DVB-H

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) is a technical specification for bringing broadcast
services to handheld receivers. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in
November 2004. The DVB-H specification (EN 302 304) can be downloaded from the official DVB-H
website[1]. The major competitor of this technology is Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB).

Technical explanation

DVB-H Frame structure

It is the latest development within the set of DVB transmission standards. DVB-H technology adapts
the successful DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial) system for digital terrestrial television
to the specific requirements of handheld, battery-powered receivers. DVB-H can offer a downstream
channel at high data rates which can be used as standalone or as an enhancement of mobile telecoms
networks which many typical handheld terminals are able to access anyway. Time slicing technology
is employed to reduce power consumption for small handheld terminals. IP datagrams are transmitted
as data bursts in small time slots. Each burst may contain up to 2 Mbits of data (including parity bits).
There are 64 parity bits for each 191 data bits, protected by Reed-Solomon codes. The front end of the
receiver switches on only for the time interval when the data burst of a selected service is on air.
Within this short period of time a high data rate is received which can be stored in a buffer. This buffer
can either store the downloaded applications or playout live streams. The achievable power saving
depends on the relation of the on/off-time. If there are approximately ten or more bursted services in a
DVB-H stream, the rate of the power saving for the front end could be up to 90%. DVB-H is a
technical system which was carefully tested by the DVB-H Validation Task Force in the course of
2004 (see ETSI Technical Report TR 102 401).

Frequencies

DVB-H is designed to work in the following bands:

VHF-III (170-230 MHz, or a portion of it)

UHF-IV/V (470-862 MHz, or a portion of it)

L (1.452-1.492 GHz)

DVB-H can coexist with DVB-T in the same multiplex.

DVB-IPDC

The set of DVB specifications for IP Datacasting (DVB-IPDC) can most simply be described as the
essential components required to deploy a commercial mobile TV service based on Internet Protocol.
DVB-IPDC is a set of systems layer specifications originally designed for use with the DVB-H
physical layer, but that will ultimately be used as a higher layer for all DVB mobile TV systems,
including DVB-SH, and indeed as a higher layer for any other IP capable system. In short, with regard
to mobile TV, these specifications define what is delivered, how it is delivered, how it is described,
and how it is protected. They cover system architecture, use cases, DVB PSI/SI signalling, electronic
service guide (ESG), content delivery protocols (CDP), and service purchase and protection (SPP).
Almost all of these have now been published as formal ETSI standards. The full set of DVB-IPDC
specifications is available from dvb-h.org.

DVB-SH

DVB-SH (satellite services to handheld devices) is a hybrid (satellite/terrestrial) standard derived from
DVB-H and ETSI SDR. A similar architecture is already being used in S-DMB, XM Satellite Radio,
Sirius Satellite Radio, MobaHo! but DVB-SH promises to be more powerful. The envisaged system
incorporates a high power geostationary satellite for outdoor and light indoor coverage integrated with
a terrestrial repeater (low power gap-filler) network for indoor coverage in urban areas.

Alcatel expects to deliver DVB-SH terrestrial repeaters in 2007. Eutelsat and SES ASTRA plan to
launch an S-band satellite covering Europe in 2009. DVB-SH satellite services will become
operational in 2009 but maybe DVB-SH operations will start earlier with terrestrial networks in
certain regions of the world. Chip maker DiBcom is designing a chipset that will be compatible with
the DVB-H standard working in the S-Band, Sagem is developing DVB-H phones that support both
UHF and S-Band. It's an official DVB Project standard. The DVB Technical Module launched a Study
Mission on SSP (Satellite Services to Portable Devices) and in June 2006 TM-SSP[2] started to develop
standards. The DVB Project approved the definitive standard in February 2007.[3]

French Agence de l'innovation industrielle is now financing this effort through TVMSL, a project
leaded by Alcatel that plans to develop a DVB-H standard suitable for hybrid satellite and terrestrial
transmission. Other partners involved in TVMSL are Sagem, Alenia, RFS, Philips, DiBcom,
TeamCast, UDcast, CNRS, INRIA, CEA-LETI. [4]

Trials

DVB-H trials are now underway in Malaysia, Singapore, Helsinki, Berlin, Oxford, Pittsburgh, Paris,
Madrid, Sydney, South Africa, The Hague, Brussels, Bern, Vienna, Philippines, Copenhagen,
Budapest [14] and Erlangen[5][6]. O2 Ireland commenced a trial in March 2007 with a single high site
1.2 kW transmitter at 3 Rock covering the Greater Dublin Area.

A comprehensive list of DVB-H trials and service launches is available from dvb-h.org.

Service launches

In Albania, DigitALB launched nationwide Service on 20 December 2006. And Begun shipping
commercially their product on 21 April 2007 In Finland, the license to operate a DVB-H network was
awarded to Digita in March 2006. In May 2006 they announced that they had signed a contract with
Nokia to use its DVB-H platform for the service. The network was supposed to be launched on the 1st
December 2006, but disagreements regarding copyrights of the broadcasted material have stalled the
launch. Initially the network should cover 25% of the population with coverage area Helsinki, Oulu
and Turku. Commercial service is supposed to start in the beginning of 2007; among the services
available will be Voice TV and Kiss digital radio.

