RDS Standards
The RDS specification was first published by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1984.
The first European RDS standard EN 50067 was published by CENELEC in 1990. It was edited and printed by the EBU.
Updated CENELEC versions followed in 1992 and 1998.
In 1999, the IEC adopted the first worldwide standard for RDS – IEC 62106, ed.1
You can buy the International English version of the RDS standard on the Internet from the IEC in Switzerland.
The precise link is
http://webstore.iec.ch/webstore/webstore.nsf/Standards/IEC%2062106?openDocument
Since more than 10 years already the RDS standard is maintained by the RDS Forum, which closely collaborates on this matter with IEC TC 100 - AUDIO, VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT. An update of the RDS standard is already under preparation and will be submitted for IEC voting in 2007. It will include the RDS Forum agreed enhancement of RT+.
There is also a German DIN version available. This one can also be bought on the Internet and the precise link is
http://www.beuth.de/langanzeige/DIN+EN+62106/56726293.html
Earlier versions of the RDS standard were also available in French. They are no longer re-issued as nobody volunteered to pay the editorial work in spite of the fact that all text elements where translated and the figures and tables where also available already.
The difference between the IEC version and the older CENELEC EN version of 1998 is really very small. There are only editorial differences; none in the technology.
The RDS Forum has still a number of printed copies of the EN 50067:1998 on stock. These can be made available for training purposes for a relatively small fee. To get an offer, please contact the RDS Forum Office
A free non-printable PDF copy of the IEC 62106 RDS standard can be down downloaded here.
For copyright reasons, the RDS Forum cannot enable the printing function.
The IEC standard is not valid in the United States. Here RDS exists in a slightly modified version, called RBDS and adapted to meet specific requirements of the North American FM broadcasters. The RBDS standard has the official reference NRSC-4-A. It is maintained by the US National Radio Systems Committee. More details regarding the development of this standard can be found on this web site:
RDS can only be applied in countries that use the band 87.5 to 108 MHz for FM broadcasting. This is not the case in Japan for example.
For the display only Latin-alphabet characters are supported. Other character sets can be implemented under the ODA feature in RDS. However no international standards are yet agreed in this particular domain.
The RDS-TMC feature is
separately standardised by CEN/ISO. This set of standards is maintained by
the TMC Forum.
The reference
of these standards is ISO 14819-1,
...-2, ...-3 and …-6.