Speakers and Regional Contents on DVB-T2

Paolo Casagranda, Vittoria Mignone

The Research and Technological Innovation Center presented two papers at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) held in Amsterdam, the leading international convention along with NAB Show in Las Vegas on broadcasting technologies and new media. The two papers, the first about radio services on smart speakers and the second about regional content on DVB-T2, were presented on Saturday the 14th at the Conference.

Both papers were included in the prestigious IET’s Journal “The best of IBC 2019”, an acknowledgement to the 10 best papers of the IBC Conference: it’s the first time two papers from Rai reach this achievement.

MediaRoad Project

MediaRoad Prize at IBC2019

Dr. Paolo Casagranda

On Sunday 15th September MediaRoad awarded the winners of the Sandbox Prize in a Ceremony taking place at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC2019), Amsterdam. Judy Parnall, EBU Technical Committee Chair, presented the awards to two startups and one Sandbox among the most innovative.

EBU MDN Workshop 2019

EBU Metadata Developer Network Workshop (MDN) 2019

Maurizio Montagnuolo

The annual metadata workshop took place in Geneva at the headquarters of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU-UER). RAI CRITS presented three speeches related to the following topics: an approach for the creation of datasets for AI; an information model and related tools developed for the planning and execution of television productions based on the simultaneous and automated use of multiple drones; a dashboard for the integration of AI services for multimedia content analysis.

Active project

DVB-I

The TV programme list is enriched with new channels received via the Internet

The future DVB-I standard aims to deliver TV programmes over the Internet, so that they can be received and displayed by a variety of connected receivers (TVs, PCs, tablets, smartphones) with the same ease of use as today’s traditional TV programmes received from an antenna.

The new DVB-I services will be discovered by means of an installation procedure functionally equivalent to a frequency scan, and included in a channel list having a Logical Channel Numbering (LCN) harmonised with broadcast services.

Active project

Digital Radio

DAB+: the digital evolution of radio

In Italy, radio is one of the most popular media, thanks to its immediacy and ubiquity. DAB+ is the technology chosen by most European countries for the digital evolution of radio. Reliability, sound quality, transmission efficiency, energy efficiency, textual and graphic information services: DAB+ Digital Radio overcomes analogue radio in several ways.

The standard has been successfully adopted by several European countries: as Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark, Italy. Among them, Norway has begun the FM switch-off at the beginning of 2017, and other countries have plans for the Digital Switch-Over.

Piano Nazionale di Assegnazione delle Frequenze 2018

PNAF 2018

Editorial staff

On this website is available the following document

“Consultazione dei soggetti di cui all’articolo 1, comma 6), lettera a), punto 2 della legge 31 luglio 1997, n. 249”

Active project

Recommender Systems for Audio and Video Contents

An investigation of the solutions to limit information overload for radio television media

The advent of the Internet and the proliferation of digital services have led to a radical change in the way people enjoy radio and television. The plethora of products, services and content available on the Internet has accustomed its users to interactivity, the ability to search and choose when and what media content to listen, transforming the traditional radio and television listeners into an active consumers, capable of expressing their tastes and preferences. Paradoxically, the vast amount of content available has created an informative overhead and created the problem of finding the most suitable content for each user.
Recommender Systems represent the technological response to the need of relevance. In this context, the broadcaster has the opportunity to evolve its communicative paradigm: in addition to broadcast its content, it can propose the most relevant to its users.

Active project

TV signals on ultra-wideband optical fibre networks

Optical fibres are now increasingly popular in telecommunications, due to their extremely high bandwidth, their very low attenuation, their complete immunity to electromagnetic interference and their reduced diameter and weight.
For these reasons, they are playing an increasing role in trasporting TV content, both for in-building TV signal distribution within the multi-service optical infrastructure, which is mandated in all new buildings (Italian Law 164, 2014) and for TV consumption via broadband networks, which will benefit from ongoing investments in FTTH (Fiber to The Home) architectures, where the fibre is terminated at each building. In Italy, network operators are launching massive optical fiber investment plans over the next five years, not only to cover the most densely populated areas (A and B) but also for less profitable areas (C and D).

Digital Radio Deployment in Europe

Update of EBU R138 on Digital Radio Deployment in Europe

Paolo Casagranda

The Radio Group of the EBU Strategic Programme, co-chaired by Rai Research Centre, has updated the guidelines for Digital Radio Deployment in Europe, included in the EBU R138 recommendation.

 

Active Project

Personalized Linear Radio

Personalized Radio and the Hybrid Content Radio Framework

Personalized Linear Radio is based on the idea of replacing part of the audio of linear radio with personalized and user-specific audio content. Audio content can be downloaded from the Internet or from other sources. The context can be the profile of the listener, her mood and activity she is doing, her position, the weather conditions, and all the factors that contribute to characterizing the listener’s status. The ultimate goal of the service is to improve listeners’ user experience, giving them targeted content, while optimizing the use of network resources.

