| Many engineers familiar with analog television broadcast systems are now faced with designing, operating, and maintaining digital television systems. A major reason for this introductory book is to make the transition from analog to digital television broadcasting as painless as possible for these engineers. The emphasis is on radio-frequency (RF) transmission, those elements of the system concernedwith transmitting and propagating the digitally modulated signal. I begin with the digital signal as it emerges from the transport layer and end with the RF signal as it arrives at the receiver. The emphasis is on factors affecting broadcast system performance.
The scope of this book is necessarily limited; some topics, such as studioto-transmitter links and receivers are not covered. It is intended as a self-study resource by the broadcast system engineer, as well as a reference for the design engineer, system engineer, and engineering manager. An index is included to make it a more useful resource for future reference. It may be used as a text for a formal training class.
Most people would agree that a useful engineering tool must include some mathematics. For this reason, and to make the presentation as clear as possible, concepts have been described verbally, mathematically, and in many cases, graphically. The mathematics used include algebra, trigonometry, and a small amount of calculus. For those not interested in the mathematical formulation, the charts and graphs should be sufficient to grasp the key points.
For those who wish to probe further, extensive footnotes are provided. These not only provide much more detail but are my attempt to give credit to the many workers who have brought digital television to its present state of maturity. Even with ample footnotes, I may have failed to give credit to all who deserve it. This is by no means intentional; the references included are simply those sources of which I am aware. |