In India, Indian public broadcaster Prasar Bharti (also known as DD for Doordarshan) has teamed with
Nokia to start a DVB-H. And trial is going in various metropolitan areas to test the reception quality of
the broadcast coverage. The full service available from May 2007.

In Italy, 3 Italia launched nationwide services in May 2006, both Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) and
Mediaset in June 2006, Vodafone in December 2006.
In Singapore, TVMobile uses DVB technology to broadcast live news, entertainment and music
content directly to over 1500 Singapore Bus Service buses islandwide, along with various other indoor
and outdoor locations.

In the United States, a nationwide service will be rolled out by Modeo a company owned by Crown
Castle. The service will begin in 2006 in New York City and will roll out to the top thirty markets in
the USA during 2007. Modeo owns 5 MHz of spectrum nationwide at 1600 MHz. At the NAB trade
show in April 2006, a second service launch was announced by SES Americom and Aloha Partners.
Titled Hiwire Mobile Television, the service is set to begin trials in Las Vegas in Q4 2006. Hiwire
owns two 6 MHz channels of spectrum at 700 MHz covering most of the country.

In Vietnam, VTC launched nationwide service on 21 December 2006.

In France, Germany, Spain and South Africa nationwide service launch is planned for 2007.

In China two companies have been issued licenses by the government, Shanghai Media Group and
China Central Television. Trials are currently underway, with service launch expected before the 2008
Beijing Olympics.

Devices

Gigabyte - GSmart t600, GSmart q60 (all with DVB-T, DVB-H, T-DMB and DAB)

LG - U900, KU950

Motorola -

Nokia - Nokia 7710 (experimental DVB-H version), Nokia N92, Nokia N77,

Samsung - SGH-P910, SGH-P920, SGH-P930, SGH-P940, SGH-F510

Philips - HotMAN2

Sagem - My Mobile TV, MyX8

ZTE - N7100

Modeo - 3389

Development tools

Tea Vui Huang's DVB-H ESG Simulator[7] simulates Modeo, Nokia N92 and Sagem myMobileTV
DVB-H handsets

Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting

A picture of ISDB-T (taken during a tour of the NHK Osaka broadcasting station)

Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB) is the digital television (DTV) and digital radio
format that Japan has created to allow radio and television stations there to convert to digital.

Introduction

ISDB is maintained by the Japanese organisation ARIB. The standards can be obtained for free at the
Japanese organization DiBEG website and at ARIB.

The core standards of ISDB are ISDB-S (satellite television), ISDB-T(terrestrial), ISDB-C (cable) and
2.6GHz band mobile broadcasting which are all based on MPEG-2 video and audio coding as well as
the transport stream described by the MPEG-2 standard, and are capable of high definition television
(HDTV). ISDB-T and ISDB-Tsb are for mobile reception in TV bands. 1seg is the name of an ISDB-T
service for reception on cell phones, laptop computers and vehicles.

The concept was named for its similarity to ISDN, because both allow multiple channels of data to be
transmitted together (a process called multiplexing). This is also much like another digital radio
system, Eureka 147, which calls each group of stations on a transmitter an ensemble; this is very much
like the multi-channel digital TV standard DVB-T. ISDB-T operates on unused TV channels, an
approach taken by other countries for TV but never before for radio.

Video and audio compression

ISDB has adopted the MPEG-2 video and audio compression system. ATSC and DVB also adopted
the same system. DVB and ISDB also provide for other video compression methods to be used,
including JPEG and MPEG-4, although JPEG is only a required part of the MHEG standard.

Transmission

The various flavors of ISDB differ mainly in the modulations used, due to the requirements of
different frequency bands. The 12 GHz band ISDB-S uses PSK modulation, 2.6 GHz band digital
sound broadcasting uses CDM and ISDB-T (in VHF and/or UHF band) uses COFDM with
PSK/QAM.

Interaction

Besides audio and video transmission, ISDB also defines data connections (Data broadcasting) with
the internet as a return channel over several media (10Base-T/100Base-T, Telephone line modem,
Mobile phone, Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11) etc.) and with different protocols. This is used, for
example, for interactive interfaces like data broadcasting (ARIB STD B-24) and electronic program
guides (EPG).

Interfaces and Encryption

ISDB describes a lot of (network) interfaces, but most importantly the Common Interface for
Conditional Access (ARIB STD-B25) with the Common Scrambling Algorithm MULTI2 required for
(de-)scrambling TV.

The ISDB CAS system is operated by a company named B-CAS in Japan; the CAS card is called B-
CAS card. The Japanese ISDB signal is always encrypted by the B-CAS system even if it is a free TV
program. That is why it is commonly called "Pay per view system without charge". An interface for
mobile reception is under consideration.

