|
The IEEE 54th Annual Broadcast
Symposium |
Scroll down to see all abstracts, click on a link to jump to a session.
|
|
| AM: Video and Audio Distribution via Wireless Broadband - Session
Chair: Thomas M. Gurley, Consultant PM: Broadcasting and Wireless Broadband - Session Chair: Thomas M. Gurley, Consultant PM2: TV Band Repacking for DTV - Session Chair: William Meintel, Techware Evening: DTV Repacking Transition Issues - Question & Answer - Session Chair: William Meintel, Techware |
|
|
|
AM: Digital Radio Broadcast Systems - Session Chair: George
Harris, RF Technologies, Inc |
|
|
|
AM: Digital Television Systems -
Session Chair: Guy Bouchard, CBC Radio-Canada |
Wednesday AM October 13
Welcome and
Opening Remarks David H. Layer, Symposium Chair, NAB
Video and Audio Distribution via Wireless Broadband Session Chair - Tom Gurley, Consultant
|
time |
title |
presenter(s) |
|
|
Introduction of the broadband wireless systems |
Dr.
Yiyan Wu and Dr. Xianbin
Wang |
|
The basic concepts of the
broadband wireless systems are presented. The definitions of |
||
|
|
MIMO and Space-time Code |
Prof.
J.Y. Chouinard |
|
The
transmission of digital television signals over wireless channels is impaired
by frequency selective fading caused by multipath
propagation. MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple Output) systems provide spatial
diversity at both transmitting and receiving ends to ensure reliable
transmission over such fading channels, hence increasing the channel capacity
and achievable data rates. In this presentation, we will describe how
space-time codes (STC) can provide robust transmission over MIMO channels. Multicarrier-based schemes such as MIMO-OFDM, which are
promising for high rate transmission over frequency selective channels, will
be discussed as well. MIMO and space-time coding system could be used for
Digital ENG system |
||
|
|
Ultra WideBand (UWB) |
Prof.. |
|
UWB
(Ultra Wideband) technology under investigation/development by many
organizations and research group world wide as a result of the FCC's adoption
of a first report and order that permits the use of UWB devices. UWB
technology opens the door for new radar and imaging type applications such as
Ground-penetrating radar and through wall imaging. In addition, it allows for
short range, high-speed communication applications such as digital wireless
TV and HDTV distribution. Using UWB, the scarce spectrum resource could be
shared by several users. By spreading the signal over a wide frequency range,
the average power per Hertz will be very low. The signal is very noise-like
and is claimed to be able to co-exist with existing systems and services.
This presentation contains an overview of UWB in terms of: 1) Permissible
emission limits for various types of devices 2) Types of signals that meet
the FCC definitions for UWB 3) UWB channel characteristics 4) Achievable data
rates, based on published channel characteristics 5) UWB interference into
existing services 6) Interference from existing services into UWB devices |
||
|
|
Sensor Networks and Mesh Networks |
Dr.
J. Zhang Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, |
|
Sensor
networks are emerging as both an important new tier in the IT business and a rich
domain of active research especially with wireless technology. Sensor
networks will be of great value in a range of applications, such as asset
management, environment monitoring, factory automation, building automation,
surveillance and security. It involves sensor & hardware design, radio
communications, networking, security, data management and applications.
Dependent upon the applications, there are various possible network
topologies. Among them, mesh networking attracts special attention due to its
salient features. Via ad hoc, multi-hop networking, a mesh network solves
coverage and access problem for mobile/portable nodes to the network
backbone. Currently, ZigBee is only standard-based
technology that addresses the unique needs of most sensory network
applications and enables broad deployment of wireless networks with low cost
and low power solutions. |
||
|
|
Broadband Wireless system for Video and Audio Distribution |
Dr.
