PON FTTx – the path to Ultra High Definition TV

Table of contents

 Definitions

 Current Status : current trends of new TV sets

 What’s next ? Consequences and statements

 PON standards

 RF Video Overlay (RVO) overview

 Summary

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Definitions
Broadcast TV

 Linear TV, transmitted by TV stations

 Program with fixed schedule
 Principle : “what everyone consumes, is distributed to everyone”
 Subscriber terminal : TV set
 Transmitted via terrestrial video (DVB-T), CATV (DVB-C), satellite
(DVB-S)
 Used in RF Video Overlay (RVO)

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Definitions
IPTV in general

 Web TV, Internet TV, streaming TV, On-line TV,….

 Subscriber terminal may vary (PC, smartphone, tablet, etc)
 Services are targeting PC functionality and capability
 Requires a broadband connection, no dedicated (e.g. CATV) network,
therefore also named as “over the top”
 The network provider’s revenue comes from the broadband
connection, not from content delivery

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Current trends with new TV-sets

 Higher resolution
 “native” HD = 1080p
 Resolution of 1.920 x 1.080 pixel ~ 2M pixel

 4K = 4 x HD-resolution (VHDTV, already “on air”)

 Resolution of 4.096 x 2.160 pixel ~ 8M pixel

 8K = 16 x HD-resolution (UHDTV, launched with Rio Olympics)

 Resolution of 8.192 x 4.320 pixel ~ 32M pixel

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Consequences from status analysis
Medium term developments: video data rates

Estimated data rate requirement per “TV station”

 Consequently, on short term the bandwidth requirement will double,

on medium term even at least the six-fold data rate will be required

* The required bandwidth depends on type of content. Frequently a smaller than required bandwidth is
used leading to temporary reduced resolution if the compression cannot cope with the allocated
bandwidth
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Consequences from status analysis
Medium term developments: PON characteristics

 GPON installations typically use 1:32 or 1:64 splits ratio, therefore the
guaranteed data rate per subscriber is :
 78 Mbps for 1:32 splits
 39 Mbps for 1:64 splits

 If the full capacity is allocated to video, disabling additional high-

speed internet access at the same time, GPON can carry :
 Only 4 channels native HD content with 1:32 splits
 Only 2 channels native VHDTV content with 1:32 splits
 NO channel of UHDTV content

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Consequences from status analysis
Medium term developments: consumer needs

 However, offering one channel of video content per subscriber is not

sufficient for a good customer’s experience
 At least two channels should be offered to feed two separate
displays
 To transport 4 x UHDTV roughly would require 400 Mbps

 Today’s GPON equipment in medium term need to replaced with next

generation PON technology, in order to follow the increasing data
rates for video transmission if IPTV is the only means to transport
video

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PON upgrade for UHDTV transmission

 Option #1 : GPON will not be capable to handle the upcoming video

data rates and will need to be replaced / complemented by higher
speed technology such as NG-PON2

 Option #2 : comes from applying IPTV and broadcast TV by utilizing

PON technology combined with RF Video Overlay (RVO) technology
 RVO introduces a multi Gbps video broadcast pipe
 RVO is mature technology compatible to all PON standards
including XG-PON1 and NG-PON2

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PON Standards Development

 Ready today for most vendors : GPON and XG-PON

 ITU-T recommendations :
 G.984 for GPON
 G.987 for XG-PON
 G.989 for NG-PON2
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Wavelengths of PON technologies

 Each PON standard has its own wavelength allocation for down
stream and up stream
 RF Video Overlay (RVO) has dedicated broadcast pipe at wavelength
1550nm (broadcast), based on recommendation ITU-T G.984.5

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RF Video Overlay Overview 12

 RF Video Overlay (RVO) transmits broadcast TV signals transparently on the

same fiber as the PON data signals using optical wavelength multiplexing
 The transmitted signals is compatible with current TV sets (subscribers with
new TV sets will NOT need to use a separate set-top-box)
 RVO is compatible and independent from the selected PON technologies
(GPON, XG-PON1, NG-PON2)
IPTV and RVO : a strong couple

 IPTV is the most competitive service today to deliver unicast video

services like Video on Demand (VoD), in low resolution video
transmission to e.g. mobile terminals

 RVO is the most competitive technology to deliver broadcast type of

video services with high video resolution to fixed video terminals
(transmission of real time video e.g. sports events, news, concerts,
etc)

 If broadcast TV is transmitted via IPTV, strong signals delays occur

due to complex (and expensive) buffering in IP backbone network.
5 ~ 10 seconds for SDTV and 10 ~ 15 seconds for HDTV
Data rate of RVO media pipe

RVO enables to offload an enormous amount of data from IP network

Remarks
 DVB-C here : 256 QAM with 6.9 MSym/s, 188/204 RS FEC, 50.87 Mbps
 DVB-C2 here : 4.096-QAM, 10.5 bit/Hz
 DVB-T here : 64 QAM, 8K, TS = 26.346 Mbps
 DVB-S here : 8-PSK with 36 MSym/s, 96.45 Mbps, 9/10 BCH-LDPC

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Summary
 IPTV via GPON on medium term will not be able to handle broadcast
TV due to the expected increasing data rates

 IPTV and Broadcast TV are not excluding each other, but

complimentary

 The separate “media pipe” via RVO does not put any load on the IP
backbone and GPON network

 Additionally to the hundreds of programs delivered via RVO, the

customers benefit from full GPON IP capacity for all other services,
include IPTV

 Broadcast TV services remain very simple and user friendly. The

customers might even use existing TV sets without the need of IPTV
set top boxes
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