White paper n8 - Oct.

2011-Version 2b

Fragmented Broadcast World: Myth or Reality?

DVB-T, a Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) standard, was first published in 1997 and broadcasted in the UK in 1998. Since this date, many
new Digital TV & Radio standards appeared in several countries as seen on the following world map:

DVB-T deployed
DVB-T adopted
DVB-T2 adopted
ISDB-T deployed
ISDB-T adopted
CTTB, CMMB (China)
ATSC, T-DMB (Korea)
ATSC, ATSC M/H

This landscape may seem, at first glance, as a nightmare for chipset and
device manufacturers who must invest significant amounts of money
to develop devices for each standard with a relatively limited market
opportunity. However a comparative analysis of the DTT standards
structures shows that there is more convergence than it would appear
to be at first. Despite this so-called fragmented Broadcast World, it is
possible to find strong commonalities between the various standards
thus allowing manufacturers to implement all these standards into a
single programmable chip with minimum overhead costs as what has
been previously done with modulators chipsets.

same modulation scheme composed of COFDM Multi-carriers or

Single Carrier modulated in M-QAM, associated with inner code
(Viterbi, Turbo code or LDPC) and outer code (Reed Solomon or BCH).
The following Block-diagram shows the required range of
parameters of a programmable multistandards chipset, capable
of demodulating in one IC, all the existing DTT World Standards.
For any given standard to work, the receiver only has to download
the associated microcode. There is therefore no need to change
the Hardware.

Most of the DTT standards use the same frequency band, and the

RF + Filters + A/D

Demodulation / Equalization
(VSP)
M-QAM : 2 to 256
SC; COFDM
FFT : 0.25k to 32k
Diversity

Channel Decoding
(Distributed CPUs + HW blocks)
Inner FEC: Turbo Codes, LDPC, Treillis,..
Outer FEC : RS, BCH,..
De-Interleavers

Interfaces
+ Control
+ CAS

In order to facilitate the comparison between all the DTT standards, the set of configurable parameters (M-QAM, FFT size, Guard Interval,
Inner and Outer codes rates, bandwidth) are listed in columns in the next two pages, together with the bit rate calculation formulas. In
addition, the last column shows that some standards offer the possibility of In-band Mobile TV applications thanks to availability of subchannels or Multi-Pipes.
In practice, the last table synthesizes the performances of the most used DTT configuration in the World and a final graph compares their
spectrum efficiency versus the carrier-to-noise signal C/N required.

Copyright DiBcom - MK1011 - DTT Broadcast world

Copyright DiBcom - MK0701DP_US

World DTT Standards parameters

Standards

DVB-T

ISDB-T nSEG
n = [1,2,.,13]

CMMB
4k; 8MHz
CMMB
1k; 2MHz

FFT
2k
8k

2k
4k
8k

Symbol Rate [Msymbol/s]

Inner FEC

6.75
BW
X
(1 + GI ) 8

{1/2; 2/3; 3/4; 5/6; 7/8}

BW[MHz]=
{6;7;8}

GI= {1/32;1/16;1/8;1/4}

8n
BW
X
21(1 + GI )
6
BW= {6,8}

Gi =

420
.
1
=
3780
9

CTTB (DTMB)
PN595

or

GI =

595
17
=
3780
108

CTTB (DTMB)
PN945

C= 3780
(4k)

GI =

945
1
=
3780
4

7.488
.

BW
8

BW
8

(1 + GI )
7.488
.

(1 + GI )

DVB-T2 Lite

ATSC

Single
Carrier

GI= {1/128; 1/32;1/16; 19/256; 1/8;

19/128; 1/4}
Na= Cdata(PPn,FFT) in Table 42
of DVB-T2 standard
(ETSI EN 302755v1.1.1)

Idem DVB-T2 except:

no PP8

10.6762774 X

LDPC

Single
Carrier

Radio/TV
Standards

FFT

{47/117; 47/78; 94/117}

{ 0.4; 0.6; 0.8}

DVB-SHA

DAB
DAB+
TDMB

0,25k
0,5k
1k
2k

BCH = 1

8n
188
BW

CR
log 2 (M )
21(1 + GI ) 6
204

Yes
13 SEG

M= {2, 4, 16}

Du_Max= 23.2 Mbit/s (in 6MHz)

log2(M)

5.46048 LDPC RS log 2 (M )

SEG parameters :
(M; CR; I, NSEG)

M= {2, 4, 16}

Du_Max= 16.4 Mbit/s (in 8 MHz)

log2(M)

1.092096 LDPC RS log 2 (M )

log2(M)

(Nbch Kbch)

log2(M)

