TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2018 /CNW/ – Radioplayer Canada, the radio streaming app that puts more than 500 radio stations in the palms of listeners, has just unveiled the Reference Radio, a prototype touchscreen radio for dashboards, designed to show how smart ‘hybrid’ technology can transform in-car listening. It’s the latest move in a series of ambitious partnership projects, aimed at helping car companies and broadcasters deliver a better user-experience in the vehicles of the future.
The ‘hybrid’ prototype is multiplatform, able to play HD Radio, FM, and Internet radio streams. But unlike most modern car radios, the Reference Radio shows a single list of stations across all those platforms. There’s no need to select different sources like HD Radio, FM, or Internet first – the driver just taps a station logo to play it, and the system does the rest.
“Reference Radio represents another major step toward an even better user experience for radio listeners,” said Julie Adam, Senior Vice President, Rogers Radio, and Board Chair of Radioplayer Canada. “Our collective industry goal is to provide simple, seamless, and safe radio listening for the automobile.”
The new technology was demonstrated at an industry event in Berlin, in front of an audience of radio professionals and representatives from car companies. The interface was shown fully working, on a 7-inch Android touchscreen (the size that’s often seen in modern car dashboards).
Safety has been a key factor in the design, reducing ‘driver distraction’ with an easy, intuitive interface. A large display shows what’s playing, and the driver switches between favourite stations by tapping a logo, swiping the screen, or pressing the buttons on the steering wheel. In the next phase of development, voice control will be tested, along with podcasts and personalization.
“We’ve distilled years of research, development and testing into this prototype, which will be the catalyst for a long-overdue conversation between broadcasters and car companies,” says Michael Hill, Managing Director, Radioplayer Worldwide. “The Radioplayer Reference Radio shows that radio can be simple, smart and sexy in the connected cars of the future.”
The Reference Radio is the culmination of years of research and development with industry partners like HD RADIO, Digital Radio UK, RadioDNS, and Audi. The prototype shows how broadcasters like the BBC, Global, Bauer, and dozens of international radio groups want their stations to appear in the car radios of the future.
Car companies, equipment manufacturers, and all interested parties are invited to feed back on the prototype. Future versions of the design could be available to them to adapt for their dashboards, along with feeds of Radioplayer station data to power the experience. This is delivered via the ‘WRAPI’ (Worldwide Radioplayer API). You can contact Radioplayer Worldwide to discuss the partnership possibilities by emailing: contact@radioplayer.co.uk
A video demonstration of the UK version of Reference Radio in action can be seen here https://youtu.be/eVCkjmm1E0w.
Radioplayer Canada brings CBC/Radio-Canada together with the stations of Bayshore Broadcasting, Blackburn Radio, Blackgold Radio, Byrnes Communications, CAB-K Broadcasting, Central Ontario Broadcasting, Clear Sky Radio, Cogeco Media, Corus Radio, Durham Radio, Golden West Broadcasting, Harvard Broadcasting, Stingray, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Rogers Media, Rawlco Radio, RNC Media, Saskatoon Media Group, Vista Radio, and Westman Communications Group, as well as the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC).
Radioplayer Canada app is available on the App Store and on Google Play. For additional business opportunities, please visit www.radioplayer.ca.
About Radioplayer Canada
Radioplayer Canada is a highly collaborative partnership among many of Canada’s finest radio broadcasters to provide listeners with a world-class streaming experience across a variety of platforms and connected devices, on mobile, tablet, desktop and in-car. Radioplayer Canada unites broadcasters, fosters competition on content, and allows radio to compete with other digital forms of audio. For more, see www.radioplayer.ca follow @radioplayercanada on Twitter.
About Radioplayer Worldwide
Radioplayer Worldwide is a group of collaborating broadcasters across Germany, Austria, Ireland, Norway, Belgium, Canada, and Peru. They are all using the Radioplayer technology platform, and between them they represent thousands of stations. They work alongside UK Radioplayer to ensure radio stays strong in car dashboards, smart speakers, and on mobile and desktop platforms. For more, see www.radioplayerworldwide.com or follow @rpworldwide on Twitter.
SOURCE Radioplayer Canada
