DVB-related projects short-listed for Innovation Awards

24 July 2006

The IBC Awards aim to reward excellence in all areas of the broadcast industry. For IBC 2006 a new set of Innovation Awards has been established to recognise projects that make innovative use of technology. The shortlist for the Judges’ Award includes two projects which focus on DVB technology: the DVB-H and HDTV Trial in Torino and the Sydney DVB-H Trial. The list is completed by the New Media Production for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The Rai Centre for Research and Technology Innovation is nominated for its ground-breaking trial that coincided with this year’s Winter Olympic Games.  The event in Torino was largely shot in HD and it was in this context that Rai launched experimental transmissions of HDTV and Mobile TV, covering the Torino area and some of the Olympic mountain sites.

This was a unique opportunity, for Rai and the partners of the project, to test the most recent DVB technologies and to collect valuable information on viewers’ acceptance of HDTV and Mobile TV services, using hierarchical modulation to deliver the services over digital terrestrial TV in a shared mulitplex. You can read more about the project in Issue 17 of DVB-Scene magazine.

The Bridge Networks is nominated for its extensive techical and commercial trial of DVB-H in the Sydney area. With a view to gaining a full understanding of not just the technology, but also the entire business model, The Bridge Networks sought to implement a trial of larger proportions that others that were already established around the world.

The project implemented the first high power DVB-H transmission system 80kw ERP at 180m Elevation, in the centre of Sydney. It carried out some important original work in coverage testing including in-building, high power adjacent channel interference testing and the effects on DTV STB’s. The Bridge Networks also implemented an interactive logging system that provides second accurate reports of viewing habits across all channels for all trial consumers. Partly due to the success of this trial, the Australian government has cited DVB-H as an example of the preferred technology for the use of available UHF spectrum. You can find out more about the  trial at DVB-H.org.

The IBC Awards will be presented during IBC2006 on Sunday, 10 September.