ITMI20121968A1 - MONITORING OF DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS. - Google Patents

Description

"Monitoring of distribution and transmission systems"

STATE OF THE ART

Currently the control systems of the distribution and transmission systems, in baseband and / or Radio Frequency (RF) / (IF) are made vertically (i.e. they are designed to send data / reports not related to data / reports coming from other sources). The devices used in the transmission chain each have their own management and control system, which varies according to the manufacturers of the devices and which is used to get the details of the alarms coming only and only from that device. In an ecosystem made up of multi-devices made by different manufacturers, solutions based on SNMP protocols (standard protocols used mainly for the collection and display of alarms coming from the devices) are used to manage the various signals. Existing solutions (which use SNMP protocols) are therefore characterized by being vertical and asynchronous {because they collect signals from single devices without providing for the possibility of correlating the signals). Vertical and asynchronous solutions typically do not allow an in-depth and targeted analysis of errors and do not automatically manage the configurations relating to the measuring equipment.

The management of the transmission chain often makes it difficult to analyze and control real time and simultaneously of each channel of the channel distribution platform at different stages of the chain in order to quickly detect anomalies and malfunctions relating to a specific apparatus / system. This is due to the complexity and heterogeneity of the systems and apparatuses involved in the chain itself. Often, in the face of recorded anomalies, to identify the problem it is necessary to analyze several systems in step by step mode, alternating the video display of the channel (Audio / Video service) concerned, in order to understand the fault point, all this with obvious waste of time. In addition, the video quality analysis is often managed only on site and requires access to the individual measuring devices as it cannot be effectively carried out via a remote connection that requests data from the individual devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention therefore has as its object that of providing a channel monitoring system which solves or at least mitigates the problems encountered in the state of the art.

The object of the invention is obtained by means of the independent claims. The dependent claims define accessory aspects of the invention

According to a first aspect, the invention provides a system for monitoring channels obtained by means of at least one manipulation starting from at least one digital signal, the system comprising:

- at least first and second manipulation means (110, 150) each capable of manipulating at least one first digital input signal (111) and at least one second digital input signal (151) respectively; - monitoring means (20) capable of carrying out at least one monitoring on at least one digital signal; storage means (30) for storing configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier, the channel identifier being uniquely associated with a channel to be monitored;

configuration means (40) arranged to configure, on the basis of the configuration information, the first and second manipulation means (110, 150) to supply said monitoring means (20) at least a first digital signal (112) and at least one second digital signal (152) each obtained starting from, respectively, the first input signal (111) and the second input signal (151), in which each of said at least one first digital signal (112) and said at least a second digital signal (152) corresponds to the channel to be monitored;

- in which the configuration means (40) are further arranged to configure the monitoring means (20) to carry out, respectively, at least a first predetermined monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least one first digital signal (112) and at least a second predetermined monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least one second digital signal (152); in which

the monitoring means (20) are configured to send first and second monitoring information corresponding to the first predetermined monitoring and, respectively, to the second predetermined monitoring, to the control means (50).

In the monitoring system according to some optional characteristics of the first aspect, the control means are set up for:

receive first and second monitoring information;

determining the presence of a correspondence between the first and second monitoring information with a predetermined pattern of values, the predetermined pattern of values being associated with a predetermined indication of operation;

generate an indication of operation on the basis of the predetermined pattern, in the event that the presence is determined.

According to a second aspect, the invention provides a method for monitoring in a distribution system of channels obtained by means of at least one manipulation starting from at least one digital signal, the distribution system comprising at least first and second manipulation means (110 , 150), each capable of manipulating at least one first digital input signal (111) and at least one second digital input signal (151) respectively, and monitoring means (20) capable of carrying out at least one monitoring on at least one signal digital The method includes the steps of:

- obtaining configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier, the channel identifier being uniquely associated with a channel to be monitored;

configuring, on the basis of the configuration information, the first and second manipulation means (110, 150) to supply to the monitoring means (20) at least one first digital signal (112) and at least one second digital signal (152) each obtained at starting from, respectively, the first input signal (111) and the second input signal (151), in which each of said at least one first digital signal (112) and said at least one second digital signal (152) corresponds to said channel to monitor;

configuring said monitoring means (20) to carry out, respectively, at least a first predetermined monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least one first digital signal (112) and at least a second predetermined monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least one second digital signal (152);

sending the first and second monitoring information to control means (50) corresponding to the first predetermined monitoring and, respectively, the second predetermined monitoring.

According to a third aspect, the invention provides a computer program designed to execute, when said program is executed on a computer, the second steps - the method described above,

According to a fourth aspect, the invention provides an entity for monitoring management in a distribution system of channels obtained by means of at least one manipulation starting from at least one digital signal, the distribution system comprising at least first and second means of manipulation (110, 150), each capable of manipulating at least one first digital input signal (111) and at least one second digital input signal (151) respectively, and monitoring means (20) capable of carrying out at least one monitoring on at least one digital signal. The entity includes:

- acquisition means for obtaining configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier, the channel identifier being uniquely associated with a channel to be monitored;

- sending means for sending to the first and second manipulation means (110, 150) distribution configuration commands to configure, on the basis of said configuration information, the first and second manipulation means (110, 150) to supply the means (20) at least one first digital signal (112) and at least one second digital signal (152) each obtained starting from, respectively, the first input signal (111) and the second input signal (151), in which each of said at least one first digital signal (112) and said at least one second digital signal (152) corresponds to said channel to be monitored; - in which the sending means are also arranged to send monitoring configuration commands to configure the monitoring means (20) to carry out, respectively, at least a first predetermined monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least one first digital signal ( 112) and at least a second predetermined monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least one second digital signal (152).

Therefore, the present invention allows to obtain a state-of-the-art monitoring system designed to automatically manage the real time and simultaneous analysis and control of each channel of the channel distribution platform at different levels of the transmission chain. The management of the transmission platform is also improved, guaranteeing the best standards of quality and service (Service Level Agreement), making it possible to detect anomalies and malfunctions relating to a specific apparatus / system in the chain in a short time.

