Terrestrial TV Broadcasting Research Articles

Biological Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields above 100 MHz on Fauna and Flora: Workshop Report.

This report summarizes the effects of anthropogenic radiofrequency electromagnetic fields with frequencies above 100 MHz on flora and fauna presented at an international workshop held on 5-7 November 2019 in Munich, Germany. Anthropogenic radiofrequency electromagnetic fields at these frequencies are commonplace; e.g., originating from transmitters used for terrestrial radio and TV broadcasting, mobile communication, wireless internet networks, and radar technologies. The effects of these radiofrequency fields on flora, fauna, and ecosystems are not well studied. For high frequencies exceeding 100 MHz, the only scientifically established action mechanism in organisms is the conversion of electromagnetic into thermal energy. In accordance with that, no proven scientific evidence of adverse effects in animals or plants under realistic environmental conditions has yet been identified from exposure to low-level anthropogenic radiofrequency fields in this frequency range. Because appropriate field studies are scarce, further studies on plants and animals are recommended.

Measurement of personal radio frequency exposure in Japan: The Hokkaido Study on the Environment and Children's health

The opportunities for exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) among children are increasing. Children's exposure to RF-EMF in Japan was recorded using a personal exposure meter (ExpoM-RF), and factors associated with the exposure examined. A total of 101 children, aged 10–15 years old, participated in the prospective birth cohort “Hokkaido study”. RF-EMF data were recorded in the 700 MHz-5.8 GHz frequency range for 3 days. The recorded data were summarized into six groups of frequency bands: downlink from mobile phone base stations (DL), uplink from mobile phones to a base station (UL), Wireless Local Area Network (LAN), terrestrial digital TV broadcasting (digital TV), 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz Time Division Duplex (TDD), 1.9 GHz TDD, and total (the summation of power density in all measured frequency bands). A questionnaire was used to document the internet environment (at home) and mobile phone usage. Personal RF-EMF exposure in Japanese children was lower than that reported in studies in Europe. The DL signals from mobile phone base stations were the most significant contributors to total exposure, while Wireless LAN and digital TV were only higher at home. The urban residence was consistently associated with increases in the four groups of frequency bands (DL, UL, digital TV, and TDD). TDD level has several associations with mobile phone usage (calls using mobile phones, video viewing, text message service, and online game). The association between inattention/hyperactivity subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and higher Wireless LAN exposure at nighttime was also noted. Further studies with additional data will shed light on factors involved in RF-EMF exposure among Japanese children.

BER PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF 4QAM/OFDM OVER DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF LAPLACE FADING CHANNEL.

Multicarrier transmission, also known as (OFDM) Orthogonal Frequency Division multiplexing, in wireless communications, it has been proven to be an essential technique for countering multipath fading. It has been used successfully for HF radio applications and has been selected as the interface for digital audio transmission, digital terrestrial TV broadcasting, and high-speed wireless local area networks in Europe. In this paper, we suggested a new design for modeling multipath fading channels, such as the Laplace fading channel, in order to discover new simulation results and effects. Furthermore, the variance of the Laplace fading channel has been computed and the new Bit Error Rate (BER) derivation is established, and the performance of (M-QAM), M-ary Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (with M=4 over OFDM system under Laplace fading channels in Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) is discussed and compared to the conventional M-QAM/OFDM system Rayleigh fading channel in AWGN. All the simulation results are examined using the optimum signal detection based on the Euclidean distance and evaluated using Monte-Carlo simulation.

Radio Propagation in Terrestrial Broadcasting Television Systems: A Comprehensive Survey

During the last two decades, terrestrial TV broadcasting has evolved from analog to digital technology, permitting a better spectrum efficiency, being more resistant to noise and interference as well as improving signal quality. High Definition TeleVison (HDTV) has been introduced to enhance the viewer's experience. HDTV and Ultra High Definition TeleVision bring the challenge of having a quasi-error free performance at a bit error rate as low as 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-12</sup> ; i.e. less than one uncorrectable error during one hour's continuous transmission of 5 Mbps data stream. Such low error rates require robust standards, careful network planning and optimized service operation. Propagation phenomena have a direct (and possibly critical) impact on those three pillars. This paper fills the current gap of a thorough survey on propagation methods and models for broadcasting. We contribute to this field with a description and analysis of propagation phenomena concerning different aspects of the broadcast network planning, broadcast standard evaluation, and broadcast service operation. The paper provides also a technical perspective of state-of-the-art TV broadcast standards and discusses the relevancy of propagation studies with future and development and regulation challenges.

