Psytechnics, the global leader in voice and video quality assessment software, announced its strategic move into perceptual video quality assessment, with a series of products to be released in the third quarter of 2005. Based on Psytechnics' heritage in voice quality assessment, these tools are the first that utilize video broadcast standards developed to measure video quality. Carriers and service providers can now ensure their video services are delivered to the highest quality as perceived by customers.

Part of the Psytechnics family of Service Assessment Modules, the Psytechnics Video Agent (PVA) uses an intrusive method for assessing video quality, where a known video is sent through the equipment or network under test and the degraded signal is saved and compared to it. The Psytechnics Video IP Monitor (PVI) tracks IP packets to assess impact on video services delivered over them.

Psytechnics has dedicated the last five years to developing voice quality solutions, and now the company has applied the same methods to deliver its video solutions. The burgeoning market for video based services, such as IPTV and Video streaming, combined with new technology is driving the demand for video test and monitoring applications.

"After years of research, Psytechnics has developed a unique, reliable way for service providers and carriers to understand whether their customers are watching clear, crisp videos no matter how that video is being delivered," said John Winchester, Psytechnics CEO. "As carriers move to triple play -- voice, video and data -- to reduce operational cost and boost revenues, they still want to offer services that meet and exceed customer expectations. More digital video services are emerging, so Psytechnics' video products provide carriers the tools to determine if customers are receiving excellent video quality."

The PVA comes in two forms, Broadcast and Comms. The latter has been developed for lower bandwidth services and is the first-ever video quality assessment tool that is based on the ITU J.144 video standard for broadcast. Additionally, PVA measures the quality of video on a range of different devices from cell phones to large monitor screens, identifying the resolution of that video, regardless of the size. Psytechnics Video Agent is already in trials at major telecommunications providers and with test and measurement partners.

The Psytechnics Video IP Monitor (PVI) utilizes core knowledge from IP Monitor products built for voice, and PVI assesses IP packets that are carrying video. The way in which these packets are distributed over the network is critical to video service quality, therefore the modeling of the various network conditions is a large part of the product. The other major factor is the type of equipment utilized within the service. Psytechnics' technology enables calibration of all types of equipment and ensures a highly accurate assessment of quality.

Psytechnics will be demonstrating the Psytechnics Video Agent Modules at Supercomm, June 06 - 09, 2005, booth # 75079, McCormick Place, Chicago.