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  Project Information Status: Running  

 
      Broadcast for 21st Century  
 
  • Project own Website
  
Project Key Data  
Project ID: CP4-004 Coordinator: Gerard Faria, TeamCast, France
Start date: Q1/2007 e-mail: gerard.faria (at) teamcast.com
End date: Q4/2009  
Total budget: 21,3 M€  
Total effort: 187 PY  
     
  Project Consortium  
  France TeamCast, ALCATEL, Dibcom, France Telecom, INSA, NXP Semiconductors, TELECOM Bretagne, Telediffusion de France, TEMEX, THOMSON
  Belgium Agilent Technologies
  Finland University Turku, Digita, Elektrobit, Nokia, Tampere Univ. of Tech., Turku Univ.
  Germany Technical Univ. Braunschweig, Fraunhofer, Rohde&Schwarz
  Italy RAI, Univ. of Bologna
  Spain Abertis Telecom, HISPASAT, Mier Com., Robotiker, SIDSA, Telefónica I+D, Univ. Ramon Llull
  Sweden Teracom
  UK British Broadcasting Corp., Sony, Univ. of Surrey
Focus
  • To be a task force for contributing to the future of Digital Video Broadcasting.
  • Building on the work and reflections of the DVB Forum.
  • To provide extensive work in the areas of channel simulation, channel modelling, modulation, demodulation, laboratory testing and field trials.
Main Results
  • Completion of the implementation expertise about the DVB-H standard defined in 2005·
  • Practical validation and optimization of the newly defined DVB-SH specification.
  • Contribution to the study, simulation and design of the future DVB-T2 specification for fixed and mobile reception of digital TV.
Abstract
The B21C project (Broadcast for the 21st Century) aims to constitute a task force, building on the works and reflections of the DVB forum, with the goal to elaborate the technical propositions for the future of Digital Video Broadcasting.
Since its inception in 1997, DVB-T (the DVB Terrestrial Television Transmission system) has fully justified the objectives of its designers, delivering “wireless” Digital TV services in almost every Continent. However, the emergence of new consumer applications (i.e. TV to mobile), new spectrum policy (i.e. the digital dividend from analogue switch off) and the convergence of various wireless technologies (including satellite distribution) are leading the DVB community to both evaluate the suitability of the existing DVB-T system to accommodate such emerging situations and to consider the benefits that new state-of-the-art technologies could bring to DVB-T.
One of the major challenges for the conversion from analogue to digital broadcasting is to maintain a high geographical coverage for both stationary and nomadic terminals – including handheld terminals – in urban and rural areas, while also providing reliable service for mobile receivers used in automotive and in-train applications. Present DVB-H technology represents only the first industry attempt to accommodate consumer demands for broadcasts to a handheld terminal. It is proposed that, by the complementary adoption of DVB-H and satellite broadcasting technologies, it should be possible to deliver a high QoS for all applications and terminals, in both urban and rural areas, meeting in full all consumer requirements.
In light of such challenges, the development and standardisation of extended DVB systems will require extensive work in the areas of channel modelling, simulation, laboratory testing and field trials.
The B21C project aims to support the standardisation process of these extended DVB transmission systems within the broadcasting landscape that is rapidly evolving.The B21C project has the clear objectives to sustain the evolutions of Digital Video Broadcasting demanded by emerging new applications and usage of broadcast content:
  • To contribute to the success of DVB-H network deployment world-wide, (by defining DVB-H optimum parameter settings for indoor/outdoor pedestrian reception),
  • To participate to the elaboration of hybrid satellite/terrestrial broadcast networks, sustaining the work of the DVB-SSP adhoc groups, thus insuring ubiquitous availability of DVB H services worldwide,
  • To constitute a Technical Task Force actively contributing to the work engaged by the DVB-T2 adhoc group related to the future of the European DVB Terrestrial transmission system

Clearly, the B21C project’s major objective is to conceive and concentrate the foundations for “Broadcast for the 21st Century”.