ISDB supports RMP (Rights management and protection). Since all DTV systems carry digital data
content, a DVD or HD recorder could easily copy content losslessly, so that a great deal of pirated
content could be circulating the market. Hollywood requested copy protection; this was the main
reason for RMP. The content has three modes: “Copy once”, “Copy free” and “Copy never”. In “Copy
once” mode a program can be stored on a hard disc recorder, but cannot be copied, only moved to
another copy-protected media - and this move operation marks content “Copy one generation”, which
permanently prevents further copying. “Copy never” programming may only be timeshifted and
cannot be permanently stored. Currently Japanese government is evaluating using DTCP 'Encryption
plus Non-Assertion' mechanism to allow making multiple copies of digital content between compliant
devices[1].

Receiver

There are two types of ISDB receiver: TV and STB (Set top box). The aspect ratio of ISDB television
is 16:9; televisions fulfilling these specs are called Hi-vision TVs. There are three TV types: CRT
(Cathode ray tube), PDP (Plasma display panel) and LCD (Liquid crystal display), with LCD being
the most popular Hi-Vision format on the Japanese market right now.

LCD share as measured by JEITA in November 2004 was about 60%. While PDP set occupies the
high end market with units that are over 50 inches (1270 mm), PDP and CRT set shares are about 20%
each. CRT set are considered low end for Hi-Vision.

STB is sometimes referred to as digital tuner. High-end ISDB STB have several interfaces:

F connector(s) for RF input.

D4 connector for HDTV monitor in home cinema.

Optical digital audio interface for audio amplifier and speakers for 5.1 surround audio in a home
cinema.

IEEE 1394 (aka FireWire) interface for digital data recorders (like DVD recorders) in a home cinema.

RCA video jack provides SDTV signal that is sampled down from the HDTV signal for analog CRT
television sets or VCRs.

RCA audio jacks provide stereo audio for analog CRT television sets or VCRs.

S video are for VCRs or analog CRT television sets.

10BASE-T/100BASE-T and modular jack telephone line modem interfaces for an internet connection.

B-CAS card interface to de-scramble.

IR interface jack for controlling a VHS or DVD player.

Problems

Though ISDB is a feature-rich system, many problems have surfaced recently.

Copy Protection Technology

Every TV broadcast (including free TV) is encrypted with "Copy-Once", which allows users to record
to a digital media (D-VHS, DVD, HDD, etc) but does not allow dubbing to another digital media. On
the other hand, the "Copy-Once" technology does not prohibit all types of dubbing. It is possible to
dub to an analog media (such as standard VHS) and if recorded to an HDD, it will allow users to
"Move" the contents to a D-VHS, but not copy. In contrast, 1seg digital broadcasts which are for low-
bandwidth mobile reception and occupy 1/13th of a digital channel, are transmitted 'in the clear' and
do not carry copy protection information.

Many users are also very worried about the recent news of severe protection in the future. There are
modes in ISDB to now allow the output of signal from an Analog connector (D-connector,
Component, Composite, S-Video, etc). There are already plans to not allow analog output for
"Copyright Protection" reasons. (Same as Blu-ray and HD-DVD) This will make all currently sold
STB Tuners, and the majority of LCD/Plasma TVs without HDMI inputs unusable. Plus all analog
VHS, D-VHS that can only record via analog input, and all DVD players will also become unusable.
These more limiting copy protection technologies will all start after analog broadcasting ends (when
there won't be any choice for viewers). Currently, no financial assistance schemes have been
announced, and viewers without proper devices will be forced to buy a new compatible TV or set top
box in order to view ISDB broadcasts. Though not clear, it is said that there are also plans to protect
all programs with "Copy-Never".

B-CAS Card

The B-CAS card is required to decode all broadcasts. These cards are included with every digital TV
or Tuner at no charge. To use this card, you must agree to the statement written on the registration
card. Despite the fact that the card must be inserted to watch TV, if you don't agree to the statement,
then the user cannot watch digital broadcasts. Essentially, users are "forced" to agree with the
statement. Though registration is not required, it is recommended to fully enjoy interactive programs.
Unregistered B-CAS card displays a watermark in a corner of the screen, suggesting the user to
register. However, many viewers worry about the leaking of personal information, and the
power/rights the TV stations have to access personal information for almost every citizen in Japan. In
case of loss or destruction, or buying second-hand equipment, new B-CAS card can be issued for a fee
of 3,000 Yen[2].

Services

One HDTV or up to three SDTV services within one channel.

Provides Data broadcasting.

Interactive services such as games or shopping, via telephone line or broadband internet.

EPG (Electronic Program Guide)

Ability to send firmware patches for the TV/tuner over the air.

