SMATV System

Introduction
SMATV stands for Satellite and Master Antenna TV, which basically describes the system
required to receive the TV signals from the broadcasting companies and distributing it to the
project in hand, whether it is a home, an apartment building, a hotel or even an entire
neighborhood.
There are also other names assigned for this system such as MATV (master antenna TV) and
CATV (Cable TV –originally community Antenna TV),
MATV is used when the signals are received by only the Antenna, and CATV is assigned when
the signal is received by the user through a cable (Coax or fiber) without them needing to install
an Antennas or Dishes (satellites).
Yet in the end they all follow the same design principles with some more or less alternatives.

TV Transmission Basics
For purpose of simplifying the explanation an MATV system is considered to describe the
transmission basics.
The most basic MATV system is an antenna connected to a TV outlet, along with a fly lead to
connect the system to the TV, The antenna is designed to receive TV signals. The cable is
designed to carry the TV signals to the outlet. The outlet is the interface for a fly lead to connect
to the TV. The fly lead connects the wall plate to the TV.

Where multiple outlets are required a splitter or series of splitters are used to distribute the signal
to as many outlets as required.
Signal Strength
The principals of signal strength for MATV systems are not unlike that of the electrical principals
.for voltage at power points
:The units of measurement are as follows
.Electrical unit of measurement is the Volt(V) •
MATV unit of measurement is the decibel Micro Volt(dBµV),commonly referred to as •
.”“dB
The ideal voltage for a power outlet is 240 Volts, with a tolerance of 5%. This means that you can
.have as low as 228 Volts or as high as 252 Volts to comply with the Australian Standards
The voltage is measured using a Voltmeter. You set the voltmeter to the voltage setting and test
.for voltage. The ideal signal level for a combined analogue / digital MATV system is similar
The ideal MATV signal strength at the outlet is 69dBµV with a tolerance of 5%. For excellent
quality pictures, you require signal strength between 65-72dBµV. The MATV signal strength is
measured using a field strength meter. You set the field strength meter to the channel you wish
.to test and it will show you a reading of the signal at the outlet
Bit error rate
BER – Bit error rate measures the number of errors on the incoming signal. Too many errors will
result in pixilation, boxing or freezing of the picture. There is a four star rating associated with
:digital signal reception

Signal Losses – Cable

Losses are a part of any MATV system. You may start out with an acceptable signal level at the
antenna but due to losses in the cable or splitter, the signal may not be acceptable when at the
.outlet. Losses are calculated separately for VHF and UHF frequencies
The golden rule is the higher the frequency, the higher the loss

We need to calculate losses for both VHF and UHF in every TV design to ensure that we have a
balanced system.
RG6 cable losses are linear. This means that you can multiply the losses for one meter by the
length of the cable run to get the losses over that distance.

A balanced system is a MATV system that has an acceptable signal level (65-72dBµV) at every
outlet within the system, regardless of the length of cable to the outlet.
In domestic settings this is not usually an issue if the distribution of the signal is from a central
location. This is more of an issue when distributing TV signals to multi storey apartments and
hotels with long cable runs. In a domestic situation the shortest cable run can be one meter and
the longest cable run can be 45 meters without having to use some form of equalization to
balance the system.
Signal Losses – Splitters
Losses over splitters are just as important to calculate as the losses over cable. The value of the
loss will be different for VHF and UHF.
The golden rule is the higher the number of splits, the higher the losses
The losses over each output port of the splitter are the same. If you changed a two way splitter for
a four way splitter you may have poor picture quality due to the fact that you have added losses
into the system and reduced the signal strength to each outlet by 4dB on VHF and 3.4dB on UHF.
- An eight way splitter would also require an amplifier.

