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DVB-T2 (v1.3.1) Plug-Fest

30.03.2012

The DVB-T2 Validation and Verification (V&V) group, coordinated by the Technical Module TM-T2 working group, completed a very successful Plug Fest at the Thomson Broadcast facilities in Conflans Sainte-Honorine, France, on the 6-7th March 2012. The aim of the Plug Fest was to validate the latest version (v1.3.1) of the DVB-T2 specification (currently released as DVB Blue Book A122 on 07/11) and the DVB-T2-MI specification(currently released as TS 102 773 v1.3.1 on 01/12) through the interoperability of independent hardware implementations. This goal was certainly achieved.

Version 1.3.1 of the specification is particularly significant in that it is easy to broadcast to two completely different groups of receivers from the same RF transmission. For example, a HD service and a mobile service can be transmitted from the same RF channel. Furthermore, by using the FEF feature of DVB-T2, the ‘T2-Lite’ profile could be introduced without causing difficulties to existing DVB-T2 broadcasts or commercial DVB-T2 receivers.

In the Plug Fest there were 4 Gateways (DekTec, ENENSYS Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, SSBT),  7 Modulators (BBC, DekTec, ENENSYS Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, SSBT, TeamCast, Thomson Broadcast) and 2 Demodulators (DekTec, Sony). Interoperability was tested for several modes of the DVB-T2 and DVB-T2-MI specifications, concentrating on the features added in the latest revisions.

Specifically the newT2-Lite profile was extensively tested, both as a single profile and combined with a DVB-T2 signal in multiple profile mode. The following were successfully tested:

  • 10 single profile ‘T2-Lite’  experiments  with FEFs (Future Extension Frames), 
  • 6  single profile ‘T2’experiments  with FEFs 
  • 5 multiple profile experiments where both T2 and T2-Lite were both transmitted 
  • An ‘over-the-air’ transmission.

These successful interoperability trials represent the latest milestone in DVB-T2 development.