No. 300 (October 2004)

Bookshelf Archive

DVB: The Family of International Standards for Digital Video Broadcasting

It would be difficult to identify a more reliable source of information about the DVB systems than Prof. Ulrich Reimers. He has been the anchor man for the DVB Project since its inception in 1993, as Chairman of the DVB Technical Module – the most important group in the project. The DVB Technical Module has been, and continues to be, the locomotive for the project.

In this book, Prof. Reimers draws on a team from the University of Braunschweig, his home in Germany, to write a complete and authoritative guide to DVB. The volume first appeared in a German version in 1997. This is the second (2004) version of the English translation.

This careful English translation is readable and a credit to the translators. As a reference work, some sections are more thorough than others. The strongest sections include video and audio compression and, particularly, those on error correction. Less exhaustive is the section on Conditional Access, although most of the conditional access system does not form a formal part of the DVB system.

The book covers the evolution of system "middleware", including the DVB's own system "MHP" (Multimedia Home Platform), and some information is give about the other systems used in combination with the DVB system, such as MHEG.

The book is certainly worth reading and keeping, but it has appeared at a time when there are several emerging major new technologies that are likely to have an impact on digital broadcasting. These are the new satellite modulation system DVB-S2 and the new compression systems MPEG4/AVC and VC1, which can be used for standard-definition and high-definition television (HD). HD broadcasts are also likely to use a multi-channel audio system. No doubt, Prof. Reimers's team are working on chapters about these developments right now, and we will see these in due course.

For now, this book is still probably the most reliable and complete guide to DVB available.

DVB: The Family of International Standards for Digital Video Broadcasting
Prof. Ulrich Reimers
Hard-bound volume of 408 pages
ISBN 3-540-43545-X. Price: € 79.75
Springer, 2004
Web link

David Wood

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Broadcast Engineer’s Reference Book

The 2004 edition of the Broadcast Engineer’s Reference Book is a worthy and up-to-date companion for engineers in virtually all areas of television and radio broadcasting.

The book contains over 50 chapters written by experts on technologies, standards, components, systems, and test methods used in the different parts of the broadcast chain.

Some of the material – such as the mathematics and colorimetry – is the same as in previous editions and will always remain relevant and topical. But the Reference Book also includes much on digital programme production and broadcasting, and the hot subject of "high definition television"’. We also see the growing influence of information technology in all parts of broadcasting.

Such is the rate of progress in broadcast technology that the book does not include information on the new compression schemes MPEG-4/AVC and VC1, which are likely to be used for HD in Europe, and possibly broadband systems, but this was inevitable – bearing in mind the lead time needed for the preparation, checking and publishing of a mammoth volume like this. In any event, the chapters on MPEG-2 are entirely valid. The book also includes information of MXF file formats, one of the hot subjects for programme production.

The texts are generally well written and succinct, so the main elements of the technology become clear after reading a normal chapter, which runs to around a dozen or so pages.

The authors include the EBU's former Head of the Eurovision Control Centre, Brian Flowers. The Chair of the EBU’s Broadcast Management Committee, Jan Doeven, tackles terrestrial service-area planning – a subject to be familiar with, in view of the current series of ITU conferences to replan the VHF and UHF bands for digital terrestrial television.

All in all, there is a wealth of information here.

Broadcast Engineer’s Reference Book
Editor in Chief: E.P.J. Tozier
Hard-bound volume of 1034 pages
ISBN 0-240-51908-6. Price: £100.00.
Focal Press, 2004
Web link

David Wood

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Internet Technologies Handbook – Optimizing the IP Network

This book of almost 1000 pages is a reference handbook about the Internet, written by an engineer for engineers. It goes slightly beyond the general interests of broadcast engineers but, I believe, that broadcast engineers today – regardless their area of activity – must have at least a rudimentary understanding of IP protocols and the basic networking concepts.

This book is a useful starting point for the ride in that direction.

