Channel Characteristics for Fixed and Portable DTV Reception in a Single Frequency Network

Maurício V. Guerra,Luiz A. R. da Silva Mello,Pedro V. G. Castellanos,Jair L. de A. Filho,Carlos V. Rodriguez Ron

doi:10.1590/2179-10742019v18i31778

Abstract

This paper presents the propagation channel characteristics of a digital TV single-frequency network (SFN) obtained by carrying out field measurements using two synchronized transmitters. The measurements are performed at 31 reception points using both a directive reception antenna, which is typical of fixed reception scenarios, and an omnidirectional antenna, which is used to receive mobile signals. The characteristic parameters of the channel are obtained, including the average delay, the root mean square (RMS) delay spread, and the Rician K-factor, which are important for the design of SFN systems. An empirical expression is obtained for the prediction of the RMS delay spread as a function of the K factor and the distances to the transmission antennas.

Highlights

Single-frequency network (SFN) transmission in digital terrestrial television systems is notably different from the traditional single-transmitter mode
Compared with the SISO mode presented in [1], where significant destructive spectral interference is translated to higher bit error rate (BER) values, in these two works the DVB-T2 advanced multiple-input singleoutput (MISO) transmission technique has been shown to be a primary contributing factor associated with the actual digital television (DTV) platforms that fulfill modern technical requirements, and which meet user and market demands for HDTV services
WORK Delay spread parameters have been obtained from measured power delay profile (PDP) collected during a measurement campaign using a two-transmitter TV broadcast SFN that covers a suburban area of the city of Rio de Janeiro and its surroundings

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Single-frequency network (SFN) transmission in digital terrestrial television systems is notably different from the traditional single-transmitter mode. In [6], the SFN threshold reception for broadcasting is obtained by analyzing and evaluating the effects of the delay time between two SFN transmitters within the guard interval time. Compared with the SISO mode presented in [1], where significant destructive spectral interference is translated to higher bit error rate (BER) values, in these two works the DVB-T2 advanced multiple-input singleoutput (MISO) transmission technique has been shown to be a primary contributing factor associated with the actual digital television (DTV) platforms that fulfill modern technical requirements, and which meet user and market demands for HDTV services. The characteristic parameters of the channel are obtained, including the average delay, the root mean square (RMS) delay spread, and the Rician K-factor, which are important for the design of SFN systems.

MEASUREMENT CAMPAIGN

MULTIPATH CHANNEL CHARACTERISTIC PARAMETERS

Rician K-Factor

RESULTS

CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER WORK