Solutions

Advanced solutions to solve the challenges in today’s hybrid era

With the industry’s steady migration from traditional HD-SDI to IP and/or 12G-SDI infrastructures, broadcasters are now faced with the significant challenge of having to manage and monitor a wide array of new signal types in order to provide properly managed workflows.

The switch away from HD-SDI is not happening overnight and, indeed, is happening at different speeds in different parts of the world. Due to this rapidly evolving technology landscape, reliable and versatile test and measurement (T&M) solutions have never been more important

IP

With both the established SMPTE ST 2022-6, SMPTE 2022-7 and the SMPTE 2110 suite of standards, an entirely new level of test and measurement tools is required. ST 2110 based IP systems employ Precision Time Protocol (PTP) with multiple audio, video and ancillary data flows delivering highly complex interactions between edge devices and switches that you simply do not get with SDI systems.

HDR/WCG

The adoption of High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Color Gamut (WCG) content is accelerating for both 4K/UHD and HD applications. While offering more engaging and realistic viewing for audiences, HDR and WCG also bring additional challenges with respect to the management of video brightness and color space for broadcasters and technology manufacturers. To address these issues, an advanced set of visualization, analysis and monitoring tools is required for HDR and WCG enabled facilities, and to test video devices for compliance.

UHD

4K/UHD has led to a proliferation of new standards and formats, with delivery using quad-link 3G, dual link 6G or single link 12G signals. These higher bandwidth signals are more challenging to manage, and physical layer testing (Eye and Jitter) at facilities is especially important in view of the greater cable length sensitivity and unforgiving nature of these high-speed interfaces.

AV Delay

Although SDI feeds hold both video and audio data, this does not mean that the video and audio are automatically in-sync. Variously referred to as a lip sync error or AV delay, offsets can create a noticeable issue for the viewer. Understanding the AV delay through broadcast workflows is a priority. PHABRIX’s AV Delay Analysis option, available on the Sx and Rx Series offers an end-to-end solution for the measurement of audio to video differential delay through a broadcast chain.

Audio

The technical and subjective monitoring of audio is typically more involved than video. Audio workflows involve the production of many different packaged deliverables with many tens or hundreds of mic sources, dozens of stems, multiple mixes say for host and world feeds, multiple languages. Each PHABRIX instrument offers an exceptional audio analysis and monitoring toolset to help diagnose problems.

Physical Layer Testing

The use of high data rates for HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI, long cable lengths and the encoding methods now in common use has resulted in a data transfer that is susceptible to jitter that can corrupt data in a dramatic way. To manage and quantify this susceptibility, measurement techniques using eye pattern displays have become more and more important.