Broadcast Test and Measurement Update

  • By David Kirk

Broadcast Test and Measurement Update

Contributing Editor David Kirk has another fresh look at the developments in the field of and measurement and monitoring…

The transition from owned hardware and software to pay-as-you-go media services is increasingly evident in many areas of business, not least the broadcast sector where it offers an alternative to high capital expense during the early years of a production company, post house or media channel. Pay-as-you-go offers insulation against ever evolving technical standards, file formats, compression algorithms and interface options. Most significant of the latter at present is the increasing adoption of IP infrastructure in what was once an SDI-dominated market. The following survey looks the impact of these and other influences in the field of test and measurement.

Audio Precision’s latest APx500 audio measurement software, version 6.1, adds new measurement tools for testing loudspeakers, headphone drivers and microphones. These include facilities for detecting rub, buzz and air leak defects in loudspeakers. Rub-related noises occur when the speaker cone is off-centre or canted. Buzz defects occur when loose particulates are trapped in the gap between the voice coil and the cone. Air leaks are commonly perforations in the speaker surround, imperfectly sealed dust caps, or other unintentional gaps in the housing or cabinet. AP uses high-pass tracking filters to remove the fundamental signal and detect defects as excursions in the residual waveform’s crest factor or peak ratio. Also new is AP’s Fast Sweep test signal. Advantages of Fast Sweep are lack of transient ripples at low or high frequencies, the ability to sweep from low-to-high or high-to-low frequency, support for measuring harmonics above the 20th, and precise control of the number of discrete points used in measurements. “While version 6.1 is officially a minor release, and thus a free upgrade to any analyzer licensed for version 6.0, it delivers significant, new capabilities, especially for those involved in the design, manufacture, and test of speaker drivers and any product incorporating them,” said Audio Precision’s General Manager Daniel Knighten. Release 6.1 is compatible with all analyzers in the APx500 Series. Software upgrades are available for owners of existing APx analyzers, with options for upgrading from v4.x or earlier to v5.0, from v4.x to 6.0, and v5.0 to v6.0. Software maintenance contracts are available for instruments licensed for the current release (v6.0), entitling the analyzer to one, three, or five additional major software releases depending upon the contract purchased.

Bridge Technologies has added new HDR capabilities to its VB440. These allow monitoring and visualisation of HDR and SDR production outputs from any internet-connected location using only an HTML5 browser. The VB440 can now identify the type of coded stream coming in, recognising standards such as HLG, PG and S-Log3, through automatic recognition from ancillary data or NMOS signalling data. It can also be switched manually. The user is then able to access any of the existing wide range of waveform scopes within the instrument and apply them to the HDR stream. An HDR CIE Chromaticity scope has been added. HDR is still a transitional standard that has not fully penetrated the market so the VB440 also facilitates data and image visualisation according to SDR parameters. The VB440 can give a visual preview of an HDR output image through a non-HDR compatible browser. This is achieved by converting the HDR image into the sRGB colourspace of the browser, simulating what the HDR output will resemble for the viewing audience “With the rise of HDR-ready TVs, viewers are becoming increasingly discerning in relation to image quality,” says Bridge Technologies’ Chairman Simen Frostad. “This presents a problem in the field of broadcast production because the ability to work with SDR and HDR in tandem - particularly in live or remote contexts - is both challenging and potentially expensive. It is this challenge that the most recent addition to the VB440 probe addresses. This is just one of a range of additions we are making to the VB440 - including JPEG XS monitoring and a range of audio monitoring tools.”

Cobalt Digital’s 9960-TG2-REF1 3G/HD/SD-SDI is a dual test signal generator with moving box active signal indication and bi-level/tri-level sync output. It is designed to ensure the validity of downstream baseband SDI systems. The 9960-TG2-REF1 is a high-density openGear-based card with two independent generator blocks. These can be set to offer dual test packages which can be output simultaneously or selectively fed to a single downstream path via a 2 x 4 output crosspoint. An SCTE 104 insertion function provides generation and insertion of messages into baseband SDI. Message send can be triggered from automation GPI or other event action modes. This function can also execute actions based on SCTE 104 messages received by the card, as well as send triggered SCTE 104 packets to other downstream systems. The card also provides 24 bit AES and analog audio test tones. Moving-box insertion can be enabled to serve as a dynamic raster confidence check. Either of two frame references can be used to provide an output that is synchronous with house reference, The card can also generate its own ref. An analog video output offers SD black burst or HD tri-level reference. Card settings can be saved. Single-button reversion to factory settings can also be applied. Layered presets allow changes related to a specific area of concern. Full user DashBoard or remote panel control allows full status and control access locally or across a standard Ethernet network. GPIO allows direct input routing control and status monitoring. The generator is also available in stand-alone form.

