Digital Video and Audio Broadcasting Technology: A Practical Engineering Guide (Third Edition)

Broadcast systems are built from more than transmission standards alone: encoding, modulation, network design, and measurement all have to work together. Walter Fischer’s Digital Video and Audio Broadcasting Technology brings these engineering concerns into one application-oriented reference, with particular attention to how broadcast systems are measured and tested.

Broadcast standards in practical context

The book surveys digital television, digital radio, and multimedia standards including MPEG, DVB, DVD, DAB, ATSC, T-DMB, DMB-T, DRM, and ISDB-T. Rather than treating standards as isolated specifications, it sets them alongside the engineering principles needed to understand their place in broadcast and communications systems.

From fundamentals to transmission systems

Alongside the standards coverage, Fischer introduces underlying topics such as analog television, digital modulation, COFDM, and mathematical transformations between time and frequency domains. This broader foundation helps connect signal concepts with the transmission technologies that use them.

Measurement is central

A defining emphasis is measurement technique and practice. Practical examples accompany the technical discussion, making measurement an integral part of the book’s treatment of broadcast engineering rather than a separate afterthought.

A third-edition snapshot

This 2010 third edition adds coverage of MPEG-4 and IPTV and looks toward DVB-SH and DVB-T2. Its treatment reflects the standards and engineering landscape of that publication period, making it useful as a reference for understanding the development and technical foundations of digital broadcasting.

Who may find it useful

The book is directed primarily toward broadcast and communications specialists involved in transmitters, transmission equipment, network planning, studio technology, playout and multiplex centers, and television test engineering. Students in electrical communications and related fields may also appreciate its wide-ranging, practical perspective.