B.2.1 range of data rates, B.3 versafec (short-block ldpc), B.3 versafec – Comtech EF Data ODM-840 User Manual
Page 172: Short-block ldpc)

ODM/R-840 Outdoor Remote Router
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Appendix B
MN-ODM840
B–2
The error correcting capability of LDPC is improved by using large block sizes. Large block sizes
can increase latency in low bit rate applications (typically less than 2Mbps). In one‐way
broadcast applications this is not a drawback. Links with LDPC normally operate at multi‐
megabit data rates where latency effects are minimal. The standard block size for LDPC is 64,800
bits, and for lower data rate applications there is a short frame block at 16,800 bits that suffers
only a small error correcting loss (0.2 to 0.5 dB) compared to the standard block.
B.2.1
Range of Data Rates
For the range of Data Rates, refer to
Sect. 1.4 SUMMARY OF SPECIFICATIONS
.
B.2.2
BER, QEF, Eb/No, Es/No Spectral Efficiency, and Occupied Bandwidth
Depending upon the operating mode, the DVB standard uses different modes of specifying
performance with a unit in IF Loop and Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN):
• DVB‐S2 standard: "Quasi Error Free" (QEF) is defined as "less than one uncorrected
error‐event per transmission hour at the level of a 5 Mbit/s single TV service decoder",
approximately corresponding to a Transport Stream Packet Error Ratio equal to a
PER<10
‐7
before demultiplexer. A packet is defined as block of 188 byte MPEG frame
size data.
• Es/No vs. Eb/No: The DVB‐S2 standard commonly refers to the use of Es/No instead of
Eb/No. When links operate at a constant symbol rate this is a good method for comparing
the performance of different modulation types and code rates.
The relation between the two quantities is given by:
Eb/No = Es/No – 10
log
(Spectral Efficiency)
• Occupied Bandwidth: Occupied bandwidth is defined as the bandwidth between ‐10 dB
points of the power spectral density, which are approximately:
Occupied Bandwidth = 1.19
x
Symbol Rate, for 35% Rolloff
= 1.15
x
Symbol Rate, for 25% Rolloff
= 1.12 x Symbol Rate, for 20% Rolloff
* Taken at the -10 dB points on the plot of power spectral density, the occupied bandwidth is 1.19 x Symbol
Rate for 35%, and 1.15 x Symbol Rate for 25%.
B.3
VersaFEC
(Short-block LDPC)
While LDPC coding represents a significant development in the area of FEC, and the
performance of LDPC is exceptional in terms of coding gain, its higher latency is considered
disadvantageous in some applications.
Since the introduction of Comtech’s LDPC, research into ways to reduce the block size of LDPC
(and hence its latency) – while preserving the coding gain performance very close to the