The system also makes it possible to help the personnel in charge to ensure a rapid, effective and simultaneous control of the same signal transmitted at different stages of the processing and transmission chain.

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram according to a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 illustrates an association between a pair of values and an operating state of the system;

Figure 4 illustrates a flow chart according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 illustrates a block diagram of an entity according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 illustrates a block diagram of a distribution chain according to a specific example of the present invention;

Figures 7 to 10 illustrate details of the system of Figure 6;

Figure 11 illustrates a logical representation of a database relating to the configuration of the system according to an example of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 1 representing a system for monitoring channels obtained by means of at least one processing starting from at least one digital signal. Monitoring includes one or more operations to analyze the value and / or trend of parameters characterizing a digital signal from which the channel is obtained by means of a series of processing. Therefore, the monitoring can include measurements carried out on at least one digital signal, a test carried out on the same signal to produce a representative value of the test, measurements of alarms generated by monitoring devices, etc. Monitoring can be carried out by means of monitoring including one or more devices, or by means of one or more distributed entities, such as dedicated equipment or measuring instruments suitable for measuring or detecting certain signal parameters. Specific examples are given below. A monitoring system in the context of the present invention comprises the monitoring means and may also include those elements which process the signals to be monitored. Therefore, the system can include (but not necessarily) also elements that do not in themselves carry out any measurement or any monitoring on signals but which are necessary, for example, to convey a certain signal to the equipment that carries out the monitoring, such as for example signal manipulation means or switching means described below. A channel in the sense of the present invention is to be understood as comprising one or more of audio, video or data services, or a combination of at least two of these. A channel is obtained by processing at least one digital signal, the processing comprising one or more operations such as coding, compression, multiplexing, switching etc. The digital signal thus processed and corresponding to the channel is then transmitted to be received by a user device such as a decoder (also called set top box or STB), a computer or a mobile device capable of receiving the signals corresponding to the channel. The transmission can be of the broadcasting, multicasting or point-to-point type and can be wireless (for example a satellite transmission, DVB digital terrestrial, WLAN, cellular data networks, etc.) or by cable (transmission on optical cable, transmission on cable for television signals such as CATV, etc.) or a combination of these. The channel is also the service that can be used by the user after suitable processing, such as decoding, by means of the user-side reception apparatus.

With reference to Figure 1, the monitoring system according to the first embodiment comprises first and second manipulation means 110, 150, monitoring means 20, storage means 30 and configuration means 40.

The manipulation means are means capable of manipulating digital signals, the manipulation comprising operations capable of conveying the signals and / or carrying out processing on it by altering its content and / or form. Examples of manipulations are switching or tuning. Optionally, the manipulation can also include other processing such as multiplexing, coding.

compression etc. Each of the manipulation means 110, 150 is capable of manipulating at least one first digital input signal 111 and, respectively, at least one second digital input signal 151

Digital input signals represent signals on the basis of which a channel is obtained and can be digital encoded (or compressed) signals or encoded signals as illustrated below.

The monitoring means 20 are capable of carrying out at least one monitoring on at least one digital signal corresponding to a channel to be monitored (or to several channels to be monitored, if the monitoring devices allow it), in which said digital signal comprises those manipulated by the first and second means of manipulation. Said monitoring means 20 are also capable of providing monitoring information, representing or obtained on the basis of the result of the monitoring carried out. The storage means 30, on the other hand, are arranged to store configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier which is uniquely associated with the channel to be monitored. The configuration information includes information describing how to configure the manipulation and monitoring means in order to monitor the desired channel, i.e. it includes information that associates the channel identifier with a configuration of the manipulation means so that they provide the monitoring means those digital signals corresponding to the channel to be monitored and necessary to perform a certain monitoring. The configuration means 40 are also suitable for configuring, on the basis of the configuration information, the monitoring means so that they perform a predetermined monitoring on the channel. Predetermined monitoring refers to a certain monitoring that you want to perform, for example based on circumstances. The predetermined monitoring can be selected for example on the basis of the channel identifier, and / or on the basis of other parameters configured by an operator, and / or in response to a certain alarm. The monitoring can be for example a monitoring aimed at detecting critical alarms also called first level, such as the darkening of a channel) or a monitoring (called second level) aimed instead at detecting parameters or carrying out measurements in order to obtain, for example an indication of the audio and / or video quality, of the synchronization between audio and video, of the presence of data associated with the video / audio. The monitoring means 20 can optionally comprise means suitable for sending monitoring information to control means 50. The channel identifier can comprise an alphanumeric code corresponding to the name of the channel (for example the one known to the end user) or a code known to the operator. The identifier can also refer to a code uniquely associated with the service or to a combination of several codes. Reference is made to a specific example as illustrated below with reference to Figure 11.

Referring to Figure 1, the configuration means according to this embodiment are also arranged to configure, on the basis of the configuration information corresponding to a given channel, the first and second manipulation means 110, 150 to provide the monitoring means 20 at least one first digital signal 112 and at least one second digital signal 152, respectively. The digital signal 112 is obtained starting from the first input signal 111 by means of the manipulation of the first manipulation means 110, while the second digital signal 152 is obtained starting from the second input signal 151 by means of the manipulation or processing of the second manipulation means 150. It is important to note that each of the first digital signal 112 and of the second digital signal 152 corresponds to the channel to be monitored.