ISDB-S

History

Japan started digital broadcasting using the DVB-S standard by PerfecTV in October/1996, and
DirecTV in December/1997, with communication satellites. Still, DVB-S did not satisfy the
requirements of Japanese broadcasters, such as NHK, key commercial broadcasting stations like
Nippon Television, TBS, Fuji Television, tv asahi, TV Tokyo, and WOWOW (Movie-only Pay-TV
broadcasting). Consequently, ARIB developed the ISDB-S standards. The requirements were HDTV
capability, interactive services, network access and effective frequency utilization, and other technical
requirements. The DVB-S standard allows the transmission of a bit stream of roughly 34 Mbit/s with a
satellite transponder, which means the transponder can send one HDTV channel. Unfortunately, the
NHK broadcasting satellite had only four vacant transponders, which led ARIB and NHK to develop
ISDB-S: The new standard could transmit at 51 Mbit/s with a single transponder, which means that
ISDB-S is 1.5 times more efficient than DVB-S and that one transponder can transmit two HDTV
channels, along with other independent audio and data. Digital satellite broadcasting (BS digital) was
started by NHK and followed commercial broadcasting stations on 1 December 2000. Today, SKY
PerfecTV!, successor of Skyport TV, and Sky D, CS burn, Platone, EP, DirecTV, J Sky B, and
PerfecTV!, adopted the ISDB-S system for use on the 110 degree (east longitude) wide-band
communication satellite.

Technical specification

Summary of ISDB-S (Satellite digital broadcasting)

Transmission Modulation TC8PSK, QPSK, BPSK

channel coding (Hierarchical transmission)
Error correction coding Inner coding:Trellis [TC8PSK] and Convolution

Outer coding :RS(204,188);

TMCC:Convolution coding+RS
Time domain multiplexing TMCC
Conditional Access Multi-2
Data broadcasting ARIB STD B-24 (BML, ECMA script)
Service information ARIB STD B-10
Multiplexing MPEG-2 Systems
Audio coding MPEG-2 Audio（AAC）
Video coding MPEG-2 Video

Channel

Frequency and channel specification of Japanese Satellites using ISDB-S

Method BS digital broadcasting Wide band CS digital broadcasting

Frequency band 11.7 to 12.2 GHz 12.2 to 12.75 GHz
Transmission bit rate 51 Mbit/s (TC8PSK) 40 Mbit/s (QPSK)
Transmission band width 34.5 MHz* 34.5 MHz

Compatible with 27 MHz band satellite transponder for analog FM broadcasting.

ISDB-T

History

HDTV was invented at NHK STRL. The research of HDTV started as early as in the 1960s, though
only in 1973 a standard was proposed to the ITU-R (CCIR). In the 1980s, the television camera, high
definition cathode-ray tube, video tape recorder and editing equipment among others were developed.
In 1982 NHK developed MUSE (Multiple sub-nyquist sampling Encoding), the first HDTV video
compression and transmission system. MUSE adopted digital video compression system, but for
transmission frequency modulation had been adopted after a digital-to-analog converter converted the
digital signal. In 1987, NHK made demonstration of MUSE in the Washington D.C and NAB. The
demonstration made great impression on the U.S. As a result of this, the U.S. developed ATSC, a
terrestrial digital DTV system. Europe also developed their own DTV system, DVB. Although the
DVB-T service started operating a few weeks later than the ATSC system, it quickly outstripped ATSC
in terms of user base. Japan started R&D of a completely digital system in the 1980s that led to ISDB.
Japan started terrestrial digital broadcasting using ISDB-T standard by NHK and commercial
broadcasting stations on the 1 December 2003.

Feature

ISDB-T is characterized by the following features:

ISDB-T can transmit a HDTV channel and a mobile phone channel within the 6 MHz bandwidth
usually reserved for TV transmissions.

ISDB-T allows to switch to two or three SDTV channels instead of one HDTV channel (multiplexing
SDTV channels).

The combination of these services can be changed at anytime.

ISDB-T provides interactive services with data broadcasting.

ISDB-T provides EPG (Electronic Program Guides).

ISDB-T supports internet access as a return channel that works to support the data broadcasting.
Internet access is also provided on mobile phones.

ISDB-T provides SFN (Single frequency Network) and on-channel repeater technology. SFN makes
efficient utilization of the frequency resource (spectrum).

ISDB-T can be received indoors with a simple indoor antenna.

ISDB-T provides robustness to multipath interference ("ghosting").

ISDB-T provides robustness to co-channel analog television interference.

ISDB-T provides robustness to impulse noises that come from motor vehicles and power lines in
urban environments.

ISDB-T is claimed to allow HDTV to be received on moving vehicles at over 100 km/h (this has not
yet been proven in real-world operation); DVB-T can only receive SDTV on moving vehicles, and it is
claimed that ATSC can not be received on moving vehicles at all (however, in early 2007 there were
reports of successful reception of ATSC on laptops using USB tuners in moving vehicles).

