The DVB is currently starting a Commercial Study Mission casting DVB’s Vision for Satellite Broadcasting, looking at the near- and long term, and going beyond classic geostationary satellite constellations, anticipating a successful bringing into use of future low earth orbiting payloads.

Rai-CRIT will participate in these activities, according to its leaderschip role and active participation in the DVB technical module dedicated to satellite transmissions, aiming at evaluating opportunities, times and methods for new standardisation activities.

Today, the satellite distribution of DVB-T2 multiplexes to terrestrial transmitters located throughout the territory requires dedicated transponders for the transport of the relevant T2-MI (Modulator Interface) streams, which are not directly accessible also for direct-to-home reception by standard satellite receivers. This causes duplication of the needed satellite bandwidth, with the associated costs. To overcome this problem, DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) has activated a new ad-hoc group, named TM-T-JSI, with the purpose of defining an optimized way to transport DVB-T/T2 multiplexes from a national head-end to the terrestrial transmitters, while allowing at the same time direct reception via DVB-S/S2 commercial satellite receivers.

The  Research Center in co-operation with Rai Way has launched in Aosta Valley on UHF channel 53 a second  DVB-T2 transmitter located in Salirod-Saint Vincent that, along with the transmitter Gerdaz-Aosta, installed in 2012, allowed to set up a DVB-T2 a small regional single frequency network test bed. This field trial has allowed us to experience the typical issues associated with a SFN: synchronization of transmitters, assessment of the areas of overlapping coverage, delays inserted to avoid static interference zones etc

The Research Center, after experimenting in the laboratory the first prototypes of DVB-T2 lite, activated in Aosta Valley a single frequency network  on UHF channel 53 in order to test the potential offered by the new system . The scheme chosen for the testing involves the use of “mixed” system: the T2 signal is split into two sub frames, one compatible with the standard T2 base, the other T2 lite, optimized respectively for fixed and mobile reception . The four transmitters of Gerdaz, Salirod, Arpy and Courtil radiate a bouquet consists of three HD programs for the T2 base and from one to three services oriented to mobile reception for the T2 lite.