Preamble design using embedded signalling for OFDM broadcast systems based on reduced-complexity distance detection

The second generation digital terrestrial television broadcasting standard (DVB-T2) adopts the so-called P1 symbol as the preamble for initial synchronization. The P1 symbol also carries a number of basic transmission parameters, including the fast Fourier transform size and the single-input/single-output as well as multiple-input/single-output mode, in order to appropriately configure the receiver for carrying out the subsequent processing. In this contribution, an improved preamble design is proposed, where a pair of training sequences is inserted in the frequency domain and their distance is used for transmission parameter signalling. At the receiver, only a low-complexity correlator is required for the detection of the signalling. Both the coarse carrier frequency offset and the signalling can be simultaneously estimated by detecting the above-mentioned correlation. Compared to the standardised P1 symbol, the proposed preamble design significantly reduces the complexity of the receiver while retaining high robustness in frequency-selective fading channels. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed preamble design achieves a better signalling performance than the standardised P1 symbol, despite reducing the numbers of multiplications and additions by about 40% and 20%, respectively

The Introduction of DTT in Latin America: Politics and Policies

The switch to digital terrestrial television is now a global trend. In Latin America, where the terrestrial platform has a dominant role, the introduction of DTT raises important questions for economic and industrial development, as well as pluralism. This article focuses on the earliest experiences (Brazil, México and Argentina) and those of the newcomers (Chile, Colombia and Uruguay). The aim is to outline the differences between the various political decision processes and the way with which they have been turned into communication policies, so as to draw some conclusions that contribute to visualizing the future of television in the region.Publicad

International policy preferences, technological standard-setting and digital television

This article looks into the case of digital television and international policy preferences for technological standard-setting aiming to contribute to literature on international regulatory competition and cooperation. It argues that the initial development of standards can be understood as the result of an international race to the top with states and companies as key drivers. When the US, Japan and the EU decided to “conquer the world” with their ATSC, ISDB and DVB standards, respectively, and many waves of countries embarked on digital television, the race became global. Many states have been therefore forced to raise technical standards because of external pressure but key domestic actors and motivations are also part of the complete picture. More specifically, policy preferences in Latin America can be explained too as the product of a race fostered by firms and states, though regulatory competition gave place to a cooperative turnaround that led to new and unexpected associations.Publicad

'TV Format Protection through Marketing Strategies?'

Commercially successful programme ideas are often imitated or adapted. Television formats, in particular, are routinely copied. Starting from radio formats in the 1950s to game shows and reality programme formats of today, producers have accused others of “stealing”. Although formats constitute one of the most important exports for British TV producers, there is still no certainty about the legal protection of TV formats from copycat versions. Since TV formats fail to fall neatly within the definitions of protected material under international copyright and trade mark regimes, producers have been trying to devise innovative means to protect their formats from plagiarism. The globalization of cultural and entertainment markets may itself have contributed to the rise of TV formats, interconnecting programming industries in a world of multiplying channels. This paper theorizes that global broadcasting and programme marketing strategies can also be used by TV format producers to protect their formats. Specifically, eight different strategies may be used: (a) trade show infrastructure and dynamics; (b) visual brand identity and channel fit; (c) brand extension and merchandising; (d) corporate branding; (e) national branding; (f) genre branding; (g) constant brand innovation; (h) fan communities. The paper develops a methodology for capturing the use and effectiveness of these eight strategies in preventing the copying of formats

Managing the challenges of incorporating new digital technology in public broadcasting services in Brazil and Portugal

Digital technology and the rise of innovative online communication services are defining a challenging context for communication medium managers in general and in particular for those who administer public broadcasting systems. This context has propelled these professionals to come up with and establish a set of actions for shaping strategies so that these institutions can produce, advertise and offer media content across new platforms, and thereby re-establish and renew their consumer ties with certain audience profiles. A scene which has been shaped by the ever increasing virtual media options available to users which has led public communication mediums to lose parts of their audience, a situation which, in special circumstances, could threaten the social legitimacy of this particular broadcaster, its actual commitment to its mission and relegate it to a less-important level in the eyes of its citizens. This paper analyzes the challenges public broadcasting services in Brazil and Portugal have incorporating new technology and making themselves visible to an online public

Strategic Behaviour in the International Exploitation of TV Formats - A Case Study of the Idols Format

The international trade in TV formats has been increasing steadily. According to the Format Recognition and Protection Association (a format producers' industry association) the value of the global TV format business exceeds € 9.3 billion (FRAPA 2009). In the early 2000s, the market grew more than 30 per cent in three years, and the UK became one of the lead exporters of formats, along with USA and the Netherlands (FT 2005). This case study investigates how Idols became one of the most successful television formats sold worldwide – with, as noted in the Introduction, over 40 global versions – in the absence of specific format rights. Component parts of an Idols type format may attract copyright protection in its production manual (also known as 'format bible'), set design, programming sequence, episode segments and musical content; but in a court of law, the underlying concept and the format arrangement of the components does not attract copyright protection. From a legal perspective, if there is no formal protection regime provided by law, competitors should be able to copy the product freely and hence the price of such a product should be zero. However, formats are bought and sold for large sums of money. The licensees fees alone for a sought after format, such as Idols, can cost broadcasters in a Western European territory, upwards of €35,000 for one series of 20 to 30 episodes of 1 hour duration besides additional fees for consultancy in the form of flying producers. This case study identifies the strategies employed by producers of the Idols format to counter the limited legal protection available to their cultural products. The case study is structured as follows. The first section gives an introductory overview of international trade in the Idols format, circumscribing the issue of format imitation from a legal and commercial point of view. Secondly, the research design for the case study is explained. Thirdly, market based patterns of format protection and exploitation are identified from the empirical data. The chapter concludes with a discussion section, in which these patterns of exploitation are grouped into three overarching strategies pursued by the producers of the Idols format

Delivery of broadband services to SubSaharan Africa via Nigerian communications satellite

Africa is the least wired continent in the world in terms of robust telecommunications infrastructure and systems to cater for its more than one billion people. African nations are mostly still in the early stages of Information Communications Technology (ICT) development as verified by the relatively low ICT Development Index (IDI) values of all countries in the African region. In developing nations, mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration between 2000-2009 was increasingly more popular than fixed broadband subscriptions. To achieve the goal of universal access, with rapid implementation of ICT infrastructure to complement the sparsely distributed terrestrial networks in the hinterlands and leveraging the adequate submarine cables along the African coastline, African nations and their stakeholders are promoting and implementing Communication Satellite systems, particularly in Nigeria, to help bridge the digital hiatus. This paper examines the effectiveness of communication satellites in delivering broadband-based services

Global communication and political culture in the semi-periphery: The rise of the Globo corporation

This article will offer a description and explanation of the rise of the Brazilian media corporation Globo by situating it in the context of the periphery and semi-periphery of the World System and the globalisation of communication. In particular it focuses upon the changing role that Globo has played in the construction of an elite-led political culture in Brazil that has moved through phases of authoritarian and democratic government. The article sets out an historical account of the emergence of Globo from being a regional media organisation in the periphery of the world system to a global broadcaster in the semi-periphery. It moves through three phases: First, 1925–1964, the colonial legacy and Brazil in the periphery; second, 1964–1985, a period of transition and conservative modernisation, into the semi-periphery; and finally, 1985 onwards, the age of globalisation