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monitoring? Yes, of course, in the same way
we have always had ‘hybrid’ monitoring of
RF and Transport Stream. But the transition
to IP transport of content does dramatically
lower the complexity of the system and,
therefore, of the challenges to monitoring.
based infrastructure, timing can be a major
issue. Packets don’t always arrive in the same
time frame. This makes having an IP-based
video analyser crucial. Hybrid networks
absolutely require a hybrid monitoring
solution, as migrating to IP is a gradual
process for most
operators. In a
hybrid
environment,
operators need
to choose a video quality assurance solution
with the ability to simultaneously monitor
multiple inputs helping the operator in
locating impairments and remit the issues
faster to ensure superior quality of service
(QoS) for viewers.
VeEX: As you transition from DVB to IP the
bandwidth is different. Think about it as a
train. DVB uses reserved seating where you
are guaranteed a seat, whereas IP uses a
first-come first-served basis. In DVB the
bandwidth is aligned at a designed phase, in
IP it is a totally different ball game with the
same bandwidth or available bandwidth
“If the signals are in the cloud, so must
be the systems which monitor them.”
More and more solutions are possible strictly
in software, and do not require customised
and expensive hardware platforms. The real
challenge is likely to be the learning curve for
the ‘television’ engineers out there who now
must contend with different cabling, routers,
and an abundance of non-television traffic
being carried by their newly minted videoover-IP systems.
Triveni Digital: In the compressed domain,
operators migrating from a DVB to IP
distribution approach may still be
transporting MPEG transport streams over
IP but they face new challenges. With an IP-
being shared among the different medias. So
yes, the monitoring of IP-based video is quite
different than DVB. The DVB QoE (Quality of
Experience) is often based on the quality and
performance of the medium, while in IP
Video the QoE is based on everything.
Euromedia: As service provision moves to
the Cloud, must T&M also?
Bridge: It can make sense depending on the
configuration and circumstances of the
service being monitored. Any service is going
to include some broadcast technologies like
RF for satellite receivers as well as the IP
technology, which may be based in a data
centre without a shred of broadcast kit. For
the broadcast components, which are often
in remote locations, hardware probes are a
good fit. If some of the infrastructure is
virtualised in a data centre (or an on-site
server-based implementation) then a
virtualised monitoring capability makes
Test & Measurement rental grows
Over the past couple of
years, the European share
in the electronic test
equipment market has
reduce