The configuration means 40 are also arranged to configure the monitoring means 20 so that they carry out first and second predetermined monitoring. The first predetermined monitoring is a monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least one first digital signal 112 The second predetermined monitoring refers instead to that carried out on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least the second digital signal 152. In other words , the monitoring means are configured to perform, on the basis of configuration information obtained from a channel identifier, a monitoring on the first signal 112 and a monitoring on the second signal 152 The monitoring means 20 are also optionally configured , to send to control means 50 the first and second monitoring information corresponding to the first determined monitoring and, respectively, to the second predetermined monitoring

The configuration means 40 can also be optionally arranged to configure the monitoring means 20 so that they carry out a predetermined or desired monitoring (for example, a determined analysis or measurement) on the signal supplied by the manipulation means. In fact, depending on the type of signal output by the manipulation means, it is necessary to provide the monitoring means in an adequate manner, for example by setting the monitoring means so that they can perform the desired analysis of the digital signal, or for the selection of a specific functionality of the monitoring means depending on the type of signal supplied by the switching means and / or the type of monitoring to be performed. The monitoring means can also be configured according to the type of analysis to be carried out. The control means of the first embodiment can optionally be arranged to generate an operating indication on the basis of the monitoring carried out. The operation indication comprises an abnormal operation indication (i.e. the presence of a fault) and a correct operation indication (i.e. the absence of faults or the presence of tolerable faults). Optionally.

the operating indication may include an indication of the presence of a tolerable fault, indications regarding the specific type of fault, etc. In particular, according to this optional function for indicating a fault, the control means are arranged to receive the first and second monitoring information and to determine the presence of a correspondence between the first and second monitoring information with a predetermined pattern. of values. The pattern comprises predetermined values, each of these corresponding to a value that the monitoring information can assume. The pattern (or its values) is associated with a predetermined indication of operation. This association is stored (locally in a local memory, externally in a separate memory or remotely) and made available to the control means as needed. Therefore, the pattern comprises at least two predetermined values each representing a value that the first and second monitoring information can respectively assume. Yes, it should be noted that the term value refers to what is provided by the monitoring means following the monitoring performed. Therefore, the value comprises a digit (for example the synchronization delay between audio and video), corresponding to a code (representing, for example, an alarm) or to a set of digits and / or codes depending on how these are provided by the means of monitoring based on the monitoring result. Determining the correspondence between monitoring information and pattern consists in determining whether the values of the first and second monitoring information (that is, the values currently obtained from monitoring) correspond to the two respective values included in the pattern. The pattern can in turn be included in a set of patterns, each comprising a respective number of values. The set of patterns can be represented by a list of patterns, but other data structures are also suitable for representing it. Each pattern in the ensemble corresponds to a certain indication of operation. Two or more patterns may (but need not necessarily) correspond to the same operating indication. Therefore, determining the match includes determining whether the monitored values find a match in any of the patterns contained in the set. It should be noted that the invention also applies to the case of a single pattern (ie the set containing a single pattern), in which case it will be possible to identify a single operating state for a single combination of monitoring information. The correspondence can be an exact correspondence between measured values and pattern values, for example the values of the first and second monitoring information obtained correspond exactly to the respective values included in a predetermined pattern. Alternatively, the match is detected if, for example, the current values of the monitoring information match those of the predetermined pattern if within a certain percentage error (in other words, the match does not necessarily have to be exact but can be also approximated). Matching can also be detected when the current values of the monitoring information exceed, equal or fall below a certain threshold. In the event that the operating indication is a fault indication, the fault can indicate a real alarm or the fact that at least one parameter detected is to be considered associated with a malfunction (for example a degradation of the signal quality audio-video of the channel, while remaining the same perceivable by an end user). The fault indication can provide an indication of the point within the digital signal processing system and, in particular, a point at the first and second handling means, where a fault is present or presumably present ( with a certain probability) The control means are therefore predisposed to generate an indication of operation on the basis of the predetermined pattern, in the event that the aforementioned presence of a correspondence has been determined. In other words, the control means determine whether the monitoring information corresponding to the signals picked up at the first and second manipulation means are in correspondence (exact or indicative as described above) with the respective values of a predetermined pattern. Since the predetermined pattern is associated with a certain state of operation, it is possible to establish that the digital signal distribution system is in this particular moment (corresponding to the one in which the monitoring was performed) in that certain state. of operation. This indication can be absolute or statistical (ie this certain state of functioning is present with a certain probability).

The above is now illustrated with an example in which, for simplicity, each of the first and second monitoring information provides an indication of the synchronization between audio and video as detected respectively on the signals 112 and 152 output by the first and second manipulation means 110 and 150. For simplicity we will indicate with SI the value in milliseconds of the synchronization delay between audio and video in correspondence with the signal 112 and with S2 the value in milliseconds of the synchronization delay between audio and video in correspondence with the signal 152 (in the example illustrated below with reference to Figure 6, the value SI can be taken in correspondence with the SDÌ matrix and the S2 value in correspondence with the ASI matrix) An instance of the pair of values (SI, S2) will form in this example a pattern. Consider the case in which there is a set of patterns, comprising the pairs of values [25, 50] (first pattern of values in ms), [20, 60] and [30, 10]. Each of said patterns / pairs of values is also associated with a fault indication: for example, the first pair of values [25, 50] is associated with an MI fault to indicate that the fault is present or likely to be present at the first manipulation point - The second pair of values [20, 60] is instead associated with a fault M2 present at the second manipulation means 150. The association between a predetermined pattern and a fault can be represented by middle gives a table as in figure 3, although other options are possible such as pointer lists etc. Therefore, when the control means receive first and second monitoring information represented by the pair of values [25, 50], they detect the correspondence between said monitoring information and the pattern [25, 50] associated with the MI fault; It is therefore possible to establish that there is a probable presence of a fault in correspondence with the first manipulation means, and therefore an operating indication is generated indicating the presence of a possible fault. In the example shown, the match is exact; however, a match can also be detected if the monitoring information includes values such as [23, 52], or [23, 48] etc, that is close to those of the pattern [25, 50] less than a certain percentage margin . If the monitoring means provided the values [20, 60] as first and second monitoring information, the control means would generate an indication that the fault is present or likely to be present at the second manipulation means. The association between a predetermined pattern of values and a fault is obtained a priori and stored so that it is made accessible to the control means. This association can be obtained on the basis of an analytical or statistical study carried out in advance on the system or on the experience gathered from previously carried out monitoring. In the example under examination, the first pattern of values indicates that although the synchronization at the second manipulation means is relatively high (and the quality therefore deteriorates) at the second manipulation means, the problem is, however, not to be attributed to the second means of manipulation but the first means of manipulation. The control means therefore generate a fault indication which, if displayed to the operator, allows the operator to intervene directly on the first point of the signal distribution chain. Without this indication, the operator would instead be led to analyze first of all the manipulation of the signals in correspondence of the means 150 since it is there that the lack of synchronization is more evident and critical. The search for a possible failure at the means 150 could however take a long time without leading to results. On the other hand, thanks to the invention, it is possible to allow the operator to concentrate his efforts in the search for a possible fault in correspondence with the first manipulation means 110.