Enhanced interpolation-based interference rejection combining for black-space cognitive radio in time-varying channels

In this paper, we investigate multi-antenna interference rejection combing (IRC)-based black-space cognitive radio (BS-CR) operation in time-varying channels. The idea of BS-CR is to transmit secondary user (SU) signal in the same frequency band with the primary user (PU) such that SU’s power spectral density is clearly below that of the PU, and no significant interference is inflicted on the PU receivers. We explore the effects of interpolation and mobility on the novel blind IRC technique which allows such operation mode for effective reuse of the PU spectrum for relatively short-distance CR communication. We assume that both the PU system and the BS-CR use orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms with common numerology. In this case, the PU interference on the BS-CR signal is strictly flat-fading at subcarrier level. Sample covariance matrix-based IRC adaptation is applied during silent gaps in CR operation. We evaluate the effect of the gap length on the link performance, using known PU channel-based interference covariance estimation as reference. We also propose an interpolation-based scheme for tracking the spatial covariance in time-varying channels, demonstrating significantly improved robustness compared to the earlier scheme. The performance of the proposed IRC scheme is tested considering terrestrial digital TV broadcasting (DVB-T) as the primary service. Also joint PU and co-channel CR interference cancellation is included in the study. The resulting interference suppression capability is evaluated with different PU interference power levels, silent gap durations, data block lengths, and CR device mobilities.

Layered-Division-Multiplexing for High Spectrum Efficiency and Service Flexibility in Next Generation ATSC 3.0 Broadcast System

LDM, a non-orthogonal multiplexing technology, is one of the main innovations in ATSC 3.0, a next generation terrestrial TV broadcast system. This article gives a general overview of the LDM technology, its current applications in the ATSC 3.0 system, and its cost in terms of the required additional complexity. The transmission capacity benefit offered by LDM is explained by theoretical analysis and demonstrated by simulation results. An efficient implementation scheme is described with less than 15 percent complexity increase. New service coverage paradigms enabled by LDM are presented. Finally, more future innovative applications of LDM, along with their benefits and challenges, are introduced. These include using LDM for wireless in-band backhaul, combining LDM with scalable video coding, and the application of LDM in other future broadcasting and 4G/5G broadband systems.

Busy tone based coexistence algorithm for WRAN and WLAN systems in TV white space

TV White Space (TVWS) refers to frequency band reserved only for licensed terrestrial TV broadcasting and is opened to unlicensed use under regulatory conditions. While regulations protect licensed systems from interference, interference among unlicensed systems is left mainly to manufacturers. Consequently, there is a need to develop new coexistence approaches between TVWS networks. Busy tone broadcasting is a coexistence method, which can be used by TVWS networks to announce the selected frequency band is occupied. In this paper, a busy tone based coexistence algorithm is proposed for IEEE 802.11af and IEEE 802.22 networks and analyzed by considering different client distributions experiencing log-normal shadowing, where the exact interfering packet rate and successful packet transmission rate expressions are obtained and validated by simulations for different scenarios. The results show that with the proposed coexistence approach, a WLAN can reliably detect the busy tone signal to change its frequency band and can reduce interference to WRAN. Even if there is no available frequency band for the WLAN, the WRAN still maintains its enhanced successful packet transmission performance. The deployment of the proposed algorithm is important for successful coexistence between cognitive wireless networks, where interference is not regulated, such as in TVWS bands.

SIG TV Terestial di Kota Padang

This study introduces a Geographic Information System (GIS) WEB-based terrestrial TV to the community in facilitating the people to find the desired direction of the TV broadcast. To find a way to do a television broadcast signal sender to determine the location and the location of the signal receiver terrestrial tv stations then calculate the latitude and longitude coordinates vector of both locations. With the study of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) terrestrial TV broadcasting can be taken into consideration in terrestrial TV broadcasting and information to the public about Web-based terrestrial TV broadcasting in Padang.

