Key broadcast and video T&M vendors have announced their plans for the upcoming IBC2017. There is no better way to stay ahead of problems than to use the latest T&M and monitoring technologies. Here is a preview of the test and measurement technology to be featured at IBC 2017. This article is based on information received by The Broadcast Bridge as of August 6, 2017. We will provide additional information as it becomes available. 

Interra Systems will showcase hybrid capabilities for its BATON QC solution at IBC2017. BATON QC is the company’s enterprise-class, end-to-end solution that enables the delivery of flawless video on every device, in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.

New features include exhaustive QC checks, ABR stream validation, real-time QoE measurements, live content monitoring, and deep-dive compressed stream analysis.

The BATON hybrid QC solution includes a unified hybrid QC platform that implements organizational QC policy to support a combination of automated and manual QC checks. It offers  wide support for new codecs and formats. Baton offers HDR quality checks, data verification checks, PSE correction and black frame removal.

Any non-conformance with the specified loudness restriction is reported as an error and can be instantly corrected via the BATON Content Corrector (BCC), a complementary loudness correction application.

Interra Systems will also demonstrate its BATON+ QC and analysis solution. New data analysis features for BATON+ allow users to effectively track trends and anomalies in the media content, optimizing decision-making and QC operations.

The company will demonstrate new additions to its ORION monitoring solutions family. ORION-OTT is one of the industry's first software-based OTT solutions for real-time monitoring of adaptive bitrate (ABR) content for multiscreen service delivery over unmanaged networks. ORION offers new performance improvements in terms of number of services that can be monitored on a single machine and performance scaling on multi-CPU systems.

ORION-OTT's user interface has been enhanced to improve usability. The system now offers wider support for ABR content and DRM, while providing extended monitoring features and checks. New support for Microsoft Smooth Streaming; Dolby AC3/EAC3; HEVC; WebVTT, TTML captions, and more will be showcased.

Also being demonstrated will be the company’s VEGA media analysis solution for standards compliance, debug, and interoperability of encoded streams. Recent updates to the VEGA family include in-depth analysis of ABR formats; support for Windows 10; the latest HEVC HM reference code; HEVC interlaced streams; VP9 streams (4:2:2, 4:4:4); PCAP streams; Dolby AC-4 audio; and AVS Plus video.

Leader Instruments will showcase its Independent Extended Display for LV5490 4K/UHD/HD Waveform Monitor. The Independent Extended Display is being added as standard feature for all new LV5490 instruments and can be incorporated as a software upgrade to existing units.

This major refinement to the LV5490 4K/HD/HD waveform monitor expands its multiscreen capability. Previously able to show up to four simultaneous test displays, the LV5490 can now present up to 15 user-selectable graphic or data-group elements on its front-panel monitor and via the external monitor output.

The LV5490 provides all the facilities required to implement the full potential of high dynamic range in both ultra-high-definition and high-definition. Signal displays such as video waveform, chroma levels, colour vectors, bar-graphs, noise, video patterns, quad-3G phase, data tables, camera picture output, color chart, multichannel audio levels and surround-sound vectors can be freely integrated into a combined display. If a specific displayed element requires detailed attention, it can be selected quickly for viewing at higher resolution or full-screen.

Also making its IBC debut will be the LV5490SER10 direct-digital 4K noise measurement processing option. Measurement of noise in luminance or RGB component chroma channels can be performed in all formats that can be interfaced to the LV5490: IP/12G/3G/UHD/HD/SD. Data obtained from the SDI source is converted directly without intermediate analog processing, allowing highly accurate and highly stable measurement.

While the industry is embracing the challenges of transitioning to next generation technologies and workflows, Tektronix will showcase its end-to-end solutions that ensure content quality, signal integrity, and regulatory compliance.

"There's never been a time like this in the broadcast industry with so many fundamental changes in technology and workflows coming together at the same time," said Charlie Dunn, general manager, Video Product Line, Tektronix.

