scope:

The present document provides a review of the upper-layer FEC techniques used within the DVB specifications and gives engineering rules for subsequent development.

The present document is structured as follows:

• Clause 2 gives the list of informative references.

• Clause 3 lists abbreviations used in the present document.

• Clause 4 gives a general introduction to the upper layer FEC and their role within DVB set of specifications.

• Clause 5 describes the reference uses cases of upper layer FEC.

• Clause 6 lists all existing DVB upper layer FEC specifications currently in use.

• Clause 7 highlights the performance measures for upper layer FEC codes and provides an overview of the Reed-Solomon and Raptor codes in use within DVB.

• Clause 8 gives "engineering rules" for designing new upper layer FEC schemes.

• Clause 9 summarizes the present document and provides insights into possible future work on UL-FEC.

• Annex A provides detailed information on Reed-Solomon and Raptor performance and decoding algorithms.

• Annex B provides detailed examples of usage of UL-FEC codes within DVB.

• Annex C provides illustrative performance evaluation results for some UL-FEC codes.

• Annex D shows how the Layer-Aware FEC approach could be integrated into the DVB toolbox.

• Annex E provides bibliographical references.