ADJACENT AND CO-CHANNEL INTERFERENCE

DISTURBANCES FROM A DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL

TELEVISION SIGNAL(COFDM-8K System) ON
ANALOGUE PAL SYSTEMS
A. Arrinda (jtparsaa@bi.ehu.es), M. M Vlez, P. Angueira, D. de la Vega, J. L. Ordiales
UNIVERSITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY
ETSII y IT de Bilbao
Alda. Urkijo s/n
48013 BILBAO, Spain

Abstract
This paper presents some early results from a measurement campaign in the service area of the
digital terrestrial television (COFDM-8K system) experimental network of Madrid (Spain). The
purpose of this survey has been to determine the degradation suffered by analogue PAL-G
signals in presence of co-channel and adjacent channel digital emissions. The result from this
study is a curve that estimates the protection ratios between analogue and digital received
power levels.

1. INTRODUCTION

2. TARGETS

The introduction of the digital terrestrial

television, standardized in Europe by the Digital
Video Broadcasting (DVB) consortium [1], will be
gradually carried out in most European countries.
This progressive development will allow the
consumers to make a gradual access to the new
services, taking into account that they will need
to purchase a new IRD. In the same way,
broadcasters will have a reasonable time margin
to be able to update their infrastructures towards
the digital terrestrial technologies.

This work has focused on the study of

interference disturbances on an analogue PAL-G
television signal caused by the presence of a
digital terrestrial television [2][3] broadcast
inside the same coverage area. Some protection
ratio values have been specified by the ITU-R [4].

These facts lead to a simulcast environment

during a time period of 8-10 years depending on
different countries and estimations, in which
analogue and digital services will be sharing the
same spectrum frequency bands. As an example,
Spain will be one of the first countries launching
digital terrestrial television services by January
2000 and the shut-down of analogue PAL-G
services is expected to be completed by the year
2010. During the transition period, due to the coexistence of both technologies, the minimization
of analogue quality of service degradation caused
by digital transmitters in the same coverage
areas will be one of the main factors to take into
account when planning digital services.

The study presented has considered two different

types of interference:

Degradation of a PAL-G signal caused by a

COFDM-8K broadcast on the adjacent
frequency channel.

Degradation suffered by a PAL-G signal

interfered by a COFDM-8K broadcast on the
same
frequency
channel
(co-channel
interference)

These two scenarios will be quite common during

the co-existence period of digital and analogue
services. Channel protection ratios will be
necessary to plan digital services without
interfering analogue coverage areas. Up to now,
when planning analogue broadcast networks
there have been tight restrictions for the selection
of frequency channels. It has not been possible to
use two adjacent channels in the same coverage

area, so these adjacent channels at each

transmitter site could become suitable candidates
in order to allocate digital services [5][6].

From the same site, using an adjacent channel, a

PAL-G signal is also being broadcasted with a
different radiation pattern. Despite of that
difference, the field strength of the analogue
signal within the area where measurements have
been taken is higher than the minimum values
recommended by the ITU-R to achieve a good
quality of service [9]. Figure 2 shows the spectra
of both analogue and digital signals from the
Navacerrada transmitter captured at one of the
measurement points.

3. EXPERIMENTAL NETWORK
Measurements presented here have been taken
inside the coverage area of the digital terrestrial
television experimental network located in
Madrid (Spain). This network has been designed
for test purposes and allows broadcasting
according to the European DVB-T standards [1].
This work has been the result of the co-operative
research and development project VIDITER,
developed by the Spanish Government, the
telecommunications
operator
RETEVISION,
Spanish broadcast and radiofrecuency equipment
manufacturers and the University of the Basque
Country.

There is still another PAL-G signal, within the

measurement
area,
broadcasted
from
a
transmitter site located at the southern suburbs
of Madrid on the same channel as the digital
signal broadcasted from the Navacerrada
transmitter.

