Rohde & Schwarz to Provide Key Equipment for Five More ATSC Mobile DTV Transmission Systems for ION Media Networks
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Columbia, MD, March 25 2011 - Rohde & Schwarz announced that it is supplying the ATSC Mobile DTV equipment for five more ION stations, for both existing Rohde & Schwarz transmitters as well as from other manufacturers.
With this new push into MDTV coverage, there are now 10 Mobile DTV systems being deployed by ION Media Networks that are powered by the R&S AEM100 emission multiplexer and the R&S SX800 exciter. This straightforward solution with its low cost was key for ION, as they can be quickly deployed into existing station infrastructures, yet their configuration is by far the most complete and flexible on the market.
The single RU high R&S AEM100 includes the IP encapsulator, an SMT generator and the Mobile DTV multiplexer, and is easily integrated into existing installations, leaving the standard ATSC multiplexer in place. It can operate without use of external ESG or signaling generator, reducing investment cost. A bypass mode guarantees continued transmission if the mobile signal becomes unavailable, and a fully automatic redundancy concept offers uninterrupted transmission should a failure occur. The cloning of settings to a second unit allows effortless system setup and switchover, and firmware upgrades can be executed without shutdown. The complete ATSC Mobile DTV functionality is configured, controlled and monitored using a web browser locally or remotely, using a very intuitive GUI for the flexible setup of parameters and for real time or scheduled changing of setups, without program interruption.
The R&S SX800 exciter is a fully frequency agile exciter which is already used in the newest ATSC medium power air-cooled and high power liquid-cooled Rohde & Schwarz transmitter systems. It was introduced in 2005 to support all worldwide TV broadcasting standards, including ATSC, MediaFLOTM, DVB-T/H, DVB-T2 and ISDB-Tb, and is also ATSC Mobile DTV and Single Frequency Network (SFN) capable. All existing ATSC transmitters that use the R&S SX800 exciter can be updated to ATSC Mobile DTV effortlessly.
These products have the flexibility to be installed together with a broad spectrum of products from virtually all leading brands of encoders or ESG generators, further reducing unnecessary investments, and instead offering a wide choice of user preferred solutions.
"The Rohde & Schwarz products were integrated into our existing station infrastructure easily, and configuration was simple," said David Glenn, President of Engineering for ION Media Networks. "We received a great report on the stress testing of the R&S AEM100 multiplexer, as we tested a number of scenarios with interruption of input streams. Rohde & Schwarz equipment passes with flying colors, recovering automatically without an issue."
"We are very proud to have been chosen by ION Media Networks for the deployment of ATSC Mobile DTV at their major market stations, including New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Boston. They are very pleased with the performance and reliability of these products, and we look forward to helping ION deploy ATSC Mobile DTV at many other stations in the future," said Eddy Vanderkerken, Director of Sales at Rohde & Schwarz. "These projects underline our competence and readiness in this market, as we can both deliver complete new solutions, and exciters for retrofit into existing transmitters, even from other manufacturers, for ATSC Mobile DTV operation."
Today, many stations are broadcasting Mobile DTV using the R&S AEM100 multiplexer and the R&S SX800 TV exciter in important markets such as Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta and Dallas. Rohde & Schwarz was the first to put a fully A/153 standard compliant signal on the air, at WNUV in Baltimore, MD in October 2009.
Contacts for readers:
Customer Support Europe: Phone: +49 89 4129 13774, Fax: +49 89 4129 63778
E-mail: customersupport@rohde-schwarz.com Customer Support Americas: Phone: +1 888 837 8772, From outside the US: +1 410 910 7988
E-mail: customer.support@rsa.rohde-schwarz.com
Customer Support Asia: Phone: +65 65130 488, Fax: +65 68461 090
E-mail: customersupport.asia@rohde-schwarz.com
Rohde & Schwarz
Rohde & Schwarz is an independent group of companies specializing in electronics. It is a leading supplier of solutions in the fields of test and measurement, broadcasting, radio monitoring and radio location, as well as secure communications. Established 75 years ago, Rohde & Schwarz has a global presence and a dedicated service network in over 70 countries. It has approx. 7500 employees and achieved a net revenue of Euros 1.4 billion (US$ 1.9 billion) in fiscal year 2007/2008 (July 2007 to June 2008). Company headquarters are in Munich, Germany.
