A Handover Approach to DVB-H Services

DVB-H offers a new platform for IP-based services and contributes to universal access. There are many challenges of providing multimedia TV experience for DVB-H users anywhere anytime. One big challenge is due to the strict reception conditions and mobility. For example, when a mobile receiver enters a new cell with different transmission frequency, the receiver must accomplish a seamless handover process in order to continue the selected service without an interrupt. Furthermore, it is possible to build DVB-H services into existing DVB-T networks that provide even less possibilities to optimize the transmission for mobile use. This paper presents a novel handover approach to IP streams on a DVB-H network. We handover IP streams by switching between the DVB-H and the UMTS networks without doing any frequency scan. We have successfully tested the service handover approach. The validation has shown that there was no any packet loss during a handover process. The method also provides technology about efficient sharing of wireless network infrastructure with DVB-H, and makes it more feasible to include DVB-H services into existing DVB-T networks and can be used for reducing the time for changing a channel (zapping time)