Two main sites compose the broadcast

infrastructure, one in the middle of Madrid, at
the Torrespaa communications tower and the
second at the Navacerrada mountain range, 50
Km away from the city at 2256 meters above sea
level. The network architecture has been
described in detail in [7] and [8].
The interference measurements have been
carried out broadcasting DVB-T signals from the
Navacerrada transmitter. Four dipole panels with
horizontal polarisation and oriented 120 degrees
from North direction compose the radiating
system installed on this location. The tower
height is 20 meters a.g.l. and the gain pattern has
been designed to ensure adequate coverage on the
north-west urban and suburban areas of Madrid.
Figure 1. Measurement area and studied signals.

fv= 519.25

fs= 524.75

518 MHz

510 MHz
CHANNEL 26

526 MHz
CHANNEL 27

Figure 2. Spectrum of the signals emitted from the Navacerrada transmitter.

The mentioned set of analogue and digital signals

with relevant power levels in different points
within the measurement area has allowed to
study interference caused by digital co-channel
and adjacent channel signals on PAL-G services.
Figure 1 shows the geographic location of the
transmitter sites and the measurement area.
Table I shows the main transmission parameters
for all the surveyed signals within the
measurement area.

Navacerrada

COFDM-8K 26

Power
(w)
250

Navacerrada

PAL-G

27

5000

Madrid

PAL-G

26

5000

Transmitter Signal

Channel

Table I. Parameters of the transmitter in the

area near Madrid.
The DVB-T standards describe two different
modes of operation (8K and 2K) for digital
terrestrial television broadcasting. The VIDITER
project has focused his efforts on the 8K system,
as this is the choice for future networks in Spain.
Other transmission parameters like carrier
modulation, Viterbi coding and guard interval are
shown on table II [10].

COFDM 8K System
Number of carriers
Bandwidth
Carrier Modulation
Inner code rate
Guard interval

6817
7.61 MHz
64 QAM
2/3
1/4

Table II. COFDM transmitter operating mode.

4. MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
First step before the measurement campaign was
to obtain computer aided field strength
distribution
simulations
over
the
whole
measurement area for the three signals
considered in the interference analysis (PAL-G on
channels 26, 27 and COFDM on channel 26).
These simulations allowed a suitable selection of
the measurement locations.
Measurement locations were divided in two
different groups. The first group was composed by
points where the received signal power was only
significant for those broadcasted in the channel
26, i.e., COFDM-8K from Navacerrada and PALG from the transmitter site at the south of
Madrid. Data obtained from such points was

useful to survey co-channel interference

disturbances. Locations where the only relevant
received signals were the ones broadcasted from
the Navacerrada transmitter site, i.e., PAL-G on
channel 27 and COFDM-8K on channel 26, were
included in the second group. Measurements
taken at these points were used to study adjacent
channel interference disturbances.
All the measurement locations have been selected
with the restriction of having the Fresnel first
ellipsoid free of obstacles from the transmitter (or
transmitters) that was being analyzed at that
point. Also, the analogue PAL-G received field
strength had to be higher than the minimum
values recommended by the ITU-R to ensure
proper signal quality.
Two different measurements have been made at
each location. First one consisted on analyzing all
the baseband parameters that characterize the
PAL-G image quality. When making this first
measurement, the COFDM-8K transmitter was
switched off, so the deviations from ideal values
were caused by transmission impairments and
propagation path disturbances. The same
parameters were captured on the second
measurement but this time with the digital
transmitter switched on. The nature and amount
of degradation caused by the presence of the
digital signal (on the same channel at some points
and on adjacent channel at the rest) was analyzed
by means of comparing the mentioned two data
sets.

5. MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
The whole measurement campaign was carried
out using a mobile unit specially designed for that
purpose. It consisted on a van equipped with the
following:

Directive log-periodic antenna with a gain of 7

dBi and flat response in the frequency margin
where digital and analogue channels were
allocated (510-526 MHz). This antenna was
situated at the top of a telescopic mast that
allowed taking data at 10 metres above
ground level.
Professional PAL-G Signal Demodulator
(Rhode & Schwarz EMFP).
Baseband
Video
Parameter
Analyzer
(Tektronix VM700A)
TV Monitor (SONY BVM-2010P)
Spectrum
Analyzer
(Hewlett
Packard
HP8591A)

All the measuring equipment was controlled by

means of data capture and storage software

running on a laptop. Figure 3 shows the block

diagram of the whole measuring system inside
the mobile unit.