X. Wang and Dr. Y. Wu |
|
Real-time
video and audio over IP-based networks, or packet based multimedia networks,
and their pros and cons are presented, as well as related standards/protocols
and development. Broadband wireless technology and standards development in
Europe and Japan are reviewed. Other competing and emerging broadband
technologies (wireline or wireless) are discussed. |
||
|
|
Broadband Wireless Video and Audio Distribution Demonstration: Viewgraphs, DTV/HDTV Video-over-IP via Wireless LAN |
|
|
This
will be a live demonstration of broadband wireless video and audio, conducted
in the session room and will include viewgraphs and DTV/HDTV video-over-IP
via wireless LAN. |
||
(Box
lunch)
Wednesday
PM Session 1 October 13
|
|
title |
presenter(s) |
|
|
Potential UWB Interference
to DVB-S |
Guy Bouchard, Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation, |
|
|
||
|
|
Unlicensed Operation in
the TV Broadcast Bands - Evaluation of FCC NPRM ET Docket Nos. 04-186 and
02-380 |
William Meintel, Techware, Inc. |
|
|
||
|
|
Development of a PDA
Prototype for Convergence of Digital Radio Broadcasting and |
Shingo Izawa, KDDI
Corporation, |
|
In |
||
|
|
DVB Handheld - Bringing
Digital Terrestrial TV to your Pocket |
Jesus Fernandez, |
|
Recently Retevision and
others have joined efforts to develop the basis for IP Datacast
to handheld devices. That includes using digital broadcast networks to send
popular contents to handheld terminals. The keys for user acceptance of this
new family of services include the cost-effectiveness of Digital Broadcasting
for the distribution of popular contents, the massive presence of mobile
telephones in the pockets of 21st century citizens, and the ability of a new
generation of audio and video coding methods to convey real-time or offline
contents at a reduced speed. Central to the technological needs of IP Datacast has been enhancing DVB-T, the successful
standard for DTTV, with those functionalities which allow for low power
consumption in the terminal and a robust channel coding, adapted to handheld
reception. The result is DVB-H, which makes use of time-slicing techniques
and a new MAC-layer FEC (Forward Error Correction) whereby a variable amount
of additional redundancy is introduced in order to flexibly adapt network
planning to handheld reception conditions. |
||
|
|
Datacasting Primer for the |
Mark OBrien, SpectraRep |
|
IP codecs are improving
at a very fast pace, to the point that it is now possible to send standard
definition quality video in just 1.5Mbps of bandwidth. As with most things
digital, IP video has strengths and weaknesses. However, by targeting
applications that take advantage of the strengths of DTV (wireless,
broadband, ubiquitous coverage), and are not hindered by its weaknesses
(one-way, not mobile), broadcasters can use datacasting
to increase revenue and better serve their communities. This session will
explore datacasting, the process of delivering
Internet Protocol data over DTV signals. We will look at the process,
including the differences between live and file based IP video, how and when
to use opportunistic data insertion, recommended data rates, encryption,
conditional access, receiver targeting and other considerations. A live
demonstration of file transfer and both live and file based IP video
delivered over a local DTV station will be included in the presentation. |
||
Wednesday
PM Session 2 October 13
|
time |
title |
presenter(s) |
|
|
US DTV Transition Issues |
Victor Tawil, Maximum
Service TV (MSTV) |
|
In the coming months |
||
|
|
Implementing the New DTV Rules |
Dennis Wallace, Broadcast Consultant |
|
This presentation will look
at the complex issues involved in transitioning the thousands of LPTV,
translator and booster stations in the |
||
|
|
Rules for Translators and LPTV |
Keith Larson, Federal Communications Commission |
|
The FCC is scheduled to release
in September the long awaited regulations that will govern how low power
television stations will transition to digital. These rules will cover LPTV, translator and
booster stations. This presentation
will review the new rules and explain how they will be implemented. |
||
|
|
title |
presenter(s) |
|
|
Panel discussion w/ Q&A |
Victor Tawil, Maximum
Service TV (MSTV) |
|
The DTV Repacking
Transition Issues Workshop and Panel Discussion will give the attendees an
opportunity to hear from the experts their views on how the final transition
to digital will be accomplished. In
addition, they will be able to ask questions and get answers from some of
those who have been and continue to be intimately involved in this very complex
spectrum planning process. |
||
|
time |
title |
presenter(s) |
|
|
Medium Wave DRM Field Test
Results in Urban and Rural Environments |
|
|
|
||
|
|
A New DAB Scheme for the
FM Band Based on Continuous Phase Modulation |
|
|
We propose a new broadcasting scheme for the transmission
of digital audio signals simultaneously with existing analog FM radio (88-108
MHz) in adjacent channels, denoted as an in-band-adjacent-channel system
(IBAC). This scheme enables the transmission of digital audio data in CD
quality with a data rate of up to 200 kb/s within an FM 200 kHz channel. The
digital transmission is based on continuous phase modulation (CPM) and a
