Finished Project

B21C

This project won the Celtic Excellence Award in Silver 2010

Broadcast for 21st Century

Project Coordinator
Gerard Faria
TeamCast
France
e-mail: gerard.faria (at) teamcast.com
Project Consortium
France: TeamCast, Alcatel-Lucent, Dibcom, France Telecom R&D, INSA/IETR, NXP Semiconductors, Spectracom, TELECOM Bretagne, Telediffusion de France, Thomson Grass Valley
Belgium: Agilent Technologies
Finland: University Turku, Digita, Elektrobit Corporation, Nokia, Tampere Univ. of Tech., Turku Univ. of Applied Sciences, Åbo Akademi University Turku
Germany: Technical Univ. Braunschweig, Fraunhofer, Rohde&Schwarz
Greece: Space Hellas
Italy: RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana), Univ. of Bologna – ARCES
Spain: Abertis Telecom-Retevision, Hispasat, Mier Communications, Robotiker Infotech, SIDSA, Telefónica I+D, Univ. Ramon Llull
Sweden: Teracom
UK: British Broadcasting Corp., Sony Semiconductor & Electronics Solutions, Univ. of Surrey

This is a “Celtic” project;

Project Key Information

Start date

End date Budget (total) Effort (total) Project-ID
Q1/2007 Q4/2009 20.8 MEuro 181 PY CP4-004

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”.

Focus areas
  • 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.

Expected outcome
  • 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.

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