That's why amplifiers are an important and integral part of the SMATV system, also some
manufacturers provide powered splitters (with integral amplifiers) which increase the signal at the
.splitter outlet rather than decreasing it, see the example below
Satellite Transmission
The channel selection begins with the programming source. Popular
companies like Showtime, HBO and Starz all create their own
respective programming. The channel providers then purchase the
rights of a particular programming to broadcast the shows through
satellite. Then their attention is turned towards the broadcast centre
.to 'compress' and 'convert' the programming for satellite broadcast
The original programming is a digital stream of video, which is then
compressed and converted through an encoder, typically using the
MPEG 2 format. This format reduces the overall size of the video,
thereby making it possible for a satellite to broadcast hundreds of
.channels at the same time
Once the encoding has been done, the video will then be encrypted making it possible only for
the subscribers to view it. This encryption "scrambles" the signal so that those without the proper
receivers get distorted and unintelligible video. After the video has been encrypted, it is sent to
the provider's satellite. The satellite uses a dish similar to our satellite dish, to receive the video
and send it back to the provider's subscribers. The satellite contains numerous components that
allow it to pick up the broadcast signal, amplify it and resend at a specific frequency. Normally
satellites have several other onboard components, including a power source such as solar panels
or rechargeable batteries and a computer system to monitor the satellite's various functions and
.conditions
The signals sent from the satellite are picked up by our dish, small round antennas that receive the
.satellite's broadcast and send the video on to our satellite TV receiver

The little black box that is inside your home and the one that allows you to choose which channel
you want to watch is the 'receiver'. The receiver actually performs several crucial functions in the
satellite viewing process, including the decoding of the signal itself. The receiver "de-scrambles"
the scrambled signals and converts this signal into a format that your television can handle, such
.as analog or HDTV

System Architecture
For the electrical engineer doing the electrical installation work the SMATV system architecture
can be divided into two main broad categories:

- Direct Cable TV System (No Receiver is required)

- Indirect Cable TV System (Receiver is required)
Direct Cable TV System

As the name implies, a direct cable TV system is a system where the user connects his TV
directly to the Coax cable and starts enjoying.
The main idea is to transmit an intelligible signal to the TV that it understands, if there is only
Antennas on the roof, then here is no need of changing the signals and only splitters and
amplifiers are required (as seen above), but if Satellite dishes are used or an incomer fiber cable is
provided then some "demodulation" must take place.
The main primary equipment used for this "demodulation" is called a Head End Unit, a head end
units basically consists of demodulation equipments (receivers) filters, amplifiers, splitters and
other components for the correct operation of the system.
The figure on the right is a simple representation of the
system for houses:
While the following page shows a figure representing a more
detailed head end unit system schematic riser.

In this system it's very important to calculate the signal loss

at each outlet because this system uses a lot of splitters on
the way.
Such system is widely used in hotels, hospitals and even
community villas or housing where there is a single
supervisor over the system.
Indirect Cable TV System

This system transmits the signals to the TV outlets un-modulated

and depends on the each users' receiver to demodulate the signal.
The basic form of this system is a satellite dish connected
directly to the receivers

Now, if the user wants to see different sats (NileSat, HotBird,

Astra…) then he either uses a positioner to move the dish, or he
uses more than one LNB (for each sat) and connects all there
outputs to what is called a DiSEqC Switch which basically
combines all the LNBs signals and make them available to one
:user, see picture bellow
If multiple users wants to see the same outputs, then Multiswitch technology is used, here up to
16 users (some manefacturers have only 8) can see all the LNBs Sats provided they have the
:receivers

But what if we have in our projects more than 16 users, well don't worry the manufacturers have
also thought of that and have designed what is called Cascading Multiswitches, where
multiswitches are cascaded together and huge number of users can be provided with the service
provided that amplifiers are installed to maintain the signal strength (ideally at the first
:multiswitch and then each two to three cascading modules-if they are installed one floor apart)
This kind of installations is usually build for up to 100 Users or more, and is generally preferred
by developers, owners of apartments for rent, as well as the majority of apartment owners and
.housing managers. It is much better solution for the aesthetic qualities of the building

System Components:
Television Outlet
Television outlets are part of the cabling infrastructure and should be of a high quality
for sustained signal distribution. F-Type outlets are the industry preferred television
outlet due to the quality of connection and performance.
Fly Lead
A Fly Lead connects the outlet to the television or recording device such as a Digital
Video Recorder. A good quality Fly Lead should always be used as it is under the
most stress from bending behind television cabinets and induced voltage from cords
behind the television.

