Finland's DNA Welho to test DVB-C2 technology

Monday, September 10th, 2012
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DNA Oy has commenced field tests of second-generation digital cable transmission technology, in cooperation with Teleste. Future capacity-intensive services will benefit from DVB-C2 significantly, but no decision to deploy the new technology alongside the present DVB-C has been made in the company yet.

The present cable TV transmission technology is based on the European DVB-C standard (Digital Video Broadcasting – Cable). The new DVB-C2 technology allows highly efficient usage of digital cable capacity, and increases the performance of the network in the future, to comply with the new, increasingly bandwidth-intensive services.

Prior to field testing, DNA has conducted DVB-C2 tests in its laboratory. Testing will not affect cable TV transmission in DVB-C or customer devices at home.

‘We have not yet decided to deploy DVB-C2 alongside DVB-C. At this stage, we want to ensure the performance of the technology in different network conditions. If we decide to deploy DVB-C2, the solution will be particularly suitable for capacity intensive services, such as various HD channels and VOD services,’ says Kari Ruopsa, Head of television networks at DNA.

‘3D HD channels, Ultra HDTV and holographic television broadcasts are some of the new high definition services that use a lot of network capacity, still partly under development,’ Kari Ruopsa explains.

DVB-C2 tests are carried out in cooperation with DNA’s long-term technology partner Teleste.

‘Digital cable networks will remain the most cost-effective technology in the future, as well, in transmitting video signal and Internet data to homes. A good example of this is the development of the DVB-C standard towards the future DVB-C2 version. As a leading supplier of digital cable we are naturally involved in testing this new technology together with our customers. Such cooperation projects also provide us with valuable feedback on how new technologies will be taken into commercial use,’ says Hanno Narjus, Director of Video and Broadband Solutions of Teleste.

DNA Welho has the biggest channel offering in Finland and the largest number of HD channels both in cable and terrestrial networks. DNA Welho offers over 160 TV channels in cable, including over 30 HD channels.