Ethernet Tester tests IPTV quality at residential gateway.
Share:
Press Release Summary:
FrameScope Pro is available with software option that facilitates deployment and troubleshooting of IPTV services, validating network integrity and transport QoS. Suited for technicians of telecom service providers that deploy Ethernet-based video, handheld unit can analyze network and service conditions at residential gateway. It acquires statistics of MPEG-2 transport stream issues, measures Media Delivery Index (MDI), and analyzes service transactions.
Original Press Release:
Agilent Technologies' New Software Enables IPTV Service Quality Tests at the Residential Gateway
BERLIN, 2007 Broadband World Forum, Booth 9027, Oct. 8, 2007 -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced a new software option for its handheld Ethernet performance tester, FrameScope Pro. The new option simplifies the deployment and troubleshooting of IPTV services and enables service quality tests at the residential gateway.
Validating network integrity and transport quality of service are critical to ensuring a high quality of experience to new video-service subscribers. Technicians of telecom service providers who deploy Ethernet-based video need appropriate tools to analyze the network and service conditions at a residential gateway. Visual and aural inspections of the delivered content are less reliable methods to detect marginal network conditions; analysis of the transport stream and service transactions can reveal undesired network behavior before artifacts and drop-outs become visible and audible.
With the new option for FrameScope Pro, service technicians can connect to the residential gateway and acquire statistics of MPEG-2 transport stream issues such as loss of synchronization and continuity and transport errors. Measuring the Media Delivery Index (MDI) and analyzing service transactions like channel changes provide metrics that closely relate to the subscriber's quality of experience.
A customizable, three-stage scoring scheme allows service groups to implement commonly agreed acceptance levels for all relevant quality metrics; marginal or unacceptable parameters are highlighted automatically. This simplifies the deployment process, and lets technicians interpret test results faster and with less technical training. The FrameScope Pro's built-in remote control allows expert users to remotely assist service technicians through Web access.
With the new software option, FrameScope Pro supports both IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) and RTSP (Real-time Streaming Protocol) to control the IPTV channel setup, which enables test of multicast video streaming as well as of RTSP-based Video on Demand streams.
Transport quality metrics derived from the sequence and timestamp information in the RTP header include packet count, packet loss ratio and packet jitter. MPEG-2 transport streams carrying MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 multicast video are measured for ETSI TR 101 290 parameters and Media Delivery Index, as defined by RFC 4445. In addition to transport-quality metrics, the FrameScope Pro also measures average throughput, and key service transaction parameters such as IGMP join/ leave latency and channel-zapping time.
"Telecom service providers in Europe just started the mass deployment of video over IP services," said Alois Hauk, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Photonics and Network Test Division. "With the new MPEG-2 transport stream analysis for FrameScope Pro, service technicians are now optimally equipped to verify and troubleshoot the delivery of IPTV and Video on Demand services."
The FrameScope Pro handheld Ethernet performance analyzer, which also includes optional Voice-over-IP testing, is the most compact Gigabit Ethernet troubleshooting and RFC 2544 network performance benchmarking tool on the market. Capable of generating traffic up to Gigabit line rate and equipped with optical and electrical ports, this kit provides simplified testing between any two accessible points in the Ethernet infrastructure needed to provide triple play services. Support for PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) accommodates dial-in configurations, VLAN tagging and support of Q-in-Q ensure compatibility to custom and common triple play network configurations.
U.S. Pricing and Availability
The new Agilent FrameScope Pro software option N2620A-071 combines IPTV Transport Stream Statistics, Media Delivery Index and Transaction Analysis. It is available today; prices start at $1,880. Current FrameScope Pro users can purchase an individual license code to upgrade their instruments.
Further information about the Agilent N2620A FrameScope Pro is also available at www.agilent.com/find/framescope (http://www.agilent.com/find/wirescope) .
Images of the Agilent N2620A FrameScope Pro are available at www.agilent.com/find/fspro_images.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 19,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $5.0 billion in fiscal 2006. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.
Information in this news release applies specifically to products available in the United States and Germany. Product availability and specifications may vary in other markets.
Agilent Technologies, Electronic Measurements Group, 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd., MS 54LAK, Santa Clara, CA 95052.
Further technology, corporate citizenship and executive news is available on the Agilent news site at www.agilent.com/go/news (http://www.agilent.com/go/news ) .
