PRISM provides flexible options and field-installable upgrades to monitor a diverse variety of IP statistics as well as video and audio content. The comprehensive feature set, along with an intuitive and simplified graphical presentation of IP statistics, including video quality and diagnostic information, enables engineers to ensure the delivery of superior QoS levels in an increasingly complex broadcast environment involving compressed / uncompressed video transmission through SDI/IP signal paths. PRISM is an ideal solution for monitoring SDI/IP hybrid environments including master control rooms, production studios, OB vans, and signal contribution/distribution centers.
Identify the streams in a 10G Ethernet cable to set up the system properly
Engineers designing and evaluating a hybrid IP/SDI broadcast system face challenges in determining the status of the system they are building. While an SDI coax system typically carries one signal, a 10G Ethernet cable can carry multiple streams and it can be difficult to determine what content is carried on each of the streams within a IP based broadcast system.
PRISM offers the tools to quickly identify the streams in the 10G Ethernet link and the content in each stream. An IP Status display shows source IP address, source port, destination IP address, destination port, VLAN flag and protocol.
An engineer can determine the number of streams available on the link as well as the quality level of each stream. A selected stream can be decoded to picture display to let the engineer verify the content in the stream, and it also can be output through AUX SDI output with IP/SDI conversion for the extensive monitoring solution.
Monitor and verify PTP system setup to ensure genlock of equipment in the facility
In a hybrid IP/SDI broadcast system, a variety of reference signals may be used to synchronize equipment within the facility. Traditionally, black burst (BB) or tri-level sync (TLS) references have been used for this purpose. For IP networks, PTP (IEEE1588) is used for system synchronization.
PTP uses the Best Master Clock Algorithm (BMCA) to choose the grandmaster to which all PTP devices will synchronize, and to choose the mechanism to convey the time stamps generated at the source of event message for Master/Slave unit synchronization and the other mechanisms required for accurate synchronization, higher system robustness and further flexibility in the PTP system integration. However, those mechanisms work as designed only when engineers have set up the system correctly.
PRISM allows the user to interpret the metadata of the PTP packet information within the Management Message to let the engineer ensure the setting of the PTP system is right.
Monitor the quality level to keep the facility on air
The asynchronous nature of an IP system can produce a wide variety of bandwidth usage; in extreme cases this can result in the loss of packets. Therefore it is important to be able to monitor the network traffic and engineers need tools to evaluate packet loss.
PRISM provides a Packet Interarrival Time (PIT) histogram and trend graph as well as the trend graph of Time Stamped Delay Factor (TS-DF) standardized in EBU-TECH 3337 to help engineers determine how the packet interarrival time from a sender is affected in the system. These measurements can help engineers determine the root cause from the trend graph and the event log when packet loss has occurred.
Debug a hybrid IP/SDI broadcast system to isolate the root cause
Engineers debugging a hybrid IP/SDI system first need to isolate the root cause of the error to find whether the error is in the IP layer or in the content layer. Details of the error can then be determined by examining the identified layer. PRISM offers error detection feature sets in both the IP and content layers using an Event Log status display.
The graphical displays show the error trend correlated to historical data. In these displays, the errors detected in both IP and content layers are time correlated, which allows the engineer to verify the error in the IP or content layer. For example, if an error is detected in the content layer but not in the IP layer, then the error may have happened before the content was wrapped by the IP headers.
Monitor the quality of content with familiar feature sets
In any broadcasting system, ensuring the quality of Video, Audio and Data is the most important task for broadcast engineers. The Picture display, waveform display, audio display and video session display are available for the engineers who need the familiar feature sets to instantly check the quality of content.
Operate PRISM remotely to provide immediate facility assistance
Within a hybrid IP/SDI facility, there are a wide variety of tasks an engineer needs to perform to troubleshoot issues. One such task is to quickly provide assistance to an operator to help meet a deadline for production or to keep the facility on-air. The remote control feature in PRISM allows the engineer to remotely access the unit with a Web browser application running on a PC or tablet computer. This allows the engineer to immediately provide assistance by starting to diagnose the problem from their desk, minimizing down time, and helping to isolate the cause of the problem.