The emergence of a major new family of video compression standards has become a once-in-a-decade event in the world of video. The mid-1990s saw the introduction of MPEG-2, the first video compression standard to be adopted by DVB. H.264/AVC appeared in the mid-2000s, offering the same subjective quality at approximately half the bit-rate. Now a new standard, High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), has been developed which promises a further factor of two improvement in compression efficiency relative to H.264/AVC.

The process of adopting HEVC into DVB standards is already well underway, with the completion of a new version of TS 101 154. This specification provides a "toolbox" for video and audio coding in DVB applications based on the MPEG Transport Stream, used for cable, satellite and terrestrial broadcasting as well as many IPTV systems. The newly finalized TS 101 154 v2.1.1 defines HEVC conformance points for both UHD-1 Phase 1 (2160 x 3840 resolution at 50 or 60 frames per second) and 1080p HD. A total of five conformance points have been defined for HEVC:

• 1080p HD, 8-bit, 50fps
• 1080p HD, 8-bit, 60fps
• 1080p HD, 8-bit or 10-bit, 50fps

• 1080p HD, 8-bit or 10-bit, 60fps

• 2160p UHD-1 Phase 1, 8-bit or 10-bit, 50 or 60 fps

It is expected that new set-top boxes and IDTVs capable of supporting DVB compliant HEVC will be deployed from early 2015, with OTT streaming services possibly starting even earlier than that.  DVB is now working on further enhancements to enable UHD-1 Phase 2 services to be launched in 2017/18, including both higher frame rates and higher dynamic range.

As part of the build-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, some Japanese satellite broadcasters will begin UHD broadcasts and an experimental Super Hi-Vision service in 2016. The NEXTV Forum has been created to promote this activity.

In Japan it is common for satellite (and terrestrial) broadcasts to be redistributed via cable TV networks to homes that otherwise are difficult to reach, e.g., in mountainous or dense urban areas.

The current Japanese cable TV physical layer standard is ISDB-C or J.83/C. This is identical to DVB-C except for channel bandwidth (6MHz instead of 8MHz) and roll-off factor. As a first generation cable specification it does not offer the capacity to redistribute UHD or Super Hi-Vision TV.

Thanks to the efforts of the chairman of the Technical Module for C2, DVB-C2 became an international standard (J.382) and so the Japanese government would like to use this for the redistribution of UHD and Super Hi-Vision TV. However, some minor modifications are required to make it suitable for use in Japan. A request was made to DVB (via Sony Corporation) to consider the changes and approval to start work was given by the DVB Steering Board in July 2014.

The enhancements are; (i) signalling for Emergency Warning System, (ii) a new MODCOD combination allowing greater flexibility and (iii) clarification of the details of PLP bundling allowing the use of 2 (or more) 6MHz channels to achieve the target capacity of 100Mbps.

The Commercial Requirements have been drafted in the Commercial Module for C2 and submitted to the DVB Commercial Module for approval. The target is to have the enhanced DVB-C2 specification ready for approval at the Steering Board meeting in February 2015.

Rumor has it that DVB is working on a "version 2.0" of CI+, and many are speculating what it might entail. This seems to imply two things: firstly, that DVB-CI is alive and kicking, and secondly that people have interest in (and see room for) taking it further. We can - and are happy to - confirm that DVB is indeed working on CI+ 2.0.

Apart from a couple of functional enhancements and new features around content management, the main punch line of the new standard is a "USB form factor". This will bring several advantages. It will remove the need for a single purpose PCMCIA slot in the TV set or set-top box, and thereby reduce host implementation costs. It will also remove constraints in the design of CI+ modules. The flat shape and thermal power dissipation limitations of PCMCIA modules (when inserted fully into the host) presented a number of challenges to manufacturers. These challenges are reduced by a USB device always remaining outside the host's casing, and thereby allowing for a more compact design and much smaller PCB sizes. And last but not least, the higher data rates of USB pave the way for UHD use cases, which are not possible with the old interface.

Work on CI+ 2.0 started in April 2014, and we expect to hand the specification over to ETSI during the first half of next year. It will be a two-part document. Part 1 will deal with everything USB, whereas Part 2 will define further extensions to CI+. That second part is independent of the underlying physical layer, and could for instance also be implemented on PCMCIA.

The APSCC (Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council) is a non profit organization promoting communications and broadcasting via satellite in the Asia-Pacific region. Its membership covers all stakeholders of the satellite industry and there is a significant overlap with DVB Members. Once a year it organizes an annual event, which consists of a conference and an exhibition.

This year the event took place in Thailand and brought together 290 people from all over the word. A wide range of topics were addressed in panel discussions and presentations. There was general agreement that satellite communication is, and will be, of special relevance for the APAC region because of its size and geographical nature. Population and economic growth are driving the demand for DTH. In addition, only 12% of all channels carry HD content, so in the coming years the transition from SD to HD will be a relevant driver for growth.

However, although the general outlook is positive, there are some dark clouds on the horizon. At the next World Radio Conference (WRC 2015) the future use of the C-Band will be on the agenda at the request of the mobile phone industry. Because the C-Band is not affected as much by rain fade as the Ku or Ka-Bands, it is very important for the Asian satellite industry.  Losing this spectrum would be detrimental for many services including basic communication services to remote areas. The APSCC will join forces with other satellite groups to influence the relevant decision makers before WRC 2015.

The DVB Project was represented by its Executive Director, Peter Siebert who provided a presentation on DVB-S2X, DVB's latest satellite specification. 

David Wood chairs DVB's Commercial Module for both UHDTV and 3DTV. He is one of the industry's most respected and popular figures and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award at the TVBAwards ceremony in London on 23 October, in recognition of his outstanding career in the broadcast industry. The TVBAwards is hosted by TVB Europe Magazine.

