Performance analysis of time frequency slicing

Time Frequency Slicing (TFS) is described in an informative annex of the DVB-T2 standard. It is able to bundle multiple (non-adjacent) standard RF channels into one big virtual channel that offers increased frequency diversity and robustness. Theoretically TFS requires a single receiver tuner only, because the tuner hops between the different channels. This naturally leads to certain dependencies within the framing structure of DVB-T2, which also influenced the development of the normal non-TFS operation of this standard. Therefore, this paper gives a brief introduction to TFS and its realization within DVB-T2, which has been heavily discussed during the DVB-T2 development. Furthermore, simulation results and theoretical analysis show the potential gains and limits of TFS.