Tag: dvb-h

  • DiBcom And Solaris DVB-SH Partnership Signals "New Era" For Mobile TV


    DiBcom has signed a partnership agreement with Solaris Mobile to use its receiver technology to enable mobile devices to receive content such as mobile TV transmitted by satellite.

    The link-up centres around Solaris’ recently launched Eutelsat W2A satellite, which carries Europe’s first S-Band payload.

    It will offer Mobile Satellite Services (MSS), including the broadcasting of video, radio and data to mobile devices and vehicle receivers.
    The DVB-SH hybrid satellite will also supply a range of interactive mobile services.

    DiBcom supplies DVB-SH broadcast receiver solutions that give mobile devices access to the multimedia content transmitted by satellite and terrestrial repeater.

    The receivers are a multi-band and multi-mode solution featuring dual RF tuners supports DVB-SH, DVB-H and DVB-T in S-Band and UHF frequencies.

    In February, DiBcom announced it was launching a new platform that offers device manufacturers a solution to the problem of multiple standards worldwide for fixed and mobile TV.

    Yannick Levy, CEO of DiBcom, said its involvement in this "ground-breaking" mobile satellite launch was both a logical and strategic choice.

    He said the agreement between Solaris Mobile and DiBcom will be an enabling force in Europe’s mobile television markets by providing distribution technology for mass market consumption in the most economic way. Live trials using DVB-SH are currently underway in France, Spain and Italy.

    California-based MobiTV is also looking to broaden its reach and is in the process of developing its services for the European market.

    "We are witnessing the dawn of a whole new era for Mobile TV services with truely universal continental coverage," said Levy.

    "There is no doubt that Solaris Mobile will leverage the industry-leading knowledge and experience of its founding companies towards a new set of mobile applications of real value to end users throughout Europe."

    Steve Maine, president and CEO of Solaris Mobile, said it is one of four operators that submitted an application to the European Commission last October for the rollout of mobile satellite services over dedicated S-Band spectrum.

    He said this took place under a single European selection procedure and on behalf of the 27 Member States of the EU.

    "We are convinced that this is the most innovative opportunity in Europe’s telecommunications and media marketplaces and are extremely pleased that DiBcom is a leading participant in one of our major strategic mobile satellite service initiatives," he said.

  • DiBcom Launches Programmable Mobile TV Solution


    DiBcom is to launch a new platform that offers device manufacturers a solution to the problem of multiple standards worldwide for fixed and mobile TV.

    Known as Octopus, the platform is based on a programmable architecture that enables one design to be seamlessly and cost-effectively targeted at many existing and upcoming mobile TV standards.

    DiBcom said the first commercialised version is fully compliant with the most widely deployed standards today: CMMB, DVB-T, DVB-H, DVB-SH, ISDB-T (1SEG & Full-SEG) and T-DMB. Other emerging standards such as ATSC M/H, DVB-T2, and any others, will follow.

    Khaled Maalej, CTO of DiBcom, said existing multi-standard components combine the circuitry of some standards in one chip with minimum optimisation.

    He said Octopus, however, is based on one programmable, broadcast specific, vector signal processor (VSP) and is able to handle any standard by adapting its microcode.

    The VSP engine is integrated with a multi-mode channel decoder and MAC, memory and a power management unit (PMU), therefore offering optimal power consumption for each standard.

    Manufactured using 65nm technology, the Octupus platform comes with a multi-band RF tuner in two package options, and in either single or diversity (dual-antenna) configurations.

    DiBcom said the advantages offered by the new platform include:

    • A universal and cost-effective architecture ideal for a one-to-many strategy (all regions, all applications addressed with one device)
    • High performance at low power consumption in all functional modes
    • An integrated PMU for a simpler system design (one voltage input), efficient power consumption and longer battery life
    • No unnecessary hardware duplication or reliance on powerful CPU’s as required by other multi-standard solutions
    • Embedded descramblers for all conditional access (CAS) protected content

    Possible applications for the Octopus platform include the automotive, PC/notebook, PMP, PND, mobile phone as well as LCD TV and Set-Top-Box market sectors.

    Yannick Levy, CEO of DiBcom, said handset manufacturers now had the opportunity to increase their volumes of mobile TV terminals based on the Octopus platform since they can ship them to any region in the world by simply loading the appropriate software.

    "Availability of a large choice of terminals is a major market enabler," he said.

    Octopus component samples will be available in early Q2 2009.