1seg is a mobile terrestrial digital audio/video broadcasting service in Japan. Although 1seg is
designed for mobile usage, reception has proved problematic in moving vehicles.
Adoption

ISDB-T was adopted for commercial transmissions in Japan in December 2003. It currently comprises
a market of about 100 million television sets. ISDB-T had 10 million subscribers by the end of April
2005. Along with the wide use of ISDB-T, the price of STB is getting low. The price of ISDB-T STB
in the lower end of the market is ¥19800, or the US dollar equivalent of $169 as of 19 April 2006.
(Japanese) uniden

Brazil*, which currently uses an analogue TV system (PAL-M) that slightly differs from any other
country's, has chosen ISDB-T for its DTV format, calling it SBTVD-T (Sistema Brasileiro de
Televisão Digital-Terrestre). Other than that, there are a few countries, mainly from Mercosur, such as
Argentina and Venezuela strongly considering ISDB-T in order to enjoy common market benefits from
the regional South American development of the technology instead of importing it, as is the case with
the other standards. Also, it seems to have an advantage over ATSC and DVB-T in reception tests. The
ABERT/SET group in Brazil did system comparison tests of DTV under the supervision of the CPqD
foundation. The comparison tests were done under the direction of a work group of SET (the Brazilian
Television Engineering Society) and ABERT (the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television
Broadcasters). The ABERT/SET group selected ISDB-T as the best choice in digital broadcasting
systems among ATSC, DVB-T and ISDB-T. ISDB-T was singled out as the most flexible of all for
meeting the needs of mobility and portability. It is most efficient for mobile and portable reception. In
June 29, 2006, Brazil announced ISDB-T as the chosen standard for Digital TV transmissions, to be
fully implemented by 2016. See SBTVD.

Technical specification

Segment structure

ARIB has developed the segment structure called OFDM (see figure). ISDB-T divides the frequency
band of one channel into thirteen segments. Broadcaster can select the combination of segments to
use: this choice of segment structure allows for flexibility of services. For example, ISDB-T can
transmit a LDTV and a HDTV using one TV channel or change to 3 SDTV, a switch that can be
performed anytime. ISDB-T can also change the modulation scheme at the same time.

Summary of ISDB-T

Transmission Modulation 64QAM-OFDM,

channel coding
16QAM-OFDM,
QPSK-OFDM,
DQPSK-OFDM

(Hierarchical transmission)
Error correction coding Inner coding,

Convolution 7/8,3/4,2/3,1/2

Outer coding :RS(204,188)

Guard interval 1/16,1/8,1/4
Interleaving Time, Frequency, bit, byte
Frequency domain multiplexing BST-OFDM (Segmented structure OFDM)
Conditional Access Multi-2
Data broadcasting ARIB STD B-24 (BML, ECMA script)
Service information ARIB STD B-10
Multiplexing MPEG-2 Systems
Audio coding MPEG-2 Audio (AAC)
Video coding MPEG-2 Video MPEG-4 AVC /H.264*

H.264 used in one segment broadcasting for Mobile phone.

Channel

Specification of Japanese terrestrial digital broadcasting using ISDB-T

Method terrestrial digital broadcasting

Frequency band VHF/UHF, Super high band
Transmission bit rate 19 Mbit/s(64QAM)
Transmission band width 5.6 MHz*

Compatible to 6 MHz band terrestrial analog TV broadcasting.

2.6 GHz Mobile satellite digital audio/video broadcasting

MobaHo! is the name of the services that uses the Mobile satellite digital audio broadcasting
specifications. MobaHo! started its service on 20 October, 2004.

ISDB-Tsb

ISDB-Tsb is the terrestrial digital sound broadcasting specification. The technical specification is the
same as ISDB-T. ISDB-Tsb supports the coded transmission of OFDM siginals.

ISDB-C

ISDB-C is cable digital broadcasting specification. The technical specification is developed by

JCTEA.

Standards

ARIB and JCTEA developed the following standards. Some part of standards are located on the pages
of ITU-R and ITU-T.

Table of terrestrial HDTV transmission systems

Table 1: Main characteristics of three DTTB systems

Systems ATSC 8-VSB DVB COFDM ISDB BST-COFDM
Source coding
Video Main profile syntax of ISO/IEC 13818-2 (MPEG-2 - video)
ATSC Standard
ISO/IEC 13818-2 (MPEG-2 – ISO/IEC 13818-7 (MPEG-2 –
Audio A/52 (Dolby AC-
layer II audio) and Dolby AC-3 AAC audio)
3)
Transmission system
Channel coding
R-S (207, 187, t =
Outer coding R-S (204, 188, t = 8)
10)
Outer 52 R-S block
12 R-S block interleaver
interleaver interleaver
Rate 2/3 trellis Punctured convolution code: Rate 1/2, 2/3,3/4, 5/6, 7/8 Constraint
Inner coding
code length = 7, Polynomials (octal) = 171, 133
Bit-wise interleaving, frequency
Inner 12 to 1 trellis code Bit-wise interleaving and
interleaving and selectable time
interleaver interleaver frequency interleaving
interleaving
Data
16-bit PRBS 16-bit PRBS 16-bit PRBS
randomization
BST-COFDM with 13 frequency
COFDM segments
QPSK, 16QAM and 64QAM DQPSK, QPSK, 16QAM and
Hierarchical modulation: multi- 64QAM
8-VSB and 16- resolution constellation Hierarchical modulation: choice
Modulation
VSB (16QAM and 64 QAM) of three different modulations on
Guard interval: 1/32, 1/16, 1/8 each segment
& 1/4 of OFDM symbol Guard interval: 1/32, 1/16, 1/8 &
2 modes: 2k and 8k FFT 1/4 of OFDM symbol
3 modes: 2k, 4k and 8k FFT

ATSC

Established in 1982, the Advanced Television Systems Committee is the group that developed the
ATSC digital television standard for the United States, also adopted by Canada, Mexico, South Korea,
and recently Honduras and is being considered by other countries.