As mentioned, the operation indication can refer to an indication of the presence of a fault (or a possible presence of a fault) or to the fact that the operation is regular, i.e. that there are no faults. The case of regular operation is represented in the example above by the pair of values [30, 10]: although there is a synchronization error in correspondence of the means 110 which is higher than in the previous examples, and which would therefore generate by itself © an alarm, in this case no indication of malfunction is generated as the pair of values is associated with normal operation. This association was previously established on the basis of the following considerations in the specific case: in fact, since the synchronization value fell below acceptable thresholds (for example, less than 15 milliseconds) in a subsequent phase of signal processing, the pattern [30, 10] It is to be associated in advance with normal operation so that it is not necessary to carry out any checks on the system. Similar associations between patterns and faults can be established.

The advantage of this aspect of the first embodiment is that it is possible to quickly and reliably identify the point of the system where a fault is potentially present and at the same time avoid false alarms for the system as a whole, such as (for example) those detected at a point upstream of the distribution chain but no longer present downstream due to processing on the signal which improved its final quality. Furthermore, the technical effect resulting from the combined action of the configuration means according to the first embodiment and the control means according to the optional variant of the same embodiment consists in the fact that it is possible to configure the monitoring system, in particular the monitoring means and the manipulation means, reliably and quickly on the basis of configuration information corresponding uniquely to a channel. In this way we obtain exactly those signals 112, 152 necessary to obtain those first and second monitoring information to be correlated with predefined patterns. It follows the technical effect consisting in identifying quickly and reliably the presence or absence of faults by providing the system, as an input parameter, only the channel to be monitored.

With reference to Figure 2, a first example of the first embodiment will now be illustrated in which the handling means 110 comprise at least one of the first switching means 115 and the second switching means 116 and in which the second handling means 150 instead comprise means reception to receive at least one channel 151. The reception means comprise for example a satellite decoder, a DVB digital terrestrial decoder (set top box) capable of receiving digital terrestrial or cable signals, a computer or a mobile device (smartphone, tablet, etc ... able to receive the channel through a fixed or mobile network connection, by means of any protocol suitable for the purpose (for example an IP protocol, although there is no limitation in this regard).

The received channel 151 is included in a digital signal obtained starting from the digital signals processed by the manipulation means 110 and, in the example under examination, by one or both of the first switching means 115 and the second switching means 116. The means switching devices 115 are arranged to switch one or more non-coded input signals into one or more non-coded output signals 114. Furthermore, the switching means 115 are arranged to supply on one of the outputs (not shown in the figure) or on a dedicated monitoring output 113 an uncoded signal 113 on which it is necessary to perform a specific monitoring. Similarly, the second switching means 116 are configured to switch coded signals supplied on one or more input ports 115 to one or more output ports (not shown; in the figure only the port dedicated to monitoring 117 is shown, although this could be a common exit door). The switching means are also arranged to provide on one of the output ports, or on a port dedicated to monitoring, a coded switched signal 117. The digital signal 112 supplied to the monitoring means as described above therefore comprises, according to this specific example , at least one between the uncoded signal 113 and the coded signal 117. By coded signal we mean a digital signal subjected to an encoding process which increases its compression factor according to a proprietary or standardized format such as MPEG2 or MPEG4 (although the present invention is not limited to any coding or compression standard but is equally applied to other compression / coding algorithms. Therefore, the coded signal will also be referred to below as compressed signal. The uncoded signal represents a digital signal not subjected to processing procedures. compression or encoding that alters the level of compression; and non-encoded, however, may correspond to proprietary or standardized formats (for example the SD standard, Serial Digital interface, which includes both the HD-SDI and SD format) that establish the physical and logical properties of the non-encoded signal, for example necessary to make it suitable for interfacing digital signals between different devices.

According to this first example, the configuration means 40 are arranged to configure, on the basis of the configuration information, at least one of the first switching means 115 and the second switching means 116 for switching the respective input signals 111 and 115 respectively into the signal uncoded 113 and in the coded signal 117. The configuration means 40 are also arranged to configure, on the basis of the same configuration information, the second manipulation means 150 to receive the channel to be monitored. The channel to be monitored corresponds to at least one of the non-coded signal 113 and the coded signal 117.

In other words, the first example provides for the case in which the manipulation means 110 comprise only one of switching means 115 on non-coded signals and switching means 116 operating on coded signals or both switching means, in which case the means for switching switching devices 115 operating on non-coded signals precede the switching means 116 in the signal distribution chain.

In accordance with a second example of the first embodiment, the first handling means comprise first switching means and the second handling means comprise second switching means. In this case, the first signal 112 comprises at least one non-coded signal and the second digital signal 152 comprises at least one coded signal. Again according to this second example, the configuration means 40 are therefore arranged to configure, on the configuration information, the first switching means 115 to switch the respective input signals into at least one non-coded signal 112 and to configure the second means 116 for these to switch their respective input signals to provide at least one coded signal 152, wherein the signals 112 and 152 are supplied to the monitoring systems 20. In this case, therefore, the first digital signal 112 comprises at least one uncoded signal and the second digital signal 152 comprises at least one coded signal.

