Baud Rate Symbol Timing Synchronization for 8-VSB ATSC DTV Receivers

A timing recovery system for ATSC standard HDTV receivers is presented. The proposed solution operates at baud rate, thereby enabling use of a symbol-spaced channel equalizer and simplifying the demodulator architecture. The selection of a Farrow interpolator further lowers the design complexity. A Mueller and Muller timing error detector is used in non-data-aided (NDA) mode, and timing recovery is therefore not restricted to training sequences. This leads to favorable control characteristics, obviates the need for a training sequence detector and reduces the lock-in time. The design utilizes components with non-ideal characteristics, and yet satisfies the performance requirements at a low implementation and operational cost.