ATSC standards intend to replace (in the United States) the analog NTSC television system (NTSC is
used mostly in North America and Japan). The high definition television standards defined by the
ATSC produce wide screen 16:9 images up to 1920×1080 pixels in size — more than six times the
display resolution of the earlier standard. However, a host of different image sizes are also supported,
so that up to six standard-definition "virtual channels" can be broadcast on a single TV station using
the existing 6 MHz channel.

ATSC also boasts "theater quality" audio because it uses the Dolby Digital AC-3 format to provide
5.1-channel surround sound. Numerous auxiliary datacasting services can also be provided.

Broadcasters who use ATSC and want to retain an analog signal must broadcast on two separate
channels, as the ATSC system requires the use of an entire channel. Virtual channels allow channel
numbers to be remapped from their physical RF channel to any other number 1 to 99, so that ATSC
stations can either be associated with the related NTSC channel numbers, or all stations on a network
can use the same number. There is also a standard for distributed transmission (DTx) which allows for
booster stations.

ATSC standards are marked A/x (x is the standard number) and can be downloaded freely from ATSC
website (see External Links).
Many aspects of ATSC are patented, including elements of the MPEG video coding, the AC-3 audio
coding, and the 8-VSB modulation[1]. As with other systems, ATSC depends on numerous interwoven
standards, e.g., the EIA-708 standard for digital closed captioning, leading to variations in
implementation.

History

The official mission of ATSC was to develop a home-grown standard for digital television in the
United States (although one of the things that motivated broadcasters to make a petition to US
Congress was the fact that Motorola asked the Federal Communications Commission to allocate them
some unused(!) parts of TV channels spectrum). Thus the ATSC was formed in the 1983 by the US
Congress. The ATSC was charged with choosing the technology for The big part of ATSC history
became interwoven with the Grand Alliance - the consortium of leading companies and laboratories in
the television equipment industry.

Resolution

The ATSC system supports a number of different display resolutions, aspect ratios, and frame rates.
The formats are listed here by resolution, form of scanning (progressive or interlaced), and number of
frames (or fields) per second (see also the TV resolution overview below):

640x480 (4:3 Standard Definition; square pixel aspect ratio)

interlaced

29.97 (59.94 fields/s)

30 (60 fields/s)

progressive

23.976

24

29.97

30

59.94

60

704x480 (4:3 or 16:9 Standard Definition; non-square pixel aspect ratio)

interlaced

29.97 (59.94 fields/s)

30 (60 fields/s)

progressive

23.976

24

29.97
30

59.94

60

1280x720 (16:9 High Definition; square pixel aspect ratio)

progressive

23.976

24

29.97

30

59.94

60

1920x1080 (16:9 High Definition; square pixel aspect ratio)

interlaced

29.97 (59.94 fields/s)

30 (60 fields/s)

progressive

23.976

24

29.97

30

The different resolutions can operate in progressive scan or interlaced mode, although the highest
1080-line system cannot display progressive images at the rate of 59.94 or 60 frames per second.
(Such technology was seen as too advanced at the time, plus the image quality was deemed to be too
poor considering the amount of data that can be transmitted.) A terrestrial (over-the-air) transmission
carries 19.39 megabits of data per second, compared to a maximum possible bitrate of 10.08Mbit/s
allowed in the DVD standard.

"EDTV" displays can reproduce progressive scan content and frequently have a 16:9 wide screen
format. Such resolutions are 720×480 in NTSC or 720×576 in PAL, allowing 60 progressive frames
per second in NTSC or 50 in PAL.

There are three basic display sizes for ATSC. Basic and enhanced NTSC and PAL image sizes are at
the bottom level at 480 or 576 lines. Medium-sized images have 720 lines of resolution and are 960 or
1280 pixels wide (for 4:3, traditional version, and 16:9, wide screen version, aspect ratio respectively).
The top tier has 1080 lines either 1440 or 1920 pixels wide (here, too, for 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio
respectively). 1080-Line video is actually encoded with 1920×1088 pixel frames, but the last eight
lines are discarded prior to display. This is due to a restriction of the MPEG-2 video format, which
requires the number of coded luma samples (i.e., pixels) to be divisible by 16.
Codecs

For transport, ATSC uses the MPEG-2 Systems specification, known as Transport stream, to
encapsulate data, subject to certain constraints. ATSC uses 188-byte MPEG transport stream packets to
carry data. Before decoding of audio and video takes place, the receiver must demodulate and apply
error correction to the signal. Then, the transport stream may be demultiplexed into its constituent
streams.

MPEG-2 video is used as the video codec, also with certain constraints.