ATSC 3.0 analysis gets portable with DekTec’s new DTU-331 SDR receiver for USB 3 lets you analyze ATSC 3.0. DVB-T2 and various other digital TV standards from your laptop. The DTU-331 is the portable variant of DekTec’s SDR receiver for PCIe, the DTA-2131. Compared to the DTA-2131, the DTU-331 additionally supports satellite signals through a wider tuning range (VHF, UHF and L band) and a second high-bandwidth tuner. The advanced SDR technology used in the DTU-331 not only enables receiving a wide range of digital TV standards, but also advanced RF measurements such as constellation diagram and impulse response for measuring echo’s in the signal.

Phabrix’ V4.3 software release for its Qx and QxL hybrid IP/SDI rasterizers adds new extended formats including RGB SDI and ST 2110 IP standards support and a 2110 IP generation toolset. Also included, and available on the PHABRIX QxL rasterizer, is an IP signal generation toolset. Among new features are ST 2110-40 ANC generation with timecode, and auto video format detection with configurable auto/SDP/override. “With a new powerful ST 2110 IP generation toolset, and huge quantity of new SDI and IP standards supported, the Qx Series offers our customers a future-proof technology investment to stay ahead of the rapidly changing IP environment,” comments Chief Executive Officer Phillip Adams.

Rohde & Schwarz has added new IP-related multiviewer features to its Prismon broadcast channel monitoring and multiviewer. This provides any input to any output connectivity through IP proxy networks for up to 36 remote devices. “As broadcasters continue to increase channel numbers and distribution methods to consumers, they need technology that enables them to quickly adapt to everyday changes,” says Andreas Loges, Vice President of Media Technologies. “This new function provides an extraordinary level of flexibility by allowing you to offer any input signal, decoded on any Prismon within the IP network, to be displayed on any other Prismon output within that same network.”

Telestream’s Cloud Qualify is a cloud-native QC service based on the company’s Vidchecker and Aurora and optimized for cloud workflows. Telestream Cloud Qualify addresses incoming and well as outgoing content, including frame-by-frame video quality analysis before content is archived. The service offers a RESTful Open API for integrations into customers’ media supply chain workflows. The service supports ABR/IMF and HDR media formats as well as many other common video codecs and containers. “As more media workflows move to the cloud to take advantage of scalability and cost-effective SaaS solutions, it’s imperative to have a comprehensive QC strategy that resides where the media is being processed,” comments Tim MacGregor, Senior Director and Head of Strategy and Product Development, Telestream Cloud.

Triveni Digital’s StreamScope XM Dashboard software is designed to simplify network monitoring, analysis, and maintenance for ATSC 3.0 UHD broadcasting. It allows users to customise web-based displays containing real-time information from ATSC 3.0 IP and RF streams. “As NextGen TV deployments ramp up across the US, quality of service will be an important factor in their success,” said Ralph Bachofen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Triveni Digital. “StreamScope XM Dashboard brings simplicity and versatility to NextGen TV analysis and monitoring through early warning and proactive troubleshooting.”

Wohler’s all new 16 channel iAM-AUDIO PLUS is available in both 1U & 2U chassis and other than screen sizes, both models offer the same features and options. As standard they include multi-source touchscreens, 2 x SDI (3G, HD, SD) on BNC’s and analog. Options for additional signals include Ravenna, AES67 and Dante IP, and the audio essences of SMPTE ST-2110 and ST-2022-6 are available as are AES3 and MADI inputs.

A new option offers Hitless 2022-7 with the addition of their new AoIP card. Dolby processing is available as a processing option. The unit also includes loudness monitoring and phase metering. Four rotary knobs supplement the touch controls, providing access to volume, balance, and other control functions such as summing, soloing and muting. A front mounted USB port is provided for software updates. Multiple units on the same network can be updated, monitored and controlled via a browser-based user interface that supports fast configuration.

Worldcast Systems has introduced a new version of its Audemat DAB Probe. The instrument was already able to monitor remotely DAB and DAB + channels via 1 or 2 RF inputs whether transmitted on SFN or MFN networks. It is now enhanced with options that allow ETI and EDI input monitoring as well as a time reference via an integrated GPS or a 1PPS input.

“With this new version, the function to price ratio of the Audemat DAB Probe is even better than before,” comments Simon Daniels, Regional Sales Manager at WorldCast Systems. “Scalable and adaptable to different field applications, it provides comprehensive monitoring of the quality and continuity of services including on critical SFN applications.”

New features include monitoring and analysis of the EDI input and/or ETI input; ETI stream received over RF is available on the ETI output; Alignment with a reference clock received via the 1PPS input or via the on-board GPS.