VQ108 Analyser IPTV

Operating manual
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owners.

Stand: 08/2007
Software-Version: 1.7.3.8
Table of contents

1 Instruction ...................................................................... 4
2 Functional range ................................................................ 5
3 Operation ........................................................................ 6
3.1 Overview ........................................................................................... 8
3.2 Transport Packets.............................................................................. 9
3.3 PCR Statistics .................................................................................. 11
3.4 Video ............................................................................................... 12
3.5 Audio ............................................................................................... 15
3.6 TR 101 290 ...................................................................................... 16
4 Performing an IPTV analysis ......................................... 18
4.1 Analyzing the transport stream with the VQ108 Analyser IPTV
software ................................................................................................... 19
4.2.1 An example of a measurement indicating good quality .......................... 21
4.1.1 An example of a measurement indicating bad quality............................ 24
1 Instruction
The VQ108 Analyser IPTV allows for the analysis of IPTV contents found in re-
corded data streams. The software considers DVB data streams sent via UDP or RTP.
A recording may contain several data streams. There are up to seven transport pack-
ets in a UDP or RTP packet. These individual packets are allocated, clearly marked,
and analyzed. Furthermore, all audio or video streams within the packets may be ex-
tracted and played. In this way the quality of transmissions can be determined in an
objective as well as in a subjective manner.

Please note:

• the recordings, which are meant to be analyzed, should not exceed a certain
length, because otherwise the analysis and display of the data might last a con-
siderable amount of time. We recommend a recording length of up to one min-
ute. However, the recording should not be shorter than twenty seconds.
• Since the software performs quite complicated and extensive operations, a fast
processor with a large memory should be used. We recommend a processor
with at least 2 GHz and a 1 GByte memory.
• The “IPTV” option is an additional feature of the VQ108 Analyser software
and must be activated before use.
• If the transport stream is transmitted via RTP, the VQ108 Analyser main
program can provide information and quality evaluations regarding the RTP
session. Use the “RTP” dialog as described in the VQ108 Analyser main
manual.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV -4-

2 Functional range
• detection and analysis of DVB transport streams
• analysis of transport streams via UDP and/or RTP
• analysis of RTP sessions for packet loss, jitter, delay etc.
• simultaneous analysis of several transport streams
• assignment of program names to multicast addresses
• generation of hierarchical tree diagrams showing program structures
• display of details concerning the structure of the program
• listing and graphic display of all occurring PIDs with core parameters such as:
o data rate
o packet rate
o quantity
o continuity errors
o CRC errors

• monitoring of periodicity in PAR, PMT, SDT and EIT tables

• display of bit rate diagrams for the entire recording period, the entire transport
stream, and single PIDs
• listing and graphic display of all transport packets in the transport stream
• detailed display of header information for every single transport packet
• detailed PCR (Program Clock Reference) statistics with graphic display of jitter
in relation to time and jitter distribution
• extensive analysis of all video streams within the transport stream:
o frame size
o number of I, P, and B frames
o frame rate
o frame diagram
o listing of frames with header information
o display of frame jitter
o video data may be saved separately

• analysis of audio streams within the transport stream:

o statistics
o listing of blocks
o block jitter
o jitter diagram
• quality analysis of transport streams according to ETSI TR 101 290 and listing
of errors / possibility to arrange errors in tables

VQ108 Analyser IPTV -5-

System requirements

• Minimum:
o PC with 2 GHz Taktfrequenz
o 1 GByte memory
o CD-ROM
o Windows XP
o 1 GByte of disk space
o powerful network adaptor
o min monitor resolution of 1024x768

3 Operation
The analysis can be carried out after the measurement process has been finished, or
after measurement data has been loaded or imported. Due to the extensive processor
load of the functions, the analysis cannot be conducted while recording.

Figure 3-1: Selecting the “IPTV analysis” option in VQ108 Analyser

After the “IPTV” button has been selected from the toolbar, every individual packet of
the recording is scanned for DVB transport streams. If the software cannot find any
transport streams, a message will appear. Otherwise, the IPTV dialog window will o-
pen automatically.

