Reed-Solomon Decoding Algorithms and Their Complexities at the DVB-H Link-Layer

DVB-H (digital video broadcasting for handheld terminals) is a data broadcasting standard based on DVB-T (digital video broadcasting - terrestrial) that enables delivery of various Internet protocol (IP) based services to mobile receivers. To combat the effects of mobility, a forward error correction (FEC) scheme called MPE-FEC is introduced at the link layer. Different mechanisms for decoding the link layer MPE-FEC based on Reed-Solomon (RS) code have been suggested, but their effect on the decoding complexity as compared to the standard solution has not been analyzed so far. Yet, the complexity is still a crucial issue in battery powered portable devices. In this paper, complexities of different RS decoding algorithms together with their application in DVB-H are analyzed.