Australian DTV Delivers ‘Digital Difference’ Lessons Learnt


The importance and complexity of signal verification and network operations is unarguably one of the key lessons Broadcast Australia has learnt as a result of this unique project. This is closely coupled with the need to consider continuously changing technology; ten years ago, the rapidity with which digital broadcast technology has advanced could not have been predicted. Equipment is being superseded regularly, providing ongoing integration and interoperability challenges, and highlighting the need to continue developing skills. This rapid equipment evolution, added to an intrinsic complexity, also ensures that component lifecycle is significantly shorter than that of analogue equipment.


Governments and broadcasters on the brink of DTTB deployment for the first time have the opportunity to make choices with the benefit of time, hindsight and the experience of those who have already trodden this path. To promote consumer take-up it will be important to provide the service demanded by consumers: all present indicators point towards high-quality widescreen HDTV 1080 and increased content choice. This means that spectrum will need to be put aside for multiple HDTV services, and the latest efficient evolutions of standards – such as DVB-T2 coupled with MPEG-4 – factored in.


Broadcast Australia’s DTTB network deployment is not yet complete, although it currently services more than 97 per cent of Australia’s widely dispersed population. Much knowledge has been gained from the past decade’s experience, providing valuable insight into what constitutes the ‘digital difference’ and how best to approach similar deployments in the future. One thing is certain: the technology keeps evolving and network operators cannot afford to stand still. It is essential to keep focused on the needs of the future to ensure that today’s networks will be able to meet tomorrow’s consumer expectations.


AUTHOR


Mike Dallimore Broadcast Australia Vice President International Business Development


Mike has over 30 years experience as an engineer and technical expert in the broadcast industry. Prior to joining Broadcast Australia in 2007, he was Broadcast Global Product Manager for Radio Frequency Systems, a role in which he worked


closely with Broadcast Australia on the deployment of Australia’s digital television network.


Mike began his career in the broadcasting industry with Telecom Australia (now Telstra), where he held a number of positions from station design and construction, to network operations and maintenance. He graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1979. While at RFS, Mike travelled extensively and witnessed broadcasters in a wide range of countries tackle the issue of migrating from analogue to digital. This has instilled in him a wealth of practical experience in all aspects of the engineering and management of digital broadcast networks.


11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48