David is the former deputy technical director of the EBU and current chair of the World Broadcasting Union's Technical Committee. He was the unanimous choice of the TVBAwards judging panel to receive the honor.

"The whole purpose of the TVBAwards is to recognize the outstanding contributors to our industry, and David is widely acknowledged as being one of the finest," said TVBEurope's executive editor, James McKeown. "We are truly delighted to be able to highlight David's personal contribution to the development and education of the broadcast industry in this way."

Held annually in a different European city each year, the DVB World Conference is the perfect platform to address the global issues facing broadcasters today. Around 200 people, made up of broadcasters, manufacturers, policymakers and other industry stakeholders, attend the three day networking event to hear about the latest innovations and evolving technologies.

Copenhagen, one of Europe's great cities is the location for the DVB World 2015 Conference and Exhibition, which will take place from 23 to 25 March.

The event starts with a morning Masterclass followed by informal lunch and opportunity for introductions. This is followed by two days of speaker sessions, new innovation focuses, lunches and a night out for dinner and celebration with the opportunity to connect with other delegates, exchange ideas and explore new horizons. An additional Masterclass, chaired by DVB's Legal Director, is planned covering IPR and other legal matters.

The conference sessions will include an impressive line-up of the most influential figures in the broadcast industry to update and inform on the latest evolutions and their impact. Panel sessions and open discussion groups give delegates the opportunity to contribute and discuss their opinions with the speakers and other experts.

The conference program will focus on topics such as media consumption and spectrum issues, OTT, IPTV, UHDTV, CI Plus, HEVC, new satellite technologies, terrestrial TV and strategies across the world including spotlighting different approaches to digital TV services in different regions. With well over a billion DVB receivers now deployed around the world this is a good opportunity to examine what challenges we face with TV content delivery in the future. 

The 2015 DVB World evening dinner will take place at the historic Carlsberg Brewery in the heart of Copenhagen. We will visit the place where Carlsberg was founded in 1847 and hear the fascinating tale of how Carlsberg successfully went from local brewery to global power-brand. During dinner, as we go through the various courses and dishes that includes a beer menu, a beer specialist will be on hand to advise us on the beer that will best compliment the food. There will also be the opportunity to taste the many different types of beers as they are presented.

The Westbury Community Development Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, together with STARWAVES and KOFIFI FM 97.2 has built the world's first standalone Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) transmitter to broadcast community television programs on DVB-T2 in L-Band in a bandwidth of 1.7 MHz. The signal can be received via standard DTT set-top boxes with a downconverter - built using commercially available low-price components. The project, licensed by the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (ICASA), initially demonstrated that community television programs can be broadcast outside large multiplexes to match individual footprints, lower signal distribution costs and ensure independent operation from monopolist mux operators. This solution supports cost efficient community services in rural areas.

"I am pleased that with the support of ICASA, a successful stimulus of innovation was provided for this new technique," said Johannes von Weyssenhoff, CEO of STARWAVES and CTO of the newly born community television station KOFIFI-SOPHIA TV. "I hope that it encourages more industry players to look at this technical innovation and that hopefully it will lead to market-ready products".

DVB-T2 allows for multiplex bandwidth of 1.7MHz for digital broadcasting services in VHF band III and L-Band - both bands were originally assigned for DAB. Providing a capacity of 2-5 standard definition television broadcast services and additional supplementary services, DVB-T2 narrowband is especially attractive to local broadcasters and community television.

To prevent further delays in the rollout of DTT, the Department of Communications of South Africa had requested a simple solution for L-Band that can be used with generic receivers. This was then followed by a research and development project at WECODEC in partnership with STARWAVES. Within two months, a frequency downconverter was developed in cooperation with an RF specialist team and two fully functional prototypes including self-built antennas from coffee tins were built to demonstrate for the first time a complete inexpensive and independent digital signal distribution platform for community television.

Forecast is the EBU's annual seminar dealing with broadcast technologies, spectrum management and related topics. It attracts more than 100 delegates each year, bringing together broadcasters, network operators, regulators, policymakers, industry stakeholders and researchers.

Forecast 2014 will be held 5-6 November 2014 at the EBU Headquarters in Geneva.

This year's program will focus on the future use of the UHF band, including preparations for WRC-15 and the DTT roadmap, and on the elements which ensure that DTT and linear TV in general remains an innovative future-proof platform. Vincent Grivet, from TDF and Chairman of the DVB CM-T group, will provide an overview of the latest (and likely future) developments in the terrestrial broadcast standards.

For more information and registration details please visit the EBU website.

The Broadcast Bridge invites DVB Members to take advantage of a special offer by registering to be a participating member. We are offering a monthly prize draw to win either a pair of Genelec 8010 monitors, or Sennheiser Momentum headphones for all new registrations.

The Broadcast Bridge, led by award winning editors Brad Dick and David Austerberry, formerly of Broadcast Engineering, head up a team of world renowned journalists delivering authoritative, trusted content to help you make informed decisions about the technologies that best fit your facility's requirements.

Registration is FREE and gives you the benefit to: 

• Select from the key content areas of interest to you generating a personalized landing page at login.
• Receive updates on only these content areas via email on a schedule of your choosing.
• Participate in dialog with peers on the subjects that interest you
• Opportunity to publish content
• Read the content on any device as the site is fully responsive, or use the print & read later feature

The Broadcast Bridge is the first of a new generation of personalized reading resources in the broadcast industry, focused on delivering technology content that is of specific interest to you.

Spend a few moments to take a look. If the content is interesting please register and we will keep you up to date as new content is delivered. In addition you may be a lucky winner of one of the draw prizes.

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