MPEG contribution systems

The design of contribution systems requires the participation of professionals with extensive experience in integration and the correct selection of materials and equipment, and qualified suppliers, so that the results are as expected. For this, the intervention of companies that offer solutions that allow to reach the real needs of users and customers is required.

Activities such as DBS, digital terrestrial transmission, digital cable television services and digital contribution links are different operations that require different solutions. For this reason, it is necessary to take the heart of the equipment of a digital compression system and integrate them with the services and products of those suppliers that can best fit the criteria of their offer of digital video services. These products must conform to international standards.

To tackle this task, it's a good idea to look for an open solution that incorporates a wide selection of system elements from industry-leading companies around the world. This will give you the freedom to choose those components that supply you with the best cost-benefit ratio for your specific applications. This approach will allow you to optimize your equipment investments while ensuring network integrity and efficiency in the utilization of available bandwidth.

Harmonic Digital Video is a company dedicated to offering this type of solutions. Their goal is to work with selected partners to provide the best possible integrated solutions. In the area of distribution and contribution systems, this company works with its partner Wegener to offer a sophisticated conditional access and control system based on the Compel Control and CA solution of the latter house.

The components offered by Harmonic as a solution for these operations are:

By using statistical multiplezing technology and the optional ClearMotion noise reduction system, it offers high quality video compression, while maximizing the number of channels that can be restricted within a transponder:

For this, Harmonic offers a broad line of encoders adjusted to industry standards, which have the ability to deliver high-performance features. Similarly, by applying algorithms for the preprocessing of the noise reduction signal and algorithms for coding, they produce the best possible quality of video and audio at the lowest data rates. This family of encoders comes from DiviCom, a company recently acquired by Harmonic.

This equipment takes the encoded video streams and carries them to fulfill the following functions:

- Scrambling: Working together with CAS conditional access systems, the MediaNodeMN20 can "mix" or "clutter" video information so that only authorized users can receive this service.

- Information injection: The MN20 works with a wide range of products that allow information to be added to transport flows.

- Multiplezing: The MN20 takes several streams of information and multiplexes them into just one of them.

THESYS is a flexible modular design solution for the use of software packages that offer control, configuration options and automated redundancy of both Harmonic and third-party components.

It is an integrated solution of tools for the administration of digital open television systems. Based on a scalable solution, network management software applications communicate with users to provide access to the technical capabilities of network components.

* CAS System: Harmonic offers the ability to select the most appropriate CAS system for your needs, even if it is a DVB conditional access system or the Weneger Compel CA system.

An alternative in the selection of a conditional access system, set-top-boxes and compression systems is Simulcrypt. It is a system that uses standardized user interfaces and allows multiple conditional access operations inside the header.

For distribution and contribution operations it is very important to have specialized equipment in the design for the measurement, monitoring and control of MPEG information flows. Tektronix offers two solutions to meet these specific needs.

The PQM300 Tektronix QoS (Quality of Service) multichannel monitor is a real-time monitoring solution that permanently reviews video signals to detect video quality issues critical to the process of distributing compressed digital video information. This solution also offers available bandwidth management so that video content providers can offer their users the best possible video while continuing to protect and generate more revenue for their services.

The PQM300 has the ability to simultaneously monitor up to eight channels on a computer that occupies the space of a single support unit. However, multiple units can be installed and networked to monitor a wide number of channels.

Tektronix MTM300 is a solution for monitoring MPEG compressed digital video. This series of monitors offers a monitoring protocol for MPEG streams and time and information analysis for television signal broadcasters or for operators of video, audio or data distribution networks in MPEG-2 formats, including DVB standards, ATSC and ISDB. The MTM300 product family can monitor up to eight transport flows in a single chassis. It allows, like the QoS PQM300 multichannel monitor, the network installation of multiple units for the control of a large number of channels. The MTM300 allows users the monitoring capabilities needed to quickly detect and diagnose problems and adapt systems to ensure optimal efficiency.

The monitoring possibilities of this unit include the tests defined under the DVB TR 101 290 standard for the identification of problems in the synchronization information, decoding and system information. Using Tektronix PCR Jitter's exclusive resource and speed measurements, it is possible for users to identify and repair the most challenging timimg problems.

Modular customizable inputs and outputs in both ASI and SMPTE 301M formats allow users to use, to measure, MTM300 products for the best management of their needs. In the same way, it allows an easy update of the systems as long as the control requirements of the systems change.

Designed for engineers working in service operations and installation of compression equipment, this solution provides instant real-time analysis as well as recording analysis of offline transport flows. Scream Grabber works on portable personal computers in which the state of the information is offered in graphic form.

The result is simple in field diagnosis and quality assurance. An easy-to-use interface delivers full control from the lap top and clear feedback in the form of graphical and real-time displays. It's light enough to take anywhere.

Scream Grabber allows field engineers to capture transport flows for field analysis or for submission to research and development engineers for future testing.

It is a solution ready to operate at any time at bit rates up to 90Mbit/s, an average under which you can record up to 30 seconds of the transport flow.