Active project

Satellite transmissions beyond S2X

The DVB is currently starting a Commercial Study Mission casting DVB’s Vision for Satellite Broadcasting, looking at the near- and long term, and going beyond classic geostationary satellite constellations, anticipating a successful bringing into use of future low earth orbiting payloads.

Rai-CRIT will participate in these activities, according to its leaderschip role and active participation in the DVB technical module dedicated to satellite transmissions, aiming at evaluating opportunities, times and methods for new standardisation activities.

 

Active project

Application of the WiB concept to DVB-T2

WiB  (Wideband Reuse-1 Broadcasting) is a new system concept for DTT where potentially all frequencies within the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band are used on all transmitter  sites (i.e. reuse-1).

Active project

4K, the evolution of Television

The prospects for a new way of watching TV

More pixels or best quality pixels? The problems of a higher resolution signal against an improved quality signal. The challenges of Rai and Reserch Centre towards a high technical quality television.

Active project

High Dynamic Range

The evolution of television signal: same definition, best pixels

The High Dynamic Range allows a significantly improved image. The pixels that compose the image are high quality compared to the current pixels, with more information content. The signal reproduced on the new HDR screens is more dynamic and therefore with a much higher brightness, as well as with a superior detail perception.

Active project

DAB+ signal propagation in tunnels

tests and measurements

Rai is planning to extend DAB+ services to the most important Italian urban areas and to the motorways (including service continuity in tunnels). Radio service transmission inside tunnels requires methods such as the installation of radiating cables (“leaky-feeders”) along the tunnel ceiling. This approach is costly, thus leading RAI Research Center to investigate the feasibility of an alternative approach using direct RF irradiation by means of antennas positioned outside the tunnels (not far from the entrance) or internally.

Active project

Technology for "Data Journalism" activities

In the modern digital age, a big challenge lies in the ability of collecting, connecting, analysing and presenting heterogeneous content streams, accessible through different sources, and published through different media modalities. At this purpose, the project is aiming at identifying an end-to-end workflow for data driven journalism.

Active project

Multimedia IN Digital radio

MIND: a management system for Digital Radio Multimedia Services

MIND is the “Content Management” and “Multichannel Publishing” system that allows to associate and synchronize images and textual information with each of the DAB+ radio channels distributed across the network nationwide. Its ability to synchronize with the channel’s schedule and to choose and create new content to be transmitted, allows to get a channel dynamism even without a continuous publisher’s intervention.

Active project

RaiPlay on connected TV

The blue key on Rai channels

RaiPlay, the new Rai multimedia portal released in 2016, is available as a browser and as an application for mobile devices and smart TVs. CRIT has overseen the software development of the TV version and interactive decoders to DVB MHP standard with gold stamp.

Active project

Stretched TV for improved accessibility

TV adapted to its time

The film and television have undergone an extraordinary evolution in the technical means as in content. The need to keep up with the times and with a society living in ever-increasing pace has profoundly changed the way of realizing television and radio programs. The manner of conducting the programs has changed dramatically from the fifties to the present, from a television in black and white that “entered” into the homes with discretion and played just a few hours of the day of a program like the present with channels broadcasting 24 hours daily and characterized by fast tempos and rhythms. the user is also changed, now the viewer quickly select with the remote control a number of channels to decide what to watch and with TVs connected to the network selects the contents and realizes its own schedule. People with disabilities and the elderly, by contrast, strongly demanding the reduction of the complexity of television and the reduction of technological barriers. The project Stretch TV, launched by RAI – Centre for Research and Technological Innovation and RAI – Social Secretariat, aims to develop a technological solution that allows to significantly improve the usability of television content by persons with sensory disabilities and / or cognitive and the elderly.

Active project

DigiMaster

Digitisation of RAI Master archive

The RAI internal project for the digitisation of archive audiovisual material currently stored on physical legacy carriers. It aims at the preservation of RAI  contents produced and communicated to the public till present day. The Centre for Research and Technological Innovation is involved together with other RAI departments, namely Teche, ICT, and Produzione-TV.

Active project

TV over the Internet: OTT (Over The Top) distribution of audio/video content

Today, TV content can be distributed via Internet as OTT (Over The Top) delivery, allowing to expand the traditional offer with on-demand services. As the QoS (Quality of Service) cannot be guaranteed on the Internet as on a private IP network, during the years specific network architectures have been designed and developed (CDN: Content Distribution Network) and adaptive streaming protocols (ABR: Adaptive Bit-Rate), in order to optimise the data stream according to the broadband connection and the kind o terminal associated to each user.

Scheduled Events

and CRITS involvement