proper reduced-state sequence estimator. CPM is the digital equivalent to
analog FM and has a constant envelope, a great advantage, because existing
nonlinear amplifiers can be reused to achieve good efficiency and low
out-of-band radiation. CPM also enables broadcasting companies to reuse the
existing infrastructure (amplifiers, antennas, frequency bands) to reduce
investment costs and improve the chances for an introduction of CPM as a new
broadcasting standard. We have conducted field tests in the city area of |
||
|
|
Improving Efficiency When
Combining Non-Coherent Signals |
George Cabrera, Harris
Corporation |
|
The AM and FM broadcast industries are in the
midst of a digital upgrade known as IBOC. In the case of FM, a set of
digitally modulated carriers must be added to both sides of the existing
analog channel. High power diplexers cannot be used because the FM and
digital carriers are too closely spaced in frequency. High-level combining
has been the primary path to upgrade existing FM transmitters. It consists of
combining the output of the analog transmitter with the output of a new
digital transmitter. This paper presents an innovative combining technique
that minimizes the FM and IBOC power loss in high-level combining. Instead of
combining two totally incoherent signals with its known resulting losses,
this method first achieves partial coherence of the signals, and only then
combines them at an optimum-coupling ratio. A system implemented this way
offers two main benefits: A higher overall system efficiency, and the
elimination of the need for FM headroom. |
||
|
|
RF Compliance Measurements |
Eric Wandel,
Electronics Research, Inc.
|
|
A typical final checkout for an FM transmission
system installation includes a number of performance measurements required to
confirm proper operation of the system both for the sake of good reception as
well as to ensure compliance with FCC regulations. A typical study, performed
as a final checkout of new installations at combined FM sites, has been an intermodulation study with spectral mask measurements to
demonstrate compliance with the FCC Radio and Television Broadcast Rules 47
CFR Part 73.317. The addition of the IBOC signal to the analog signal creates
new issues related to signal power, spectrum occupancy, test equipment
settings, and interpretation of results. This paper will detail the options
available for conducting performance measurements and will present a
recommendation for a standard procedure that accommodates the wide variety of
methods available for IBOC implementation. |
||
|
|
Audio Codec Tests for New
HD Radio Services |
John Kean,
National Public Radio |
|
As continuing support of the Tomorrow Radio
project, this paper presents the results of two new studies of digital audio codecs for HD Radio, conducted this summer. The first study
tests currently available codecs at bit-rates of
12-25 kbps to determine their subjective quality for audio services employing
one or more "extended hybrid" streams. These evaluations will
result in quality ratings and comprehensibility ratings. Additionally,
participants will determine whether digital transmission at very low
bit-rates is more fatiguing over long listening periods than existing analog
transmission. Sighted and sight-impaired listeners will participate in order
to capture data from both communities. This study is being conducted in
partnership with the International Association of Audio Information Services.
A second study provides Limen (just-perceptible
difference) analysis over a wide range of bit rates supported by the HD Radio
codec. This study is intended to help broadcasters select optimal bit rates
when HD Radio's 96 kbps data stream is shared between primary and
supplemental program channels. |
||
|
|
title |
presenter(s) |
|
|
New Low-Downward Radiation
Broadcast Antenna Technology for On-Channel TV Repeaters and SFNs |
George Harris, RF Technologies,
Inc. |
|
This paper describes a new patent-pending
transmitting antenna system that has applications for on-channel repeaters,
single frequency networks (SFNs), and at sites
where minimizing RFR at ground levels is important. Many SFNs
will be built on short structures, which will reduce the vertical distance
available between the transmitting and receiving antennas. This new antenna
technology has much lower downward and upward radiation characteristics as
compared with similar styled transmitting antennas. By reducing the downward
radiation at high elevation angles below the horizon, the re-transmitted
signal levels into the receiving antenna mounted below, either from direct
signal illumination, or from reflections and parasitic currents in the
mounting structure and structures nearby, are reduced. This increases the
isolation between the transmitting antenna, and the receiving antenna, which
helps maximize the D/U signal ratio of the site. This will greatly increase
the number structures and towers where SFN's may be
successfully implemented. In applications where transmitting antennas are
mounted on office buildings or similar high-rise structures, the lower
downward radiation pattern of this new technology will allow it to operate
closer to public exposure areas, affording more flexible antenna placement. |
||
