# DTV Essential Hidden Area Decoder for DTV Broadcasting
## 1 Introduction  
Digital television systems have gained widespread popularity due to their superior image and sound quality compared to analog television systems [1; 2; 3]. When developing receivers for digital television (DTV) systems like Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB), Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), or Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) [4; 5; 6], it is crucial to have a controlled environment for studying and testing the receivers. The testing process should be straightforward and cost-effective, considering that it may need to be performed multiple times by numerous engineers [7; 8]. The paper [9] suggests the utilization of Digital Video Broadcast-Terrestrial (DVB-T) systems as position sensors in regions where Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) experience reduced performance. In high-definition television (HDTV) broadcasting systems, the vertical size of the picture in the video stream specifies the height of each encoded picture. It represents the displayable part of the luminance component of the frame lines. To avoid start code emulation, the vertical size value must not be zero and should be a multiple of 16, 32, or 64 [10]. The standardization of HDTV has taken several decades, resulting in various resolutions and standards beyond the common 1920 \(\times\) 1080. Interestingly, even for 1920 \(\times\) 1080, Moving Picture Expert Group 2 (MPEG2) encoders are used. In practice, the full HDTV video source pads an additional eight lines at the bottom of the display, which are either filled with a black or gray bar in real-time hardware encoders or by repeating the last line of content in software encoders like MPEG Software Simulation Group (MSSG). These extraeight lines constitute the DTV Essential Hidden Area (DEHA), which plays an essential role in DTV encoding, streaming, and decoding but has remained unutilized until now. The authors in [11] introduced a real-time HDTV video decoding scheme for DVB or ATSC set-top boxes, emphasizing an efficient decoder design with reduced memory access contention. The simulation results demonstrate the decoder's ability to handle MPEG-2 MP@HL HDTV videos in real time at a clock rate of 81 MHz and a bit rate of 18-22 Mbps. The authors in the paper [12] introduced a low-cost H.264/AVc video decoder for HDTV, achieving real-time HD1080 video decoding at 120 MHz with low power consumption. A real-time digital HDTV video decoding architecture with a dual decoding data path and efficient anchor picture storage is presented in [13]. It achieves the real-time decoding of MPEG-2 MP@HL HDTV at 1920 \(\times\) 1080 pixels/frame and 30 frames/s, with a low clock rate of 81 MHz and a bit rate of 18 to 20 Mbps. This paper introduces a modified general HDTV decoder designed specifically for utilizing the DEHA. Firstly, the DEHA is thoroughly analyzed in conventional terrestrial and internet HDTV broadcasting systems using the implemented decoder. Secondly, a gray block image is used for transferring program-related metadata to evaluate the effectiveness of DEHA utilization. The experimental verification of program-related metadata, including technical information, specific camera details, and post-production technologies, is achieved using an overlaid Quick Response (QR) code. Furthermore, the impact of DEHA utilization on video compression processes is examined to assess video quality. The utilization of DEHA offers seamless transfer capabilities and proves advantageous for various purposes related to DTV services, benefiting from its inherent synchronization advantages within video content. Moreover, the proposed system adheres to well-established standards such as ATSC, ISDB, and DVB, ensuring compatibility and interoperability. In conclusion, this research aims to explore the untapped potential of DEHA utilization in DTV systems. By introducing a modified HDTV decoder and conducting comprehensive experiments, we aim to demonstrate the significance of DEHA in terrestrial and internet HDTV broadcasting.