Nldpc LDPC

M= {4; 16; 64; 256}

+ Rotated constellations

Short LDPC= {4/9; 3/5; 2/3; 11/15 ; 7/9 ; 37/45 }

Nldpc=16200
Nbch-Kbch= 168

Idem
DVB-T2

Short LDPC only

M= {4; 16; 64; 256} for

LDPC= {1/3; 2/5; 4/9; 3/5}

CR = {1/3; 2/5; 4/9; 3/5; 2/3; 11/15}

M= {4; 16; 64} for

LDPC= {2/3; 11/15}

2/3

187/207

Na = Number of data carriers

GI = Guard Interval
I = Interleaving
Ts = Symbol Duration
CR = Code Rate
FEC = Forward Error Correction
QAM = Quadrature Amplitude
Modulation
M = Number of Constelation points

Yes
40 slots
PLP parameters :
(M; CR; I, Nslots)

SEG = Segment
SC = Single Carriers
Du = Data User Rate

No

Du_Max=
32.5 Mbit/s
Du_Max=
32.5 Mbit/s

Na
BW

LDPC BCH log 2 (M )

112 FFT (1 + GI ) 8

Note :
Does not include the P1 and P2 overhead (~ -0.3%)
See 6.3 of DVB Bluebook A133 ( Implementation
Guideline for DVB-T2)

Na
BW

LDPC BCH log 2 (M )

112 FFT (1 + GI ) 8

log2(M)

Yes
PLP parameters :
(M; CR; I, bit rate)
FFT & PP
can be different in
DVB-T2 and DVB-T2 Lite
frames

19.289506
No

M= 8
Log2(M)= 3

CR= Treillis Code

Symbol Rate [Msymbol/s]

BW
8

GI= {1/32; 1/16; 1/8; 1/4}

Inner FEC
{ 1/5; 2/9; 1/4; 2/7; 1/3 ;
2/5 ;1/2; 2/3 }

BW[MHz]=
{1.7; 5; 8}
1.7 for 1k only

Turbo code (TC)

BW
1.712

CR

CR_Viterbi :

FFT= {0.25k; 0.5k; 1k ; 2k}

Copyright DiBcom - MK1011 - DTT Broadcast world

log2(M)

Du_Max= 50.6 Mbit/s Du_Max= 32.5 Mbit/s

RS

Long_A: CR= {1/4; 3/8; 1/2; 3/4}

Long_B: CR= {4/9; 4/7; 4/6; 4/5}
Short : CR= {1/3;2/5;1/2;3/5;3/4}

FEC Padding
Ncu 188

816 189
Tc

Ncu

2/7

798

1/4; 1/2

816

others

810
1

0.152 Mb/s < PDR < 2.500 Mb/s

0.9 Mb/s < MDRL < 7.3 Mb/s

Yes

PDR= Payload Data Rate (ATSC-MH)

MDRL= Main Data Rate Losses (ATSC)

associated with ATSC

frame

Data_rate (Mbit/s)

Multiple subchannels or Pipes

log2(M)= 3

188 187 187

;
;
RS =

211 223 235

CR= {(2/3)x{1/2); (2/3)x(1/4)}

1.152 X

Du_Max= 31.7 Mbit/s (in 8 MHz)

M= {4; 16; 32; 64}

SCCC

6.75

1k
2k
4k
8k

Normal LDPC= {1/2 ; 3/5 ; 3/4; 4/5 ; 2/3 ; 5/6}

Nldpc= 64800
Nbch-Kbch=192 for LDPC= {1/2; 3/5; 3/4; 4/5}
Nbch-Kbch=160 for LDPC= {2/3; 5/6}

BW
6

(1 + GI )

No

Acronyms

Du_Max= 32.5 Mbit/s

BW= 6 MHz

ATSC-MH
/CMM

Multiple subchannels or Pipes

M= {4; 16; 64}

7.488
.
BW
LDPC log 2 (M )
u
1  GI  8

{1/2; 3/5; 2/3; 3/4; 4/5; 5/6}

BW[MHz]=
{1.7; 5; 6;
7; 8}

6.75
188
BW

CR
log 2 (M )
(1 + GI ) 8
204

M= {2, 4, 16}

LDPC + BCH

Na
BW
X
8
112 FFT (1 + GI )

2k
4k
8k
16k

240

{1/2; 3/4}
BW= 2MHz

C=1
(Single
carrier)

{176 ; 192; 224; 240}

LDPC

1.092096

CTTB (DTMB)
PN420

DVB-T2

Viterbi (CR)

BW= 8MHz

Du_1k= Du_ 4k / 5

1k
2k
4k
8k
16k
32k

188
204

{1/2; 3/4}

39 x 0.13824 + 0.06912

Data_rate (Mbit/s)

log2(M)

Reed-Solomon

{1/2; 2/3; 3/4; 5/6; 7/8}

GI= {1/32; 1/16; 1/8; 1/4 }

M-QAM

188
204

Viterbi (CR)

5.46048
1k
4k

Outer FEC

Outer FEC

M-QAM

log2(M)

6.75

(1 + GI )