Dolby Digital AC-3 is used as the audio codec, though it was officially standardized as A/52 by the
ATSC. It allows the transport of up to five channels of sound with a sixth channel for low-frequency
effects (the so-called "5.1" configuration). In contrast, Japanese ISDB HDTV broadcasts use MPEG's
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) as the audio codec, which also allows 5.1 audio output. DVB allows
both.

Modulation and transmission

Main articles: 8VSB, 256QAM

ATSC signals are designed to use the same 6 MHz bandwidth as NTSC television channels (the
interference requirements of A/53 DTV standards with adjacent NTSC or other DTV channels are very
strict) . Once the video and audio signals have been compressed and mutiplexed, the transport stream
can be modulated in different ways depending on the method of transmission.

Terrestrial (local) broadcasters use 8-VSB modulation that can transfer at a maximum rate of 19.39
Mbit/s, sufficient to carry several video and audio programs and metadata.

Cable television stations can generally operate at a higher signal-to-noise ratio and can use 16-VSB or
256-QAM to achieve a throughput of 38.78 Mbit/s, using the same 6 MHz channel.

In recent years, cable operators have become accustomed to compressing standard-resolution video for
digital cable systems, making it harder to find duplicate 6 MHz channels for local broadcasters on
uncompressed "basic" cable.

Currently, the Federal Communications Commission requires the cable operators to carry the analog or
digital transmission of a terrestrial broadcaster (but not both), when so requested by the broadcaster
(the "must-carry rule"). The CRTC in Canada has similar rules in force with respect to ATSC signal
carrage.

However, cable operators in the US (and to a lesser extent Canada) can determine their own method of
modulation for their plants.

Consequently, most North American cable operators have added 256-QAM to the 16-VSB standard
originally used.

Cable operators have still been slow to add ATSC channels to their lineups for legal, regulatory and
plant & equipment related reasons.

256 QAM is a cable standard, not an ATSC standard; however, over time it is expected to be included
in the ATSC standard
There is also a standard for transmitting ATSC via satellite, however this is only used by TV networks.
Very few teleports outside the US support the ATSC satellite transmission standard, but teleport
support for the standard is improving.

The ATSC satellite transmission system is not used for direct broadcast satellite systems, which in
North America have long used a system similar to DVB-S.

Other systems

A majority of the world's nations have chosen to adopt the DVB standard, as can be seen on the status
list on the DVB Project website.

ATSC coexists with the DVB-T standard, and with ISDB-T being implemented in Japan. (ISDB
modulation also serves as a basis of the SBTVD-T standard in Brazil.) A similar standard called
ADTB was developed for use as part of China's new DMB-T/H dual standard. While China has
officially chosen a dual standard, there is no requirement that a receiver work with both standards and
there is no support for the ADTB modulation from broadcasters or equipment and receiver
manufacturers.

Taiwan (Republic of China) has rejected 8-VSB (a method adopted for terrestrial broadcasting under
the ATSC digital television standard in the United States and Canada) and has chosen DVB-T
COFDM as its official modulation. This was a direct result of broadcaster dissatisfaction with the 8-
VSB.[1]

Because of potential use outside of existing NTSC areas, the ATSC system includes the capability to
carry PAL- and SECAM-formatted video (576 displayable lines, 50 fields or 25 frames per second)
along with NTSC (486 displayable lines, 60 x 1000/1001 fields or 30 x 1000/1001 frames per second)
and film (24 frames per second).

Comparison

While the ATSC system has been criticized as being complicated and expensive to implement and use,
both broadcasting and receiving equipment are now comparable in cost with that of DVB.

The ATSC signal is definitely more susceptible to changes in radio propagation conditions than DVB-
T and ISDB-T. If ATSC were able to dynamically change its error correction modes, code rates,
interleaver mode, and randomizer, the signal could be more robust even if the modulation itself did not
change. It also lacks true hierarchical modulation, which allows the SDTV part of an HDTV signal to
be received even in fringe areas where signal strength is low. For this reason, an additional modulation
mode, enhanced-VSB (E-VSB) has been introduced, allowing for a similar benefit.

In spite of ATSC's fixed transmission mode, it is still a robust signal under various conditions. 8VSB
was chosen over COFDM in part because many areas of North America are rural and have a much
lower population density, thereby requiring larger transmitters and resulting in large fringe areas. In
these areas, 8VSB was shown to perform better than other systems.

COFDM is used in both DVB-T and ISDB-T, and for ISDB-H, as well as DVB-H and HD Radio in
the United States. In metropolitan areas, where the great and increasing majority of North Americans
live, COFDM is said to be better at handling multipath. While ATSC is also incapable of true single-
frequency network (SFN) operation, the distributed transmission mode, using on-channel repeaters,
has been shown to improve reception under similar conditions. Thus, it may not require more
spectrum allocation than DVB-T using SFNs.
Standards

Below are the published standards for ATSC digital television service.

Prior to the group's DTV work, it published A/49, a ghost-canceling reference signal for NTSC.

