Dielectric to supply digital television combiner to CBC/Radio-Canada

Dielectric Communications has been chosen by CBC/Radio-Canada to build a high-power television channel combining system for installation at the CN Tower in Toronto.
Dielectric is partnering with Rohde & Schwarz, the digital television transmitter provider, for the project.
The new system combines two CBC/Radio-Canada digital television (DTV) signals with one CBC analogue signal and one analogue signal from TV Ontario (Ontario’s provincial public broadcaster) into a common output feeding an existing broadband antenna. The combiner is designed to allow for additional channels in the future and incorporates a number of innovations developed by Dielectric in meeting the challenges of implementing DTV in the US market. This system is currently being installed and will begin broadcasting in late 2004.
Ray Carnovale, Vice President and CTO for CBC/Radio-Canada, said: "This installation is perhaps the first time that N-1 and N+1 channel pairings are being combined in close proximity within the same combiner. In effect, we are inserting two NTSC analogue and two 8VSB digital signals into a six-channel spread. We approached the marketplace to determine if our goal of maximizing our investment in our existing UHF antenna was possible, and Dielectric rose to the occasion. CBC/Radio-Canada has been able to achieve its transition to digital terrestrial transmission in Toronto without having to install new antennas and transmission lines.”
(GB)