ITU-R REPORT BO.1228

Abstract

<strong>Introduction</strong> <br>According to the current Radio Regulations, satellite channels in the 12 GHz band are assigned to each administration over which television programmes but also, alternatively, other services may be broadcast, as long as the transmitted signals do not cause more interference than conventional FM-TV signals. The appropriate TV standards are recommended in Rec. 650 and specified in Rep. 1073 and the relevant parts of the CCIR Special Publication, <em>Transmission Systems for the BSS</em>. <br>The introduction of digital sound recording and reproduction techniques constitutes a challenge to the broadcasting organizations in so far as to pass on such a quality to the subscribers which has been beyond the possibilities of conventional transmission methods (e.g. FM stereo). Besides this, in a number of countries there is a need for the emission of a large number of high-quality sound channels over a coverage area as large as possible. In addition, the growing requirements for data broadcast facilities resulted in investigations of systems suitable to transmit both, sound and data in a flexible way. <br>Several alternatives are in various stages of development within different administrations. This Report briefly describes the basic characteristics of three systems developed in Germany (Federal Republic of), by the EBU and in Japan.