ANTENNA
RF
Signal

RF

PAL-G
Demodulator

Baseband Video

RF Switch

Video
Analyzer
TV Monitor
RF

Spectrum
Analyzer

CONTROL & DATA ADQUISITION

Figure 3. Measurement system.

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The digital terrestrial television signal COFDM8K is composed by 6817 carriers equally spaced
1116 Hz from each other. This carrier set occupies
a spectrum range which bandwidth is 7.6 MHz.
The shape of this signal, due to the closeness of
the mentioned carriers, is very similar to a flat
response noise spectrum inside that 7.6 MHz
bandwidth. Because of that, the expected
interference caused onto an analogue PAL-G
signal broadcasted on the same or adjacent
channel could be an increase of the noise rms
value.
Although the highest variation (with and without
the digital COFDM-8K signal presence) was
expected for the parameters related to the
baseband S/N ratio, linear and non-linear
distortion parameters were measured during this
campaign. Obtained results have corroborated
former suppositions so the only parameter
included in the analysis is the baseband S/N
ratio.
The parameters measured corresponding to the
PAL-G signal at each point were the following:

Baseband Unweighted Signal to Noise Ratio.

Subjective Image Quality.
Received Power.

The only data analyzed for the COFDM-8K signal

was the received power measured in the 7.6 MHz
bandwidth[11].
In order to obtain the Baseband Unweighted
Signal to Noise Ratio the luminance bar
amplitude (which is inserted in one of the test
lines commonly known as Vertical Interval Test
lines VIT) is measured and compared with the
noise rms value of an empty line. The theoretical
value of this parameter should be infinite as the
ideal bar amplitude is 700 mV and the theoretical
rms value of noise should be zero.
As mentioned before, two different measurements
of the Baseband Unweighted Signal to Noise
Ratio have been obtained, one in presence of the
digital signal and the other one in absence of it.
The COFDM-8K signal interference causes
degradation on the analogue baseband signal
quality increasing the noise and therefore
decreasing the unweighted S/N ratio. The
difference between this ratio in presence and
absence of the COFDM-8K signal will be referred
to as S/N degradation. If this value is high
enough the interference will produce subjective
image quality degradation, i. e., from grade 4 to 3
in a scale of 1 to 5 levels of image quality.
Another considered value at each measurement
location is the difference between the received
power of the PAL-G signal and the received power
from the COFDM-8K transmitter. The spectra of
both signals have been captured using a
resolution bandwidth of 100 KHz. The PAL-G
received power is (due to the narrowband nature
of this signal) approximately equal to the video
carrier received power.
The digital received power is more complex to
obtain with a standard spectrum analyzer and
should be measured with a specifically designed 8
MHz very sharp filter and a field strength meter
[12][13]. In this measurement campaign no field
strength meter was available so the way to obtain
the received power was made by means of adding
a correction factor to the measurement done by
the spectrum analyzer. First, the medium
spectral power density was obtained using a 100
KHz resolution bandwidth filter. The correction
factor (k) added to this value was:
k = 10 log (7600/100)
This assumption was possible because the
COFDM-8K was approximately flat over the 7.6
MHz bandwidth at the selected measurement
locations. The ratio of both measured power levels

(analogue signal power to digital signal power)

will be directly related to the amount of S/N
degradation. As this ratio increases the S/N
degradation will also increase, until it reaches the
zero value. This relationship will provide some
reference values for digital terrestrial television
planning in order to avoid disturbances on
existing analogue services [14].

ITU-R grade

Image Quality

5
4
3
2
1

Excellent
Good
Acceptable
Poor
Bad

On figure 4 the horizontal axis shows the

difference between the received power on channel
27 (analogue signal) and 26 (digital signal). The
vertical axis represents the S/N degradation. As
the power ratio of both signals increases, the S/N
degradation diminishes.
At measurement locations where the power
received from the COFDM-8K transmitter was
higher than the one received from the analogue
one, the S/N degradation appeared to be less than
10 dB. The tendency curve shows that higher
power differences (around 30 dB) the S/N
degradation is unappreciable.