In this second example, the monitoring is carried out only within the processing and transmission system of the channel to be monitored. In the first example, however, the monitoring extends on the one hand to the transmission system (in particular to the monitoring of at least one or two of the switching systems it contains) and on the other hand to the receiving part of the channel. Both the aforementioned examples can also be realized in combination with the variant described above in which the control means determine a correspondence between the monitoring information and a predefined pattern to determine the presence or absence of faults through correlation between monitoring information and predetermined patterns.

The channel to be monitored can be selected in different ways according to the present invention. For example, an operator can manually enter the identifier of the channel or an intelligible name associated with it; or you can select it from a list of available channels. Following this selection, the system automatically configures the manipulation means and the monitoring means on the basis of the configuration information taken from the selected channel. According to a further example, the channel to be monitored can also or alternatively be selected automatically, for example by the control means or by an entity prepared for it, randomly or according to a predefined scheme starting from a predefined list of channels. The system can also be configured to monitor the selected channel for a certain time interval, after which the system can select a different channel to monitor. The predefined scheme includes in an example the cyclical selection of all the channels of a list according to a predefined order in the list (for example from the first to the last channel of the list): therefore, the system configures the manipulation means and the monitoring means for monitor for each of the selected channels. The procedure can also be repeated more or an infinite number of times once the last channel of the list has been reached. According to a variant, each of the channels in the list can be analyzed or monitored with a frequency or for a longer duration than other channels in the list based on a predefined level of importance and priority for certain channels. According to another example, however, the channel to be monitored is selected only when an alarm considered serious is detected on a certain channel, such as, for example, the darkening of the channel being received or the complete absence of a corresponding intermediate signal or the complete absence. of the input signal from which the channel originates In another example, and referring to the above list, it is possible to foresee that for some of the channels in the list regular or cyclic monitoring is not carried out but only in the presence of errors serious, such as blackout of the channel, or only at the explicit request of the user

A second embodiment of the present invention provides a method for monitoring channels and will be described below with reference to Figure 4. This method is applicable to a channel distribution system obtained by means of at least one manipulation starting from at least a digital signal, in which the distribution system comprises at least first and second manipulation means 110, 150 and monitoring means 20 as described for example in the first embodiment (and corresponding examples and variants). Each of the manipulation means is capable of manipulating at least one first digital input signal (111) and, respectively, at least one second digital input signal (151). The monitoring means (20) are capable of carrying out at least one monitoring on at least one digital signal. The method in particular comprises the step of obtaining (S10) configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier, said channel identifier being uniquely associated with a channel to be monitored. The channel identifier can be obtained through an automatic and / or manual selection as described above, within the same phase S10 or in an initial phase. The method further comprises the step of configuring (S20), on the basis of the configuration information, the first and second manipulation means (110, 150) to provide the monitoring means (20) at least a first digital signal (112) and at least a second digital signal (152) each obtained starting from, respectively, the first input signal (111) and the second input signal (151). The at least one first digital signal (112) and at least one second digital signal (152) correspond to the channel to be monitored. The method then carries out the step of configuring (S30) the monitoring means (20) to carry out at least a first predetermined monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the at least one first digital signal (112) and, respectively, at least a second predetermined monitoring. on the channel to be monitored on the basis of at least one second digital signal (152). The method further provides for sending (S40) to control means (50) the first and second monitoring information corresponding to the first predetermined monitoring and, respectively, to the second predetermined monitoring. The method can be repeated, for example by restarting from the SIO phase, for the same channel after a certain time interval or for a different channel selected manually or automatically as illustrated with reference to the first embodiment.

The method according to this embodiment may optionally comprise the steps of receiving the first and second monitoring information and determining the presence of a match between the first and second monitoring information with a predetermined pattern of values. The predetermined pattern of values is associated with a predetermined indication of operation. The method can also generate an indication of operation on the basis of the predetermined pattern, in the event that the presence has been determined.

The monitoring method according to this embodiment can be applied to the case where the first digital signal (112) comprises at least one of at least one non-coded signal and at least one coded signal.In this case, the method optionally comprises the steps of configure, on the basis of the configuration information, at least one of the first switching means (115) and the second switching means (116) to switch respective input signals into the at least one uncoded signal (115) and, respectively, into the at least one coded signal (116). The method further comprises configuring, on the basis of the configuration information, the second manipulation means (150) to receive the channel to be monitored corresponding to at least one of the at least one non-coded signal and the at least one coded signal.

The monitoring method according to the present embodiment can also be applied to the case in which the first digital signal (112) comprises at least one non-coded signal and in which at least one second digital signal (152) comprises at least one coded signal. In this case, the method can configure, on the basis of the configuration information, first switching means (115) comprised in the first manipulation means and second switching means (116) comprised in the second manipulation means (150) for switching respective signals. in the at least one non-coded signal (115) and, respectively, in the at least one coded signal (116).

A third embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program designed to execute, when the program is executed on a computer, part or all of the phases as described in the second embodiment or the phases in which the system according to the first embodiment.

A fourth embodiment, with reference to Figure 5, provides an entity (80) for managing the monitoring in a distribution system of channels obtained by means of at least one manipulation starting from at least one digital signal. The distribution system comprises at least first and second manipulation means (110, 150), each capable of manipulating at least one first digital input signal (111) and at least one second digital input signal (151) respectively, and monitoring means (20) capable of monitoring at least one digital signal. Reference is also made to the above. The entity further comprising acquisition means (810) for obtaining configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier. The channel identifier is uniquely associated with a channel to be monitored and can be obtained from an entity's internal memory or from an external memory or database. The entity further comprises sending means (820) for sending to the first and second manipulation means (110, 150) distribution configuration commands for configuring, on the basis of the configuration information, the first and second manipulation means (110, 150) to supply to the monitoring means (20) at least one first digital signal (112) and at least one second digital signal (152) each obtained starting from, respectively, the first input signal (111) and the second input signal . The first digital signal (112) and the second digital signal (152) correspond to the channel to be monitored. The sending means (820) are also arranged to send monitoring configuration commands to configure the monitoring means (20) to carry out, respectively, at least a first predetermined monitoring on the channel to be monitored on the basis of the first digital signal (112) and at least a second predetermined monitoring on said channel to be monitored on the basis of the second digital signal (152)