It is divided in 13 chapters, split into 5 parts, the most important being Packet Transport, Application Support, and Network and Performance Management. Arguably, the most useful part is the last part: Reference Appendices, where any internet reference can be found. Broadcasters will most appreciate Chapter 9 which is about converged data and multimedia networks. The book considers the underlying communications infrastructures (such as LANs and WANs), the protocols that assure reliable packet delivery (such as TCP and IP), the applications that support the end users (such as FTP, TELNET and HTTP) and the management systems that (should) keep it all running smoothly.

The Internet is based on an open standard called IP (Internet Protocol), which is considered by many as one of the most successful technologies of all times. It is one of the few truly worldwide technology standards. This is an amazing achievement, given the fact that the Internet is basically self-governing, run by committees comprised largely of volunteers. The Internet was born in 1969 as the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) which was sponsored by the US Defense "Advanced Research Project Agency". The purpose of ARPANET was to test and assess the viability of a new communication technology known as packet switching. Today this technology is used in computer networks and is planned to be used in fixed and 3G mobile communication networks. Some broadcast networks may follow soon.

As all enduring systems require a tune-up and remodelling over time, the Internet has had to be adapted for the transport of multimedia signals such as video and voice. To this end, new protocols (rules) to support real-time traffic needed to be developed. Another important development was about security, not only to enable secure electronic commerce but also to reduce the risk of viruses, attacks and other threats.

Perhaps the biggest issue of all is the development of a new protocol called Internet Protocol version 6 or IPv6 that intrinsically addresses multimedia support, enhanced security and the shortage of internet addresses.

The book covers all these topics in the great detail required to understand and plan IP-based networks. Of particular value are the case studies on packet transport and application support. It is probably one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date books on this topic. Although it is not the easiest book in the world to read, it can be highly recommended to broadcast engineers who are dealing with Internet Protocols and designing IP networks.

Internet Technologies Handbook – Optimizing the IP Network
Mark A. Miller
Bound volume of 955 pages
ISBN 0-471-48050-9. Price: £47.50.
John Wiley & Sons, 2004
Web link

Franc Kozamernik

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Next Generation Wireless Applications

I have had the opportunity to write a great number of book reviews for EBU Technical Review during the last two or three years. These books – from the likes of Wiley & Sons Ltd, Elsevier/Focal Press and Artech House – have been aimed at the general public, rather than comprising obscure technical specifications intended for specialised experts.

One of the reasons I do these book reviews is because I enjoy reading inspiring texts that use down-to-earth language rather than "encrypted" expert jargon. My primary objective has always been to identify those books which may (or may not) be of interest to broadcasters and which can (or cannot) be recommended to our readers. As our readers mainly come from the broadcasting domain, it would be logical to consider only newly-published books that deal with broadcasting matters – such as content production, recording, metadata, video and audio compression, digital broadcasting, radio and television. While we cover these topics to the greatest extent possible, the reality today is that more and more publications come from neighbouring areas such as computing, mass storage, networking, the Internet and telecommunications.

As many of these technologies are in the process of converging, these previously fringe areas are becoming critically important for broadcasters. Who today in our industry does not talk about (and experiment with ): video streaming on the internet, webcasting, browsing web pages on TV screens, broadband television, SMS and MMS on televisions and – very topical – pushing video to mobile phone devices? Broadcast networks, broadcast receivers (set-top boxes) and broadcast content formats will change and adapt themselves to the new convergent world. They are already among us: web protocols, web browsers and IP networking are already quite common in television studios and consumer devices.

It should be recognised, however, that the telecom world is much more advanced in adopting IP than the broadcast world. This fact is largely reflected in this book produced by Paul Golding – it is a book about how mobile/wireless systems and services may be affected and transformed by these new media technologies. It is clear that the telecom networks – both fixed and wireless – are no longer used only for interpersonal networking and communications. They are increasingly used for accessing various content resources by using small, light and cheap mobile terminals anytime, anywhere. The book's credo is therefore "wireless internet" using a browser device as a generic display programme that is capable of presenting any information (formatted in HTML).

