Systems to monitor and analyze a bewildering variety of digital video formats are multiplying fast. The 2012 NAB Show promises dozens of products to keep you on top of your programming streams, no matter what format they're in or what their delivery method. Whether you need simple monitoring or detailed analysis, there are new products to help keep your data clean.
CONTENT MONITORING
Pixelmetrix Couch PotatoBroadpeak will introduce OperatorCDN, a system that enables network service providers to manage a content delivery network (CDN) via their own networks. OperatorCDN is based on the Broadpeak BkM100 Mediator CDN management platform, which provides a statistical display tool that references all the sessions by content, region and format.
Cobalt Digital will feature Spotcheck for monitoring an IP or ASI MPEG stream at the transit encode point. It measures and logs all content. Operating at emission MPEG level, Spotcheck maintains a log of all program segments and provides compliance records.
DekTec America will unveil Mosaic for Xpect, a real-time MPEG monitoring software package that can be combined with DekTec's PCI card interface to decode and display video streams. Xpect and the Mosaic software are compatible with SD/HD MPEG-2 and H.264 SPTS and MPTS streams.
Digital Nirvana will introduce v3.0 of its MonitorIQ broadcast monitoring system for compliance logging, airchecking, signal analysis/diagnostics, and content repurposing. MonitorIQ handles logging and monitoring of loudness metadata, provides access to the entire transport stream for analysis and diagnostics, and supports DLNA for viewing high-resolution recordings from MonitorIQ on any DLNA-enabled device for testing, analysis and diagnostics.
DVEO will demonstrate its multi-window MPEG-2 and H.264 transport stream monitoring system, Q Check IP/ASI. This is a real-time, PC-based, multiviewer transport stream monitoring system for viewing, monitoring and logging errors, including error trapping for video freezes, black screens, loss of video, loss of audio and loss of subtitles.
IneoQuest will spotlight updates to its Expedus DVA, a high-capacity probe that manages content and transport quality, as well as providing CALM compliance. Additionally, it provides modules for video and audio analysis using ITU MOS methodology, SCTE-35 cue tone presence/ad insertion, ITU-R BS.1770 loudness compliance, SI/PSI/PSIP inspection, and full decoding of the MPEG transport stream.
Triveni Digital StreamScope MT-40 4.7 With Mobile DTV Analysis CapabilitiesManzanita Systems will feature its MP2TSAE transport stream analyzer, which verifies compliance with MPEG, ATSC and DVB standards. The MP2TSAE analyzes more than 100 parameters and examines all MPEG PSI tables, transport headers, adaptation fields and PES header structures in all transport packets.
MiraVid will demonstrate its AutoCheck automated media tester which provides conformance testing of large volumes of data within a short time. AutoCheck supports all major media standards, including H.264, VC-1, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, as well as future extensibility as new support is added.
Pixelmetrix will debut a new feature set for its Electronic Couch Potato content monitoring system, which provides full-motion audio/video verification of QoE issues such as freezeframe, blackouts and pixelization. The multi-user GUI lets you quickly zoom directly from the alarm event to the image sequence causing the alarm. Full motion audio/video can be viewed with a simple click.
Snell will highlight the latest updates to its Centra RollMap management and monitoring system that interfaces with Snell signal management products to provide detailed information on signal quality and flow. Centra also contains other modules, including MPEG analysis and conformance monitoring.
Triveni Digital will introduce the new StreamScope MT-40 4.7 with Mobile DTV analysis capabilities. The MT-40 4.7 gives users the ability to monitor multiple terrestrial and mobile transport streams in real time from any location across the network, permitting view of EPG and ESG data sets and program guides, and can verify ATSC, MPEG, A-78, SCTE, DVB-SI, ISDB, and ATSC M/H standards and protocols.
T-VIPS will debut its TNS547 analyzer that monitors all major interfaces, formats and layers found in DVB terrestrial networks. The TNS547's monitoring and analysis features enable fast fault detection and diagnostics either through a Web-based user interface or integrated with the T-VIPS Dataminer network management system.
Volicon Observer ProfessionalVideo Clarity will feature its RTM Manager, which forms the hub of the company's RTM quality management system. As individual RTM units monitor programming streams, information on alarms, faults and errors are sent back to the RTM Manager, which allows instantaneous access to error events and recordings.
Volicon will present its Observer line of monitoring solutions, including the Observer Professional, which is designed for broadcasters. Running on both PC and Mac computers, Observer Professional monitors multiple channels for specific keywords and can be set to record programs to confirm commercial playback or other events.