In the entity according to this embodiment, the receiving means can optionally be configured to receive first and second monitoring information corresponding to the first predetermined monitoring and, respectively, to the second predetermined monitoring. In such a case, the entity can optionally comprise means of determination (830) for determining the presence of a correspondence between the first and second monitoring information with a predetermined pattern of values, in which the predetermined pattern of values is associated with a predetermined indication of operation. The processing means can therefore be arranged to generate an indication of operation on the basis of the predetermined pattern, in the event that the aforementioned presence is determined. It should be noted that an entity in the sense of the present invention can be represented by a distributed system ( for example a set of interconnected devices each made in hardware and / or software), or by a single device made in hardware and / or software. Furthermore, the digital signals on which the manipulation and / or monitoring means operate are digital signals corresponding to a channel to be monitored. In other words, the channel to be monitored is obtained starting from a digital input signal and then subjected to processing in intermediate stages to obtain other intermediate digital signals; each of these signals in the intermediate processing steps along the distribution chain corresponding to a transmitted channel, ie to a channel to be monitored. If the input signal is in analog form, it is obviously necessary to convert it to digital

In the present invention terms such as switching means or storage means refer interchangeably to switching units or storage units, respectively. In the specific case, said units can be represented by a switch or by a memory as known in the art. Therefore, regardless of the terminology, reference is made to any medium or device or unit capable of performing the same functions.

In the following, with reference to Figure 6, a specific example of a monitoring system according to the present invention is illustrated in which digital signals are processed in successive phases along the distribution chain from left to right) to be then transmitted and received by a decoder.

The illustrated solution consists of several "probe points" (i.e. monitoring devices inserted in key points of the broadcasting system), introduced along the entire transmission chain, from which they are automatically picked up, at the same instant and in different formats, the A / V flows of a specific channel selected by the monitoring operator (or automatically by the system) and the trends and values detected at these probe points are provided. The A / V flows and the parameters monitored in the probe points are obtained by means of processing and analysis tools of the MPEG / DVB flow automatically tuned and piloted by an intelligent control unit (control unit server) and subsequently collected, processed and displayed on a specific interface from the monitoring operator (client). The illustrated system is based on the processing, compression, coding, multiplexing and digital signal transmission standards: SDÌ, MPEG, H264, DVB-S and DVB-S2 (ETSI EN 300 421 and ETSI EN 302 307), ETR 101 290. It also includes knowledge of the SNMP protocol and of the programming languages C ++, Java. The illustrated system can use the standards referred to above without requiring changes to these standards; however, it is also applicable to other standards as well as to systems in which these standards are modified or respond to proprietary solutions. The monitoring operator selects the name of the channel to monitor, generating some queries on the database and displaying the relevant attributes for the selected channel (transmission parameters, compression system, matrix entrants, etc.), the content audio / video and the trends of parameters and alarms in progress collected and sent by quality analyzers placed in correspondence with the probe points of the transmission chain. The display of these "data" allows the operator to quickly obtain information relating to anomalies and malfunctions of the transmission system, allowing him to take action to resolve the anomaly in a targeted manner on a specific apparatus / system in the chain.

In order not to interrupt or interfere with the A / V flow processing chain, some probe points have been introduced along the entire transmission chain. in different formats, the A / V streams of a specific channel selected by the operator (or automatically, as described above) and from this the trends and values of some appropriately chosen figures of merit are provided. The A / V flows and the parameters monitored in the probe points are obtained by means of processing and analysis of the MPEG / DVB flow, automatically tuned and driven by an intelligent control unit (Control Unit / server), and subsequently collected, processed, correlated by degree of severity and displayed on a special operator interface (client) with report indications on alarms and theoretical source of the fault (result of processing and correlation of errors) The Control Unit (CU), for example a server, represents an example configuration means, while the Client represents an example of the control means. However, the system can be realized by concentrating all the functions in the CU or distributing the functionalities between the CU and the Client in a different way (for example leaving the configuration and correlation functions to the CU, delegating to the Client only the display of the GUI interface to use the system and view the operating status of the channel (s)). The figure shows: a matrix 600 of SDÌ signals, representing an example of non-coded signal switching means; a matrix 700 of ASI signals, representing an example of the compressed signal switching means; receiving means 800 represented in one example by a matrix for switching coded radio frequency signals. The probe points are located in correspondence with the SD, ASI and RF matrices, ie they represent the points where digital switched signals are sent to the monitoring means. The elements 200-285 represent different elements of the monitoring means, each suitable for carrying out a specific measurement / survey and processing on respective signals The invention also applies to the case in which there is also a limited number of such devices (for example one for each probe point) or a single device capable of carrying out the required measurements. Elements 510-540 represent an example of the control and configuration means. In figure 6, the arrows:

Thick blacks indicate the flows of the production chain;

Blacks of fine thickness indicate the SDÌ flows;

Medium-thick blacks indicate data flows;

Black dotted indicate ASI flows;

Black with irregular hatching indicate RF flows;

Black with dotted lines indicate data exchanged between the Control Unit and the remote client application visible on a PC or tablet.

Up to a maximum of two A / V streams are taken from the SDÌ matrix (600), which are sent to analysis devices (qualitative and comparative, 215, 220) and as input to a display device (Multiviewer 510) . In fig. 7 shows the details of the system. The withdrawal of the A / V streams from the SD matrix is relevant as it allows to evaluate the value of the contributions (from Playout Broadcasting 611, from Backbone 612, from SDÌ supplied by third parties 610, from the Miranda 613 system etc) upstream of any processing by video compression apparatuses (620). The compression apparatuses represent an example of processing that can be carried out on the digital signal between the two switches 600 and 700.

