J. Wayde Allen and Ted Mullen

Abstract:

A particular concern about digital television (DTV) broadcasts is whether such broadcasts have sufficient power to be received using inexpensive indoor antennas located inside a typical home. To test this, the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) constructed a “simulated” home mounted on a flatbed trailer. This allowed ITS to move the test home to a number of locations in the vicinity of an operating commercial DTV transmitter. By equipping this test home with commercially available DTV receivers and an indoor antenna located at the center of the home, ITS could then observe and record the DTV reception at a number of test locations. This information was further correlated with the incident field strengths by measuring the signal power outside the structure at a height of 10 meters above ground and at a location inside the structure at a height of roughly 1.5 meters above ground. This report summarizes the results of this study.

Keywords: television; TV; digital; quality; field strength; power; reception

Disclaimer: Certain commercial equipment, components, and software may be identified in this report to specify adequately the technical aspects of the reported results. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, nor does it imply that the equipment or software identified is necessarily the best available for the particular application or uses.

For questions or information on this or any other NTIA scientific publication, contact the ITS Publications Office at ITSinfo@ntia.gov or 303-497-3572.

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