Sensor Newsletter February 2011

DVStation-Mini² DVB-T
For Comprehensive RF & TS Analysis

DVStation_topo

Poor customer viewing experiences can negatively impact brand and revenue. The good news is that addressing the crisis does not mean a hefty price tag. Pixelmetrix presents the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T, a cost-effective RF and TS analyzer and full-featured monitoring probe, to terrestrial operators who are seeking to ease the DTV transition. The DVStation-Mini² DVB-T, an extension of the DVStation-Mini line up, provides unparalleled visibility into QoS monitoring for numerous points within a DTT network.
Designed for 24/7 operational monitoring of the quality and continuity of DVB-T services, the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T combines in-depth DVB-T RF measurements and comprehensive TS analysis. Hence, raising notifications for every deviation detected. The primary step in quality assurance of terrestrial transmission is tracking transmitter health. With a high MER resolution capability display and constellation visualization, the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T can detect age-related transmitter performance degradation. Operating SFN networks is challenging as it demands precise synchronization between transmitter towers. Poor synchronization may result in a series of complications, namely a shrinking coverage area and potential signal loss.
In order to reduce the complexity of managing the synchronization, the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T offers effective SFN monitoring via “impulse response masks”, which identify and alarm on any change in timing or amplitude of the impulse response. By defining a rectangular zone around each transmitter signal, the impulse response masks help detect any change in transmitter sync, antenna performance or even environmental changes, and prompt a system alert before issues arise. Apart from RF measurements, the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T offers rigorous transport stream analysis and monitoring. As regional content insertion is deployed across geographically diverse DTT networks, the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T ensures TS integrity with its comprehensive TR 101 290 and SI table checks.

Furthermore, the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T supports SLA assurance by keeping track of bandwidth allocation, which is one of the critical data points that form the basis of most Service Level Agreements (SLA) between content providers and DTT network operators.
		Other features include video thumbnails for MPEG-2 and H.264 video streams in SD and HD for confidence monitoring, On-air Content Validation (OCV) and DVB-H options. OCV allows automatic identification of discrepancies between the expected baseline and actual broadcast content. With comprehensive visibility into QoS monitoring from the physical to the content layers, the DVStation-Mini² DVB-T helps operators in DTV transition stay ahead of the game and drive results to the fore.