SBE Launches 8-VSB Online Course

The Society of Broadcast Engineers has introduced a new online tutorial on 8-VSB, the fourth course in its SBE University series of on-line, on-demand courses for broadcast engineers.

The SBE 8-VSB course is written by Douglas W. Garlinger, CPBE, 8VSB, CBNT, a Fellow in the Society of Broadcast Engineers and senior broadcast engineer for Qualcomm Media FLO. The course aims to give the student an overview of the 8-VSB system from end to end, providing all the basic information he or she will need to understand the nature of 8-VSB modulation and to recognize deficiencies in the transmitted signal. This information can be useful in installing, maintaining, and operating a digital television transmitter facility. Much of the material in the course will aid students in their efforts to obtain the SBE 8-VSB specialist certification.

“The SBE Education Committee has been working to identify those training areas and topics that would be the most beneficial to our membership and the broadcast engineering community at large,” said Education committee chairman Cris Alexander, CPBE, AMD, DRB. “DTV was near the top of the list on a recent member survey, and this course was produced in response to that. We commit to continue to seek out such needs and respond with new online courses."

The primary focus of the SBE 8-VSB Course is RF transmission and the process employed to transform the 19.39 Mbps transport signal into a signal suitable to modulate the transmitter. The course will also touch briefly on some of the important elements in the transport stream, such as video compression, picture formats, Active Format Description, PSIP and Dolby AC-3 audio.

An online syllabus is available here.