[2] [3]
[1]

Figure 3-2: IPTV dialog window

The “help” button opens this manual. The “ok” button closes the IPTV dialog.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV -6-

Due to switching processes or other reasons, transport packets may not be sent for
several seconds. This could tamper the results. For that reason, option [1] (analyze
only up to possible „intermission“) will only consider data gathered up to the intermis-
sion.

In order to start an analysis, one of the transport streams listed in [2] must be se-
lected. The Multicast-IP-Address, the port number, and the allocated sender are dis-
played. The analysis is started by selecting the „search“ button [3].
At this stage, the lower part of the main dialog also comes to life.

[1]
[2]

[3]
[7]

[4]

[5] [8]

[6]
Figure 3-3: “IPTV” analysis main dialog

[1] The “current transport stream” field shows the Multicast-IP-Address, the port
number, and the allocated sender of the analyzed transport steam. Further-
more, the duration of the session is displayed.

[2] There are five tabs, which can be used to display the different analysis win-
dows. These are thoroughly described in the following chapters.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV -7-

3.1 Overview

There are six windows offering an overview of general information with regards to the
analyzed transport streams. This information is depicted in tables, diagrams, and
trees.

[3] DVB tree The structure of the transport stream is depicted in a

hierarchical tree. It consists of tables (PAT, PMT, and
if applicable SDT, EIT, …) with a permanently allo-
cated PID (Packet Identification) and the elementary
streams (AUDIO, VIDEO, TEXT, …) with a dynamic
PID.
[4] Details According to the element marked in the DVB tree,
this window shows additional information about the
individual parts.
[5] PIDs This window lists all existing PIDs of the transport
stream. The respective number of transport packets
and the bit rate of the PIDs are displayed. Further-
more, the total number of transport packets and the
overall bandwidth of the transport stream are given.

[6] Bandwidth diagram This window provides a graphic representation (bar

diagrams) of the bit rates given in table [5].

[7] PID statistics This table list the number of continuity errors occur-
ring in the individual PIDs. Every transport packet of
a PID is numbered with four bits, i.e. from 0 up to 15.
Any deviations from this sequence indicate an error.
Furthermore, the transport packet rate is displayed in
this table.
The tables (PAT, PMT, …) are additionally saved with
the CRC method.
The number of inaccurate tables is displayed as well.

[8] Cycles There are rules for the tables (PAT, PMT, …) defining
the frequency of repetitions. In the case of PAT and
PMT these occur every 0,5s.
This table list the average interval between two ta-
bles as well as the minimum and maximum interval
between the tables.
A green marking indicates that everything is in order,
a yellow marking indicates that the maximum value
exceeds the reference value, and a red marking indi-
cates that the average value exceeds the reference
value.
The same applies to the PCRs (Programm Clock Ref-
erence), which are also shown in this table. The in-
terval between two PCRs must not exceed 40 ms.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV -8-

 3.2 Transport Packets

This overview list all transport packets of all PIDs in the transport stream. When choo-
sing this option for the first time after an analysis, the processing might take a while,
depending on the length of the transport stream, because in most cases numerous
transport packets have to be edited and displayed.

[1]

[5]

[2] [6]

[4]

[3]

Figure 3-4: „Transport P ackets“ dialog

[1] packet table This table list the most important header information
of the transport packets.

packet This column indicates, which UDP or

RTP packet the respective packet be-
longs to on the VQ108 Analyser
IPTV front page.

Sync Byte This can be regarded as the identifier

of the transport packets. It should
always be 0x47.

Transport Indicates transport errors.

Error Ind
Payl.U.S.Ind Start indication for new table or new
elementary stream packet (at 1).

Tr. Priority Priority of the transport stream.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV -9-

 PID Packet Identifier

Tr.Sc.Cond Indicates if packet is scrambled.

Ad. Field.Con Indicates if payload, adoption or even

both are present.

