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;
• and
• wherein a first subcarrier is modulated with information having a first priority and a second subcarrier is modulated with information having a second priority.

An apparatus for forming a frequency multiplexed television signal suitable for use in a broadcasting environment wherein a conventional television signal comprising a plurality of conventional subcarriers having respective frequency locations within said conventional television signal is also used, said apparatus comprising:

• a) means for coding a television source signal having a first bandwidth, into a plurality of digital data streams;
• 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 information provided by each of said digital data streams determining which of said modulated subcarriers distributes said respective information;
• and
• c) means for selecting the frequencies of said modulated subcarriers so as to place them in respective frequency locations within said frequency multiplexed signal so as to be least likely to cause interference to and suffer interference from at least one of said plurality of conventional subcarriers of said conventional television signal.