test & measurement point of the infrastructure,” said Bachofen. “By monitoring all of the demarcation points in the network, broadcasters can more quickly pinpoint what the issue is, and where it is happening, to ensure an exceptional quality of service for their viewers.” The Herculean task of constantly monitoring numerous program streams is also being automated. In the past, keeping an eye on signal and picture quality was a human engineer’s duty— but that was when each TV station only had one real-time broadcast feed to contend with. “As competition between services has increased by new market entrants and a shift in how viewers consume video, test and measurement has become critical to monitoring and responding to user experience issues,” said Driscoll. As a result, performance metrics previously only used by operations and engineering teams are now reviewed by top TV executives, including those in the newly-minted position of “Chief Experience Officer.” “Test and measurement is now a critical path to customer satisfaction, maintaining viewership and retaining subscribers in an era of near zero switching costs and increasing product substitutes,” Driscoll added.
Ralph Bachofen, vice president of sales and marketing for Triveni Digital
FUTURE TRENDS T&M equipment has evolved from standalone physical devices of exclusive interest to TV engineers to sophisticated IP-based solutions that command the attention of top management. As for future trends? “Test and measurement will evolve hand-
in-hand with the services we monitor,” predicted Driscoll. This evolution includes “an increase, and eventually an acceleration, of organizations shifting service to cloud workflows.” "We are transitioning from a hardware SDI-centric to a software IP network-centric world," observed Boon. "This trend will continue for many years." T&M will also play a key role in assuring a stable, financially viable transition to ATSC 3.0, according to Bachofen’s own forecast. “The more ATSC 3.0 services are deployed, the more ad revenues will flow,” he said. “During this stage it is very important to have 24/7 monitoring solution with network-wide capabilities to make sure ads are being delivered correctly.” Finally, T&M equipment will keep pace with the deployment of higher resolution video by broadcasters and OTT providers. “The Leader LVB440 IP analyser is already capable of supporting 8K resolution,” said Salvidge. “With SMPTE expected to publish new 2110 standards in due course, the broadcast test and measurement landscape is guaranteed to continue to change.” l
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