Features & Benefits

• Audio and Video Quality of Experience Scoring System
• Audio Silence and Audio-level Issue Detection
• Detect Black Video, Frozen Video, Tiling/Macroblocking
• Perceptual Video Quality (eMOS)
• Triggered Alert Stream Captures
• Historical Reporting and Graphing
• Transport Stream Bandwidth Graphing
• Program Group Bandwidth Graphing
• Carousel Monitoring (SA-BFS, DSM-CC, tru2way™)
• Digital Program Insertion
• 24/7 Real-time QoE Monitoring of Entire Channel Lineup
• Detect Intermittent Problems
• Alert Notification and Historical Reporting
• Error Second and Program Availability Reporting

Applications

• Audio and Video Quality of Experience Scoring System
• IP Network Impairment Analysis
• Alert Filtering and Resolution Tracking
• Carousel Monitoring (SA-BFS, DSM-CC, tru2way™)
• Digital Program Insertion Monitoring
• EBIF Monitoring
• Program Statistics and Availability Reporting

Sentry® is a comprehensive digital-content monitoring solution for advanced video networks. It enables video service providers to deliver services with optimum quality while reducing operational expenditures.

Sentry identifies anomalies in the network at the IP and MPEG layers, as well as in Quality of Experience (QoE), identifying issues including frozen video, tiling/macroblocking, black screen, and audio disruptions or audio-level issues, which represent the bulk of trouble calls from subscribers.

In addition, Sentry includes a video artifact measurement and detection capability. This makes Sentry the only solution that detects video and audio errors in digital programs while generating metrics that correlate to Mean Opinion Scores (MOS).

The multithreshold-based alerting capability enables a flexible alert configuration. Sentry uses this approach for alerting, because it is effective in detecting problems in their developing stages before a subscriber's experience is impacted. This capability, combined with detailed root-cause troubleshooting information appended in the actual alert, allows engineers to resolve problems quickly and often before subscribers experience any quality deterioration or outage.

Detection and alerting of a subscriber-impacting issue is only part of the monitoring functions of Sentry. Analysis tools coupled with historical data give service providers the ability to resolve complex and intermittent problems quickly. Advanced reporting capabilities give operators the ability to generate reports that quickly identify the top offending programs or locations. Trending reports quantify improvements made over time. Lastly, reports can be automatically generated and forwarded by e-mail for an accurate and timely assessment of the quality of every program.

Software Options

AD INSERTION (DPI)

Digital ad insertion technology allows multichannel service providers to offer advertisers market segmentation that broadcast networks cannot. Maximizing this advantage requires integrating a complex system of ad insertion technology into an existing network. Today, an average of 2% of digital advertisements fail to air or air incorrectly due to scheduling, insertion, and other errors. In addition, advertisements often suffer the same audio and video quality issues that plague regular programming. As a result, monitoring and auditing capabilities are critical to successful ad delivery. The Sentry suite of products provides the most complete digital ad insertion monitoring solution by combining real-time monitoring and alerting with historical auditing across the entire channel lineup in all advertising zones. The Sentry product line delivers extensive data that improves digital ad insertion on any platform, allowing engineering teams to ensure proper function of insertion technology by identifying and correcting system errors when they occur. In addition, the ad insertion verification capability allows ad sales groups to provide higher levels of customer service, resulting in greater revenue potential. Using the web-based interface you can monitor digital ad insertion across your entire network. By strategically placing Sentry or Sentry Verify in each of your ad zones, you can monitor and be alerted on all insertion opportunities network-wide, as well as issues that arise from problems.

CAROUSELS TRU2WAY / OCAP/MHP / DSM-CC

The OCAP Monitor is a tool for monitoring tru2way™/OCAP carousels. Digital set-top boxes receive continuous delivery of applications and data from the headend or uplink center. These data and applications are critical for normal set-top box function and service delivery. With the advent of tru2way™ (OCAP) and other carousels, multichannel service providers are introducing a vast array of complex, interactive services to their subscriber base. Monitoring the carousel activity is essential to ensuring the quality and consistency of experience for subscribers. Sentry supplies detailed reports of carousel performance and activity based on their real-time behavior and data output. Service providers are able to identify the root cause of errors and make necessary changes to eliminate issues and guarantee rapid application deployment. The reports show detailed source and file structures and carousel changes in real time while observing streaming metrics such as cycle time, bandwidth utilization, and stream packet continuity. Real-time alerting notifies users of critical situations, enabling them to resolve issues such as outages, cycle-time fluctuations, and unauthorized changes.

EBIF MONITORING

Interactive applications and associated advertising allow you to deliver enhanced capabilities to your subscribers and is a way to monetize advanced digital services in a broad range of digital set-top boxes. eTV content consisting of the applications and metadata is, however, prone to errors during transport, rate-shaping, and muxing. Old video-over-IP metrics such as MDI and Continuity Counter (CC) errors are incapable of detecting any content errors, especially with eTV. The EBIF/eTV monitoring solution breaks down and reports on eTV application data and critical signaling information, so service providers can be assured they are delivering the best possible quality of experience for their subscribers. In addition, a 60-day application-level historical report (available by service and by location) provides critical trending information about eTV delivery. Tailored alerting and dashboards provide proactive eTV monitoring and fast troubleshooting.

SA-BFS MONITORING

Sentry is designed to identify and monitor data carousels within the transport, which enables it to keep detailed information about the real-time and historical status of the Scientific-Atlanta Broadcast Files System (BFS). Similar to the way other application carousels (tru2way, DSM-CC, etc) are monitored, Sentry is able to provide critical information about the status of BFS carousels. Multichannel service providers can set alerts to be notified of bit rate errors, file changes, file cycle times, and if files are missing.