BW
Ncu 188
TC

log 2 (M )
8
816 189
No

M= {4;16}

RS

RS=1 for DAB

RS= 110/ 120 for DAB+
RS= 188/ 204 for T-DMB
(for T-DMB add extra
losses up to 25% due
to overhead of MPEG4
encapsulation into MPEG2)

log2(M)= 2

M= 4
D - QPSK

Du_Max=17.2 Mbit/s (in 8 MHz)

2304

p CR RS 1000 p

p = 8 for Long_A
p = 32 for Long_B
. = integer part

Yes
Sub-channels
parameters:
(CR, bit rate)

Du_Max = 1.84 Mbit/s

In the following table the previous formulas are used to calculate the bit rate of most used DTT configurations used in the World. Some
specified/measured values of C/N (Gaussian and TU6@10Hz Doppler) are also given in the last columns.
FEC
Standards
DVB-T

ISDB-T

Layer A

NSEG=1

Layer B

NSEG=12

Layer A

NSEG=1

Layer B

NSEG=12

Du [Mb/s]

Spectral
efficiency
(bit/s/Hz)

Country

GI

inner

outer

8k

1/4

2/3

188/204

16-QAM

13.27

1.66

8k

1/8

3/4

188/204

64-QAM

24.88
17.27

8k

1/8

2/3

188/204

QPSK

0.416

1/8

3/4

188/204

64-QAM

16.85

1/8

2/3

188/204

QPSK

0.441

1/16

3/4

188/204

64-QAM

17.84

1/2

192/240

QPSK
16-QAM

4k

CTTB

BW
[MHz]

FFT

8k

CMMB

Modul.

TU6_10Hz

Germany

11.8

22.5

3.11

France

18.9

2.88

Japon

5.5
19.4

18.28

3.05

Brazil

4.37

0.55

Shangha

1.6

9.7

21.66

2.71

Beijing

12.8

20.6

19.4

4k

1/9

PN595

SC

17/108

0.8

16-QAM

20.79

2.6

Shangha

13.1

PN945

4k

1/4

0.6

16-QAM

14.44

1.8

Shangha

10.4

1/128

2/3

BCH

ATSC

SC
32k ext

25.1

5.5

PN420

DVB-T2

0.8

C/N [dB]
Gaussian

8-VSB

19.29

3.22

US

15

256-QAM

40.21

5.03

UK

17.8

25.1

DVB-T2 Lite
+ DVB-T2

Mobile
Fix (HD)

8k

1/32

4/9

BCH

QPSK

1.02

32k ext

1/128

2/3

BCH

256-QAM

33.36

DVB-T2 Lite
+ DVB-T2

Mobile
Fix (HD)

8k

1/32

4/9

BCH

16-QAM

2.04

32k ext

1/128

2/3

BCH

256-QAM

33.36

DVB-SH

Satelite

2k

1/4

QPSK

3.36

0.67

Trials

6.5

DAB+

Radio

2k

RS

D-QPSK

1.71

1.12

0.65

Germany

6.4

10.7

1/2
1/2

34.38
35.40

0.75
5.03
1.5
5.03

4.30

0.7

UK trials

17.8
5.5

4.43

17.8

Currently deployed bit rates and Gaussian (C/N) by standard in some countries
In the next figure the spectral efficiency of DTT standards configurations analysed in the previous table are plotted versus their required
Gaussian C/N and compared to the theoretical Shannon limit.

Spectral Efficiency C/N

Spectral Efficiency (bit/s/Hz)

7
6
DVB-T2
UK

5
4

DVB-T
64QAM 3/4

ATSC
CTTB 4k 0.8

DVB-T2 Lite
16QAM

DVB-T2 Lite QPSK

DVB-SH

ISDB-T
1 SEG

CMMB

ISDB-T
12 SEG

CTTB SC 0.8

CTTB 4k 0.6

DVB-T 16QAM 2/3

DAB

10

12

14

16

18

20

(C/N) Gaussian
______ [dB]
It has to be noted that the chosen configurations are the most used, but they are not necessarily optimal in terms of spectral efficiency. Also,
it appears clearly on this graph that the new DVB-T2 is the standard which has the best performance with respect to the spectral efficiency
criteria.

Conclusion
This paper shows similarities between the world DTT standards,
allowing the design of a programmable multistandard chipset that
can cover all standards with minimum overhead.
For manufacturers, the fragmented Broadcast world is no longer a
challenge, but an opportunity. In the very near future, one might think
of a car that can drive anywhere and be capable of receiving all Radio
and TV standards wherever it is driving, one might dream of a Tablet

Copyright DiBcom - MK1011 - DTT Broadcast world

that can receive HD TV signals anywhere without the constraints of

which standard is available in that area. Despite the initial industry and
political lobbying, one can see that Digital Communications always
end up with somewhat the same scheme. And as history shows, sooner
or later, semiconductor designers can implement everything at a
reasonable consumer cost.

www.dibcom.com