A Study on Correlation among Viewers by Medium based on KBS PIE-TV Index

In order to respond to the ever-changing media environments in the era of smart and mobile technology, KBS has introduced and partially applied PIE-TV and PIE-nonTV modes that monitor the average number of viewers among the national population group by means of the sample household extraction method which is a traditional way of rating investigation. This study analyzes the correlation between the number of viewers of premiere, re-air broadcasting, and MPP channel programs and the number of OTT-based VOD viewers in reference to the data extracted from PIE-TV survey results. KBS conducted a survey for 3 months between June and August 2017 to measure the PIE-TV Index, based on which the above-mentioned correlation was analyzed with programs classified to entertainment, drama, and cultural programs. For data analysis, SPSS (Ver. 18.0 for Window, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) was utilized. It was assumed that when p<0.05 in the confidence interval of 95%, statistically significance would be secured. Among the 30 subjects in the simple correlation analysis, the parameter was determined by the Person correlation coefficient and the non-parameter by the Spearman correlation coefficient. Analysis results are as below: ① As the number of viewers of premier entertainment, drama, and cultural programs was larger, the number of VOD viewers was larger accordingly. ② As for entertainment and drama programs, as the number of re-air broadcasting viewers was larger, the number of VOD viewers decreased accordingly. ② As for entertainment and drama programs, as the number of MPP viewers was larger, the number of VOD viewers decreased accordingly. It is expected that this statistical data can be utilized for strategic planning of MPP channel lineups including terrestrial TV broadcasting, cable TV, etc.

A proposed enhanced scheme for the dynamic frequency hopping performance in the IEEE 802.22 standard

AbstractThis paper presents an integrated scheme for the dynamic‐frequency‐hopping (DFH) technique provided in literature for the IEEE 802.22 standard supporting wireless regional area networks (WRANs). The performance of DFH is analyzed thoroughly for various channel models and for a multiple‐input multiple‐output systems. The core of this research is based on the coexistence of digital terrestrial TV broadcasting and the WRANs in the TV white space. The proposed technique aims at protecting the incumbent users from interfering with the cognitive broadband access in the TV spectrum. In order to achieve this, spectrum sensing is performed in the intended working channel in DFH while spectrum monitoring with an energy‐ratio (ER) algorithm is applied during the WRAN data transmission in the working channel. Hence, in the DFH‐ER algorithm, the reappearance of a digital terrestrial TV signal in a band occupied by the WRANs would be detected immediately. This will provide interference free performance for the licensed signal as well as reliable data transmission for the unlicensed ones. Both analyses and simulation results of the proposed DFH‐ER technique compared with the conventional DFH scenario exemplify the enhancement of the WRAN data transmission while protecting the digital terrestrial TV users. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Co-Channel and Adjacent Channel Interference and Protection Issues for DVB-T2 and IEEE 802.22 WRAN Operation

This paper presents a study on the coexistence issue of digital terrestrial TV broadcasting and cognitive broadband access operation in the TV white spaces (TVWS). Extended measurements were performed to evaluate the protection of the existing Second generation of digital video broadcasting terrestrial standard (DVB-T2) services in the presence of IEEE 802.22 WRAN co-channel and adjacent channel interference. The absence of picture failure over 30 consecutive seconds on decoded DVB-T2 streams has been monitored to obtain the maximum tolerable level of IEEE 802.22 WRAN interference, which ensures the protection of the primary broadcast system. This paper considers practical DVB-T2 system configuration options by varying parameters of the standard, such as constellation and code rate, FFT size, pilot pattern and guard interval, and rotated constellations and compares them in terms of robustness with respect to the interference generated by IEEE 802.22 WRAN operation. The goal is to provide cognitive broadband operators in the TVWS with guidelines to optimize their network by choosing the parameters that best fit their needs in case of coexistence with DVB-T2 broadcasting services.

Beachfront commons

Technology competition between wireless communication technologies can lead to new, more or less disruptive services. A potentially disruptive technology would be to have unlicensed transmission in the lower UHF bands at power levels up to, e.g. 2 W EIRP. This would give citizens a share of the best spectrum for free use. Tools against congestion could be based on mandatory stochastic channel back-off or, if multiple users are present, on adaptive power and bandwidth control. Compared to the FCC TV white space regulation, no back link would be needed as the spectrum would be used exclusively by wireless devices. In an environment of shrinking interest in terrestrial TV broadcasting, such a regulation is expected to create a new market for high-range consumer devices, competing with licensed communication, while also being suitable for offloading traffic from licensed operations. Furthermore, the approach will allow for efficient digitization of equipment for Programme Making and Special Events (PMSE), but could also be made compatible with novel disaster relief services. To enable accurate interference prediction, it is proposed that, instead of only providing transmitter regulation, receivers should also be regulated, such as be required to adhere to a certain minimum selectivity. The proposal should be taken up in the WRC process.

