DVB-S2 backward-compatible modes: a bridge between the present and the future

The second generation Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) system for satellite broadcasting (DVB-S2) has been standardized including tools to allow backward compatibility (BC) with the operating standard DVB-S (EN 300 421, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Framing structure, channel coding and modulation for 11/12 GHz satellite services. V.1.1.2, August 1997, http://www.etsi.org). Two conceptual ways of implementing BC have been defined: hierarchical modulation and layered modulation. The paper describes the standardized backward-compatible modes and presents the results of analytical investigations and simulations of the system in various configurations, as carried out by DIRECTV, Rai-CRIT and Thomson. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.