DVB Fact Sheet - August 2012
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`2nd Generation Satellite
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`What is DVB-S2?
`DVB-S2 (EN 302 307) is a digital satellite transmission system developed by the DVB Project. It makes use of the latest
`modulation and coding techniques to deliver performance that approaches the theoretical limit for such systems. Satellite
`transmission was the first area addressed by the DVB Project in 1993 and DVB standards form the basis of most satellite
`DTV services around the world today, and therefore of most digital TV in general. DVB-S2 will gradually replace DVB-S
`in the future, as new HD services entice users to upgrade their receivers to more efficient DVB-S2 models.
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`Background
`The world’s first digital satellite TV services were launched in Thailand and South Africa at the end of 1994 and both used
`the newly released DVB-S system. Over time it has become the most popular system for the delivery of digital satellite
`television, with well over 100 million receivers deployed around the world. Nonetheless, with the system being more
`than ten years old, it is not surprising that the industry eventually decided the time was right to update. Thus DVB-S2
`was developed, with the DVB Technical Module sub-group responsible for the work being chaired by Dr. Alberto Morello
`of RAI. The work would take advantage of advanced techniques for channel coding, modulation and error correction to
`create a system that would make a range of new services commercially viable for the first time, e.g., when combined with
`the latest video compression technology, DVB-S2 would enable the widespread commercial launch of HDTV services.
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`How does it work?
`The original DVB-S system, on which DVB-S2 is based, specifies the use of QPSK modulation along with various tools
`for channel coding and error correction. Further additions were made with the emergence of DVB-DSNG (Digital Satellite
`News Gathering), for example allowing the use of 8PSK and 16QAM modulation. DVB-S2 benefits from more recent
`developments and has the following key technical characteristics:
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`• There are four modulation modes available, with QPSK and 8PSK intended for broadcast applications in non-
`linear satellite transponders driven close to saturation. 16APSK and 32APSK, requiring a higher level of C/N, are
`mainly targeted at professional applications such as news gathering and interactive services.
`• DVB-S2 uses a very powerful Forward Error Correction scheme (FEC), a key factor in allowing the achievement
`of excellent performance in the presence of high levels of noise and interference. The FEC system is based on
`concatenation of BCH (Bose-Chaudhuri-Hcquengham) with LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) inner coding.
`• Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) allows the transmission parameters to be changed on a frame by frame
`basis depending on the particular conditions of the delivery path for each individual user. It is mainly targeted to
`unicasting interactive services and to point-to-point professional applications.
`• DVB-S2 offers optional backwards compatible modes that use hierarchical modulation to allow legacy DVB-S
`receivers to continue to operate, whilst providing additional capacity and services to newer receivers.
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`53.7
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`Satellite EIRP (dBW)
`System
`Modulation & Coding
`Symbol Rate (Mbaud)
`C/N (in 27.5MHz) (dB)
`Useful Bitrate (Mbit/s)
`Number of SDTV Programmes
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`Number of HDTV Programmes
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`DVB-S2
`DVB-S
`DVB-S2
`DVB-S
`8PSK 2/3
`QPSK 7/8
`QPSK 3/4
`QPSK 2/3
`29.7 (α = 0.25)
`27.5 (α = 0.35)
`30.9 (α = 0.2)
`27.5 (α = 0.35)
`7.8
`7.8
`5.1
`5.1
`58.8 (gain = 32%)
`44.4
`46 (gain = 36%)
`33.8
`13 MPEG-2
`10 MPEG-2
`10 MPEG-2
`7 MPEG-2
`26 AVC
`20 AVC
`21 AVC
`15 AVC
`3 MPEG-2
`2 MPEG-2
`2 MPEG-2
`1-2 MPEG-2
`6 AVC
`5 AVC
`5 AVC
`3-4 AVC
`Figure 1. Example comparison between DVB-S and DVB-S2 for TV broadcasting (Source: EBU Technical Review 10/04)
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`CALTECH - EXHIBIT 2013
`Apple Inc. v. California Institute of Technology
`IPR2017-00701
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`How does it work? (continued)
`DVB-S2 delivers excellent performance, coming close to the Shannon limit, the theoretical maximum information transfer
`rate in a channel for a given noise level. It can operate at carrier-to-noise ratios from -2dB (i.e., below the noise floor)
`with QPSK, through to +16dB using 32APSK. The table overleaf (Figure 1) shows the improvements in efficiency that
`DVB-S2 delivers when compared to DVB-S with typical TV broadcast parameters, with gains in the useful bitrate of more
`than 30% in each case.
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`Market Deployment
`Having been formally published as an ETSI standard in March 2005, DVB-S2 was quickly adopted by the industry for the
`delivery of new services. In Europe and the USA a number of major satellite broadcasters use DVB-S2, in conjunction
`with MPEG-4 advanced video coding, for the delivery of HDTV services (e.g., BSkyB in the UK and Ireland, Premiere in
`Germany, Sky in Italy, DirecTV in the USA). DVB-S2 has also been deployed by DTH operators elsewhere in the Americas,
`in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, creating a global deployment base of more than 250 million DVB-S/S2 receivers.
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`Two significant factors have contributed to the success of DVB-S2. Firstly, in August of 2006 the ITU’s (International
`Telecommunications Union) study group on satellite delivery issued a recommendation that DVB-S2 alone be adapted
`as the preferred option for a “Digital Satellite Broadcasting System with Flexible Configuration (Television, Sound and
`Data)” (ITU recommendation number BO.1784).
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`Secondly, late in 2006, an announcement from the holders of key DVB-S2 intellectual property rights indicated that licensing
`costs for manufacturers of DVB-S2 equipment would not exceed $1.00 per consumer device, or $0.50 for quantities
`exceeding 500,000. The certainty granted by this announcement fostered the rapid adoption of DVB-S2 by the global
`satellite broadcasting and telecommunications industries.
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`DVB-S2 has also been adopted for professional applications. The EBU’s Eurovision network, one of the world’s largest
`contribution networks, has been fully upgraded from DVB-S to DVB-S2. Testing of the new systems in spring 2005
`revealed a 20% increase in throughput, a result which encouraged the EBU to upgrade the network in time to distribute,
`for example, the 2006 FIFA World Cup over DVB-S2.
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`Next Steps
`The technical work on DVB-S2 is still progressing. In July 2012 the DVB Project approved a new version of the specification
`that adds new technology to facilitate the reception of wideband signals (e.g. 200 MHz or 500 MHz). In addition, the
`DVB-S2 group is currently working on further DVB-S2 extensions.
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`Links
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`www.dvb.org
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`www.dvbservices.com
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`www.ebu.ch
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`www.itu.int
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`The main website of the DVB Project
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`Register here to download all the DVB and DVB sub-brand logos.
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`Produced by the DVB Project Office – dvb@dvb.org
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