Depending on the type of A / V stream being analyzed, up to a maximum of three compressed video streams are taken from the ASI matrix. Also in this case, qualitative and integrity analyzes of the transport streams are carried out on the extracted streams, generated by the compression systems or sent by the content owners of Third Parties. In fig. 8 shows the details of the system.

Downstream of radiofrequency reception, operations such as demodulation, decrypting and decoding of the A / V streams are performed. These operations are performed by the receiving device 280 (for example a decoder) and / or the receiving means 800. The probe point located at the end of the supply chain (ie derived from the RF signal switch 800) allows to monitor the RF parameters, which can heavily affect the quality of the A / V flow reconstructed in reception, as well as the correct application of Conditional Access and the presence of all the parameters connected to the correct vision of the selected channel. Furthermore, the reconstructed A / V stream in reception is used as a test video stream, to be compared with the corresponding one taken from the SD matrix, to perform an objective analysis of visual quality. In fig. 9 shows the details of the system.

The various analysis devices, placed in correspondence with the various probing points of the chain, produce log data, reports and alarms. Through different mechanisms, which include the sending and transfer of text and xml files, the forwarding of SNMP traps, the devices communicate with the Server (called Control Unit) which receives the data and displays them at regular time intervals ( every minute, for example) on the monitoring system interface. The log files are also exported and saved on the server or as a function of specific triggering commands in order to generate a history of the analyzes performed. The Control Unit is also able to process, correlate by degree of severity and priority (importance) and display specific reporting messages on a specific operator interface (client) which, in the event of alarms or errors found, will indicate the origin fault / alarm. The origin of the alarm fault indicates the point in the distribution chain where the fault or alarm is (likely) present; this represents an example of the display of the operating status described above. In fig. 10 shows the details of the system.

Even the A / V streams collected (and reconstructed, in the case of the ASI streams and those received from RF), are displayed in an integrated interface, which allows you to have a visual description of the stream as it is processed in the different stages. of the supply chain, and therefore to ensure the immediate identification of the point of origin of the problem / failure. The collection of these flows takes place in the Multiviewer while, through an IP encoder, it becomes possible to remotely control this display for consultation also through notebook / tablet PCs supplied to the operators.

Fig. 6 shows the complexity of integrating the monitoring tool according to this specific example. For correct operation to be possible, the centralized coordination unit, i.e. the Control Unit, residing on the Server, must access a database containing a set of information and characteristics (such as, but not limited to: video, audio , data; resolution: High Definition / Standard Definition, pid of the MPEG / DVB components, qualitative parameters defined by predefined figures of merit, ...) on the channels present in the television operator's platform. Furthermore, all the parameters necessary for the tuning of the devices must be collected and consistently organized on the database, as well as the information necessary to pilot the probe devices and possibly set specific alarm thresholds.

The setting of the devices is made possible by the Control Unit which, by means of specific flags or tags, allows the activation of a specific set of actions depending on the type of channel that the operator chooses to monitor (or which are automatically chosen, see above).

The control flow requires that the server, after selecting the channel to be monitored, performs:

1.The tuning of the SD matrix

2. The tuning of the ASI matrix and the ASI / SDI receivers in reception

3.The Datamux tuning

4.The tuning of the RF matrix and the receiving RF / SDI receiver

5.The tuning of only the analysis devices involved on the basis of the channel tag.

Phase 1 is an example of configuring the first switch based on the configuration information; phase 2 (in particular the tuning of the ASI matrix) and phase 3 are examples of the configuration of the second switching means; phase 4 is an example of the configuration of the receiving means; step 5 is an example of the configuration of the monitoring means. These steps are performed on the basis of the configuration information, as they depend on the selected channel.

Datamux tuning is always activated regardless of the selection made in the monitoring system interface and the operator can switch the Datamux feed of interest. However, this part can be omitted or disabled when there is no data to link to the audio / video channel.

The Control Unit, therefore, based on the configurations sent to each control system / device and probe, process the data coming from the devices, reporting the alarms coming from the different sources. Reference is made to the correlation described above, in particular to the determination of the correspondence between monitoring results and predetermined patterns.

The server will also be able to carry out other operations that do not impact the coordination of the monitoring equipment, such as the authentication of the operator (as admin or user); 1 'opening and closing of the user session, with consequent export and saving of the logs from the analysis devices and disabling of the devices not involved in the tuning.

The devices used in the illustrative monitoring system can perform the analysis on one stream or multi-stream at a time (this does not exclude that analyzes can be carried out on several streams or on several channels by choosing suitable monitoring devices). In order to avoid multiple requests, only one operator is allowed access to the channel selection interface at a time. The operator who logs into the system first becomes administrator of the monitoring tool, he can then select the different channels from the interface, force the export of the logs or their deletion, request the extraction of some sensitive parameters at runtime. Users who, on the other hand, access the system in chronological order after the administrator, assume user privileges and will only be able to view the A / V streams, alarms and reports of the channel selected by the administrator on the interface, without being able to authorize the 'exporting the logs, their deletion or the extraction of parameters and variables at runtime.

The A / V streams processed in the supply chain can have different origins and formats depending on the block of the chain they pass through and depending on the type of processing they need.

For the development of the monitoring tool, as well as the distinction based on the origin and its format, namely:

â € ¢ SD Input coming from the signal production area. For example from a video server of a Playout or a video camera or a direction;

â € ¢ SD Input from Third Parties, therefore a signal that is sent to the supply chain (or transmission center) from a remote production or playout center;

â € ¢ SD Input from Backbone (ie interconnection lines within the production center, therefore playout or camera or direction, used for service signals);

â € ¢ ASI Input from Third Parties (for example a signal that is sent to the supply chain in compressed mode),

new characterizations, called channel tags, have been introduced to uniquely trace the path followed by the A / V stream in the chain and correctly trigger the monitoring devices at the probe points.

The introduction of the channel tag makes it possible to "specialize" the behavior of the Control Unit in coordinating the equipment on the basis of the transits and processing of the signal through the different stages of the production chain.

In this sense, the characterizations carried out are the following:

â € ¢ SD;

â € ¢ ASI 3rdP;

â € ¢ Simulcast;

â € ¢ Remote Channels.