Tektronix will demonstrate Live IP production real-time monitoring and analysis of IP streams and the associated content with new PRISM IP capabilities. They enable early identification and diagnosis of network or content issues including intermittent loss of video, audio, or data content. Features include analysis of PTP synchronization timing, support for SMPTE ST 2022-7 redundancy and SMPTE ST 2110, IGMP V3 and new API support for easy system integration into network management systems, and IP stream capture for deep dive analysis.

Tektronix will be introducing a new suite of 4K HDR features on the PRISM platform that enables high quality live production by ensuring consistent look of images in mixed and multi-camera HDR and SDR environments using different color spaces (BT.709 and BT.2020). Also to be introduced at IBC is the new single link 12G-SDI interface on PRISM including Eye pattern display capabilities.

The WFM8000 series 4K HDR waveform monitors that has become the go-to tool for high quality 4K HDR color grading or correction in post-production workflow will also be showcased in the Tektronix stand.

The company will also demonstrate Sentry's OTT streaming solutions providing real-time visibility and quality of experience measurements. The software solution can decrypt the content and interface with different DRM systems to provide monitoring and diagnostics for live streaming at key locations, including AWS Media, virtual private networks, and CDNs. Tektronix Sentry provides visibility of operational performance across the whole broadcast network at regional and national levels.

Tektronix will also show how it’s Aurora file-based QC solution can verify the correct encoding for all profiles, and ensure the packaging is error-free and perfectly aligned for a flawless viewing experience. Aurora offers perceptual video quality tests to reveal any encoding issues and its EBR and IDR alignment feature tests for seamless transitions between different representations.

Telestream will show its upgraded Vidchecker 7.2 in its stand. Telestream recently announced the integration of Netflix Photon Java code for easy compliance testing within the latest version of Telestream’s Vidchecker automated quality control system. Photon is the open source java code provided by Netflix for parsing, interpreting and validating constituent files that make an Interoperable Master Package (IMP) of content for submission to Netflix.

Vidchecker 7.2 significantly simplifies and speeds compliance testing for all Netflix submissions. Contributors can test for proper IMF packaging using the automated QC capabilities central to Vidchecker, including the automatic creation of easy-to-read output reports.

The development of this new functionality within Telestream Vidchecker is driven by the search for increased efficiency and automation within file-based workflows. With Vidchecker 7.2, report data can be used in decision-making programs within Telestream Vantage workflows. Vidchecker now provides sophisticated workflow enhancement capabilities including HDR QC testing as a standard feature.

Video Clarity and PacketStorm Communications will demonstrate how manufacturers and program service providers can apply a comprehensive test system for the new SMPTE suite of standards for Professional Media over IP Networks (SMPTE ST 2110). The ST 2110 suite of standards (-10, -20, -21, -30, and -40) is currently in the final draft stage.

In the demonstration, IP transport technology will come courtesy of Macnica Technology, PacketStorm Communications will provide the IP network emulation to simulate actual network and media over IP analysis conditions to measure flow characteristics to ST 2110 based on ST 2110-21. Video Clarity's RTM real-time monitor will provide the source video playout and test the source against the network output.

The demonstration will take place in the Video Clarity exhibit and will feature a fully operational interactive demonstration of IP network transport, IP network emulation, media flow analysis, quality and performance testing for uncompressed video, audio, and ancillary data.

Video Clarity will also demonstrate ClearView IP, the newest member of its ClearView line of video quality analyzers. Designed for broadcast-product manufacturers and programmers to use in their test labs, ClearView IP plays or records up to two channels of uncompressed video from a high-capacity testing server into a SMPTE-compliant network.

Making its European debut at IBC2017 will be the ClearView Venue Player, a video server that automatically plays multiple uncompressed segments of content to multiple screens in precise timing and sequence.

Visitors to Video Clarity's IBC stand will see two new software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings for broadcasters and content owners that deliver video through the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) platform. Video Clarity's ClearView video quality analyzer and RTM real-time monitor are now available as an addition to AWS EC2 cloud subscription services.