|
|
Joint Rotation on |
Thomas Silliman,
Electronic Research, Inc. |
|
The latest tool utilized to make the structural
calculations for the design of towers for the communications industry is a
program that was initially proposed by Ernie Jones. This program is both a
tower design tool as well as a tower analysis tool using finite element
analysis to analyze every member of a tower structure. The output of this
program includes the structural integrity of every component of the
structure, but it also includes the deflection of the tower as well as the
angular deflection of the tower top. This angular deflection output is
defined as "joint rotation" and it allows an engineer to look at
not only the structural integrity of the tower but also the electrical and
mechanical performance of antennas on the tower and their associated feed
lines. In this presentation, we will look at some typical tall TV towers
using the TIA/EIA-222F standard as a design standard. We will then look at
the resultant joint rotation at the mounting plate for a top mounted TV
antenna array, and we will analyze the resulting impact on coverage for
various wind speeds with and without ice. We will also discuss the relation
between tower deflection and antenna feed line failures. In our summation, we
will make recommendations regarding an allowable joint rotation that could be
used to improve the design of tall TV towers. |
||
|
|
Short Low and Medium
Frequency Antenna Performance |
Valentino Trainotti, |
|
Lately short antennas have attracted broadcast
community attention. These kinds of antennas have been used since the 1920s.
Top loaded monopoles are the logical antennas to be used in order to achieve
a low profile and a performance according to the broadcaster needs. Top
loaded monopoles were studied exhaustively using the transmission line
techniques, obtaining improved expressions for the antenna radiation
resistance, taking into account the top-base current relationship, and under
different top loading conditions. Artificial ground plane behavior is
paramount in obtaining the best performance of a short antenna that could
perform very close to a standard quarter wave monopole, if it works, with
optimum dimensions. For these reasons a short antenna and the artificial
ground plane were analyzed modifying the number and length of radials in
order to achieve an optimum performance. A very simple and efficient antenna
could be obtained that could give to the broadcast community a product that
could fulfill the required performance to radiate a high quality AM or
digital transmission signal. |
||
|
|
Measured Performance
Parameters for Receive Antennas used in DTV Reception |
Kerry Cozad, Dielectric
Communications |
|
As more terrestrial-based off-air DTV programming becomes
available, broadcast engineers are being asked to assist viewers in
optimizing their receiving system. A typical receiving system would include a
DTV receiver and display, downlead transmission
line and a receiving antenna. The component with the most variability will be
the receive antenna (type, orientation, mounting configuration, etc.).
Working with broadcast engineers, this paper presents results from an
in-depth study of typical receive antennas available to consumers.
Performance parameters such as antenna radiation patterns, polarization
response, and VSWR, as functions of frequency, will be investigated. For
set-top antennas, the impact of typical mounting locations will be reviewed.
The objective of the investigation is to provide engineers with more detailed
information regarding the in-home conditions viewers may be facing when
trying to optimize off-air DTV reception. |
||
|
|
UHF Wideband Channel
Measurements and Characterization Using ATSC Signal and Diversity Antennas |
Jean-Yves Chouinard, |
|
Many studies have been conducted on the channel
measurement and characterization of the UHF band for fixed DTV reception.
Recently, there is an increasing interest to characterize UHF wideband mobile
reception. In the literature, there are several studies on UHF mobile
reception for cellular phone systems. However, most of these studies are for
narrowband services. This paper presents test and measurement results on the
UHF-TV band using the ATSC DTV as a sample signal to study the
characteristics of the wideband DTV channel under mobile reception
environments. In our measurements, two receiving antennas are mounted on the
test vehicle traveling at different speeds. Four transmission scenarios were
considered during the field tests: Urban area with vehicle speeds of about 30
km/s, suburban area at a speed of about 30 km/h and stops, rural area at 60
km/h and stops, as well as reception on highways at about 100 km/h. For each
scenario, the recorded signal from each antenna is processed to extract the
channel impulse responses. Other channel characteristics such as scattering
function, RMS excess delay, coherence bandwidth, and Doppler spread are
derived from the measurements. The results from this study can be used to
improve receiver and system designs, as well as the combining schemes for
diversity reception for possible mobile applications. |
||
|
|
Design Considerations for
Distributed Transmission Networks |
Merrill Weiss, Merrill
Weiss Group |
|
|
||
|
|