Cont. Count Numbers the single packets of a PID.

Payload Indicates the number of “usable

bytes” in the packet.

[2] Bytes of the trans- Displays the bytes of the above marked transport pa-
port packet (hexa- cket in hexadecimal values.
decimal)

[3] Bytes of the trans- Displays the bytes of the above marked transport pa-
port packet (char- cket as characters.
acters)

[4] Packet details Displays the decoded headers of the above marked
transport packet.

[5] Sort according to The content of the table [1] is sorted according to
PIDs PIDs.

[6] TP diagram Opens an additional window, which displays the arri-

val times of the individual transport packets graphi-
cally.

[1]

[2]

[3]
Figure 3-5: T ransport packet diagram

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 10 -

In the TP diagram (transport packet diagram) the single transport packets are repre-
sented as small, colored squares. The key below [2] allocates the colors to the differ-
ent PIDs. The x-axis of the diagram [1] represents the time and the y-axis represents
the transport packets. It is apparent that several packets arrive at the same time, be-
cause a UDP or RTP packet may contain up to seven transport packets. The buttons
[3] can be used to move the x-axis. Since the interarrival times of the UDP and RTP
packets can be quite small, the displayed sections never cover more than 10ms at
once.

3.3 PCR Statistics

The PCRs (Programm Clock Reference) play an important role in the synchroni-
zation of the transport stream. For that reason, these separate statistics can
be used to check the accuracy of the PCR arrival times.

[3]

[1]

[2]

[4]

[5]

[6]
Figure 3-6: PCR statistics dialog

First of all, the desired PCR must be selected [1], because there may be several pro-
grams in a transport stream (each of which needs a separate PCR for synchronizing).
The correlations between PCRs and programs can be seen in the DVB tree (PMTs) of
the “overview”. The “analyze” [2] button starts the analyzing process of the selected
PCRs.

The statistics field [3] provides information about the number of PCRs, the PCR rate,
and the maximum as well as the average PCR jitter.

The PCR jitter is the discrepancy between the calculated and the actual arrival time of
the PCR. The diagrams [4] display the jitter in a chronological way and also show the
distribution of jitter. The red lines represent the maximum permissible value of 500
ns.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 11 -

This table [6] shows all important information of all PCRs belonging to a program. This
information is the relative arrival time, the PCR itself, the difference between the con-
secutive PCRs, the interarrival time, the actual and the expected arrival time of the
PCRs, and the resulting PCR jitter.

If the “show deviations” option [5] is enagaged, all lines with a jitter exceeding 500 ns
are marked red. All lines with interarrival times exceeding 40 ms are marked yellow.

3.4 Video

The “video” tab provides an overview of the video stream belonging to a TV program.
If the video stream is encoded, some information and functions may not be available.

[1]

[3]
[2]
[9]

[7]
[5]
[6]
[4]
[8]

Figure 3-7: Video dialog

At the beginning a video elementary stream must be selected [1], because

there may be several programs and elementary streams in a program stream.
Furthermore, there is information about the PID of the elementary stream and
the video codec (z.B. MPEG2, H.264, …). The “analyze” button initiates the
analyzing process of the selected video elementary stream. If the video stream
is encoded, some information and functions may not be available.
The statistics field [2] provides information about the number of frames, the number
of I, P and B frames, the frame size, the number of bytes, and the maximum as well
as average frame jitter. If the video is encoded, the information about frame size and
I,P and B frames is not available.

This diagram [3] shows the chronological sequence of the single frames in a video.
Each column represents a frame. The color of a column denotes the type of frame. I-
Frames are represented by a red column, P-frames by a blue column, and B-frames

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 12 -

by a green column. The size of the column in relation to the y-axis is proportional to
the number of bytes of the frame. If the video is encoded, the diagram cannot be dis-
played.

