Method and apparatus for the transmission and reception of a multicarrier digital television signal

An apparatus for forming a frequency multiplexed television signal comprising:

• a) means for coding a television source signal having a first bandwidth, into a plurality of digital data streams;
• and
• b) means coupled to said source coding means, for processing each of said digital data streams so as to distribute information provided by each of them, as a plurality of modulated subcarriers each having respective bandwidth, amplitude and coding characteristics, said subcarriers forming a frequency multiplexed signal having a bandwidth which is more narrow than said first bandwidth.

A receiver for providing a high definition television (HDTV) display, for use in a television transmission system wherein a television source signal having a first bandwidth, is encoded into a plurality of digital data streams and wherein each of said data streams is processed so that information provided by each of them is distributed as a plurality of modulated subcarriers each having respective bandwidth, amplitude and coding characteristics, and wherein said modulated subcarriers form a frequency multiplexed television signal having a bandwidth which is more narrow than said first bandwidth, said receiver comprising:

• a) means for demodulating said frequency multiplexed signal so as to recover said modulated subcarriers;
• and
• b) means for decoding from said modulated subcarriers, a plurality of television signal components and for providing said components for display.