A Novel Internal Dual-Polarized EBG Antenna for Indoor Reception of UHF Terrestrial Digital TV Broadcasting

A novel internal antenna has been developed for indoor reception of UHF terrestrial digital TV broadcasting. The overall size of some configurations of the new antenna is less than 2 cm3, and its weight is less than 1 gm. It is made of a flexible material that can be bent or folded and shaped in any form. It is an unbalanced resonant antenna that does not need a matching circuit. The new antenna can be fully embedded inside TV sets or portable computers. It has a bandwidth of about 68%. Thus, it can also cover the bands of GSM and CDMA, which is advantageous in case of portable computers. The new antenna is linearly polarized. It can be easily modified to be dual polarized by combining two orthogonal antennas with one or two feed points. The overall efficiency of some configurations of the new indoor digital TV receiving antenna is more than 80%, and its peak gain is about 2 dBi over the whole UHF band. The peak gain can be increased to more than 5 dBi by adding EBG (electromagnetic bandgap) structures. The EBG structure also increases the efficiency to around 90%.

분산 중계기 Part 3: 필드 테스트 결과

본 논문에서는 ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) 지상파 디지털 TV 방송 방식에서의 분산 주파수 망(distributed frequency network)을 위해 개발된 분산중계기(Distributed Translator: DTxR)에 대한 필드 테스트 결과를 기술하고, 그 결과를 분석한다. 캐나다 오타와에서 수행된 필드 테스트에서는 두 대의 DTxR 신호가 동시에 수신되는 중첩 지역을 중심으로 안테나 및 수신기 종류에 따른 각 측정 지점의 수신 전계 강도, 잡음 마진, 수신 여부, 수신가능 방위각을 측정하였다. 필드 테스트 결과에 의하면, 두 대의 DTxR이 모두 켜졌을 때 수신 전계 강도 및 잡음 마진은 각각의 DTxR이 켜졌을 때 보다 증가하였지만, 수신율 및 수신가능 방위각은 수신기의 종류에 따라 증가하거나 비슷하였다. This paper presents and analyzes field test results of distributed translator (DTxR) for distributed frequency network (DFN) in the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) terrestrial digital TV broadcasting system. In the field test, according to types of antennas and receivers in areas where are overlapped by two DTxRs' coverage, we measured reception power, noise margin reception possibility, and ease of reception at each test point. By the field test results, when two DTxRs are on, reception power and noise margin are increased than when one DTxR is on. However, reception rate and ease of reception are similar or increased according to types of receivers.

분산 중계기 Part 2: 실험실 테스트 결과

본 논문에서는 ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) 지상파 디지털 TV 방송 방식에서의 분산 주파수 망(distributed frequency network)을 위해 개발된 분산중계기(Distributed Translator: DTxR)에 대한 실험실 테스트 결과를 기술하고, 그 결과를 분석한다. DTxR 실험실 테스트는 수신부 테스트와 송신부 테스트로 구분된다. DTxR 수신부 테스트는 dynamic range, 랜덤 잡음, 단일 에코, 인접채널 신호의 간섭 테스트 등을 포함하고, DTxR 송신부 테스트는 출력신호의 품질(대역외 방사, 송신 품질, 위상잡음), 출력신호들의 주파수 일치, TxID (Transmitter Identification) 신호가 상용 수신기에 미치는 영향 평가 등을 포함한다. 실험실 테스트 결과에 의하면, DTxR 수신부는 0~17 us 범위 내의 평균 -2.5 dB의 단일 에코 신호를 제거하며, 랜덤 잡음에 대한 TOV (Threshold of Visibility)는 평균 17.5 dB이다. 또한, DTxR 송신부 출력 신호는 미국의 FCC (Federal Communications Commission) 규격을 만족하며, DTxR 출력신호들의 주파수 차이는 0.001 Hz 보다 작다. This paper presents and analyzes laboratory test results of distributed translator (DTxR) for distributed frequency network (DFN) in the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) terrestrial digital TV broadcasting system. The DTxR laboratory test is classified to receiving part test and transmitting part test. The receiving part test includes dynamic range, random noise, single echo, and adjacent channel interference. The transmitting part test includes quality of output signal (out-of channel emission, quality of transmitting signal, and phase noise), frequency synchronization among output signals, and TxID (Transmitter Identification) signal's affect to the legacy receiver. By the laboratory test results, the receiving part of DTxR eliminates average -2.5 dB of single echo and has average 17.5 dB at TOV (Threshold of Visibility) under random noise environment. In addition, the transmitting part of DTxR satisfies the specification of US FCC (Federal Communications Commission), and frequency difference among DTxR output signals is less than 0.001 Hz.

