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Tag Archive for 'CSA'

French DTT in HD by 2015? Bonne Chance!

November 24, 2009 by Barry Flynn

The French regulator, the CSA, has suggested that France’s entire DTT platform could be broadcast in HDTV by 2015. The comments came from CSA member Alain Méar at a recent debate on the future of DTT in Paris, hosted by NPA Conseil.

Currently, there are 31 channels broadcasting across six DTT multiplexes, only five of which are available in HD (these are simulcasts of the Canal+ premium channel, public channels France 2 and Arte, and commercial channels TF1 and M6).

Since under French broadcasting rules, the standard-definition channels are broadcast in MPEG-2 and the HD ones in MPEG-4, there is scope for spectrum savings if simulcasting is stopped and all the channels are converted to MPEG-4.

Even so, the CSA’s proposals are challenging: eleven DTT multiplexes would be required, alongside another two to be reserved for mobile broadcast TV. The CSA itself has already complained that government plans to harmonize the so-called 800MHz band in line with EC recommendations - which would require part of the expected digital dividend from analogue switchoff to be allocated to mobile services - would endanger plans to migrate the DTT platform to HDTV. (The risk is real: a recent position paper by the EBU warns of the technical obstacles harmonization could place in the way of European analogue switchoff plans).

One answer would be to migrate to the use of the next-generation standard DVB-T2, which offers potential efficiency savings of at least 40% over DVB-T (the standard currently used in France for both standard-definition and high-definition services). DVB-T2 has been adopted in the UK in response to a similar conundrum.

However, during the debate, which Farncombe attended, it was not clear that the use of DVB-T2 was being considered by the CSA. It is difficult to see how the regulator can square the circle without it.

Posted in Digital Terrestrial. 0 Comments

Farncombe Consulting proposes replacement for DVB Common Scrambling Algorithm

October 26, 2009 by Barry Flynn

Farncombe Consulting Group, which hosts this blog, has published a second White Paper on TV Conditional Access (CA), which proposes a possible replacement for the DVB Common Scrambling Algorithm (CSA).

This is the hardware-based digital TV encryption technology mandated under European Law and which underpins today’s DVB-based pay-TV sector.

Farncombe’s in-house video security experts think it’s overdue for a replacement, arguing that - although it was introduced for the best possible motives in the early 1990s - the technology now raises serious commercial, regulatory and technical concerns for the digital pay-TV industry.

For instance, they point out, the CSA was designed for an era when operators were keen to avoid their content being distributed to PCs, and where broadband did not exist as a distribution medium. But neither of these factors apply today. This means operators are saddled with a technology which makes content distribution more difficult, and is not only already vulnerable to piracy but poised to become increasingly so.

In the White Paper, Farncombe accordingly proposes a next-generation replacement for the CSA, based on a ‘toolkit’ approach which mixes both hardware and software elements.

This will take time to implement, however. In the meantime, operators who upgrade their installed receiver base without addressing the security flaws in the CSA approach risk wasting their investment. Farncombe notes that the nature of this weakness is such that it only takes one hacked receiver to allow control words to be fed over broadband to any legacy DVB STB and enable pay-TV content to be pirated.

This implies that the industry needs to introduce a replacement as soon as possible.

A PDF of the new White Paper can be obtained from Farncombe by clicking here (or by pasting the following URL into your browser: http://www.farncombe.eu/index.php?menu=4.4) and filling in a simple registration form. Farncombe will then personally send you a copy.

Posted in Digital Cable, Digital Satellite, Digital Terrestrial and IPTV. 1 Comment

French government snubs CSA and confirms allocation of 790-862MHz band to mobile broadband

January 13, 2009 by Barry Flynn

It looks as though the French government has ignored the pleas of its TV regulator, the CSA, to take its hands off the 790-862MHz frequency band, the lower portion of which the watchdog wanted to reserve for digital TV post analogue switchoff.

Yesterday, prime minister François Fillon held a ministerial summit at which an updated version of France’s digital plan (France numérique 2012) was announced. The press release put out afterwards (NB, a PDF) reveals that Fillon signed a document just before Christmas mandating the allocation of the 790-862MHz sub-band to mobile broadband. As the CSA feared, this chops a sizeable chunk - 40MHz - off the UHF spectrum that was previously to have been reserved for TV-based services, which runs from 470-830MHz.

It’s possible that the CSA (and any other opponents) could have one more bite at the cherry. Fillon has asked ARCEP (the telecoms regulator) to put out to public consultation by the end of February “the conditions and the modalities of a joint request for proposals for the 780-862 MHz and 2.6GHz bands”, with the objective of attributing the frequencies by the end of this year (2.6GHz is another frequency destined for mobile broadband use).

Opponents of the measure probably wouldn’t be able to reverse that decision, but they could in their consultation responses request that bidders for the 780-862MHz slot be forced to take appropriate measures to protect TV services in adjacent UHF frequencies from interference, something UK regulator Ofcom has proposed in its own consultations about the Digital Dividend. This could be expensive to carry out in practice and could act as a possible ‘spoiler’ for new entrants.

Other measures announced yesterday by Fillon include the creation of a new government working-party on mobile TV, tasked to establish in concert with stakeholders, between now and the end of March, “a viable economic model for mobile TV, with a view to a rapid rollout of the corresponding infrastructures.”

The announcement represents a tacit admission by the government that the French DVB-H project has so far been a failure. ConnectedTV thought the original plans were a recipe for disaster because of their failure to require mobile TV players to meet any targets for comprehensive coverage or indoor reception. The government, however, seems to think that it’s the business model which is at fault - something ConnectedTV has also been banging on about for some time. Either way, it ain’t working.

Posted in Broadband and Mobile TV. 0 Comments