Method of adjusting timing transmission parameters in a single frequency network

A method of planning a single frequency digital broadcasting network comprising at least one elevated transmission station and a plurality of low-height transmission stations, the method performed by a computer system comprising a processor and a memory encoded with program instructions that, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform the method, comprising:

• a) subdividing a geographic area of interest into a plurality of area elements;
• b) simulating, using the processor, a distribution of an electromagnetic field originating from the transmission stations in every one of said area elements;
• c) in at least one area element of the geographic area of interest, calculating, using the processor, received delays among signals received from the transmission stations based on the simulated electromagnetic field distribution;
• d) sorting the transmission stations in a list;
• e) based on said received delays and on the sorted list, calculating, using the processor, an initial vector of transmission delays;
• f) subjecting the initial vector of transmission delays to a process of refinement consisting in repeatedly:
• f1) perturbing the list of the transmission stations on the basis of a casual perturbation parameter;
• f2) recalculating the transmission delays;
• and
• until the casual perturbation parameter has reached a predetermined minimum value, assigning the resulting transmission delays to each of the low-height transmission stations.

A computer program product tangibly embodied as instructions on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer program product, when executed, implementing a method of planning a single frequency digital broadcasting network comprising at least one elevated transmission station and a plurality of low-height transmission stations, the method performed by a computer system comprising a processor and a memory encoded with program instructions that, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform the method comprising:

• a) subdividing a geographic area of interest into a plurality of area elements;
• b) simulating, using the processor, a distribution of an electromagnetic field originating from the transmission stations in every one of said area elements;
• c) in at least one area element of the geographic area of interest, calculating, using the processor, received delays among signals received from the transmission stations based on the simulated electromagnetic field distribution;
• d) sorting the transmission stations in a list;
• e) based on said received delays and on the sorted list, calculating, using the processor, an initial vector of transmission delays;
• f) subjecting the initial vector of transmission delays to a process of refinement consisting in repeatedly:
• f1) perturbing the list of the transmission stations on the basis of a casual perturbation parameter;
• f2) recalculating the transmission delays;
• and
• until the casual perturbation parameter has reached a predetermined minimum value, assigning the resulting transmission delays to each of the low-height transmission stations.