Teletext
290	TeleWeb — teletext with internet connection Werner Brückner (292 KB)
	The heir apparent of teletext – TeleWeb – is designed to link television to the internet and offer users an enhanced teletext service. This article describes how viewers can make use of the new service via any suitable television set, without additional connections or financial charges. The first TeleWeb receivers arrived on the market at the 2001 Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin (IFA 2001). The present receivers operate without a two-way channel but future TeleWeb sets will be interactive.
286	Teletext — in digital television Werner Brückner (195 KB)
	Teletext is about 25 years old and is currently being brought into the digital broadcasting environment by the DVB project. This article looks at some of the key issues involved in offering teletext and subtitling to DVB viewers.
275	Higher-level teletext in action Daniel Kramer (183 KB)
	"Level 2.5" teletext offers several important advantages over the current teletext standard (known as level 1.5 teletext). Firstly, level 2.5 teletext incorporates several different character types, and proportional spacing between the characters. Secondly, it provides for improved graphics including acronyms and logos. Thirdly, it incorporates a much better colour palette. It also offers potential enhancements when received on a widescreen (16:9) teletext receiver. The Author describes here his experiences with the introduction of level 2.5 teletext services in Switzerland (up to the end of January 1998), in particular the problems that have resulted from the software and the equipment manufacturers not following the level 2.5 specification very diligently.
Traffic and Travel Information (TTI)
304	TPEG — standardized at last ... but this is only the beginning Bev Marks (583 KB)
	TPEG technology has been quite a long while in the making – compared with some other technology developments. This article explains how the development of a worldwide standard necessarily takes time to obtain a wide ranging understanding and buy-in from the relevant business sectors. Furthermore, it describes the need for long-term ongoing development and support of the TPEG “tooklkit”, which shall be extensible to allow for future needs.
284	Report on Eurotravel 2000 Conference Dietmar Kopitz (286 KB)
	This article reports on the Eurotravel 2000 Conference – Traffic and Travel Information services for everyone – which was held in Geneva last June. The resolutions adopted during the Conference are also given.
279	Traffic and Travel Information broadcasting — protocols for the 21st century Dietmar Kopitz and Bev Marks (576 KB)
	The broadcasting of traffic and travel information is likely to continue for some years via existing delivery means such as RDS-TMC, teletext, and spoken radio and TV broadcasts. However, several new delivery technologies – such as DAB, DVB, GSM and the Internet – are being developed to extend and enhance the provision of such information to drivers and travellers throughout Europe. While recognizing the benefits and value of RDS-TMC, the EBU’s recently-established TPEG activity is firmly aimed at the upcoming multimedia broadcasting environment. In this article, the authors give some background to the provision of TTI services in Europe, and explain the new protocols that are being developed within the framework of TPEG.
Training
255	A decade in the life of Working Party R Daniel Sauvet-Goichon and Ken Hunt (30 KB)
	Those whose daily work brings them into close contact with the EBU Technical Committee and its five Working Parties no doubt have a clear understanding of their rôle in European broadcasting. Others may have a less clear idea of the problems that are being studied within the Technical Committee, or the new systems that are being developed. The EBU Technical Review has invited the Chairman and Secretary of each Working Party to present its current activities, highlight a few of their recent achievements and explain the significance of their work in the wider broadcasting context. The first presentation in the series, for Working Party R (Broadcasting technology) is given here. The Working Party's agenda is defined largely as a function of the Radio Conferences of the ITU, although many studies are in hand in other fields, including RDS, propagation, planning methods, and new services (HDTV, DAB, ...).
252	Improving standards and efficiency of broadcasting organizations through the development of human resources H. Springer (99 KB)
	This EBU TUTORIAL is addressed not so much to student engineers as to training managers and broadcast administrators. The emphasis is on the role of training in the rapidly-changing broadcast environment: increasingly competitive attitudes, evolving career expectations, the introduction of easier-to-use and more flexible programme-making hardware. The conclusions favour consideration of training as a management tool, an incentive and an investment, contributing just like any other investment towards the achievement of the broadcaster's primary objectives.
Transmission
2008-Q3	DTV transmitter power efficiency – new opportunities for reducing costs and environmental impact
	Keith Pruden (587 kB)
	The worldwide introduction of digital terrestrial TV systems will lead to significant numbers of new transmitters being installed over the next few years. With the recent rise in energy prices, and increasing concerns over the environmental impact, it is important that these new transmitters are as energy-efficient as possible. This article discusses various issues relating to the power efficiency of digital TV transmitters, and describes how Envelope Tracking technology could make a significant contribution to reducing the operational costs and environmental impact of new digital networks.
