Maurice Bard

Performance of an Echo Canceller and Channel Estimator for On-Channel Repeaters in DVB-T/H Networks

This paper investigates the design and performance of an FIR echo canceller for on-channel repeaters in DVB-T/H network within the framework of the PLUTO project. The possible approaches for echo cancellation are briefly reviewed and the main guidelines for the design of such systems are presented. The main system parameters are discussed. The performance of an FIR echo canceller based on an open loop feedforward approach for channel estimation is tested for different radio channel conditions and for different number of taps of the FIR filter. It is shown that a minimum number of taps is recommended to achieve a certain mean rejection ratio or isolation depending on the type of channel. The expected degradation in performance due to the use of fixed point rather than floating point arithmetic in hardware implementation is presented for different number of bits. Channel estimation based on training sequences is investigated. The performance of maximum length sequences and constant amplitude zero autocorrelation (CAZAC) sequences is compared for different channels. Recommendations are given for training sequence type, length and level for DVB-T/H on-channel repeater deployment.

Diversity Gain for DVB-H by Using Transmitter/Receiver Cyclic Delay Diversity

The objective of this paper is to investigate different diversity techniques for broadcast networks that will minimize the complexity and improve received SNR of broadcast systems. Resultant digital broadcast networks would require fewer transmitter sites and thus be more cost-effective and have less environmental impact. The techniques can be applied to DVB-T, DVB-H and DAB systems that use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). These are key radio broadcast network technologies, which are expected to complement emerging technologies such as WiMAX and future 4G networks for delivery of broadband content. Transmitter and receiver diversity technologies can increase the frequency and time selectivity of the resulting channel transfer function at the receiver. Diversity exploits the statistical nature of fading due to multipath and reduces the likelihood of deep fading by providing a diversity of transmission signals. Multiple signals are transmitted in such a way as to ensure that several signals reach the receiver each with uncorrelated fading. Transmit diversity is more practical than receive diversity due to the difficulty of locating two receive antennas far enough apart in a small mobile device. The schemes examined here comply with existing DVB standards and can be incorporated into existing systems without change. The diversity techniques introduced in this paper are applied to the DVB-H system. Bit error performance investigations were conducted by simulation for different DVB-H and diversity parameters

Future transmitter/receiver diversity schemes in broadcast wireless networks

An open diversity architecture for a cooperating broadcast wireless network is presented that exploits the strengths of the existing digital broadcast standards. Different diversity techniques for broadcast networks that will minimize the complexity of broadcast systems and improve received SNR of broadcast signals are described. Resulting digital broadcast networks could require fewer transmitter sites and thus be more cost effective with less environmental impact. Transmit diversity is particularly investigated since it obviates the major disadvantage of receive diversity being the difficulty of locating two receive antennas far enough apart in a small mobile device. The schemes examined here are compatible with existing broadcast and cellular telecom standards, and can be incorporated into existing systems without change

Analysis of Cyclic Delay Diversity on DVB-H Systems over Spatially Correlated Channel

The objective of this work is to research and analyse the performance of Cyclic Delay Diversity (CDD) with two transmit antenna on DVB-H systems operating in spatially correlated channel. It is shown in this paper that CDD can achieve desirable transmit diversity gain over uncorrelated channel with or without receiver diversity. However, in reality, the respective signal paths between spatially separated antennas and the mobile receiver is likely to be correlated because of insufficient antenna separation at the transmitter and the lack of scattering effect of the channel. Under this spatially correlated channel, it is apparent that CDD cannot achieve the same diversity gain as obtained under the uncorrelated channel. In this paper, a new upper bound on the pairwise error probability (PEP) of the CDD with spatial correlation of two transmit antennas is derived. The upper bound is used to study the CDD theoretical error performance and diversity gain losses over a generalized spatially correlated Rayleigh channel. This theoretical analysis is validated by the simulation of DVB-H systems with two transmit antennas and the CDD scheme. Both the theoretical and simulated results give the valuable insight that the CDD ability to perform well with a certain amount of channel correlation

Analysis of DVB-H Network Coverage With the Application of Transmit Diversity

This paper investigates the effects of the cyclic delay diversity (CDD) transmit diversity scheme on DVB-H networks. Transmit diversity improves reception and quality of service (QoS) in areas of poor coverage such as sparsely populated or obscured locations. The technique not only provides robust reception in mobile environments thus improving QoS, but it also reduces network costs in terms of the transmit power, number of infrastructure elements, antenna height and the frequency reuse factor over indoor and outdoor environments. In this paper, the benefit and effectiveness of CDD transmit diversity is tackled through simulation results for comparison in several scenarios of coverage in DVB-H networks. The channel model used in the simulations is based on COST207 and a basic radio planning technique is used to illustrate the main principles developed in this paper. The work reported in this paper was supported by the European Commission IST project - PLUTO (physical layer DVB transmission optimization).

