DVB-T BER measurements in the presence of adjacent channel and co-channel analogue television interference

This paper presents some laboratory tests carried out to measure the BER degradation caused by an analogue PAL-G television interference on a COFDM 8K digital television signal. The tests made include co-channel and both upper and lower adjacent channel interference situations. Recently this year, the ITU-R has presented some protection ratios to be sought when planning DVB-T networks. The results of the work presented here include a wider range of power ratios and their effect on the BER rather than the limit protection values. The new digital services will share the same frequency bands as the conventional analogue television so the exact characterization of mutual interference is a major concern of broadcasters during the transition period when both systems have to co-exist.