|
Latvia to Make Historic DTV Switch with Technology
from Grass Valley
January 22, 2010
Source: Thomson-Grass Valley
Grass Valley announces that it is assisting,
through its distributor and system integrator in the Baltics
Hannu-Pro, Latvia State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC)
to make the switch from analog to digital transmission by
installing an advanced DVB-T network that features encoding,
multiplexing, and nationwide distribution technology and systems
from Grass Valley.
The LVRTC is the technical DVB-T service provider for Lattelecom,
the main incumbent Telco organization in Latvia, responsible
for the nationwide deployment of DVB-T to provide terrestrial
broadcasting of radio and television programs covering the
entire territory of Latvia.
In the country’s central broadcast station (headend)
in Riga, ViBE EM2000 SD MPEG-4 encoders and NetProcessor 9030
systems will be installed to prepare the signals for transmission
to the LVRTC’s regional centers via an SDH network. The
headend will also provide the required single frequency network
(SFN) adaptation. Seven regional centers will host ViBE EM2000
encoders for encoding of regional programs and NetProcessor
9040 systems to provide program seamless splicing with regional
programs as needed.
“This project was very complex from the start, so we
knew we wanted the support of Grass Valley who knew exactly
what we were trying to accomplish and were very instrumental
in helping us get there,” said Kalvis Baumanis, General
Manager, Hannu-Pro. “We have worked with Grass Valley
for many years and always feel confident recommending the
company’s technology to our clients. This has been a
very satisfying experience for all involved.”
“The comprehensive networking system now being installed
will allow LVRTC to cover the entire country of Latvia while
providing viewers with a significantly improved digital picture
delivered over the air to their homes,” said Jeff Rosica,
Senior Vice President of Grass Valley. “Grass Valley
is pleased to be a part of this historic milestone in Latvia’s
history.”
The DVB-T system infrastructure will incorporate numerous
NetProcessor 9010 network adapters to pass the signal to DVB-T
transmitters; ViBE MPEG-4 decoders to support decoding to
PAL and analog TV reception during the transition period;
an XMS network management system, which provides network administration
and is configured to support redundancy operations.
The XMS system is integrated with a Granite Sentinel monitoring
system, which provides uninterrupted monitoring and compliance
to the DVB-T standard (TR-101290) for the signals received
from Lattelecom and ASI signals on multiplexer outputs. It
also controls RF parameters (COFDM) before signals are passed
on to the RF antennas. In addition, an electronic program
guide (EPG) is being supplied by a Grass Valley Jade system.
Hannu-Pro began implementation of the first phase of this
large-scale project in August 2009, with system testing scheduled
for December. LVRTC’s first national DVB-T multiplex
and additional two multiplexes from Lattelecom will be available
over-the-air to 95 percent of the Latvian population by January
2010.
Once the first phase is complete, a second phase will see
the deployment of four additional DVB-T multiplexes. Thus
by 2012—when the country’s DVB-T service introduction
will be finished—there will be seven DVB-T multiplexes
available in Latvia, all based on headend technology from
Grass Valley. All essential systems are designed to support
full redundancy (1+1 or n+1), ensuring on-air reliability.
Overall system design and integration services are being provided
by Hannu-Pro, with extensive assistance by Grass Valley. They
are jointly providing the infrastructure for the reliable
transport of signals from studios to the transmission sites,
as well as planning, design, and maintenance of transmission
systems.
Submit a Company
Submit News
Submit a Job
Submit an Event
|
