In an effort to review the various technology platforms available to launch a DVB-H network, Broadcast Australia has launched a trial of the standard at its Gore Hill transmission site in Sydney.
For the three-month trial, the broadcast transmission services provider has teamed up with Thomson Grass Valley, which is supplying a DVB-H headend, and Irdeto, which is lending an OSF-compliant digital security system to the effort. Broadcast Australia is providing the RF transmission infrastructure for the trial, which is being broadcast on UHF channel 29, as well as systems integration, multiplexing and network operations expertise. All three partners collaborated to integrate the system, which will be managed via Broadcast Australia's network operations center.
Broadcast Australia has conducted mobile TV trials in the past, but this will be the first time the company is working with an OSF-compliant digital access and content protection system — an alternative to the 18C-based platform it deployed for previous trials. In addition, the company is testing statistical multiplexing, a technique that allows more services to be distributed in any given bandwidth. It is also exploring the reception performance and functionality of the latest generation of mobile handsets.
Participants of the trial are using Samsung SGH-P930 handsets to access content from five mobile TV channels, including Australian public service channels ABC, ABC2 and SBS, as well as Turner Broadcasting's CNN and Boomerang.
The trial is expected to conclude on July 31.
For more information, visit www.broadcastaustralia.com.au.
