DVB-S

The Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) specifications cover digital services delivered via cable, satellite and terrestrial transmitters, as well as by the internet and mobile communication systems. Related topics such as Electronic Programme Guides and interactive television are also included. Services using DVB standards are available on every continent.

The satellite member of the DVB family, DVB-S, is defined in European Standard EN 300 421. In particular it describes the modulation and channel coding system for satellite digital multi programme Television (TV)/High Definition Television (HDTV) services to be used for primary and secondary distribution in Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) and Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS) bands.

DVB-S is intended to provide Direct-To-Home (DTH) services for consumer Integrated Receiver Decoders (IRD), as well as collective antenna systems and cable television head-end stations. DVB-S is suitable for use on different satellite transponder bandwidths and is compatible with Moving Pictures Experts Group 2 (MPEG 2) coded TV services. Flexibility defined within the specification enables the transmission capacity to be used for a variety of TV service configurations, including sound and data services.

Second generation DVB-S (DVB-S2)

Digital satellite transmission technology has evolved considerably since the publication of the original DVB-S specification. New coding and modulation schemes permit greater flexibility and more efficient use of capacity, and additional data formats from those originally foreseen can now be handled without significant increase of system complexity.

ETSI standards for DVB system specifications are developed in the ETSI/EBU/CENELEC Joint Technical Committee 'Broadcast', based on proposals from the Digital Video Broadcasting Project, an industry-led consortium.

The second generation Digital Video Broadcasting by Satellite (DVB-S2) is defined in European Standard EN 302 307, which details extensions of the original satellite transmission standard DVB-S (EN 300 421) to accommodate these improved modulation and coding schemes, enhancing the efficiency of the space segment and giving the basis for providing interactive services.

Interactive services (IS)

DVB-S2 is intended to provide interactive services to consumer Integrated Receiver Decoders and to personal computers. The return path that provides this interactivity can be implemented using various DVB interactive systems, such as:

• Return channel by satellite, DVB-RCS (EN 301 790)
• Return channel over the Public Switched Telephone Network, DVB-RCP (ETS 300 801)
• Return channel by GSM, DVB-RCG (EN 301 195)
• Return channel of cable TV distribution systems, DVB-RCC (ES 200 800).

ETSI Technical Specification TS 101 790 provides guidelines for the use of the DVB-RCS specification.