CNR Vs SNR
CNR Vs SNR
CNR Vs SNR
CNR vs SNR
Signal-to-noise ratio
S/N ratio or SNR
In the world of telecommunications, SNR and CNR are often used interchangeably For this discussion, the noise in CNR and SNR is assumed to be additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN)
CNR vs SNR
The signal-to-noise ratio expresses in decibels the amount by which a signal level exceeds its corresponding noise
Telecommunications Transmission Handbook, 2nd Ed., by Roger L. Freeman John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1981
CNR vs SNR
In the most general case, SNR is expressed as the ratio of rms (root mean square) signal level, Srms, to the rms noise, Nrms, (SNR = Srms/Nrms)
Measuring Noise in Video Systems Tektronix Application Note 25W11148-0, 1997
CNR vs SNR
In the world of cable, we generally use CNR and SNR to represent quite different measurement parameters: one in the RF domain and the other in the baseband domain. Technically speaking, when measuring CNR or SNR against real thermal noise, one actually is measuring (C+N)/N or (S+N)/N.
Not normally an issue unless carrier-to-noise or signalto-noise ratios are very lowsay, single digit values
CNR vs SNR
Carrier-to-Noise Ratio
CNR is generally accepted to be a predetection measurement, that is, one made at RF From the perspective of analog TV channels, CNR is the difference, in decibels, between the amplitude of a TV channels visual carrier and the rms amplitude of system noise in a specified bandwidth.
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
+30
+20
55.25
56.25
Frequency (MHz)
Carrier-to-Noise Ratio
According to the FCCs cable rules in 76.609(e), system noise is the total noise power present over a 4 MHz band centered within the cable television channel.
This definition is applicable only to National Television System Committee (NTSC) TV channel CNR measurements Phase alternating line (PAL) TV channels use a slightly greater noise power bandwidth
CNR vs SNR
Carrier-to-Noise Ratio
The FCC doesnt actually use the term CNR in the rules. 76.605(a)(7) states The ratio of RF visual signal level to system noise shallnot be less than 43 decibels. Thats in line with the generic definition of SNR, although most cable operators understand it to mean CNR Good engineering practice targets end-ofline analog TV channel CNR in the 45 to 49 dB range
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
In cable industry vernacular, SNR is generally accepted to be a premodulation or postdetection measurement, that is, one made on a baseband signal such as video or audio.
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Time
10
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
From the previously mentioned Tektronix Application Note: In video applications, however, it is the effective power of the noise relative to the nominal luminance level that is the greater concern. The Application Note goes on to define video SNR in dB as 20log(Lnominal/Nrms), where Lnominal has a value of 714 millivolts peak-to-peak (100 IRE) for NTSC or 700 mV p-p for PAL. These luminance values exclude sync.
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Signal-to-Noise Ratio
Translation: Baseband video SNR is the ratio of the peak-to-peak video signal, excluding sync, to the noise within that video signal.
The noise is measured in a specified bandwidth, usually defined by a combination of low pass, high pass and weighting filters. Those filters limit the measured noise to a bandwidth that is roughly the same as the video signal, and may be used to remove certain low frequency noise from the measurement. Weighting filters are used to simulate the eyes response to noise in the TV picture, and are based on standards such as RS-170A, RS-250B and NTC-7.
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Symbol Rate
5.056941 Msym/sec 5.360537 Msym/sec 6.952 Msym/sec
Modulation Format
64-QAM 256-QAM 64- or 256-QAM
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Symbol Rate
160 ksym/sec 320 ksym/sec 640 ksym/sec 1280 ksym/sec 2560 ksym/sec 5.12 Msym/sec
Modulation Format
QPSK or 16-QAM QPSK or 16-QAM QPSK or 16-QAM QPSK or 16-QAM QPSK or 16-QAM 64-QAM or 128QAM TCM
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1.0E-04 1.0E-06 1.0E-08 1.0E-10 1.0E-12 BER BER BER BER BER
7 dB 9 dB 12 dB 19 dB 21 dB 25 dB 32 dB 9 dB 11 dB 14 dB 21 dB 23 dB 27 dB 34 dB 10 dB 12 dB 15 dB 22 dB 24 dB 28 dB 35 dB 11 dB 13 dB 16 dB 23 dB 25 dB 29 dB 36 dB 12 dB 14 dB 17 dB 24 dB 26 dB 30 dB 37 dB
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If one assumes that SNR is a baseband measurement, there really is no easy way to measure baseband data SNR
Signal Amplitude
Time
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A better parameter is modulation error ratio (MER) or error vector magnitude (EVM)
MER and EVM take into account the combined effects of CNR; transmitter, upconverter or CMTS phase noise; impairments such as second and third order distortions; group delay; in-channel frequency response problems (amplitude tilt or ripple) and microreflections.
CNR vs SNR
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Source: Hewlett-Packard
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Q
Average error power
I
Source: Hewlett-Packard
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Many engineers are familiar with EVM More comfort with a linear measurement Links directly with the constellation display Linear relationship between EVM and constellation cloud size No direct link between EVM and BER
Source: Hewlett-Packard
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Q
Error Vector Measured Signal
I
Source: Hewlett-Packard
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Q
By convention, EVM is reported as a percentage of peak signal level, usually defined by the constellations corner states
RMS Error Magnitude
I
Source: Hewlett-Packard
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Because of differences in the algorithms for CMTS-reported SNR versus a spectrum analyzer CNR measurement, there can be differences between the two valuesespecially if the CNR is extremely low or high. However, for the range of 15~25 dB CNR, where AWGN is the primary noise impairment, the two measurements should agree to within less than 2 dB.
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Other factors that may degrade CMTSreported SNR, even when CNR is good, include improper modulation profiles, bad timing errors, and poor headend combiner/splitter isolation CMTS-reported SNR will always be less thanor at best equal toCNR, but should never be better than CNR
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Summary
CNR is a measure of pre-detection signal quality CNR is ideal for characterizing performance of the cable network SNR, MER and EVM are measures of postdetection signal quality SNR is a useful metric with which to quantify a baseband signalsay, the video quality seen on a TV set SNR, MER and EVMalong with bit error rate are ideal for characterizing the health of a digital signal
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References
Hranac R., CNR versus SNR March 2003 Communications Technology Hranac R., Spectrum analyzer CNR versus CMTS SNR September 2003 Communications Technology Telecommunications Transmission Handbook, 2nd Ed., by Roger L. Freeman, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1981 Measuring Noise in Video Systems, Tektronix Application Note 25W-11148-0, 1997 Agilent Product Note 89400-8: Using Vector Modulation Analysis in the Integration, Troubleshooting, and Design of Digital RF Communications Systems (Application Note 5091-8687E) Agilent Product Note 89400-14: Using Error Vector Magnitude Measurements to Analyze and Troubleshoot Vector-Modulated Signals (Application Note 5965-2898E)
CNR vs SNR
2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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CNR vs SNR
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