Video service providers today face many challenges - an ever-increasing volume of programs, complex video processing equipment, changing standards and formats, and multi-platform support - among others. Also, with improvements in video compression technologies and sophisticated viewership, video quality has become a key differentiator. For enterprise level monitoring, there are other considerations such as how well does the monitoring solution scale to accommodate growth opportunities and how cost-effective it is. To effectively address these challenges and to assure optimal QoE (Quality of Experience), headends need a sophisticated, comprehensive and economically optimal monitoring solution.
ORION is a reliable, 24x7 software platform, specifically designed for video headend monitoring. ORION’s thorough monitoring provides insight into each and every program, including where and what problems are present, so that corrective actions can be taken to minimize disruptions.
ORION's solution for headend monitoring include:
- Advanced video and audio quality checks
- HEVC 4K monitoring along with QoE
- Closed Captions, CALM compliance
- Ad Insertion/SCTE-35
- Central manager for network status aggregation, view and control
Headend monitoring with ORION
Advanced QoE monitoring
ORION employs Interra Systems industry-proven audio and video quality checks to assess the QoE of a video stream. ORION decodes hundreds of programs simultaneously to check for macroblocking, frozen video, audio levels, silence etc. to provide an accurate and reliable assessment of QoE.
Software-defined monitoring solution
ORION offers operators the flexibility to run monitoring solution on their IT-approved hardware platform. This software-defined approach can be further exploited to deploy monitoring in a virtual environment for operational scalability, flexibility, and efficiency.
ORION is an advanced, real time content monitor for VSPs, broadcasters, telco, and end-to-end video system providers. Its web-based architecture allows remote monitoring through any browser-enabled device providing visibility and status for ORION monitors deployed along the entire network. ORION monitors all aspects of video programs - errors, compliance, and quality for all popular industry standards, including HEVC and SCTE-35. With ORION, users are assured best-in-class error detection, video quality analysis, alerts, and reporting.
Virtualized monitoring with ORION
Closed Captioning technology, specifically developed for the deaf and hard of hearing, allows for a television program to display the audio portion of the program as text on the screen. Video service providers such as broadcasters and multichannel service operators are mandated by the FCC to comply with Closed Captioning rules. FCC requires that the Closed Captions be accurate, synchronous, complete, and properly placed for best viewing experience.
Programming delivered with accurate Closed Captions also contributes towards a better quality of experience for the viewers. However, taking care of this regulatory compliance can be a complex task for video service providers due to the fact that multiple video processing functions such as decode, transcode, multiplex etc. take place in a broadcast facility or video headends. A good monitoring solution needs to address the following to assure compliance for Closed Captions.
- Does it have the required feature set to troubleshoot Closed Captioning issues?
- Can users customize alarms and reports based on their corporate requirements?
- Does it maintain historic data along with thumbnails for proof of compliance?
- How well is it likely to respond to new updates in standards and regulations? What would that upgrade path look like?
Interra’s ORION content monitor makes it easy for operators to ensure that Closed Captions integrity is maintained throughout the video delivery chain.
ORION Closed Caption monitoring highlights:
- Real-time parsing, analysis and display of closed caption data on hundred of programs simultaneously
- Alarms generation and video capture for Closed Captions violations
- Real-time decode and display of video with Closed Captions text
- Comprehensive error reports for troubleshooting
- Logging of historical Closed Captions data along with thumbnails and text for verification and audit
ORION is an advanced, real time content monitor for VSPs, broadcasters, telco, and end-to-end video system providers. Its web-based architecture allows remote monitoring through any browser-enabled device providing visibility and status for ORION monitors deployed along the entire network. ORION monitors all aspects of video programs - errors, compliance, and quality for all popular industry standards, including H.264, HEVC and SCTE-35. With ORION, users are assured best-in-class error detection, video quality analysis, alerts, reporting, and compliance logging.