This is a strange notion for a broadcast-minded reader (like myself). Not so long ago, telephone networks were used only for talking to one or more people. More recently, these networks have started carrying data between computers. Today, they can also carry television and radio services. Traditionally, of course, the roll of producing, packaging, delivering and billing programme content has been given to broadcasters. Are broadcasters now being overtaken by the telecom/mobile providers in the media world? Probably not ... at least not in the foreseeable future. Broadcast delivery of the type "one-to-many" is still more efficient than "one-to-one" type telephony and provides very high service quality and reliability – provided the number of concurrent users all enjoying the same content is sufficiently large. For on-demand services (such as a film delivery over a broadband television network) where each user requests a different content at different times, a telecom (or mobile) network is generally more efficient – provided that the number of concurrent users is sufficiently small. As the number of users increases, the service quality suffers and the service can eventually collapse if traffic exceeds the critical limit. It should be recognised, however, that the evolution of technology (particularly the progress in audio and video compression) is moving this critical limit up rapidly.

This book is very much oriented towards the generation and distribution of media applications and services. To this end, it should be an interesting read for those broadcasters who plan to produce content for mobile phone devices.

The book discusses, in quite a detail: how to deliver services ("Service Delivery Platforms"); which protocols are used by mobile services for sharing content; java presentation engines used in mobile devices, and usage of J2EE for security and end-to-end encryption. The book also addresses some important aspect of a generic device architecture and device interface elements. It considers how cellular mobile networks are built and operated. The final chapter is particularly interesting: it is about mobile location services. As the location of a mobile device can be determined relatively accurately (by virtue of its cellular nature, typically within 50 to 100 metres), it is possible to signal automatically the user's position (for example, in case of a traffic accident), or to find a restaurant, pay bills, etc.

This book is an exciting read. It is not a conventional text book that simply lists some facts. It is about concepts, about the social impact of mobile services, about "why" and ""how" and not "what". It gives the reader both a "high latitude view" as well as a "critical detail" view, as appropriate. It is well written, well structured and well documented. The only remark that I may have is that the book is slightly too verbose – busy engineers rarely have time to digest 550 pages of packed text.

All in all, one of the most interesting non-broadcasting books I have come across. I can certainly recommend it to my friends in broadcasting, and strongly at that!

Next Generation Wireless Applications
Paul Golding
Hard-bound volume of 588 pages
ISBN 0-470-86986-0. Price: £60.00.
John Wiley & Sons, 2004
Web link

Franc Kozamernik

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Introduction to SNG and ENG microwave

This book is a good initiation to the technologies required to organise the broadcasting coverage of a news event. It gives a simple approach to the technical aspects of television news ingest, with an emphasis on the transmission systems.

It covers the general aspects of real-time transmission of television from the location of the event – using microwave radio links, satellite links and even optical links. In addition to the purely technical aspects relating to systems and components, it gives information on more administrative matters, such as the regulatory issues and the relationship with satellite operators. The protection of persons against hazards due to the microwave transmitter operation is also treated, which is not common within a such a technical document.

Finally, guidance elements are given about the working conditions in a "news event" environment which, of course, could be a hostile environment.

However, while an advantage of this book is the simple and general way that it deals with the subject matter, it is too superficial in some sections. As an example, the chapter about link budgets does not give any examples of a link budget calculation or the structure of a link budget estimation, which would allow the reader to determine if a satellite transmission will work.

Also, while there is a very detailed Table of Contents at the front of the book, it is missing an A - Z Index at the back, which makes it hard to find specific topics. However, a comprehensive Glossary of Terms is included at the back of the book

In conclusion, this is a good introductory book for beginners, giving an overview of SNG/ENG techniques in about 200 pages.

Introduction to SNG and ENG microwave
Jonathan Higgins
Bound volume of 216 pages
ISBN 0-240-51662-1. Price: £15.99.
Focal Press, 2004
Web link

Marc Lambreghs

European Broadcasting Union L'Ancienne Route 17A CH-1218 Grand-Saconnex Geneva Switzerland techreview@ebu.ch