This table [4] lists every frame of the elementary stream. The most important infor-
mation regarding frames are:
• stream ID
• length /actual length
• flags
• length of header
• frame type
• frame number
• PTS (Presentation Timestamp)
• DTS (Decoding Timestamp)
• Delta TS (discrepancy between consecutive time stamps)
• arrival time / expected arrival time
• jitter

The „TS-Quality“ button [9] open a diagram, which shows the quality of the transport-
stream in intervals of 5 seconds. The evaluating is shown procentual from 0-100%
(0%-> bad quality, 100% excellent quality). The following parameters will be con-
sider:
• Frame- Jitter
• PCR- Jitter
• Packet Loss
• Continuity Error
• Packet-Jitter
• Video-Codec

Figure 3-8: Transportstream quality

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 13 -

The „Video Function“ button [5] open the following dialog:

Figure 3-9: OutputVideo dialog

The button „Play Video“ open a separat window where the video of the Transport
Stream will be played if the video stream is not encoded. With the function „Create
AVI File“ the video stream can be saved as an uncompressed AVI24 (e.g. for objective
quality analysing according by PEVQ).

The “save video” function [6] decodes and saves the selected video data, so that the
video may be watched and evaluated in a subjective manner.

The “save complete TS” function [5] enables the user to extract a selected “pure”
transport stream from the recording. This may be necessary if the transport stream is
to be analyzed or viewed with another player or analyzing tool.

The term “frame jitter” refers to the discrepancy between the expected and the actual
arrival time of a frame. If the jitter exceeds the built-in jitter buffer of a system, the
video cannot be played without errors. The “graph” function [7] opens an additional
window, which shows the chronological sequence and the distribution of frame jitter.

Figure 3-10: Frame jitter dialog

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 14 -

3.5 Audio

TV broadcasts must transmit video as well as audio data. The audio overview shows
the audio elementary streams of the programs.

[1]
[4]

[2]

[3]

Figure 3-11: Audio dialog

This overview is similar to the video overview. At the beginning an audio ele-
mentary stream must be selected [1], because there may be several programs
and elementary streams in a program stream. Furthermore, there is informa-
tion about the PID of the elementary stream. The “analyze” button initiates the
analyzing process of the selected audio elementary stream.
The statistics field [2] provides information about the number of blocks, blocks per
second, the number of bytes, and the maximum as well as average frame jitter.

This table [3] has the same structure as the video overview. It shows the most impor-
tant information of every audio block.

The “graph” function [4] opens an additional window, which shows the chronological
sequence and the distribution of jitter.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 15 -

3.6 TR 101 290

This overview allows for an analysis of the transport stream according to the ETSI
specification TR 101 290. A detailed description of the single analysis points cannot be
provided at this stage. For further information consult the applicable specifications.

[5]

[4]

[1]

[3]
[2]

Figure 3-12: QoS analysis acc. to TR 101 290

After the dialog has been opened, the analysis script is generated automatically. After
a few seconds the results appear in the fields [1]. These are divided into three priori-
ties:

• First priority: necessary for decoding

• Second priority: recommended for continuous or periodic monitoring
• Third priority: application-related monitoring

A green check mark indicates that everything is in order. A red exclamation mark indi-
cates that the according point does not meet all requirements.

If one of the items is marked, all details related to this item are shown in field [2]. In
some cases there may be several subitems, which are listed separately. These items
are also allocated a green check or a red exclamation mark. If an item is erroneous,
the location of the error is in some cases specified in the next line. In such a case, the
line with the items can be marked and by selecting the “display in table” [3] button,
an according table is generated, which highlights all errors red.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 16 -

Parameters can be entered for some of the analysis points. The following window will
open when selecting the „user-defined“ button [4].

