DVB-H

Made for Mobile Devices

Digital Video Broadcast - Handheld (DVB-H) is the technology driving mobile TV. A combination of conventional digital video and IP, DVB-H scales for smaller devices a technology that's already in place in millions of TV sets worldwide.

DVB-H will be accessible by an audience of approximately 300 million mobile users by 2006

Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial (DVB-T), the current standard in digital video broadcasting, wasnt designed for mobile devices. However, as the performance of the technology improved, DVB-T mobile services became feasible, leading to extensive commercial trials. Digital TV reception on the move is an exciting advance in broadcasting.

However, handheld devices simply dont have the battery life to make DVB-T reception a viable option for consumers. A new solution was needed, DVB-H, or Digital Video Broadcast Handheld, is that solution.

In addition to a great reduction of battery power consumption, DVB-H had other major requirements: maximum compatibility with DVB-T systems and networks, as well as the ability to receive up to 15Mbit/s in an 8MHz channel and in a wide area single frequency network at high speed.

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Key Technologies

- Time-Slicing: DVB-H transmits chunks of data in bursts, allowing the receiver to be switched off in inactive periods. The result is power savings of up to 90% - and the same inactive receiver could be used to monitor neighboring cells for seamless handovers.
- 4K-Mode: A good compromise between high-speed, small-area 2K SFNs and the slower, larger-area 8K mode; it provides great flexibility to network design.
- Forward Error Correction: DVB-H improves FEC with longer interleavers. Also, the optional MPE-FEC multiplexer-level correction technology makes DVB-H broadcasts even more robust.
- DVB-T Compatibility: DVB-H can co-exist with DVB-T. For example, an operator could choose to run 2 DVB-T services alongside a DVB-H broadcast within one DVB-T multiplex. DVB-H can be used in 6, 7, and 8 MHz channels, but also adds the non-broadcast use of 5 MHz.

The Benefits of DVB-H

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld) is the best mobile broadcast delivery system currently available, for the following main reasons:

An approved standard since November 2004 for handheld equipment by ETSI (European Telecommunications Institute) with a high adoption rate worldwide

It benefits from existing DVB-T infrastructure components, which reduces initial investments

It provides the best user experience in the mobile environment, with an energy-saving handset that is only on 10-25% of the time, program guide, soft loss-free handover and in-building coverage

It offers an excellent-quality picture and audio quality when desired. In DVB-H the quality of the stream can be tailored flexibly to the content thus enabling optimization of audiovisual quality vs. number of content channels for maximum revenue gains

Battery consumption is reduced by up to 90% due to time-slicing technology when compared to non-time sliced technologies

Efficient use of bandwidth enables up to 55 mobile channels plus scalability

It will be accessible by an audience of approximately 300 million mobile users by 2006.

Related Information

Documents

DVB-H Live Broadcast Mobile TV: Delivering the TV experience to mobile devices
(PDF file, 618 KB) August 2006

DVB-H: Digital Broadcast Services to Handheld Devices
(PDF file, 1.2 MB) February 2006

System Comparison: T-DMB vs. DVB-H
(PDF file, 3.4 MB) February 2006

White paper: IP Datacast Terminals: Description of Implementation Principles
(PDF file, 1.4 MB) March 2004

Article: DigiTAG Handbook
(PDF file, 0.5 MB) March 2005

Article: DVB-Scene: TV in Hand
( PDF file, 1.4 MB) March 2005

Article: DVB-H Trial to commerce early 2005 in Australia 26 October
(PDF file, 0.1 MB) October 2004

Links

Get more information about key players in the mobile TV field by visiting the sites listed on our Links page »