Laboratory Measurement Campaign of DVB-T Signal With Transmit Delay Diversity

The requirements for future DVB-T/H networks demand that broadcasters design and deploy networks that provide ubiquitous reception in challenging indoors and other obstructed situations. It is essential that such networks are designed cost-effectively and with minimized environmental impact. The EC funded project PLUTO has since its start in 2006 explored the use of diversity to improve coverage in these difficult situations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of Transmit Delay Diversity (DD) with two antennas to improve the reception of DVB-T/H systems operating in different realistic propagation conditions through a series of tests using a SPIRENT SR5500 dual channel emulator. The relationship between correlation coefficient between channels, receiver velocity and diversity gain is investigated. It is shown that transmit delay diversity significantly improves the quality of reception particularly in simulated fast fading mobile broadcasting applications. This paper documents research conducted by Brunel University and Broadreach Systems.

Measurement Campaign on Transmit Delay Diversity for Mobile DVB-T/H Systems

This paper describes the work carried out by Brunel University and Broadreach Systems (UK) to quantify the advantages that can be achieved if Transmit Delay Diversity is applied to systems employing the DVB standard. The techniques investigated can be applied to standard receiver equipment without modification. An extensive and carefully planned field trial was performed during the winter of 2007/2008 in Uxbridge (UK) to validate predictions from theoretical modeling and laboratory simulations. The transmissions were performed in the 730 MHz frequency band with a DVB-T/H transmitter and a mean power of 18.4 dBW. The impact of the transmit antenna separation and the MPE-FEC was also investigated. It is shown that transmit delay diversity significantly improves the quality of reception in fast fading mobile broadcasting applications.

An Echo Canceller for DVB-T/H On-Channel Repeaters

This paper investigates the design and performance of an FIR echo canceller for on channel repeaters in DVB-T/H network within the framework of the PLUTO project. The possible approaches for echo cancellation are briefly reviewed and the main guidelines for the design of such systems are presented. The main system parameters are discussed. The performance of a FIR echo canceller based on an open loop approach for channel estimation is tested for different radio channel conditions and for different number of taps of the FIR filter. It is shown that a minimum number of taps is recommended to achieve a certain mean rejection ratio or isolation depending on the type of channel. The expected degradation in performance due to the use of fixed point rather than floating point arithmetic in hardware implementation is presented for different number of bits.

Echo Cancellation and Channel Estimation for On-Channel Repeaters in DVB-T/H Networks

This paper investigates the design and performance of an echo canceller for on-channel repeaters in DVB-T/H network within the framework of the PLUTO project. The possible approaches for echo cancellation are briefly reviewed and the main guidelines for the design of such systems are presented. The main system parameters are discussed. The performance of a FIR echo canceller based on an open loop approach for channel estimation is tested for different radio channel conditions and for different number of taps of the FIR filter. It is shown that a minimum number of taps is recommended to achieve a certain mean rejection ratio or isolation depending on the type of channel. Channel estimation based on training sequences is then investigated. The performance of maximum length sequences and constant amplitude zero autocorrelation (CAZAC) sequences is compared for different channels. Recommendations are given for training sequence type, length and level for DVB-T/H on-channel repeater deployment in single frequency networks.

A Field Measurement Campaign for a DVB-T/H System with Transmit Delay Diversity

This paper presents a field measurement campaign carried out by the IST PLUTO project to quantify the advantages that can be achieved practically if transmit delay diversity is applied to DVB-T/H systems. An extensive field trial was performed in Uxbridge (UK) to validate transmit diversity gain predictions obtained previously from theoretical modelling and laboratory measurements. DVB-T/H transmissions were performed in the 730 MHz frequency band. It is concluded that transmit delay diversity achieves significant improvement in the reception quality in difficult to reach areas without impacting the standard or increasing the complexity of receivers.