Figure 3-13: Dialog for entering user-defined parameters

The parameters can be altered within the limiting values given on the right-hand side.
The values may be saved and loaded. Furthermore, the default values can be re-
stored.
After the values have been changed and the parameter dialog has been closed by se-
lecting the “OK” button, the “start analyzing script” button [5] must be selected to
ensure that the modified parameters are taken into consideration during the analyzing
process.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 17 -

4 Performing an IPTV analysis
Quality losses might have the following effects:

- no frame at all; only frame fragments or interrupted complete/partial frames

- single frames are left out, the frame “freezes” or “jerks”
- frame delay or asynchronous video and audio
- blocking
- distorted, noisy or blurred frame; poor brightness and contrast
In order to be able to locate an error, it is essential to be familiar with the complete
layout from source to sink. As a reminder, the typical IPTV-architecture is shown be-
low. In this case, precedes the set top box.

I II III

VQ108 Analyser IPTV

Figure 4-1: Typical IPTV architecture

The architecture can be divided into three segments:

I editing The TV signals are received via broadband connections (cable,

satellite, for example) and are then demodulated, descram-
bled (if necessary), and decoded. They might even be en-
coded again, if the codecs of the received and distributed data
differ.

II network Features all components necessary for the reception and dis-
tribution of the data streams. These components are the
video server, the routers on the transmitting and receiving
side, and the transmission network.
III user On the user side there is the Set Top Box (STB), which de-
codes and edits the received data and finally forwards this
data to the TV set.

The measurements with the VQ108 Analyser IPTV Software are recorded at the
Ethernet interface, which is parallel to the input of the set top box. The recording
should last at least 20 second and should not exceed 1 minute. Recordings exceeding
one minute create extensive data volumes, which can cause rather time-consuming
analysis processes. Recordings shorter than 20 seconds might not produce represen-
tative data.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 18 -

While the measurement is in progress, the television frame (picture) should be wat-
ched closely. An analysis only makes sense, if there are quality losses during the re-
cording. After typical measurement data has been saved, the error/errors must be al-
located to one of the above mentioned segments (I, II, or III). This is accomplished in
three steps:
a) Watch the video recorded with the VQ108 Analyser IPTV software on the
measuring PC. If the quality is perfect, the error must be in segment III, i.e.
with the Set Top Box or TV set. In this case, the software tool cannot correct
the error. The TV set and/or the Set Top Box must be replaced.
b) If the quality of the recorded video is as poor as the replay on the TV set, the
VQ108 Analyser IPTV Software can help to trace the error step by step.
These procedures are described thoroughly in the following sub-chapter. If this
search locates any errors, these can certainly be found in segment II. In other
words – the quality losses arise from the network transmission.
b) If the above mentioned procedure does not detect any errors, the origin of the
errors must be in segment I, i.e. the errors must occur during editing.

4.1 Analyzing the transport stream with the VQ108 Analyser IPTV soft-
ware

Um einen DVB-Transportstrom hinsichtlich der Videoqualität zu analysieren, kann man

folgende Punkte betrachten:
I. bandwidth

A transport stream containing a SD video coded with H.264, requires a band-

width of approx 2,5 Mbit/s (audio and tables included). A transport stream with
HD video even requires a bandwidth of approx 9,5 Mbit/s. If the video signal is
overcompressed, the quality might deteriorate significantly, due to lossy codecs.
The overview of the IPTV analysis list the bandwidth of the entire transport
stream as well as the bandwidth of the single PIDs. The bandwidths should be
fairly constant, which can be checked with the bit rate diagram.
Furthermore, the VQ108 Analyser IPTV software can be used to make sure
that the required bandwidth is available. The statistics dialog features a diagram,
which shows the bit rate of the complete recording in relation to time. This analy-
sis can reveal if there are other applications running, which might constrain the
bandwidth needed for the video.

II. PCR- Jitter

In order to maintain synchronism between sender and receiver, there is the Pro-
gramm Clock Reference (PCR), which sends highly accurate synchronizing time
stamps at regular intervals. The periodicity of the PCR packets can be viewed in
the overview of the IPTV analysis. A PCR packet should be received at least
every 40 ms.
Furthermore, the discrepancy between the expected and the actual arrival time
of a PCR packet should be within a certain margin. The highly accurate PCR
works with a 27 MHZ oscillator, which will only tolerate a PCR jitter of up to 500
ns. This degree of accuracy can hardly be met by a best effort network. Experi-
ence shows that videos can still be played faultlessly when higher jitter rates are

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 19 -

 present. However, the PCR jitter should still be kept as low as possible. The PCR
statistics of the IPTV analysis show the PCR jitters in tables and graphically.

