Mobile TV from a single source
Brand-new measurement and transmission technology for the new digital standards
At this year's NAB trade fair for broadcasting, to be held from April 16 to 19 April in Las Vegas, Rohde & Schwarz will present its transmitter and T&M equipment with the focus on mobile TV. The R&S NX8600 high-power transmitter family featuring an extremely high efficiency is brand new. Another novelty is the R&S SLx8000 transmitter family for low powers in digital and analog TV networks and also the new R&S ETL TV analyzer, an all-purpose instrument with realtime features, will be presented. In addition to the standards DVB-H, DMB-TH, MediaFLO™, and T-DMB for mobile TV, which have already been integrated into the product portfolio, Rohde & Schwarz also recognizes the potential of ISDB-T as well as the future A-VSB. You can find these innovative solutions of the transmission and T&M specialist at our booth C2927 in the central hall.
For the very first time, the market leader in transmission technology will present its innovative R&S NX8600 UHF high-power transmitter family at NAB 2007. This family is ideal for digital TV standards such as ATSC and DVB-T/-H but also for analog TV standards. The new transmitter family combines high output power in a minimum of space and high efficiency: The consumed power including cooling is approx. 20 % lower than that of the best models ever launched on the market. Output powers for digital applications up to 6 kW (DVB-T) or 10 kW (ATSC) and even approx. 15 kW for analog operation can be reached in a single rack. Like their predecessors of the R&S NX7000 series, the new transmitters are highly modular and flexible. The tried-and-tested standby configurations, remote-control interfaces, and other characteristics typical of Rohde & Schwarz, such as automatic digital precorrection, are of course also available for this transmitter family.
New in the portfolio of Rohde & Schwarz is also the compact R&S SLx8000 transmitter family. With this family, the Munich-based company offers an optimized solution for low powers in digital and analog TV networks. Since the components used offer an extremely high level of integration, it was possible to offer very favorably priced units in large quantities for the expansion of existing networks. The DVB-T/-H, ATSC standards and all analog TV standards with the exception of SECAM L are supported. The ultra-compact 19“ units for the UHF and VHF ranges cover powers up to 100 W DVB-T/-H, 160 W ATSC, or 250 W ATV. Up to a DVB power of 10 W, they only need two height units or, for DVB powers from 25 W to 100 W, three height units. An integrated GPS module, integrated receivers for re-transmitter or monitoring applications, an SNMP agent or a parallel interface as remote-control interface are available as options. The transmitters are conveniently operated either via a display or keyboard or, alternatively, via web browser and laptop. They support the standby configurations N+1 with 1+1, which are ideal for digital networks.
For the first time, Rohde & Schwarz will showcase the results of the ongoing development with Samsung of the Advanced VSB technology for the ATSC standard. The A-VSB technology, which is fully downward compatible to 8VSB, not only allows the scalable inclusion of turbo-coded content for mobile TV for handheld, pedestrian, and high speed mobile applications but also enables single frequency networking (SFN) of transmitters, and dramatically improves the reception capabilities of the receiver for the main programs in the transport stream by applying a synchronization reference signal (SRS). Rohde & Schwarz has focused on developing T&M equipment and TV transmitter solutions, and will present both the R&S SFU broadcast test system and the R&S SX800 exciter with A-VSB capabilities. The R&S SX800 is used for both the R&S SV8000 low-power, the R&S NX8200 air-cooled medium-power, and the new R&S NX8600 liquid-cooled high-power TV transmitter families.
With the R&S ETL, the company provides a completely new universal multistandard platform for analyzing TV signals. The TV analyzer combines the functionality of a TV test transmitter and a spectrum analyzer in a single measuring instrument and, at the same time, yields maximum measurement accuracy. An innovative instrument concept allows new TV standards to be implemented on a software and hardware basis. Thus, both digital – such as DVB-C or DVB-T/-H – and analog TV standards can be integrated in a single instrument. Rohde & Schwarz will also continue using realtime demodulation. The TV analyzer platform is designed for commissioning, installing, and servicing cable headend stations and TV transmitters. Its compact and rugged design make the platform ideal for portable use at frequently varying sites.
Rohde & Schwarz will present new functions for the universal R&S SFU broadcast test system. The R&S SFU supports all internationally common digital TV standards, including terrestrial standards such as DVB-T, ISDB-T, ATSC, and the Chinese standard DTMB (GB20600-2006) as well as DMB-TH. But the R&S SFU is also suitable for cable standards such as DVB-C and J.83B (up to 1024 QAM) as well as for satellite standards in accordance with DVB-S, -S2, and DIRECTV®. As for the transmission of mobile TV, the world's only test transmitter combines DVB-H, T-DMB, ISDB-T, DMB-TH, and MediaFLOTM on a single platform. Adjacent-channel occupation with digital and analog interferers in accordance with the MBRAI standard can also be generated. But the R&S SFU is also the leading test transmitter in analog TV since realtime coders are now offered for the internationally used analog standards B/G, D/K, I, M/N, and L. New is the internal video and audio baseband generator for PAL, SECAM, NTSC, and the R&S ATV-video video test signal library. Additional test methods in the automotive field are now possible with the DAB, DRM and, soon, ISDB-Tsb options.
Rohde & Schwarz will present new functions for the R&S DVM family, whose various members can monitor, analyze, record, and generate MPEG-2 transport streams. After the major innovations, e.g. the implemenation of RF signal inputs for the DVB-C, DVB-T-/H, DVB-S, DVB-S2 standards, the ATSC/8VSB and J83/B standards will now be added. Also the IPTV functionality for the R&S DVM400 was considerably enhanced, and the digital video measurement system can now monitor up to 300 TV services in a Gigabit Ethernet feed. The R&S DVM-K12 template monitoring option is an important add-on that allows automatic monitoring of undesired changes in the transport stream and the programs it includes. To examine MPEG-2- and MPEG-4/AVC/H.264-encoded signals, the R&S DVM-K10 in-depth analysis option was expanded by realtime buffer analysis. Moreover, the R&S DV-H264 transport stream library is now available for the R&S DVM400, R&S SFU, and R&S DVRG. The library includes video content in different MPEG-4/AVC/H.264-encoded formats. The R&S DVM-K200 option, which allows a detailed analysis of these signals, makes the R&S DVM family a full H.264 analyzer.
The Munich-based electronics company is expanding its playout technology with a DVB-H playout of statistical multiplex. The R&S DIP010 data inserter and generator as well as the R&S AVE264 encoder are provided for this purpose. The H.264 video encoder for DVB-H thus has a variable bit rate. The statistic multiplex principle is implemented: With DVB-H, several TV programs with different data rates are transmitted via one channel. Sequences with strongly moving pictures require a higher data rate than picture contents that move less. The H.264 video encoder coordinates these diverse requirements, ensuring optimum use of the transmission channel. If required, programs can be encrypted via the CA encryption system. The encryption systems of leading providers were successfully integrated. The development of the DVB-H playout with statistical multiplex was CO-financed by the European Union.
As regards sound broadcasting, Rohde & Schwarz will present a complete FM transmitter range with the R&S NR8200 and R&S SR8000 models. All the transmitters have a digital exciter. The exciter combines the first-rate specifications of analog exciters with the reliability of modern digital signal processing. The FM transmitters of the R&S SR8000 series are rated for an output power between 100 W and 2.5 kW and, due to their compact design, occupy maximally four height units.
The new products will be presented at a press breakfast at 9 a.m. on April 16, 2007, at the Rohde & Schwarz booth C2927 in the central hall.
