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COUCHPOTATO
Pixelmetrix has come up with a clever device that allows IP and
digital TV operators to monitor end-users’ experience. CEO
Danny Wilson
and IPTV Product Manager
Amit Sood
explain
he Pixelmetrix
Electronic Couch
Potato is an ‘after
the network’ probe
that measures and
reports the end-
users’ experience
for delivered video services. The
ECP interacts with set-top boxes
through infrared control and is able
to change channels on the STB.
Each channel is then monitored and
the telemetry collected by the ECP
is sent back to a central point, the
ECP Consolidator. Data from
multiple ECPs are processed and
presented as service centric
information to the service provider.
The ECP receives decoded audio
and video signals from the STB and
assesses the audio and video
quality of every monitored channel.
The ECP is not restricted by any
encryption scheme adopted for
content protection in the network
as it processes only decrypted
signals coming out of the STB. In
addition, the ECP has Ethernet
pass-through functionality.
Multichannel TV operators,
offering hundreds of channels are
faced with managing their complex
service offering in the face of the
continued pressure to reduce
OPEX. Maintaining the right
content in the right place is not
always easy and we often hear of
cases where the ‘adult’ channel is
mistakenly swapped for the cartoon
channel. While operational
personnel would call this a
‘provisioning error’, the legal
department, given government
regulations, potential fines or
criminal charges, would call the
mishap something quite different.
Guarding against these kinds of
problems, the ECP features the
Pixelmetrix OCV - On-Air Content
Validation for dynamic service plan
verification. OCV checks whether
channels are present and confirms
the overall ‘channel line up’. Once a
problem is detected, alarms are sent
to the ECP Consolidator with a
detailed explanation of the source
of the problem.
The ECP and Consolidator also
lets IPTV players derive benefit
from its extensive automation
facilities. Essentially a programmable
‘test robot’, various test scripts are
downloaded to each ECP from the
Consolidator. The ECP completely
changes how IP video networks are
monitored and information
extracted. The user interface of the
Consolidator presents the status of
the entire service, wherever the
ECPs are deployed. Additionally, it
is also capable of drilling down to
the core of the problem.
ELECTRONIC EYES
The ECP monitors multiple perfor-
mance parameters in the IP and
transport layers. IP parameters can
include service bandwidth, jitter,
delay, etc. Checks conforming to
the TR 101-290 standard are applied
to the transport layer. Amajor
concern for all IPTV operators
today is the ability to accurately
know the true channel change time.
The ECP achieves this goal through
two different mechanisms. IGMP
Join/Leave times indicate, on the
network layer, the duration it takes
for the channel to change. The ECP
takes the concept a step further to
calculate the actual channel change
time. Measurements on the decoded
video gauge how long it takes
before a user begins to see the next
channel after a channel change
request is sent. A unique feature of
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TECHNOLOGY
ELECTRONIC
Each
monitored
parameter
can be
configured
to
individual
threshold
settings
before
alarms
are raised
“
the ECP is its ability to assess the
quality of the decoded video, and
present it on a scale of 1 to 5 as a
MOS (Mean Opinion Score). This is
applicable for every channel
scanned by the ECPs. The ECP
further monitors audio signal
anomalies such as audio, silence
and tone. The ECP also comes
packed with the ability to check for
video freeze frames and blackout.
POWERFUL CONSOLIDATION
The sole objective of the ECP
Consolidator is to optimally present
meaningful information to the
operator about the service being
delivered to the customer -
information that enables them to
solve a problem within the shortest
time possible. The ECP Consolidator
is the configuration and monitoring
console for multiple ECPs spread
across the last mile distribution
points of the complete network.
The ECP Consolidator presents to
the operator the status of all broad-
cast channels scanned by ECPs. The
multiple parameters monitored by
each ECP for each channel are not
presented as mere data, but as
information presented in a way to
report the status of service quality
in a particular territory or an
overall system-wide status.
Another vital feature is the
ability to fully control and configure
each ECP through the ECP
Consolidator. Intuitively presented
and customisable test scripts enable
users to configure each ECP to
perform specific tests or mass
configure multiple ECPs swiftly.
More alert than a human 'couch
potato', the Pixelmetrix electronic
version provides IPTV operators
with real-time insights into their
customers’ quality of experience.
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