The GmbH (IRT) (''Institute for Broadcasting Technology Ltd.'') was a research centre of German broadcasters (
ARD /
ZDF /
DLR), Austria's broadcaster (
ORF) and the Swiss public broadcaster (
SRG / SSR). It was responsible for research on broadcasting technology. It was founded in 1956
and was located in
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
They invented or were influential in the research, development and field-testing of important standards such as
ARI,
RDS,
VPS,
DSR,
DAB and
DVB-T
DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Fe ...
.
was a founding member of the
Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) consortium of broadcasting and Internet industry companies that established an open European standard (called HbbTV) for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast TV and broadband multimedia applications with a single user interface.
In 2020, ZDF and then other supporters indicated that they planned to withdraw from the organization, so the IRT was closed by the end of 2020.
Former members
*
Bayerischer Rundfunk
(; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...
*
Deutsche Welle
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
*
Deutschlandradio
*
Hessischer Rundfunk
*
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
*
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
(; "North German Broadcasting"), commonly shortened to NDR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, ...
*
*
Radio Bremen
*
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
(; "Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting"), commonly shortened to RBB (; stylized as rbb), is an institution under public law (national broadcaster) for the Germany, German states of Berlin and Brandenburg, based in Berlin and Potsdam. RBB was estab ...
*
Saarländischer Rundfunk
*
SRG SSR
*
Südwestrundfunk
(; ), shortened to SWR (), is a regional public broadcasting corporation serving the southwest of Germany, specifically the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The corporation has main offices in three cities: Stuttg ...
*
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln
*
ZDF
See also
*
BBC Research & Development
*
High Com FM (researched and field-trialed by IRT between 1979 and 1984)
*
Wittmoor List (maintained by IRT up to June 2018)
*
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
(EBU)
*
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU:
*
* is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...
(ITU)
*
DVB Project
*
WorldDAB
*
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...
*
Teletext
* (FTZ)
* (RFZ)
* (IVZ)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
* https://web.archive.org/web/20210430071454/https://www.irt.de/en/home
* https://web.archive.org/web/20210430023055/https://www.irt.de/de/publikationen/technische-richtlinien/technische-richtlinien-archiv Technical guidelines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Institut fur Rundfunktechnik
ARD (broadcaster)
International research institutes
Information technology research institutes
1956 establishments in West Germany
2020 disestablishments in Germany
Radio technology
Research institutes in Munich
Scientific organizations established in 1956
Television technology
ZDF