In Broadcast - February 2014 - 64

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 28 - FEBRUARY 2014

N E W S

InTECH

Bridge Technologies' VB288 Content Extractor
A key tool in the Objective QoE strategy
By Simen K. Frostad
Chairman at Bridge Technologies

T

64

o date, QoE systems have been
less useful to broadcasters than
they should, because they have
been based on criteria derived from
telephony, such as MOS (Mean
Opinion Scores) and arbitrary
values such as 'bluriness'. These
criteria do not provide a precise
assessment of QoE in a broadcast/
media context. Based on MOS and
'bluriness', a full HD transmission of
the Superbowl would score highly,
while a transmission of Casablanca
- in black and white, and with the
blur and scratches of an old movie
- would score badly. A broadcaster
following the Superbowl with the
movie classic on the same channel
would receive one good and one
bad QoE score, and with such
meaningless results, technical
personnel quickly learn to ignore
the systems altogether.
Objective QoE delivers hard data
and error alerts that media operators
really need, by basing the evaluation
on a range of key errors that occur
in media delivery - including audio

silence, colour freezes, colour
black, and freeze frames. An alert
based on these criteria points to
a genuine failure in QoE, and is a
reliable prompt for action by the
technical team.
A key component in Bridge
Technologies' Objective QoE
launch is the VB288 Content
Extractor. This is a server-based
system for conﬁdence veriﬁcation
and monitoring of QoE, allowing
technical personnel to view each
channel as transmitted, from any
point within the transmission chain.
This visual confirmation of the
content being transmitted gives
monitoring staff an instant view
of any errors signalled by systemgenerated alerts.
The VB288 has several important
advantages over the previous
generation of content extraction
tools. These include a virtual
videowall capability, allowing
monitoring staff to oversee large
numbers of channels simultaneously,
in a compact display area. The virtual

Bridge Technologies' VB288 Content Extractor

videowall is browser-based so the
display can be reconﬁgured ﬂexibly
across multiple browser windows.
The VB288 has the power to display
large numbers of HD quality H.264
channels simultaneously, with
integrated graphical alerts based
on Objective QoE tests.
The ability to access and view the
virtual videowall from any location
that has an internet connection
makes the VB288 a very ﬂexible
and efficient tool for a mobile
engineering team.
As an option, the capability can
be extended by running Objective

QoE Content Extraction software
on individual Bridge Technologies
probes or groups of probes, to
provide additional QoE monitoring
of local terrestrial and unencrypted
satellite services.
The VB288 with Objective QoE
provides a highly effective validation
tool that is easily adaptable to any
monitoring strategy, and readily
usable by busy engineers on the
move. The use of media-speciﬁc
metrics for QoE evaluation delivers
clear and trustworthy decisionmaking support to monitoring staff.

Shotoku Gears Up For BVE
T

he BVE show at London's
Excel in February will mark the
start of the 2014 show season for
Shotoku Broadcast Systems.
This year, building on the
great momentum seen
in 2013, the event
provides not just a
fantastic opportunity to showcase
their range of manual camera
support to the domestic market, but
this year it provides a platform
to demonstrate a wider range
of products relevant to a number
of projects here in the UK. Visitors
from broadcasters and educational
establishments will be able to get
their hands on the new lightweight
studio pedestal, the TP-200,
along with the high-end SH and
SX range of heads and tripods.
This is in addition, of course, to
the cost-effective
SP series aimed
at professional
applications,
which
was
introduced with
so much success at
last year's BVE.

With its lightweight design
making it easily manoeuvrable and
providing exceptionally smooth
on-shot performance, the
two stage TP-200 is
capable of carrying
payloads of up to
90KG. The single
point adjustable cable guard,
height drag, height lock and
counter sunk footbrake are all the
product of direct consultation
with operators, it's a really
well thought out product which
is reﬂected in the level of interest
experienced from around the world
since its introduction. Shotoku
will show the system in its most
popular conﬁguration with their
SX300 head, a conﬁguration
which perfectly addresses a
wide range of applications.
The SX300's
s m o o t h ,
hassle-free,
operation
complements
Shotoku TP-200
lightweight studio pedestal

the pedestal
perfectly and
its
Perfect
Balance system
effortlessly
handles a wide
range of payloads.
It has an ergonomic
design meaning
operating the unit
quickly becomes
second nature
allowing the
cameraman
to focus on
getting the shot. The infinitely
adjustable pan and tilt drag controls
allow the user to ﬁne tune the head
response to their, and the payload's,
optimum settings.
Of course there are other reasons
to be excited about the show and
indeed 2014 in general. Shotoku's
professional range of tripods, the
'SP series', generated a lot of interest
in 2013, with videographers of all
types and specialisms. The SH
ENG systems will also be on show
and Shotoku will use the event to
highlight a number of high-proﬁle

Shotoku SX300
StudioOB EFP pan
and tilt head

Virtual Studio
p ro j e c t s
based on the
SH-VR range
which they
completed in 2013 and expect to
happen again in 2014 and beyond.
Finally, shows like BVE are also
an opportunity to introduce new
and existing contacts to the highend robotic camera systems. So,
for the ﬁrst time at BVE, Shotoku's
renowned robotic camera control
systems will also be available for
demo. It's a great chance for visitors
to get up close to robotic systems
which they might not normally
have access to, and to experience
just how sophisticated, yet user-
friendly, they are.

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