VIDEO
DK-Technologies will show its full line of audio and video test products, including the company's affordable PT0710M waveform monitor. The PT0710M can display both audio and video waveforms, and has audio de-embedding to simplify wiring in advanced facilities. The PT0710M can be upgraded to its more powerful relative, the PT0760M.
Doremi will spotlight GENeration3D, a 3D test pattern generator featuring a pre-loaded internal 3D pattern, as well as custom user-generated 3D patterns that can be loaded via an SD card.
Harris Videotek will present the VSG-401 signal/sync generator. The unit features a dual-link, 3 Gbps and HD/SD signal and sync generator, with four selectable-format SDI test signal outputs and up to 16 channels of embedded audio, all in a half-RU width.
Leader Instruments will show its Mentor XL sync generator for the first time. Part of the company's Trilogy product line, the Mentor XL can synchronizing signals for mixed analog, SD and HD/3G installations, including all variations of 720- and 1080-line standards.
Phabrix will demo its Rx 500 and Rx 1000 rasterizer systems. With the ability to support both test signal generator and video measurement modules, the Rx series can display a wide variety of monitoring tools on a single computer display with resolution up to 1920x1080 pixels.
Rohde & Schwarz will spotlight the SFE multistandard signal generator, which supports all common TV standards and a number of audio broadcasting standards. With a frequency range up to 2.7 GHz, the SFE can provide test signals for just about any RF standard, as well as generating a wide variety of baseband test signals.
Tektronix will debut the portable WFM2200 waveform monitor, which can be customized via software. It includes a large 6.5-inch LCD display, a replaceable battery, and an input for testing facility synchronization signals. Also on hand will be Tek's WFM7020 waveform monitor, which can work with SD/HD/3G-SDI formats.
RF
Anritsu will show off its MS8911B digital broadcast field analyzer which covers the spectrum from 100 kHz to 7.1 GHz. It provides both RF measurement and modulation analysis and can provide channel power, spectrum monitor, spectrum mask and phase noise measurements, as well as constellation, sub-carrier MER, delay profile and frequency response of demodulated signals.
Tektronix WFM2200 Portable Waveform Monitor The new VB252 from Bridge Technologies will make its NAB Show debut. It's a monitoring probe for DVB-T2 networks, and is part of a monitoring system for DVB-T2 (including the T2-MI protocol). The dual-input VB252 provides external GPS lock for drift monitoring for SFN networks, MER measurement and level readings.
Coaxial Dynamics will return to the NAB Show with its line of RF monitoring and measurement products, including high-power digital Wattmeters with power ratings up to 100 kW. The company will also show its Digital Wattchman that can shut down a transmitter in less than 15 milliseconds if it senses a serious RF abnormality.
Promax Electronics is heading to the Las Vegas Convention Center to show off its AE-967 spectrum analyzer that covers frequencies from 9 kHz to 3 GHz. The AE-967 can be used for the response measurement of filters, amplifiers and attenuators, as well as analyzing just about any kind of RF system.
Sencore will launch the VB252, a dual-input DVB-T/T2 interface module that provides monitoring of DVB-T and DVB-T2 broadcast signals directly from an antenna. It's part of Sencore's VideoBridge monitoring family and can be used by broadcasters to monitor their own transmissions, or by cable, IPTV, and satellite providers to monitor local broadcasts they receive for distribution.
TeamCast will use the NAB Show as a backdrop to unveil Odyssey, a laboratory analysis tool for DVB-T2 RF signals. The unit can check the quality and the characteristics of any DVB-T2 signal, using its screen to display spectrum, constellation (L1 and PLP), MER+SNR and EVM, power level, power distribution, shoulders (right and left), and delay profiles.
Worldcast Systems will be launching a new version of the company's Audemat Goldeneagle ATSC Monitor. The Goldeneagle monitors several ATSC broadcasts, raising alarms and notifying relevant personnel when issues occur. The unit also provides tools to enable a detailed RF and MPEG analysis, as well as the streaming and recording of audio and video content. The new version offers snapshots of HD programming to ensure consistent visual quality and also allows the enabling/disabling of the adaptive equalizer.
Z Technology will show off its latest RF measurement products, including the DM1010 measurement demodulator, which can provide FCC shoulder and transport stream data measurements. The DM1010 has NIST-traceable DTV power-level measurement, as well as FFT spectrum, complex constellation, eye diagram and echo profile displays.
