Testing and conformance checking in the digital television environment

This paper reviews the changes to test methodology which are required when moving from traditional analogue broadcasting to the new MPEG and DVB digital TV systems. Dynamic multi-programme transport streams, played at data rates of up to about 60 Mbit/s, are needed to perform the role traditionally taken by static analogue test patterns, such as colour bars. Conformance checks for the relevant standards are essential, particularly for transmission systems which contain equipment from more than one manufacturer. During system integration, it is necessary to examine the bit streams continuously in real time to detect and diagnose errors, which may occur only irregularly and infrequently. Broadcasters also require real-time monitoring to log statistics of operational parameters such as multiplex occupancy and synchronisation loss.