DVB Master FD ™

The DVB MASTER FD provides video network developers a very high performance and low cost DVB Master FD transmitter/receiver solution for PCI bus computers. This card meets all of the specifications for DVB ASI equipment and also has added features to assist in real-time processing of the MPEG-2 Transport Stream on the host computer. The DVB Master FD uses advanced link list DMA to move data from its on-board FIFO to system memory and back again. The drivers use fully overlapped IO using circular data queues to give high throughput while using the minimum of CPU resources. This design leaves the maximum of CPU power for use in real-time application processing of the stream. The advanced features of the DVB Master FD provide hooks to allow easier real-time processing of the transport stream by the host computer. The receiver has features including unlimited PID filtering, synchronization of incoming transport stream (TS) packets, auto size detection and RS code stripping. The DVB transmitter features include extra fine stuffing control (Fine Tuning), an ability to add 16 - 0x00s to 188 byte packets and an external clock input. The external clock input is important for applications that need to control the transmission to ATSC standards or to synchronize to a station clock. An extra cost high stability clock option is available for this card. The transmitter function has an option for a high stability oscillator with less than 2.8ppm drift, meeting ATSC specifications. This is useful for applications such as bridging between ATSC and DVB transmission standards. Integration of both Transmitter and Receiver on the same card gives a one-slot solution for DVB processing applications. An input MPEG-2 TS can be received, processed and re-transmitted in real time by the host system making it ideal for many broadcast, data casting and monitoring applications. Driver software is available for Windows 2000, Windows XP, QNX, Windows NT 4 and Linux. The source code is available for the Linux driver. Drivers support multiple boards in a system.

STANDARD FEATURES

270 Mbits/sec DVB ASI transmitter and receiver on one card ½ size PCI card form factor Drivers for Windows 2000, XP , QNX, and Linux Large 1.5K buffer FIFOs eliminate latency problems Programmable Inter-byte and Inter-packet stuffing as per DVB specification Cable Equalization on the receiver input LED status indicators show Tx data, Rx data, Synch, Carrier Detect Advanced link-list DMA interface PCI 2.2 compliant interface bus Advanced Receiver TS processing capabilities; - Synchronizes incoming packets to byte boundaries - Automatic 188 and 204 packet size detection - Interrupt on in/out of synch - Software selectable option to Strip 16 bytes from 204 byte packets - Unlimited PID filtering (any number of PIDs may be selected) Advanced Transmit capabilities - Enhanced transmit rate "Fine Tuning" control to <2.8ppm granularity - Optional High Stability Oscillator with <2.8ppm (special order option) - Software selectable option to add 16 - 0x00 bytes to 188 byte packets - External transmit clock input Receive Packet Synchronization The DVB Master FD receiver will check the incoming transport stream for packet synch, and synchronize on it. Once synchronized, the packets will be stored on byte boundaries in memory. This makes further processing of the transport steam much easier for the host processor. When the board is synchronized on a valid stream the green "Rx Data" and "Synch" LEDs will be illuminated. Packet Arrival Timestamping Under software control each packet arrived is timestamped with a time generated via an internal timer/counter. Null Packet Insertion Under software control but performed by hardware "null packets" are automatically inserted into the bit stream Automatic Packet Size Detection The DVB Master FD will automatically detect packet size and will indicate the current size in a status register. If packet size changes suddenly, it will loose synchronization, then resynchronize on the new packet size and indicate the new packet size in the status register. An interrupt will be generated on loss of synch and re-synch.   Indicator LEDs Indicator LEDs are provided on the bracket to show card operation. Tx - indicates that data is being transmitted, Rx - indicates that data is being received, Synch ( S) - indicates that the receiver is able to synchronize on the transport stream packets, and Carrier Detect (CD) - indicates that a signal is present. In/Out of Synch Interrupt An interrupt will be generated whenever synchronization is lost or recovered. Interrupts are generated when there are changes in the stream and indicate that the status of the stream should be checked. 16 byte Strip and Add The 16 byte Stripping function will remove the extra 16 Reed Solomon encoded bytes from the 204 byte packets to create 188-byte packets. Similarly, it can be used to add 16 bytes filled with zeros to 188-byte packets to create a 204-byte packet stream. PID Filtering This function allows you to select any number of PIDs from the total of about 8K possible PIDs to be filtered from the stream. The DVB Master FD receiver will block all PIDs that are not selected. This is an extra cost option and must be ordered separately. Transmitter Fine Tuning (FT) The normal inter-byte (IB) and inter-packet (IP) stuffing options available with the DVB ASI standard cannot be used for fine rate control. In some applications, such as reading files from a disk, it may be desirable to use stuffing to control the transmission rate of the stream in order to match the rate required by the Program Clock Reference (PCR) of a Transport Stream. Because of this, we have developed FT feature. FT is accomplished by first setting the standard IP and IB to select a rate as close to the desired rate as possible. Then the FT parameter can be set to bring the rate within 2.5ppm of the target. High Stability Oscillator The DVB Master FD is normally shipped with a crystal-controlled oscillator with a clock accuracy of ± 50 ppm. This complies with the DVB ASI standard requirements but will not be accurate or stable for ATSC standards. ATSC standards require a clock accuracy of ± 2.8 ppm with a drift not exceeding 0.028 ppm/s. The High Stability Oscillator is an extra cost option and must be ordered separately. External Clock Input An input BNC connector is provided for an external transmit clock. This clock is one of three optional transmit clock sources. The transmit clock options include the External Clock, Recovered Clock, and Internal Clock. Conformity to DVB Standards The DVB Master FD meets CENELEC EN50083-9: 1998 - Cable distribution systems for television, sound and interactive services - Part 9: Interfaced for CATV/SMATV headends and similar professional equipment for DVB/MPEG-2 transport streams. EMI Standards CE Marking in accordance with EN50081-2: 1993 and EN50082-1:1997. FCC Part 15, Subpart B, Class A verification TOP Full Duplex Block Diagram Option: Customizability: We can add custom features for your requirements Option: Relay and Watchdog Functionality- A depopulated relay can be used to manage loss of power and still keep data paths functional.

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions Width : 4.20 in (10.67 cm) Length : 6.875 in (17.46 cm) Thickness : 0.58 in (1.47 cm) Typical Weight 5.2 oz (147 g) Input/Output Connectors 75-Ohm BNC External Clock Input 75-Ohm DC Blocked ECl Data Input/Output DVB ASI Coaxial,DVB Transport Stream Typical Power +5 V @390mA. Operating Temperature 0 to 55 C Operating Humidity To 90%,Non-condensing Status LED Indicators TX,Rx,Synch,Carrier Receive FIFO Size 1.5K bytes Bus Interface PCI 2.2,5 V or 3.3 V Option: DVB Master FD/R -as above with Failover Relay

APPLICATIONS

Interface DVB MPEG-2 transport streams to the PCI bus PID filtering of transport streams IP - DVB interfaces Data over DVB Interface DVB to ATSC