A/52B: audio data compression (Dolby AC-3 and E-AC-3)

A/53E: "ATSC Digital Television Standard" (the primary document governing the standard)

A/55: "Program Guide for Digital Television" (now deprecated in favor of A/65 PSIP)

A/57A: "Content Identification and Labeling for ATSC Transport" (for assigning a unique digital
number to each episode of each TV show, to assist DVRs)

A/63: "Standard for Coding 25/50 Hz Video" (for use with PAL and SECAM-originated
programming)

A/64A "Transmission Measurement and Compliance for Digital Television"

A/65C: "Program and System Information Protocol for Terrestrial Broadcast and Cable" (PSIP
includes virtual channels, program guides, and content ratings)

A/68: "PSIP Standard for Taiwan" (defines use of Chinese alphabet via Unicode 3.0)

A/69: recommended practices for implementing PSIP at a TV station

A/70A: "Conditional Access System for Terrestrial Broadcast"

A/76: "Programming Metadata Communication Protocol" (XML-based PMCP maintains PSIP

metadata though a Tv station's airchain)

A/80: "Modulation and Coding Requirements for Digital TV (DTV) Applications Over Satellite"

A/81: "Direct-to-Home Satellite Broadcast Standard" (not yet implemented by any services)

A/90: "Data Broadcast Standard" (for datacasting)

A/92: "Delivery of IP Multicast Sessions over Data Broadcast Standard" (for IP multicasting)

A/93: "Synchronized/Asynchronous Trigger Standard"

A/94: "ATSC Data Application Reference Model"

A/95: "Transport Stream File System Standard" (TSFS is a special file system for downloading
computer files)

A/96: "ATSC Interaction Channel Protocols" (interactive TV)

A/97: "Software Data Download Service" (used by UpdateTV for upgrades and software patches in
ATSC tuners)

A/100: "DTV Application Software Environment - Level 1" (DASE-1)

A/101: "Advanced Common Application Platform" (ACAP)

A/110A: "Synchronization Standard for Distributed Transmission" (single-frequency networks)

A/112: E-VSB

Mobile TV

Because the FCC forced broadcasters to use 8VSB modulation instead of COFDM, mobile reception
of digital stations has so far been difficult to impossible, especially when moving at vehicle speeds. To
overcome this, there are now at least three standards which claim to improve mobile reception:
Samsung's A-VSB, Harris and LG's MPH, and now the ATSC's own ATSC-M/H. This is in addition to
other proprietary standards like MediaFLO, and worldwide open standards like DVB-H and DMB-T.
Like DVB-H and ISDB 1seg, the proposed ATSC moblie standards are backward-compatible with
existing tuners, despite being added to the standard well after the original standard was in wide use.
Mobile reception of some stations will still be more difficult because the FCC sold-off the rights to 18
of the UHF channels, forcing several broadcasters to stay on VHF. This band requires larger antennas
for reception, and is more prone to impulse noise from engines and rapidly-changing multipath
conditions, areas where ATSC's 8VSB is inferior to other standards' COFDM.

Video resolution overview

Designation Usage Definition Rate (Hz)

examples (lines) Interlaced Progressive
(fields) (frames)
Low; LDTV, VCD 240; 288 24, 30; 25
MP@LL (SIF)
Standard; SDTV, SVCD, 480 (NTSC, 60 24, 30
MP@ML DVD, DV PAL-M)
576 (PAL, 50 25
SECAM)
Enhanced EDTV 480; 576 60; 50
High; HDTV, HD 720 24, 30, 60;
MP@HL DVD, Blu-ray 25, 50
Disc, HDV 1080 50, 60 24, 30; 25

This table illustrates total horizontal and vertical pixel resolution via box size.
It does not accurately reflect the screen shape (aspect ratio) of these formats,
which is either 4:3 or 16:9.

Other uses for the ATSC waveform

The ATSC waveform is excellent for autoranging on Earth Moon Earth (Moonbounce or EME)
telecommunications circuits.

However, the amateur radio and astronomy community has not developed a slower speed version of
the ATSC waveform for experimentation. The ATSC standards keeping organization has not worked to
develop slower data rate versions of the signal for other uses.

slowing the datarate of ATSC to 2 mbs would be enough to allow for very robust amateur television

at even slower datarates like 512 kbs, ATSC becomes very optimal for EME circuits, but would still be
capable of transmitting video

Notes

^ Argentina officially chose ATSC in 1998, and has been conducting experimental ATSC broadcasts
since 1999. The governments of Argentina and Brazil had decided independently which digital TV
standard each nation would deploy, but have recently agreed to work together to implement a single
standard for the Mercosur customs union. The current government in Argentina appears to be
reconsidering its earlier decision. ATSC and DVB are apparently both being considered, but there
appears to be no interest in ISDB.

Later 10/26/06

Argentina did reconsider its choice of 8-VSB, but has been sitting on the fence for a number of years.
On November 17, 2006, the three standards (DVB, ATSC and ISDB) were presented to Argentinian
Government officials, but no decision to change the standard has been made. Brazil has now chosen
ISDB-T and this decision may influence other Central and South American countries to follow their
lead.