III. Packet loss

If transport packets are lost, delayed or arrive in the wrong order, this will reduce
the quality of video. In some cases, entire frames might not be shown. The over-
view of the IPTV extension lists all continuity errors. The color codes of the trans-
port packet table help to trace missing transport packets or those in wrong order
exactly.

Normally, the transport packets are sent with RTP packets (7 in a single RTP pa-
cket). In this case, the RTP session can be analyzed with the VQ108 Analyser
main program. The RTP statistics lists the RTP packets and the related packet jit-
ter as well as packet loss.

IV. compression

The relation of I, P and B frames in a transmission plays a decisive role for the
quality of a video. Only I frames transmit complete frames. P and B frames only
transmit the differences in relation to the previous and/or successive frame.
If I frames are only scarcely transmitted, the quality might suffer, especially
when it comes to changes of scene. Normally, every fortieth transferred frame
should be an I frame. Furthermore, a good encoding will ensure that the size
(number of bytes) of an I frame exceeds that of an p frame, which will in turn be
of greater size than a B frame. If that is not the case, the encoder does not work
efficiently. Another important point is the effective frame rate. This rate should
not be below 25 frames/s to ensure a video playback without jerking. The “video”
dialog of the IPTV analysis shows the chronological sequence of the frames. The
I, P and B frames are color coded. The height of the columns represents the size
of the frames.

V. Frame-Jitter

At a rate of 25 frames/s, a frame must be received every 40 ms. The frames are
buffered before they are shown. This will compensate for slight delays during re-
ception of single frames. However, if this jitter exceeds a certain margin, the
frame cannot be shown in time any more. This will result in frame losses, “freez-
ing” of the frame or “jerking”. For that reason, the “video” dialog of the IPTV
analysis shows the frame jitter for every single frame graphically and in tables.

VI. TR 101 290

The analysis of the transport stream according to the ETSI requirements is of

limited use for quality evaluations. Many issues, such as the strict verification of
the table periodicities, are simply exaggerated. Experience shows that in spite of
bad values, videos can still be played faultlessly. Furthermore, some tables are
not present in IPTV transport streams (CAT, NIT, SDT, RST und TDT). Other is-
sues, like the continuity check and PCR are important, but these can be read off
directly as described above. Experience also shows that the ETSI specification TR
101 290 is only of limited use for IPTV. The strict limitation of the PCR jitter to
500 ns, for example, cannot be met by IP networks.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 20 -

This listing represents only a fragment of the possibilities VQ108 Analyser IPTV
offer to analyze the quality of DVB transport streams. However, if all previously men-
tioned issues are checked thoroughly, the quality of the transmission can already be
evaluated in a fairly sufficient way. The following sub-chapter will provide plain exam-
ples of the described analyzing possibilities.

4.2 Measurement examples

The practical tests provided us with numerous measurement results of DVB transport
streams with various quality levels. These measurements will be analyzed as de-
scribed in the previous chapter.

4.2.1 An example of a measurement indicating good quality

The first measurement to be analyzed covered a period of 24 hours. The recorded

channel was the “ARD” (German public television). During the recording the video
quality on the TV screen was flawless. The playback of the recorded video stream on
the measuring PC produced the same result. These good results had to be confirmed
by the VQ108 Analyser IPTV software.

Bandwidth
The overview of the IPTV analysis shows that the bandwidth of
the entire transport stream is close to 3 Mbits/s. This value is
typical of SD videos (H.264 coded). An overcompression,
which would have negative effects on the quality, cannot be
detected.

This excerpt taken from the bit rate diagram

shows hardly any fluctuations. The bit rate is
fairy constant. A possible loss of quality is
unlikely.