306	DRM — The BBC World Service distribution chain Julian Cable (416 KB)
	Broadcasters, both international and domestic, are busy turning their pilot DRM transmissions into real services. Meanwhile, the receiver manufacturers are trying hard to get their DRM radios into the shops as quickly as possible. This article gives an insight into the DRM distribution chain used by BBC World Service, which is made up of a mixture of professional equipment and in-house developments. Playing an important role in the BBC’s overall DRM strategy is the use of open-source software, wherever possible.
306	Assessing the compliance of emissions from HF broadcast transmitters — with exposure guidelines BBC World Service / UK HPA (747 KB)
	This article defines the theoretical maximum electric and magnetic field strengths and induced leg currents that people could be exposed to at HF broadcasting frequencies, without the basic restrictions being exceeded. The article is based on a contract report, prepared for BBC World Service by the Radiation Protection Division of the UK Health Protection Agency (HPA). An overview of this HPA report is provided by Mike Hate of BBC World Service.
305	Assessing the compliance of emissions from MF broadcast transmitters — with exposure guidelines BBC World Service / UK HPA (243 KB)
	This article defines the theoretical maximum electric and magnetic field strengths and induced leg currents that people could be exposed to at MF broadcasting frequencies, without the basic restrictions being exceeded. The article is based on a contract report, prepared for BBC World Service by the Radiation Protection Division of the UK Health Protection Agency (HPA). An overview of this HPA report is provided by Mike Hate of BBC World Service.
305	The AM Signalling System, AMSS — does your radio know what it is listening to? Andrew Murphy and Ranulph Poole (507 KB)
	The AM Signalling System (AMSS) adds a small amount of digital information to existing analogue AM broadcasts on short-, medium- and long-wave, giving similar functionality to that provided by the Radio Data System (RDS) on the FM bands. The system has been designed within the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) consortium, primarily to ease the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. A suitably-equipped receiver will allow selection of the AM service by name as well as the choice of re-tuning to other frequencies carrying analogue or digital versions of the same or a related service. Several AMSS transmissions are already on air and some, if not all, of the first consumer DRM receivers will incorporate AMSS decoding.
273	The inductive output tube — the latest generation of amplifier for digital terrestrial transmission Roy Heppinstall and Graham Clayworth (576 KB)
	The inductive output tube (IOT) is the latest generation of amplifying device for use in high-power transmitters. It entered service in 1991 and is now used world-wide as a more efficient replacement for the klystron at UHF. The performance of the IOT in analogue television transmitters is outlined here. The article also presents and discusses the results of its performance as the final amplifier in the new generation of digital terrestrial television transmitters.
Tributes (Obituaries)
310	Rudolf Gressmann — A cultured leader of technology, and a European David Wood and Dietmar Kopitz
300	Eric Griffiths — Eurovision pioneer and diplomat Brian Flowers
297	Henri Mertens, 1927 – 2003 David Wood
Tutorials
278	The how and why of COFDM Jonathan Stott (301 KB)
	Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (COFDM) is a form of modulation which is particularly well-suited to the needs of the terrestrial broadcasting channel. COFDM can cope with high levels of multipath propagation, with a wide spread of delays between the received signals. This leads to the concept of single-frequency networks in which many transmitters send the same signal on the same frequency, generating “artificial multipath”. COFDM also copes well with co-channel narrowband interference, as may be caused by the carriers of existing analogue services. COFDM has therefore been chosen for two recent new standards for broadcasting – DAB and DVB-T, both of which have been optimized for their respective applications and have options to suit particular needs. The special performance of COFDM in respect of multipath and interference is only achieved by a careful choice of parameters and with attention to detail in the way in which the forward error-correction coding is applied.
266	A functional model of a conditional access system for use with digital television broadcasts EBU Project Group B/CA (76 KB)
	EBU Project Group B/CA has developed a functional model of a conditional access system for use with digital television broadcasts. It should be of benefit to EBU Members who intend to introduce encrypted digital broadcasts; by using this reference model, Members will be able to evaluate the different conditional access systems that are available. The model is not intended as a specification for a particular system. Rather, it provides a framework for defining the terms and operating principles of conditional access systems and it illustrates some of the conflicts and trade-offs that occur when designing such systems.
266	MPEG video – A simple introduction Bob Ely (89 KB)
	The core element of all DVB systems is the MPEG-2 vision coding standard, which is based upon a flexible toolkit of techniques for bit-rate reduction. The MPEG-2 specification only defines the bit-stream syntax and decoding process. The coding process is not specified, which means that compatible improvements in the picture quality will continue to be possible. In this article, the author provides a simple introduction to the technicalities of the MPEG-2 video coding standard.
257	Measurement of display transfer characteric (gamma, g) Alan Roberts (79 KB)
	EBU Sub-group G4 (Video origination equipment) has recently completed a new EBU publication setting out recommended procedures for the measurement of the colorimetry of studio colour monitors. This EBU TUTORIAL, prepared by a member of Sub-group G4, presents the subject in rather more detail, especially as regards the mathematical treatment of measurement results, and gives a worked example.