Table III. Image quality scale.

The degradation of the PAL-G image quality
parameters can be appreciated by evaluating the
subjective image quality. The ITU-R establishes
five different grades for image quality depending
on the impairments observed on a picture
displayed by a professional TV monitor. This
quality scale is shown in table III. At each of the
measurement locations three different persons
formerly trained to detect common TV image
impairments observed the subjective image
quality. The reduced number of observers was
imposed by obvious lack of space at the mobile
unit.

S/N degradation

6.1 Adjacent Channel Interference

As far as the subjective quality of the analogue

television signal is concerned, and at most points,
degradation in image quality is observed when
comparing pictures in presence and absence of
the digital signal. However, there have been
locations where no differences were appreciated
between both situations.
Table IV shows image subjective qualities at some
measurement points compared. The relationship
between power ratios and S/N degradation can
also be seen on the same table.

20
15
Measurements

10
5
0
-20

-10

10

20

30

40

50

60

Protection Ratio PAL/DTV (dB)

Figure 4. Relationship between S/N degradation and PAL/COFDM power ratio.

70

Power
Ratio
PAL
COFDM

S/N
ITU-R
Degradation Quality
(dB)
grade

-4,8 dB
-2,8 dB
-1,3 dB
-0,8 dB
-0,3 dB
1,2 dB
2,2 dB
9,2 dB
14,2 dB
14,2 dB
22,7 dB
39,2 dB

12,3
14,3
13,1
14,1
6,8
5,7
7,7
2,9
8,9
6,5
7,1
2,2

received power is more complex, as there are two

signals on the same frequency at the same time,
and the error will also be higher. By now, few
data have been obtained but much higher S/N
degradation values are expected. First results
have shown S/N degradations of 15 dB when the
power ratio was 25 dB.

ITU-R
Quality
grade
(interfered)

3
3
4
4
2
3
4
4
3
3
4
4

3
2
3
3
2
2
3
4
3
3
3
4

7. CONCLUSIONS
As a result from the work carried out during the
measurement campaign in the service area of the
VIDITER project experimental network some
curves have been obtained. These curves show the
effects caused by a digital terrestrial television
COFDM-8K on an analogue television PAL-G
signal broadcasted on an adjacent upper channel.
The relationship between the ratio of PAL and
COFDM signal powers and the PAL-G baseband
unweighted signal to noise degradation has been
obtained as a result of field measurements in a
real broadcast environment.

Table IV. Image quality in presence and absence

of the digital signal.
Recently, a digital terrestrial television COFDM8K system transmitter has been installed in
Bilbao (SPAIN) so a few measurements have been
made on this transmitter service area to analyze
the impact of this emission on adjacent analogue
PAL-G channels. Data resulting from this survey
have been added to the curve obtained from the
measurement campaign in Madrid. Data obtained
in Bilbao match the expected results. Figure 5
shows measurements taken from both networks.

The obtained results are preliminary and more

extensive measurement campaigns are needed to
obtain definitive curves to use when digital
terrestrial television planning becomes a reality
over the whole Europe.
Actually, another experimental network is being
developed in Bilbao (Spain). The channel assigned
for that emission is the lower adjacent one to one
used to broadcast a PAL-G signal.

6.2 Co-channel Interference

The co-channel interference analysis has been
carried out following the same methodology. It
should be remarked that calculation of digital

S/N degradation

Measurements Madrid
Measurements Bilbao
20
15
10
5
0
-20

-10

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Protection Ratio PAL/DTV (dB)

Figure 5. Relationship between S/N degradation and PAL/COFDM power ratio.
(Data from Madrid and Bilbao networks)

80

A more detailed measurement campaign is now

under design to obtain more data and as a result,
to be able to accurately define the protection
ratios to be used in digital terrestrial television
planning.

8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank all the partners of the
VIDITER project and specially RETEVISION for
facilitating this work.

9. REFERENCES
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(European
Telecommunications
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[3] W. Y. Zou, Y. Wu. COFDM: An Overview
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VHF/UHF Bands
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