Mividi Remote STB Monitor - RSM300

Network-wide QoE Monitoring

Video service providers normally monitor the quality of video services (QoS) in head-ends before being transmitted to the customers. It’s necessary that video sources are in good quality, but quality issues may arise in video transmission to the end-customers. Therefore, good QoS does not guarantee services received by the customers are also in good quality. The quality of experience (QoE) directly measures video quality received by the customers, and it is important for service providers to know it.

The QoE measurement of video services should be done in the customer end. The video signals in cable and IPTV services are normally scrambled and customers normally watch video via STBs. In order to monitor QoS, the output signal from the STBs will be checked for errors and service issues.

The Mividi STB monitor will check the video quality directly from the output of STBs where customers are located. Multiple STB monitors can be deployed in various locations to monitor signals in different regions. Each STB monitor can connect up to 8 STBs to monitor multiple video channels. These STB monitors are connected to the Internet or service provider's network and return video streams back to the head-end or NOC. To provide an easy way to monitor the return video signal in NOC and save bandwidth, the STB monitor software will combine multiple programs in multiview display and capture and encoded the multiview stream so that technicians in remote a head-end or NOC can see. This multiview display is streamed as a low bit HLS so it can be easily played and viewed in a standard web browser.

To manage the Mividi STB monitors, a central web server will be used in the head-end/NOC. The central web server provides a single access point for users in different locations. Multiple remote users can log on to the central web server and see video streamed back from different STB monitors.

When video and audio errors are detected, the STB monitor can automatically send error alarms to operators via email or text messages, an also push the alarm messages to the central web server. The central web server will collect and display error alarms from different STB monitors next to the remote multiviewer video. An error query page to each STB monitor is also provided.

The central web server provides basic user management functions including different user roles.

Error Alarms and Logs

The STB Probe can detect the following errors:

• No signal on a channel
• Video black frames or frozen frames
• Silent audio or audio loudness errors

If the software detects a video or audio error, an alarm can be triggered. The STB monitor provides multiple ways of sending error alarms, including visual display on the multiviewer, email, SMS, and audio sound.

All errors and alarms are logged in the database and can be reviewed at a later time. Alarms can be exported to Excel files.