ITV

Selection of set-top boxes

In order to receive digital television signals, viewers require special set-top boxes which are connected between the television antenna and the television set itself. The set-top box converts the digital signal in such a way that it can be read and displayed by conventional analog television sets. The technical requirements which had to be fulfilled by the set-top boxes used in the DVB-T pilot project in Graz were defined by the project management team and by the
keypartners in the project. The most important elements were MHP compatibility, return channel support and, of course, the ability to process DVB-T signals.

From the very outset, the core partners and project managers considered it important to use set-top boxes made by multiple manufacturers in order to simulate real market conditions with various devices. The manufacturers and importers in question were contacted via the respective trade association within the Austrian Chamber of Commerce and asked to submit offers for set-top boxes which fulfill the defined requirements.

The search for suitable devices was still extremely difficult. In particular, this was due to the fact that the high demands of the DVB-T pilot project in Graz was far more advanced than current developments in existing DVB-T markets.


	Pilot operation for digital terrestrial television and interactive MHP applacations
the project !TV4GRAZ applications production results imprint	Selection of set-top boxes In order to receive digital television signals, viewers require special set-top boxes which are connected between the television antenna and the television set itself. The set-top box converts the digital signal in such a way that it can be read and displayed by conventional analog television sets. The technical requirements which had to be fulfilled by the set-top boxes used in the DVB-T pilot project in Graz were defined by the project management team and by the keypartners in the project. The most important elements were MHP compatibility, return channel support and, of course, the ability to process DVB-T signals. From the very outset, the core partners and project managers considered it important to use set-top boxes made by multiple manufacturers in order to simulate real market conditions with various devices. The manufacturers and importers in question were contacted via the respective trade association within the Austrian Chamber of Commerce and asked to submit offers for set-top boxes which fulfill the defined requirements. The search for suitable devices was still extremely difficult. In particular, this was due to the fact that the high demands of the DVB-T pilot project in Graz was far more advanced than current developments in existing DVB-T markets.	For example, additional MHP services are not implemented in the greater Berlin/Brandenburg area, which was the first region in Germany to switch over completely to DVB-T. The set-top boxes available on the market there were only designed to allow the reception of the audio and video signals and to allow the viewer to change channels. In the end, four manufacturers were able to supply set-top boxes in sufficient quantities: Fujitsu Siemens and Philips (50 units each), Humax (80 units) and Nokia (20 units). In this context, it is necessary to note that these boxes were often prototypes or devices from other markets. However, it was soon discovered that the operating system programming in the set-top boxes varied when it came to the activation and functions of the internal modems. All of the modems were designed to accept MHP commands, but the manufacturers of the set-top boxes had based their systems on differing MHP command chains. Therefore, it was a special challenge for all application developers to design the interactive applications in the MHP portals (in direct cooperation with the middleware producers) in such a way that the connection to the Telekom Austria network could be established from all MHP applications with each set-top box.