256	Principles of operation of video encoders and decoders in the production domain EBU Sub-group G4 (83 KB)
	This EBU TUTORIAL has been prepared within the framework of an Ad-hoc Group of EBU Sub-group G4 (Video origination equipment). It deals with the basics of conventional PAL and SECAM encoding and decoding equipment which is now widespread in EBU Members' production facilities.
254	Handling and storage of recorded videotape EBU Sub-group G2 (199 KB)
	This TUTORIAL, prepared by members of EBU Sub-group G2) brings up-to-date Part II of EBU document Tech. 3202 Storage of magnetic tapes and cinefilms, issued in 1974. The importance of careful handling and proper storage of video tapes at all times cannot be over-emphasised. The basic precautions are the same whether the tapes are in formats which have become obsolete, but may contain valuable archive material, or are in the newer formats which, owing to the use of thinner tape supports and much greater information packing densities, are inherently more susceptible to damage than those used earlier.
252	Improving standards and efficiency of broadcasting organizations through the development of human resources H. Springer (99 KB)
	This EBU TUTORIAL is addressed not so much to student engineers as to training managers and broadcast administrators. The emphasis is on the role of training in the rapidly-changing broadcast environment: increasingly competitive attitudes, evolving career expectations, the introduction of easier-to-use and more flexible programme-making hardware. The conclusions favour consideration of training as a management tool, an incentive and an investment, contributing just like any other investment towards the achievement of the broadcaster's primary objectives.
251	Noise and intermodulation in cable distribution networks K.N. Stokke (242 KB)
	The first in this new series of EBU TUTORIALS looks at the problem of cable television network planning and, more especially, the calculation of noise and intermodulation.
TV-Anytime
302	The UK TV Anytime test bed Allen Mornington-West (284 KB)
	Formed in 1999, the TV-Anytime Forum is developing open specifications for interoperable and integrated systems that will allow consumer electronics manufacturers, content creators, telecommunications companies, broadcasters and other service providers to most effectively utilize high-volume digital storage (PVRs) in consumer devices. The TV-Anytime Phase 1 specification was published as an ETSI Technical Specification in October 2003. In the UK, the Digital TV Group set up a test bed in 2004 to prove that TV Anytime is workable within the constraints of the UK DTT platform (DVB-T). If it could be shown to provide a commercial advantage on this platform, then it should also work as the core for almost any other delivery system (e.g. DVB-S, Broadband TV and Mobile TV). This article gives an overview of the TV Anytime system, in the context of the UK test bed.
295	TV-Anytime Phase 1 — a decisive milestone in open standards for Personal Video Recorders Jean-Pierre Evain and Hervé Murret-Labarthe (566 KB)
	TV-Anytime is an “open” set of specifications for use with personal video recorders. It is being adapted for use in Europe (the DVB Consortium), Japan (ARIB), the USA (ATSC) and other areas. This article describes Phase 1 of the specifications, which will shortly be published as ETSI Technical Specifications and Reports.
284	TV-Anytime metadata – a preliminary specification on schedule! Jean-Pierre Evain (187 KB)
	TV-Anytime will allow consumers to watch programmes in the way they want and when they want. Consumers will be able to access content from a variety of sources, including traditional broadcast and new on-line interactive services – for presentation at any time of the day. New tools (including hard-disk storage, set-top boxes, and high-speed Internet access) will allow us to achieve that goal, i.e. to search, select, access, personalize, capture, and manage a wide and diverse range of attractive content. This article describes the current work to define a metadata solution, within the metadata technical framework approved by the TV-Anytime Forum. The article is based on the preliminary TV-Anytime specification, which was approved for publication on 28 September 2000 at Marina del Rey, California.
TV Displays
298	Maximizing the quality of SDTV in the flat-panel environment EBU/BMC (667 KB)
	The broadcasting environment is changing because of digital technology. Further changes will be needed soon, if flat-panel displays become widely used in home receivers. The quality demands of large-screen flat-panel receivers will call for new care and attention from broadcasters in providing “conventional-quality” television. This article is intended to help broadcasters understand the factors which affect quality in this new world, and it offers suggestions for ways of maximizing the delivered picture quality.
298	The changing world of TV displays — CRTs challenged by flat-panel displays Richard Salmon (628 KB)
	The CRT has dominated the display industry for 100 years. Its reign is coming to an end, not tomorrow, but in the not-too-distant future. This article provides an overview of the progress being made by flat-panel displays in chipping away at the TV market. Plasma display technology has been developing fast but, watch out – here comes the LCD juggernaut, sweeping all before it … There are other technologies to watch as well, and there could still be more surprises round the corner. Beware; there’s some hype about, but there’s also some well-founded market research to guide the way.

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