Approach for improving receiver performance in loss-free handovers in DVB-H networks

DVB-H (digital video broadcasting for handheld) is one of the key technologies that enables new services, such as mobile phone TV, to be used in handhelds. DVB-H enhances mobile features found in the DVB-T standard, enabling new techniques, e.g., loss-free handover. For services such as mobile TV, loss-free handovers must be supported. Different positioning technologies, such as GPS, also play an important role in enhancing today´s mobile technologies. The paper proposes a new feature for DVB-H, a new method for signalling cell coverage area, thus improving performance for loss-free handovers. The proposed method is targeted at DVB-H handhelds that have GPS receivers. The benefits of the proposed method for handover and power consumption are evaluated. In addition, its effect on the consumption of bandwidth and receiver memory is estimated.