Verification and compliance testing are critical to IPTV success
Oct 10, 2006 8:00 AM
Danny Wilson, Pixelmetrix president and CEO
Last month at IBC2006 in Amsterdam, Pixelmetrix unveiled an IPTV test stream generator to assist in the process of evaluation, compliance testing and verification of networks, monitoring and equipment analysis.
Dubbed the DVStorIP-Gen, the product allows broadcasters using IPTV delivery to verify that a specific transmission actually occurred.
IPTV Update caught up with company president and CEO Danny Wilson after the convention to discuss the role and importance of IPTV transmission verification.
IPTV Update: IPTV is a new, emerging distribution avenue for content providers like broadcasters. As IPTV subscriptions grow, how important will it be for broadcasters to automate verification that content is actually delivered? What are some of the challenges of acquiring and maintaining a verification record?
Danny Wilson: IPTV really has the same three parts as cable, satellite and terrestrial TV delivery platforms: a headend to acquire and package content, a transport network and final delivery. In the case of IPTV, the final delivery is IP protocol, usually over xDSL or fiber.
So far, IPTV operators have been overly focused on the mechanics of the IP network. Why not? With their data background, they are familiar and comfortable with the technology, so they focus in their comfort zone. This has been at the expense of adequate attention to the first part of the system: the headend to acquire and package the content.
So, the challenge for effective monitoring for IPTV operators is to observe the full length of the transmission chain: from content acquisition, departure from the headend, to a point of observation as close to the viewer as possible. The last point will most practically be at the DSLAM.
Content providers, or “broadcasters” as you suggest in your question, all have the same question: Is their content being delivered appropriately over each of the different delivery mechanisms? The burden of proof could fall upon the content provider himself, or on the transmission operator as part of their Service Level Agreement obligations.
For a content provider to validate that content is properly delivered to an end point — whether cable or IPTV — the most effective way is to actually subscribe to the service. End-point monitoring devices can be affixed to those end points, and the content providers themselves can make judgment upon the level of quality.
If the obligation falls on the transmission operator, the same end-point monitoring equipment can be deployed, except that the transmission operator usually then has to create monthly service quality reports to the content provider.
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