Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, announced the addition of the IP/GigE Option to the MTM400 MPEG Transport Stream Monitor. The IP/GigE Option is designed to help simplify and strengthen network monitoring by allowing network engineers to view Multi or Single Program Transport Streams over Gigabit Ethernet networks, identify signal degradation issues and easily correct problems. By monitoring the quality of their broadcast video at any network access point, from the core of the IP network to the RF edge, broadcasters and network operators can improve network performance and deliver superior quality of service to their customers.

Gigabit Ethernet has become a key long haul backbone technology for distribution of digital TV broadcasts as a result of advanced video and audio compression technologies that make it more efficient to package high quality media for delivery via IP. Network operators and broadcasters see an opportunity to leverage existing telecommunications and Internet infrastructure but the opportunity is accompanied by the risks associated with delivering time sensitive payload in a non-deterministic environment. The new IP/GigE Option for the MTM400 provides 24/7 high reliability and real time monitoring which helps to ensure that broadcast content arrives at the right place and at the right time.

In this highly competitive market network operators and broadcasters are working to create differentiation in the market in a variety of ways, most notably in improving the overall quality of service delivered to their customers. This new addition to the MTM400 family offers the broadest level of connectivity and deepest analysis capabilities in the industry resulting in the highest performance TS monitoring solution for broadcast video carried over IP trunking and IPTV applications.

"Our customers are focused on improving the quality of service that they deliver to their customers and this addition to the MTM400 family helps give them a more complete picture of their entire broadcast and distribution network," said Todd Biddle, Vice President, Video Product Line, Tektronix. "The MTM400 with the IP/GigE Option gives our customers the ability to monitor, isolate and troubleshoot a variety of complex and potentially costly network problems. Our goal is to help our customers maximize network up time and improve the overall quality of their services."

The MTM400 now enables remote monitoring for video quality over an IP network with integrated IP metrics and comprehensive MPEG tests, allowing a user to quickly relate the source of MPEG errors to the IP traffic. In addition to session bit rates and IP packet error status, the MTM400 IP layer measurements include Total Traffic Bit Rate, Instantaneous TS rate, Errored Packets, Dropped Packets, Out of order Packets, and Packet Inter Arrival Timing (PIT). Dual threshold alarms, and a time correlated IP and MPEG error log enable rapid fault resolution and provide pre-warning and trend analysis to indicate imminent MPEG TS failure.

Diagnostic monitoring options provide more in-depth analysis of the MPEG transport stream including recording capability, PSI/SI/PSIP/ARIB analysis, and unique user-defined template tests to ensure that the right content is delivered to the right place at the right time. Additionally, RF confidence monitoring interfaces including COFDM, 8VSB, Turbo 8PSK, QPSK (L Band), and QAM allow the MTM400 to receive RF inputs and display key RF monitoring parameters including MER, BER, and constellation displays before demodulating the signal to provide measurements on the health of the Transport Stream. Deployed at key network nodes, the MTM400 equipped as a diagnostic monitor enables the cause of faults to be quickly identified, isolated and resolved.