Rohde & Schwarz, a leading supplier of mobile TV transmitters, has announced that it will introduce ATSC-M/H technology in its transmitter line in December.
U.S. broadcasters plan to use the ATSC-M/H standard to transmit programming to mobile devices via terrestrial DTV signals. It is anticipated that a working standard will be available within the next 12-18 months. Rohde teamed with Samsung to develop the A-VSB mobile DTV system, of which certain features were integrated into the eventual ATSC-M/H system, developed by Harris Corp. and LG Electronics. Rohde said its current line of DTV transmitters are ATSC-M/H ready and that it will offer an ATSC M/H firmware option to its R&S SX800 exciter as early as December.
The R&S SX800 is a fully frequency agile exciter already used in both Rohde's newest ATSC and NTSC air-cooled and liquid cooled transmitter systems, as well as in systems from other manufacturers. The R&S SX800 is also available as part of an exciter retrofit package to replace the exciter in existing transmitters of any manufacturer.
The new mobile TV standard also will become available in the Rohde & Schwarz line of low power transmitters, which can be used as gap-fillers or in Single Frequency Networks (SFN) to enhance coverage in problem areas. At the same time, a new multiplexer will be introduced that supports ATSC-M/H, to complement the transmitter and exciter products. This will allow the broadcasters to move to ATSC-M/H operation with Rohde & Schwarz as a one stop supplier.
"Rohde & Schwarz is committed to providing the broadcasters with efficient, high quality transmitter products for DTV and mobile TV applications, just as we were able to do on a large scale for the first operational mobile TV network in the USA." said Eddy Vanderkerken, Director of Sales. "Our high power solid-state transmitters are by far the most energy efficient on the market today, with the smallest footprint, so these are the first true 'green' solid-state TV transmitters, which greatly reduce the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the product. We will continue to develop products that drive efficiency and set standards, and that broadcasters can rely upon, both for transmission products and test & measurement."