The bit rate diagram in the statistics window of the VQ108

Analyser main application shows hardly any fluctuations as
well. The bit rates are in accordance with those of the transport
stream. Consequently, quality losses due to excessive data traf-
fic can be excluded.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 21 -

PCR- Jitter

The PCR statistics reveal an average PCR jitter of 5.4 ms, which is acceptable. As a
matter of fact, most values are above the required 500 ns, but, as we have already
explained, this will not have a significant effect on the quality.

Packet loss

The PID statistics do not show any continuity errors.

The RTP statistics of the VQ108 Analyser main
application do not show any packet loss and only little
jitter.
Once again, quality losses are not to be expected.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 22 -

Compression
The frame diagram shows tolerable gaps
between two I frames. Furthermore, the
characteristic order of frame types (I, B,
B, P, B, B, ...) is maintained. The
sequence numbers listed in the frame
table proof, that none of the frames are
left out. As expected, the frame rate is 25
frames/s. Quality losses are unlikely.

Frame- Jitter
The average frame jitter is 17 ms, which is
acceptable. Frame losses due to excessive
jitter are not to be expected. The diagram
shows some regular peaks resulting from
the transmission of relatively big I frames.
Quality losses are unlikely.

Conclusion
The analysis with the VQ108 Analyser IPTV software confirms the good video
quality. Possible problems could not be detected.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 23 -

4.1.1 An example of a measurement indicating bad quality
The second measurement lasted 28 seconds. The recorded channel was “arte”. During
the recording the video quality on the TV screen was extremely poor. Most of the time
there were only frame fragments or no frame at all.
The playback of the recorded video stream on the measuring PC produced the same
result. Consequently, a faulty Set Top Box or TV set could be excluded as a possible
error source.

The analysis with the VQ108 Analyser IPTV software produced the following re-
sults:

bandwidth:

The overview of the IPTV analysis shows that the bandwidth of

the entire transport stream is below 2 Mbits/s. A possible
reason could be an overcompression of the video, which would
have negative effects on the quality. Later on, however, it turns
out that the reduced bandwidth is due to the fact that transport
packets have not been received for several seconds.

This excerpt taken from the bit rate diagram

shows significant fluctuations of the transport
stream. Sometimes transport packets are not
received at all for the duration of a few
seconds. This fact could already be an
explanation for the bad quality.

The bit rate diagram in the statistics window of the VQ108

Analyser main application shows significant fluctuations
as well. The bit rates, however, are in accordance with
those of the transport stream. For that reason, quality
losses due to excessive data traffic can be excluded.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 24 -

PCR- Jitter:

The PCR statistics show a rather high average PCR jitter, which fluctuates signifi-
cantly. Furthermore, it is obvious that packets have not been received for several sec-
onds. Literally all values are above the required 500 ns.

Packet loss:

The PID statistics reveal that there are continuity errors in

all PIDs. This is an explanation for the reduced video
quality.
The transport packet table (not displayed) shows that
complete blocks of seven transport packets in the
transport stream are missing. This indicates that complete
RTP packets were not received..

The RTP statistics of the VQ108

Analyser main application proof that
complete RTP packets containing seven
transport packets are missing (see
sequence number).

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 25 -

Compression:
The frame diagram partially shows wide
gaps between two I frames. Furthermore,
the characteristic order of frame types (I,
B, B, P, B, B, ...) is not maintained at all
times. The sequence numbers listed in the
frame table proof, that complete frames
are left out.

Frame- Jitter:
The frame jitter diagram shows
fluctuations. It is clearly visible that
packets have not been received for
several seconds. The inevitable results
are frame losses. The average frame
jitter of 50 ms is definitely too large.

Conclusion:
The analysis with the VQ108 Analyser IPTV software confirms the bad video
quality. Complete RTP packets were not received and there are “interruptions” (peri-
ods in which not a single packet was received for several seconds). It is obvious that
the transmission problems are caused by the IP net.

Subject to alterations. Errors expected.

VQ108 Analyser IPTV - 26 -