CA-TV goes digital. Results from DVB-experiments in Dutch CATV-systems

As the biggest cable TV-operator in The Netherlands servicing almost one quarter of the Dutch cable-market, the N.V. CASEMA has always been interested in the latest techniques available for the core-business of the company. In a technical sense this interest is twofold: develop systems that are `future proof´ at reasonable costs and implement the most modern signal-techniques to obtain interesting new services for the subscribers as soon as the subscription fees including the necessary new equipment for them are available at an acceptable level. Digital video broadcasting (DVB) is such a system that is very attractive for the operators of transmission-infrastructures. It offers new opportunities because it provides additional methods of use of the available frequency space on their networks and therefore new possibilities to add new services and extra incomes. These facts also apply to the operators of cable television systems (CATV). In a heavily cabled country like The Netherlands the successful introduction of DVB depends to a great extent on the technical behaviour of the CATV networks and the behaviour of their operators. The author discusses picture quality and also the results of viewing tests