Bit rate switching subsystem in Flash-TV
P. Hocquard · 1994
To be successful, the future introduction of digital HDTV broadcasting must be accompanied by a corresponding transportable system for feeding the studios with broadband audio-visual information produced at places of breaking events. The Flash-TV project was set up in January 1992 as part of the CEC (Commission of European Communities) sponsored RACE 11 programme. This three-year project has designed and implemented a system for satellite delivered digital HDTV based on the concept of flexible bit rate by which the jointly optimised video compression and satellite transmission schemes can be ordered to synchronously change their bit rates. This article focuses on an important subsystem building block, called the bit rate switching subsystem, which has the task to decide of the most suitable bit rate for the Flash-TV system, thanks to a feedback low bit rate link. It presents an overview of the system architecture, and describes the Flash-TV bit rate switching subsystem.