RG-6/U
RG-6/U is a common type of coaxial cable used in a wide variety of
residential and commercial applications. The term "RG-6" itself is
quite generic and refers to a wide variety of cable designs, which
differ from one another in shielding characteristics, center conductor
composition, and dielectric type. "RG" (Radio Guide) was originally a unit indicator for bulk
radio frequency (RF) cable in the U.S. military's Joint Electronics Type Designation System. The
suffix "/U" means “for general utility use.” The number was assigned sequentially. The "RG" unit
indicator is no longer part of the JETDS system (MIL-STD-196E) and cable sold today under the
RG-6 label does not necessarily meet military specifications. in practice, the term "RG-6" is
generally used to refer to coaxial cables with an 18 AWG (1.02 mm) center conductor and 75 ohm
characteristic impedance.

RG-11
RG-11 coax cables are similar to RG-6 (75 ohm) but have a larger diameter (14 AWG-1.63mm)
they are usually used long runs to decrease losses, that's why they are suitable for backbone
transmission.

Amplifier
Amplifiers are used increase the signal strength. But they do not improve
the signal quality.

Splitter
A splitter will enable the connection of multiple outlets to one signal from an
antenna or a head end unit. Splitters have losses associated with them. The
more splits the greater the losses will be.

Antenna
Antennas receive TV frequencies broadcast from TV Transmission Towers. They
need to be mounted in a location that will receive a good quality signal. There
are different types of antennas that are designed for receiving different types of
frequencies.

Satellite Dish
A satellite dish is a type of parabolic antenna designed to receive microwaves from
communications satellites, which transmit data transmissions or broadcasts, such as satellite
television.

eadend H
Cable television headend is a master facility for receiving television signals from
antennas and satellite dishes for processing and distribution over a cable
television system; it contains demodulation devise (like receivers) and may also
include splitters and amplifiers.

Multiswitch
A multiswitch is a device usually used with a LNBs to distribute satellite TV
signals to multiple (usually more than four) receivers from a single dish and
LNB.

LNB
A low-noise block converter (LNB, for low-noise block, sometimes LNC, for
low-noise converter, or, rarely, LND for low-noise down converter) is the
(receiving, or downlink) antenna of what is commonly called the parabolic
satellite dish commonly used for satellite TV reception

System Design:
Regardless of the system architecture type, the electrical installation is almost the same with some
design modifications that appear on the riser diagram, BOQ and specifications.
Basically, the electrical installation for the SMATV system consists of the following:
- TV outlet (Coaxial)
- TV Box (TVB): can be a simple box for cable pulling and grouping, can be a combination of
splitters and amplifiers or it can house a multiswitch
- Main TV Box (MTVB): the main TV box is usually located in the roof area or last floor as close
to the antennas and satellites. Depending on the system architecture the MTVB can house the
head end unit or a multiswtitch with main amplifiers and splitters.

SMATV system design on AutoCAD mainly consists of two items:

I- Plans Layouts
II- Schematic/Riser Diagram

I- Plans Layouts

The following steps are advised when performing SMATV system design on the architectural
plans drawings:

- Study the architectural plans

- Study the electrical concept report (if any)

- Study special requirements (if any)

- Study design guidelines, codes and documents relating to telephone system design

- Locate where you will put the main MTVB

- For large projects divide the plan into Zones with one TVB appointed to each zone, when
dividing the zones take the following into consideration:
- Ease of cable routing & installation
- Signal splitting and strength
- Multiswitch outputs (max 16)
- Fire compartments

- Distribute the TV outlets in each zone taking the following into consideration:
- Work according to furniture layouts
- Work according to power layouts
- Locate at one TV outlet for each TV location on furniture plans
- Locate at least one TV outlet per dwellings rooms (bedrooms, receptions, etc..)
- Locate one telephone outlet for each kitchen
- Connect each TV outlet directly with RG6 coax cable inside 25mm PVC
conduit to the nearest TVB
- Use RG11 coax cables for backbone cables

The following shows an architectural plan with SMATV system design on it:
II- Schematic/Risers Layouts
Riser diagrams for SMATV systems can have two options; one options is when the design is only
done as an infrastructure, here the riser will show only locations of outlets in floors with there
connection to the TVB and MTVB, the type of system selection and architecture is left to the
client.
The other option is when the type of system architecture is known, here the riser will show the
infrastructure in addition to the system components, the following figures show riser diagrams for
both options.
Infrastructure riser diagram:

Head End Unit System riser diagram

Multi-switch System riser diagram