Apparatus and method for receiving digital video signals

1. A receiving apparatus for receiving digital video signals transmitted over a channel having a channel quality, comprising:

an operational module that is operable in either of a first mode and a second mode, the first mode being a normal mode of operation and the second mode being a simplified mode of operation;

an error detection module for detecting errors in the video signals received by the receiving apparatus, the error detection module being monitored to estimate the channel quality; and

a decoder that generates coding blocks,

wherein the operational module is operated in the second mode when the channel quality is estimated to be not good and is either operated in the second mode or periodically switched between the first and second modes when the channel quality is estimated to be good, and

wherein the error detection module is monitored by counting consecutive coding blocks in which no errors are detected.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operational module is an automatic gain control module that is operated in the second mode with a gain which is less than in the first mode.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operational module is an analogue to digital converter module that is operated in the second mode with a sampling resolution which is less than in the first mode.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operational module is a decoder module that is operated in the second mode with a number of iterations and/or word length which is less than a number of iterations and/or word length when operating in the first mode.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operational module is a channel estimator module that is operated with enhanced functionality in the first mode and with simplified functionality in the second mode.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the apparatus is configured to receive a signal frame of the transmitted signal, the signal frame comprising a frame body, and to perform, in the frequency domain, a simplified equalization of the frame body.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the apparatus is configured to operate with simplified functionality of the channel estimator by performing the simplified equalization of the frame body.

8. An apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the apparatus is configured to perform the simplified equalization of the frame body by performing an approximation of a matrix inversion operation.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the apparatus is configured to perform the approximation of the matrix inversion operation in an iterative process, a number of iterations of the iterative process being determined in dependence on the estimate of the channel quality.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the apparatus is configured to transition between enhanced and simplified functionality of the channel estimator module by variation of the number of iterations of the iterative process.

11. A method for operating a receiving apparatus that receives digital video signals transmitted over a channel having a channel quality, the receiving apparatus including an operational module that is operable in either of a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation, the first mode being a normal mode and the second mode being a simplified mode of operation, the receiving apparatus additionally including an error detecting module for detecting errors in the video signals received by the receiving apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:

monitoring the error detection module to estimate the channel quality;

operating the operational module in the first mode when the channel quality is estimated to be not good; and

operating the operational module in either the second mode or periodically switching between the first and second modes when the channel quality is estimated to be good,

wherein the operational module is a channel estimator module that is operated with enhanced functionality in the first mode and with simplified functionality in the second mode.

12. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the receiving apparatus additionally includes a decoder that generates coding blocks, and wherein the monitoring step comprises counting consecutive coding blocks in which no errors are detected.

13. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the operational module is an automatic gain control module that is operated in the second mode with a gain which is less than in the first mode.

14. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the operational module is an analogue to digital converter module that is operated in the second mode with a sampling resolution which is less than in the first mode.

15. A method according to claim 11 , wherein the operational module is a decoder module that, when operating in the second mode, employs a number of iterations and/or word length which is less than in the first mode.

16. A method according to claim 11 , further comprising receiving, at the apparatus, a signal frame of the transmitted signal, the signal frame comprising a frame body, and performing, in the frequency domain, a simplified equalization of the frame body.

17. A method according to claim 16 , wherein the receiving apparatus is configured to operate with simplified functionality of the channel estimator by performing the simplified equalization of the frame body.

18. A method according to claim 16 , further comprising performing the simplified equalization of the frame body by performing an approximation of a matrix inversion operation.

19. A method according to claim 18 , further comprising performing the approximation of the matrix inversion operation in an iterative process, a number of iterations of the iterative process being determined in dependence of the estimate of the channel quality.

20. A method according to claim 19 , wherein the receiving apparatus transitions between enhanced and simplified functionality of the channel estimator module by varying the number of iterations of the iterative process.