unitron_unitron 28/05/2015 18:33 Page 2
COMPANY CONTRIBUTION
frequency and decodes. The user only wants
to see the single video channel, but to see the
individual channel the entire band needs to
be switched down the cable. In this scheme,
each demodulator requires a unique cable
from the Outdoor Unit (ODU).
The ODU is a collection of electronics
attached to the dish antenna, called Low
Noise Block (LNB). The LNB incorporates
the switching functionality and traditionally
will have a single cable run to each
demodulator in the home. An alternative
version is a LNB that feeds into a
Multiswitch ODU that then has a cable run
to each demodulator in the home. As the
number of video channels (transponders)
and demodulators are increased in the home
the cable complexity to deliver this content
increases accordingly if
using traditional
methods.
For Satellite
Operators, it is not
a simple task to add
additional video
stream support
within a home.
Single Cable
Solution Supports
Satellite Pay-TV
Growth
Unitron Group is a leader in providing
technology solutions to simplify the
traditional delivery of satellite video into and
throughout the home. One-Liner Technology
(OLT™) or Single Cable Router (SCR)
solutions enable multiple video streams to
be delivered throughout the home on a
single cable. These solutions take in the
entire satellite input BW, but only output the
transponder containing the desired video
channel, not the entire band as in traditional
DBS installs. Each STB tuner in the home
only looks at a fixed frequency on its input
spectrum and the OLT ODU switches in the
desired transponder. Because the tuner is
fixed it enables multiple transponders, or
channels, to be stacked next to each other,
with each channel supporting a unique
tuner. Up to 12 transponders/channels can
be stacked across the 1.2GHz of BW
available into the home using analogue OLT
solutions. The main constraint limiting the
number to 12 is the analogue technology
requires discrete filter elements that must be
spaced ~102MHz apart to avoid interference
issues.
The top Pay-TV Satellite Operators in the
world use single cable technology for its
multiple benefits. OLT enables DIRECTV’s
SWiM™ (Single Wire integrated
Multiswitch) system, as well as multiple
other Operators across the globe as they
increase the number of demodulators within
the home without increasing the installation
complexity. Drastically simplified and lower
cost installations are realised by reusing the
existing cabling within the home, providing a
superior customer installation experience
compared to traditional installations.
Instead of multiple cables from the STB to
the LNB or Multiswitch, a single cable
installation is possible. Adding a DVR to an
existing or new viewing location is as simple
as plugging in the STB, no new wires
required, no holes in the wall, no return calls
to repair installation issues. Additionally,
now that all video locations are connected
via a single cable, Home
Networking solutions
transponders/channels was ~102MHz, now
with digital OLT the channels can be
stacked with 0MHz spacing if desired. This
significantly increases the number of
demodulators than can be supported off a
single cable feed. Besides improving on the
output efficiency, by converting to the
digital domain, other external circuitry,
such as microprocessors and
communications circuits can be integrated
more easily. This has an overall effect of
lowering cost and power compared to
previous generations of the product for high
demodulator count systems.
In support of this technology
advancement the industry is updating the
communications standard between the STB
Unitron Group
Digital Wideband
SCR Multiswitch
and LNB
and ODU. CENELEC
EN50607 was recently
ratified and enables
single cable
communications of up
to 32 demodulators, a
major improvement over the eight currently
specified in CENELEC EN50494.
such as MoCA or WiFi can
be used to provide multiroom DVR
(mDVR) features, connect to a Broadband
network for Over the Top (OTT) service ̰