Managing the digital multiplex in the broadcast environment

This paper considers the design issues associated with the construction of integrated digital transmission systems to provide direct to home (DTH) services. These require the combination of traditional broadcasting elements with digital video broadcasting (DVB) and pay TV technology. This discussion highlights the fact that the successful system implementation requires the use of a multiplex management system-both for technical and commercial reasons. Throughout, the paper draws attention to the impact of digital transmission techniques on the broadcaster´s business systems, since it is clear that these systems must understand the new concepts within digital TV if the broadcaster is to exploit them. Two popular approaches to the system architecture are discussed, along with their various merits, and conclusions drawn about their ease of implementation. Both designs rely heavily on the organisation and transfer of data between the various systems components-the latency and the resilience to failure of these systems is therefore critical