Samsung Advanced-VSB to Bring Portable and Mobile TV To North American Digital TV Broadcasting

LAS VEGAS — Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today introduced a new innovative technology that brings portable and mobile TV to North American digital TV broadcasting. Advanced-VSB (A-VSB) is a proposed open standard that broadcasters can implement at low cost, and helps enable consumers to enjoy TV everywhere they go – in their car, on a laptop, and portable devices.

Samsung Electronics and Rohde & Schwarz have teamed up to develop a dramatic enhancement to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) digital TV transmission standard.

This technology is now being standardized in ATSC, and an ATSC-supervised lab test was conducted in November, 2006 with field tests planned for early 2007. A completed standard is targeted for the first half of 2007, with implementation by broadcasters and consumer electronics manufacturers beginning soon afterward.

What is Advanced-VSB? A-VSB technology builds on the current ATSC transmission standard to enhance the ability of receivers to get television broadcasts in motion both indoors, and also outdoors. It also enables broadcasters to include multiple ‘turbo coded’ streams along with their main stream, allowing the signals to be strengthened and more clear. In addition, the A-VSB technology eases synchronization of broadcast signal timing of different towers in a Single Frequency Network (SFN). SFNs can improve broadcast quality with higher uniform signal strength throughout a service area, even in locations that normally would have their signals interfered with by obstacles such as hills or buildings.

How does A-VSB work? A broadcaster adds a specified Supplementary Reference Sequence (SRS) to the transmitted signal. A-VSB receivers can use the SRS in order to remain ‘locked in’ to the transmission. This helps maintain reception of the main signal and extra ‘turbo’ signal(s) even when interference would normally disrupt a signal, like when the signal is reflected from moving objects near the receiver. A-VSB also enables the receiver to stay ‘locked on’ to the signal when the receiver itself is moving, such as when someone is walking with their portable TV. Moreover, Samsung’s laboratory tests and field demonstrations showed that the combination of SRS and Turbo code made reception possible at high mobile speeds, such as in a car or on a train, as well as urban environments, which have a lot of interference from buildings and objects. When implemented, this breakthrough would enable fully mobile TV services using the existing frequencies and facilities of broadcasters.

Is A-VSB backward compatible? Yes, broadcasters can implement A-VSB technology with no impact on legacy (non-A-VSB) digital TV receivers. Existing legacy receivers (e.g. TV receivers not A-VSB enabled) will ignore the added information in the signal while continuing to receive the main TV stream (e.g., high definition TV programming). In addition, as A-VSB technology helps broadcasters deploy SFNs to fill gaps in the coverage of their service area, owners of legacy receivers may find their reception quality is also improved.