7.1 Introduction

The Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) Project was created in 1993 as a consortium composed of more than 300 members, including equipment manufacturers, network operators, software developers, and regulatory agencies; it started its activities in Europe, but since then has become worldwide (Reimers, 2004). This project developed several technical solutions for coding and transmission of digital television.

For several reasons, but mainly because of market pressures, which demanded satellite, cable, and Satellite Master Antenna Television (SMATV) solutions, the development of a terrestrial transmission system was started in 1994/1995.

The word broadcasting is generally used to describe the transport of media content from a single point of origin to multiple receivers, regardless of the physical layer used for this transport. The specification for transport of Internet Protocol (IP) data in DVB networks, the interactivity solutions and return channels, the software environment, called Multimedia Home Platform (MHP), and the specifications that allow a point multipoint distribution of different types of data to mobile devices are part of the solution.

DVB is focused on the private customer, who uses the offered services at home, but DVB broadcasting capabilities are also used for professional applications. In addition, DVB makes possible the reception of digital signals by portable and mobile devices.

The DVB standard has been adopted by the European Union and other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, and South Africa. The United Kingdom is the...