Internet Driven Convergence - Policy Implications

Digital content, Internet Protocol (IP), Moore’s law and a move from dedicated hardware to software based systems and rights management are enabling convergence. Convergence can be thought of as occurring in three phases. In the first phase of convergence legacy market players have entered one another’s traditional markets and offered a range of services and service bundles to end users. In the second phase internet based applications and content have been offered by non-traditional players in the communications and entertainment markets such as Apple, Microsoft, Skype, Google, Hulu and Spotify. In the third phase, which we may now be entering, applications, services and content delivered via the internet replace existing platform specific services. Access platforms are likely to change, with fibre replacing copper; and cable (intermediate between fibre and copper), fibre and satellite progressively replacing terrestrial broadcasting. Mobile access will be enhanced, may see consolidation and will compete with copper access. Bundling of services by service providers is likely to give way to device based integration of applications by consumers, with personal devices playing a central role. The internet is at the heart of these transformations, both in terms of demand for enhanced access and “innovation without permission” in relation to applications and content. If these changes become widespread they will fundamentally alter the nature of competition with access to “platform independent” applications and content on the internet replacing competitive models based on access to infrastructure. In this paper we argue that current communications and media policy is a barrier to the next phase of convergence. Specific barriers to change include: 1) inflexible and inefficient spectrum allocations; 2) platform specific universal service requirements; 3) obstacles to the shut-down of legacy services and networks and the creation of new ones. We propose a number of ways in which regulatory policy needs to change. The long history of legacy networks and services and the institutions that have developed around them - over a century for copper based fixed telephony and over 70 years for terrestrial TV broadcasting - make the required changes challenging. The challenges go beyond the responsibilities of sector specific regulation and involve broader public policy and political choice. They also require a shift of focus from promoting competition within traditional value chains to allowing disruptive innovation. As John Maynard Keynes set out in The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money the challenge may lie “not in the new ideas, but in escaping the old ones, which ramify, for those brought up as most of us have been, into every corner of our minds.”

The Brazilian digital television system access device architecture

AbstractIn early 2003, the Brazilian government accelerated the decision process on analog to digital transition of terrestrial TV broadcast infrastructure, naming this initiative The Brazilian Digital Television System (SBTVD). This paper describes the access device architecture we have proposed for the SBTVD, as well as related issues. We focused on several requirements among which: flexibility to support the social economical diversity enabling market implementations that can vary on cost, complexity and applications; digital inclusion targeting a minimal cost architecture providing a simple access device to information and services by convergent broadcast and point-to-point telecommunication means; and scalability targets incorporating state-of-the-art technology, considering emerging services and the current legacy analog TV infrastructure available in Brazil. We cover the following specific topics: an architecture overview considering scalability, interoperability and regional and international requirements, operating system and middleware interfaces, audio and video coding formats and associate standards, technical and economical analysis, usability and user interface consistency. Finally two prototypes for the outlined access device architecture are reported.

DVB-H: Digital Broadcast Services to Handheld Devices

This paper gives a brief review of the new Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld(DVB-H) standard. This is based on the earlier standard DVB-T, which is used for terrestrial digital TV broadcasting. The new extension brings features that make it possible to receive digital video broadcast type services in handheld, mobile terminals. The paper discusses the key technology elements-4K mode and in-depth interleavers, time slicing and additional forward error correction-in some detail. It also gives extensive range of performance results based on laboratory measurements and real field tests. Finally it presents viewpoints relevant for DVB-H network design and system use in general.

Countdown to the end [digital TV

This paper discusses the different factors that contribute to the limited success of terrestrial digital television not just in the US but around the world. Although the US launched terrestrial digital broadcasts early in 1998, less than five percent of its 103 million households were equipped to receive them at the end of 2004. Fortunately, the technology is fast gaining momentum thanks in large part to government mandates for set design. Add a comprehensive market promotion plan aimed at consumers, and terrestrial digital TV broadcast service could begin to grow rapidly in the years ahead, bringing with it compelling and innovative digital services and an end to analog television.

ディジタルプリディストーション方式ＭＣＰＡの開発

We developed a wide-band, high-efficiency, cost-effective multi-channel power amplifier (MCPA) using digital pre-distortion for digital terrestrial TV broadcasting. In this equipment, a wide-band of 50 MHz and over, is produced by using a high-speed A/D D/A converter that has a sampling frequency of 200 MHz and over. We also developed a new method that detects PA distortion by adding an RF output signal and an inverted RF input signal to reduce dynamic range and used a new algorithm that compensates for a high speed.Using these new methods, we obtained IMs of-50dB and under with multiple channel input and high efficiencies of 10.2-11.2%.