SAMcover is performing field coverage measurement for both DVB-H and DVB-T.

One leg of SAMcover is communicating with the dvbSAM components

• SAMcorder (attaching the RF receiver), and
• SAMbera

These components provide SAMcover with measurement data taken from RF layer, MPEG2 layer and MPE/MPE-FEC layer.

The other leg of SAMcover interacts with an external GPS receiver for correlating the measurement results with geographic coordinates, stores the coverage data into an SQL database and provides versatile possibilities for evaluation of the stored coverage data.

SAMcover provides comprehensive features for field coverage measurement for DVB-T and DVB-H.

Key Attributes:

• measures many parameters on RF, MPEG2 and MPE/MPE-FEC layer for reliable coverage results
• comprehensive evaluation and filter capabilities for interpreting the coverage data under different aspects
• visualization of the coverage results in Google Earth - so no individual map material needs to be configured
• live display of the current coverage data in Google Earth using mobile Internet connection
• live comments can be entered while taking the coverage drive
• data export/import, export also as CSV in order to feed 3rd party applications with the coverage data
• storage of coverage results within an SQL database - so coverage results can be evaluated also easily by 3rd party tools querying the database arbitrarily via SQL.
• includes also calculation/verification of the MPE-FEC - if after the MPE-FEC error correction the received data are error-free then the broadcast can be received properly, despite maybe the RF layer parameters look bad. So this analysis is mandatory for field coverage measurement for DVB-H.
• complete coverage solution available as SAM-CV 100

SAMcover collects all coverage relevant data from the GPS receiver, from the RF receiver, from SAMcorder/SAMbera and stores the results into an SQL database for further processing. From this database the relevant data for displaying the coverage measurement results can be filtered and visualized via Google Earth.

SAMcover Capture Window

SAMcover provides comprehensive filter capabilities. So the data relevant for the particular purpose can be selected from the data catalog.

For example, it might be interesting to see the coverage from RF parameters point of view - in that case just select the interesting RF parameters in the filter dialog.

Another interesting view might be the coverage considering only the MPE-FEC error correction (if the broadcast is OK after MPE-FEC correction then the broadcast can be received by the handhelds despite bad RF parameters!!) in order to compare it with the RF results and to see how the MPE-FEC increases the coverage in the specific area.

Furthermore it is valuable to measure what MPE-FEC rate would be optimal in regard of minimizing the MPE-FEC overhead by simultaneously reaching the required coverage, i.e. use the available channel bandwidth optimally.

Any combination of analysis datasets can be easily combined using the comprehensive data filter.

The recorded coverage data can also be exported into a CSV format.

SAMcover Filter Settings

After the corresponding filter settings have been applied SAMcover shows the coverage measurement result in Google Earth.

The following features are supported:

• filtering of the coverage data, thereby creating customized coverage views
• drag & move the map via mouse
• zoom in and out
• show all selected coverage measurement results by clicking on a pinhead

SAMcover Coverage Result Display via Google Earth

Zoomed in SAMcover Coverage Result Display