QC (Quality Check) Elements
- Anna Seliverstov (Unlicensed)
MCS from version 1.3.0
Table of Contents
Related Article Titles
Quality Check Elements, Quality Control Elements, QC
Overview
The QC (Quality Check) Elements in the MCS system offer a powerful solution for real-time monitoring and troubleshooting of stream quality. Integrated into tiles on a mosaic, these elements enable users to effortlessly analyze video, audio, and stream quality metrics. QC Elements enhance quality monitoring by delivering actionable insights and ensuring seamless stream performance.
They support in-depth video probing and real-time analysis, allowing users to identify and investigate events affecting video and streaming quality using the deep dive view on the multi view mosaic output. These elements extend the existing Other object type within a tile, adding additional visual functionality by integrating multiple graphical components.
Features:
Real-Time Insights: Instantly visualize stream quality data for effective troubleshooting.
Customizable Monitoring: Add specific QC metrics to any tile.
Actionable Indicators: Identify quality issues with color-coded alerts (green for normal, red for issues).
Seamless Integration: QC Elements integrate into the standard tile and layout workflow, consolidating all relevant information in one view.
Benefits:
Centralized Debugging: Pinpoint and resolve transport stream issues quickly with one-click access from the Operator Console.
Enhanced Visualization: Display critical QC metrics in a single location, simplifying quality assurance and performance monitoring.
For example, here’s a tile containing multiple QC elements:
What's New in This Feature Compared to Previous Versions
The latest version introduces several enhancements to this feature, including the addition of new variants under the Other type category.
Previously monitored parameters can now also be displayed visually on tiles. In earlier versions, accessing this data required navigating through the different MCS features to view individual variants.
These updates make it easier to access, visualize, and analyze key parameters directly within the tile layout.
The New Variants:
The new Variants described here are presented in the same order as they appear in the MCS.
Audio Graph: Displays a real-time loudness graph.
ETR Priority 1+2: Combines and displays ETR 101290 Priority 1 and Priority 2 elements.
ETR Priority 1+2+3: Combines and displays ETR 101290 Priority 1, Priority 2, and Priority 3 elements.
ETR Priority 1: Displays all Priority 1 elements as defined by ETR 101290.
Indicators:
Green: Value is within the standard.
Red: Value is outside the standard.
Grey: Not applicable to this stream type.
ETR Priority 2: Displays all Priority 2 elements as defined by ETR 101290.
Indicators:
Green: Value is within the standard.
Red: Value is outside the standard.
Grey: Not applicable to this stream type.
ETR Priority 3: Displays all Priority 3 elements as defined by ETR 101290.
Indicators:
Green: Value is within the standard.
Red: Value is outside the standard.
Grey: Not applicable to this stream type.
Mini ETR Priority 1+2: A compact representation of ETR 101290 Priority 1 and Priority 2 statuses, without text.
Mini ETR Priority 1+2+3: A compact representation of ETR 101290 Priority 1, Priority 2, and Priority 3 statuses, without text.
Video Info: Displays information about the video details: Codec, PID, Aspect, AFD, Resolution, Frame Rate, Color, GOP Size, V-Chip, Bitrate.
Audio Info: Displays audio-related information details: Codec, PID, Channels, Sample Rate, Bitrate, Loudness, True Peak (TP), Language, Dial Norm.
A specific audio channel can be assigned or selected via the Index ID in the tile editor.
Stream Info: Provides details about the network level of the transport stream (TS) stream: Source, Stream, Network, Dst IP, Dst Port, Src IP, Src Port, Stream B, Network, Dst IP, Dst Port, Src IP, Src Port.
If the stream is OTT or another non-relevant type, these details are not displayed.
TS Status: Displays transport stream (TS) details: TS ID, PS ID, Services, SDT Chan, SDT Provi, TS Clock, RX Rate, PCR Jitter, PCR Inter.
For OTT or other stream types, relevant information specific to those formats is displayed.
Captions Status: Indicates the presence and status of 608/708 captions.
Indicators:
Green: Captions are present.
Red: Captions are missing.
State: Provides a quick visual representation of key elements.
Indicators:
Video: Valid, Freeze, Black
Audio 1: Silence, Loudness
Audio 2: Silence, Loudness
Captions: 608 CC1, 708 CC1
Indicator Colors:
Green: Value is within the standard.
Red: Value is outside the standard.
SCTE 35/104: Displays SCTE-35/104 messages and events in real-time, including the key event types: chapter starts/ends, program starts/ends, and provider ad breaks. The variant provides a clear timeline of events, showing timestamps and corresponding message types.
Nielsen: Displays real-time Nielsen A-1 metadata, including the key identifiers: CBL2, N2FD, NWFD, N2HF, NWCC, N2HF, NWCC.
Video Bitrate: Displays real-time bitrate statistics for video streams, including the maximum (MAX), current (CUR), and average (AVG) bitrates in Mbps. This variant provides a graphical representation of bitrate fluctuations over time.
How to Configure
Click the menu icon.
A display of all available widgets will open.
Navigate to Outputs → Tiles.
Tiles editor will open.
In the Tiles Editor:
Open an existing tile by clicking its name (label) in the Tiles List menu on the right, or create a new tile.
From the Types menu on the left, drag the Other type element onto the tile.
Under the Properties/Objects menu (located left of the Tiles List), find the Object type: Other menu. This menu will display various parameters for the Other object type.
Select a desired variant from the Variant drop-down menu.
Additional details about the Other object type are available here.
Save the newly configured tile with QC elements by clicking the Save button in the top-right corner.
How to View
Once configured, the tile with QC element(s) can be used in the output like any other tile.
You can also view the tile in full screen within the Operator Console, just like other tiles.
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