A channel characterization technique using frequency-domain pilot time-domain correlation method for DVB-T systems

A new channel characterization technique using a frequency-domain pilot time-domain correlation (FPTC) method is proposed for DVB-T systems. This new technique is based on the time-domain correlation between the received signal and the pilot sequence embedded in the DVB-T signal, which is derived from the frequency domain pilots and known to the channel characterization equipment. Compared with other channel estimation techniques, the major advantage of this proposal is its simple implementation. Channel impulse response can be estimated without timing recovery. The impact of the non-perfect carrier recovery is very small since the correlation is only computed on a short period of the received signal. The proposed method has been verified through numerical simulations and field tests. The possible improvement of the estimation accuracy is indicated.