Services and Facilities available from DTG Testing

Confidential Receiver/STB Testing

The Test Centre is set up to carry out confidential tests on digital terrestrial television receivers and set-top boxes. The tests include RF performance, SI/PSI processing, subtitles, AFDs and MHEG-5.

For details of the service and the charges, please contact DTG Testing at info@testing.dtg.org.uk.

Test playout facility

A complete signal chain has been assembled to allow receiver testing from RF performance to MHEG interactivity.

The chain allows locally-generated test scripts carried via a DSM-CC carousel player to be combined with audio and video streams either generated locally or received off-air.

Schematic of signal chain in the DTG Testing facility

RF Testing

In 2005 the Test Centre was equipped with automated RF test and measurement facilities that enables conformance with the UK DTT, Nordig, Digitenne and other RF performance specifications to be assessed. The facility was upgraded in 2006 to include measurements for impulsive-noise rejection requirements (D Book 5, Chapter 10).

MHEG Test Scripts

In collaboration with industry experts, the Test Centre has developed Version 3 of its suite of test applications for the new MHEG-5 UK Profile v1.06. This suite is more rigorous than its predecessor but remains user-friendly. It enables testing of all aspects of the Profile specification, ranging from simple graphics and text presentation tests to application spawning, cache prioritisation and other run-time dynamics.

The Test Suite is available from the Test Centre on a DVD as transport streams for use with a stream player. Licensing terms are available on request to the Test Centre.

Information on the MHEG-5 test suite

Subtitle Testing

Work is nearing completion to create a set of DVB Subtitle tests. This is a cooperative effort with the industry, aimed at establishing a performance benchmark for subtitle subsystems in receivers.

CI testing

The Centre has facilities for Common Interface testing using the test tool and software from SCM. In addition it has CAMs for testing idTVs with the UK's Top Up TV pay-TV service.

Receivers

The Test Centre has a collection of over 50 idTVs and set-top boxes, including representative samples of the ON-digital receivers. This collection is available to developers on interactive applications for pre-transmission testing of applications, as well as being used for gathering data about the capabilities of receivers currently deployed in the UK.