In order to catch up with the current update of Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver technology, Thailand’s NBTC issued a new technical standard called BS 3004-2567. This standard mainly focuses on Technical Standard of Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver devices imported, distributed, or sold to that country. With the issuance of this new standards, it is expected that it will bring more benefits for both consumers as well as the broadcasting industry as a whole.
Then, what’s new from NBTC BS 3004-2567? From what’s stated, this regulation defines the minimum requirements for the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) receivers encoding MPEG-4 High Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding Version 2 (MPEG-4 HE AAC v2) or DA3+ Audio, which can be found in three types of DAB receivers:
(1) DAB receiver in vehicles (Automotive Receiver), covering the DAB receiver installed in new Vehicle) as well as those that are sold as a replacement unit (Replacement Unit).
(2) Home or portable digital radio receiver (Domestic, Portable Receiver)
(3) Any other type of digital radio receiver that is an additional part for installation in a vehicle (Adaptor for Analogue In-Vehicle Receiver)
However, please be noted that this regulation does not cover digital radio receivers that cannot operate by themselves (Non-Standalone Receiver), for example receivers that connect through a computer in the form of Dongles or PCI Cards, and digital radio receivers that are assembled from parts that cannot process by themselves (Non-Standalone Receiver).
Read also: NBTC Digital Broadcasting Regulation Draft for Radio Receivers and Transmitters
Table of Contents
Technical Standard of Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver
The type of Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver can be classified into 3 types based on the demodulation requirements of each DAB Receiver type. This classification can be explained in the following table:
| Receiver type | DAB+ | FM | AM |
| Digital broadcasting receiver type (1) | Support | Support | Support |
| Type (2) digital broadcasting receiver | Support | Support | Choice |
| Type (3) digital broadcasting receiver | Support |
General technical characteristics of Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver
Technical Standard of Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receivers must comply with ETSI TS 103 461 v1.2.2 (2020-10) [1] or later versions of this standard, and comply with the following requirements:
(1) All three types of digital radio receivers mentioned above must be able to display Thai characters (Thai Script). These also must comply with ETSI TS 101 756 v2.4.1 (2020-08) [2], Annex E, or Newer Version
(2) Digital broadcasting receiver type (1), in the case of supporting broadcasting services AM and FM broadcasting systems must have technical characteristics in accordance with the appendix
(3) Type (2) digital radio receivers that support FM and AM broadcasting services (if any) must have technical specifications in accordance with the appendix.
Technical characteristics for the Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver for automotive (both for installation in the new vehicles (New Vehicle) as well as the replacement units (Type (1) digital radio receiver).
The technical specifications for Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver type (1) must comply with Clause 6 of ETSI TS 103 461 v1.2.2 (2020-10) [1] or a later version of this standard, except for Clause 6.10 Display (Text Display). For the display, it must set the radio receiver to display (Text Display) as follows:
(1) Specify the ability to display messages or lists of service items in complete messages according to the ETSI TS 103 461 v1.2.2 (2020-10) [1] standard or a newer version.
(2) It is required that the Thai language text must be displayed completely (Thai Regional Profile) According to ETSI TS 101 756 v2.4.1 (2020-08) [2], Annex E or later version.
H2: Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver for household or portable digital radio receivers (Domestic, Portable Receiver) or Type (2) digital radio receivers
The technical specifications for type (2) digital broadcasting receivers shall comply with Clause 5 of ETSI TS 103 461 v1.2.2 (2020-10) [1] or a later version, except for Clause 5.10 Display (Text Display). ). For the display, it must set the radio receiver to display (Text Display) as follows:
(1) Capable of displaying messages or lists of service items in complete messages according to the ETSI TS 103 461 v1.2.2 (2020-10) [1] standard, or a newer version.
(2) It is required to explicitly decode the dynamic text label signals from the extended Programme Associated Data (X-PAD) if the display of the message to the radio receiver is to be cancelled, even if only a part of the message is displayed, in accordance with ETSI TS 103 461 v1.2.2 (2020-10) [1] or later versions.
(3) Specify that it must be able to display Thai language messages completely (Thai Regional Profile) and must comply with the ETSI TS 101 756 v2.4.1 (2020-08) [2], Annex E or newer versions.
Technical characteristics of Technology (Core Technology Requirements) of Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver
The technological characteristics of Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver must comply with clauses 7 and 8 of ETSI TS 103 461 v1.2.2 (2020-10) [1] or later versions of this standard. Besides, there’s an additional testing for decoding Thai language Service Information (Thai Profile). The standard of this is according to ETSI TS 101 756 v2.4.1 (2020-08) [2], Annex E or later versions, according to Table 2.
Table 2. Service Information decoding test
| Test | Details | Test Results |
| 1 | It can support displaying Thai character symbols according to ETS TS 101 756, Annex E standard in UTF-16 encoding in FIG type 2 instruction set. | Can display symbols All Thai characters |
| 2 | Can support displaying Thai language symbols according to ETS TS 101 756, Annex E standards. UTF-8 encoding in FIG type 2 instructions | Can display symbols All Thai letters |
Additional terms of Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver
Digital radio receivers are required to come with a user manual in both Thai and/or English. If the Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver is sold with a remote control, it must be equipped with batteries. And if there is an antenna, it must use the frequency band for digital broadcasting services.
Read also: Thailand NBTC Approval
Electrical Safety Requirements
Electrical Safety requirements of digital broadcasting receivers is specified in one of the following standards:
| 8.1 IEC 62368-1 [3] | Audio/Video, information and Communication technology equipment – Part 1: Safety Requirements |
| 8.2 TIS 62368, Volume 1 [4] or newer versions or other equivalent standards | Audio, video, information and Communications technology equipment, Volume 1 Safety requirements. |
Appendix: Technical specifications Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver for AM and FM systems
Table 1 Technical specifications of AM radio receivers
| Number | Section | Refer | Note |
| 1 | AM broadcasting | ||
| 1.1 | Frequency Range | 526.5 – 1606.5 kHz | |
| 1.2 | Modulation (Type of Modulation) | Double Sideband Amplitude Modulation (Demodulation): A3 (Double Sideband Amplitude Modulation) | |
| 1.3 | Channel Spacing | 9 kHz | |
Table 2 Technical specifications of FM receiver
| Number | Section | Refer | Note |
| 2 | FM broadcasting | ||
| 2.1 | Frequency Range | 87.50-108.00 MHz | |
| 2.2 | Modulation (Type of Modulation) | Can demodulate (Demodulation) via Frequency: F3 (Frequency Modulation) | |
| 3.3 | Channel Spacing | 250 kHz | Must be able to adjust the frequency channel in the increments of 250 kHz. |
That’s all we need to inform regarding NBTC BS 3004-2567, which is the new Thailand Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver. If you need the original source of this document, you may visit the official publication of Thai NBTC in this link: https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/48574.pdf And for those who are about to sell, export, or distribute their Digital Broadcasting Radio Receiver in Thailand, it’s highly recommended to comply with this new requirements. The compliance can be proven by obtaining compliance certificate from NBTC. Should you have any other questions regarding this matter, feel free to drop us an email.
Best Regards!