The identification of each tag, therefore, allows you to group the channels according to the specific set of operations that the server must perform to coordinate and correctly perform the tuning of the monitoring system equipment and allow tracking of the state of the streams during processing. .

The SDÌ tag identifies all and only the A / V streams that enter the processing chain passing through the SDÌ 600 matrix, thus including both the A / V streams coming from the Playout Broadcasting 611, and those coming from the Backbone 612, and those delivered directly by the Third Parties 610. The use of this tag, therefore, denotes a flow that passes through the SDÌ 600 matrix, is forwarded to a specific compression system 620 and primary multiplexer 711, passes through the ASI 700 matrix and the secondary multiplexer 720 for application of Conditional Access and application components, coming from the Datamux 712, and is finally modulated (via modulator 730) and transmitted on satellite for reception and decoding through the STB.

The ASI 3rdP tag denotes the A / V flows coming from the Third Parties (710, representing the entry point of these flows in the ASI matrix) and delivered to the distribution system operator in already compressed format (ASI). Streams of this type therefore carry more than one service at the same time in the same compressed flow (MPTS) enter the supply chain through the ASI 700 matrix, bypassing all the processing part that precedes it (this represents an example in which the first means of switching are not necessary). The flow is redirected to the output of the ASI matrix connected to the DM (721) remultiplexer, which performs a bandwidth check on the services and re-enters the remultiplexed flow in the ASI 700 matrix, so that it forwards it to the secondary multiplexer 720. From this point on then the processing is the same as in the previous case.

The Simulcast tag indicates all the channels that are emitted by Playout Broadcasting 611 in SDÌ format and in Standard Definition with two Dolby E audio tracks (2.0 or 5.1), from which three audio tracks are obtained: one Dolby and two stereo. The source stream enters the SDÌ 600 matrix, which forwards it to the output connected to the Dolby Audio Processor to perform the audio downmix. The scaled stream is fed back into the SD matrix to follow the processing expected by the SD tagged channels.

Finally, the Remote Channels tag includes all the A / V streams compressed by encoder, owned by the television operator and placed at the content owner, whose individual SPTS streams are delivered to the Primary Multiplexer at the television operator's headquarters. From this point on, processing proceeds as for channels with SD tags with the difference that these streams, although processed by a compression system of the television operator, do not pass through the SD matrix.

In light of these distinctions on tags, the monitoring tool server will activate or not some devices and will proceed to make the appropriate switches on the SD and ASI matrices, proceeding to correctly tune all the analysis devices.

The server, or Control Unit, represents the "intelligent" block of the system as, through a customized management / control software, it interacts with the probe devices, triggering them for tuning, sending the correct settings and information for checking the parameters and appropriately selecting the flows in the chain to route them to the input collection point of the monitoring system. Since the extracted streams must be processed and / or converted before being shown on the GUI, the intermediate devices must also be checked to perform the correct operations on the streams coming from the supply chain.

To perform these functions, at each selection of the name of a channel, the server generates a query on the database creating the tuple (with the attributes specified in the previous paragraph) containing all the information relating to the channel and necessary to drive the devices, perform routing of the flows on the dedicated outputs of the matrices (SD, ASI, RF) and control the other monitoring machines.

Furthermore, the data and any alarms sent by the devices will be appropriately managed, processed, correlated (see above the illustration regarding the determination of the correspondence between detected parameters and predefined patterns), to be subsequently exported, displayed on the Client and stored. on the server to possibly produce statistics and reports on the faults found, both at the RF and SD and MPEG signal level, consequently optimizing maintenance interventions and improving the service provided to viewers. The server will also take care of the control and management of access by users: a level of concurrency equal to zero can be envisaged, i.e. the presence of a single operator logged in with administrator privileges, able to select the channel and generate the tuning of the different systems of the system, and more users with consultation access to the information and logs present on the GUI. However, other solutions are foreseen, where different users have the same rights and / or where the channel selection is automatically managed by the monitoring system.

The Client application, which can be viewed for example from a PC in a Windows / Mac environment or from a Tablet, has the task of showing the system interface in secure mode (on a private or public network), for example via a web browser, indicating to the operator his management status, admin or user, and displaying all data and any alarms (processed by the Control Unit).

With the administrator status it will be possible for the operator to load the list of available channels, select the Datamux and the RF chain to monitor (main or spare) and above all the channel of interest (if the selection is automatic, the operator can be allowed to vary or affect auto selection as well as view which channel is currently being monitored). The administrator may also have a message board in which to insert any relevant communications on the use of the tool for team colleagues if necessary.

The monitoring session in administration mode will be activated by pressing the "Apply" button. This operation, in addition to starting the log export phase on the server, will generate the queries on the database, displaying the relevant attributes for the selected channel (technical parameters, compression system, matrix entrants, etc) in a special tab. After a few seconds it will be possible to view, in special tabs, the trends of parameters and alarms in progress collected and sent by the quality analyzers, as well as the audio / video content, by activating the software suitable for receiving the streaming by the Client. The client will also take care of contacting the server to distribute the video in protected mode only if the authenticated operator makes a specific request via a dedicated tab. It will also be possible to view the status of the monitoring system devices so that the operator can detect any anomalies on them.

The analysis of the administrator ends by pressing the "Stop" key, which also involves saving the logs on the server in a specially created repository folder with indication of the name of the monitored channel.

If the monitoring session is still in progress, the operator can use the application. always via web browser, in user mode, displaying in a special tab the message "Monitoring on going: Channel xxxx hh-mm-ss-yyyy-mm-dd", indicating the channel chosen by the administrator and the start time of the session monitoring, in addition to any communications entered by the administrator on the message board. You will therefore be able to view the streaming video (or frequent screenshots of it), plus all the information relating to the channel, the status of the devices, the alarms and the logs of the indicated channel, constantly updated every minute.

Finally, there is an additional level of privileges higher than the administrator, dedicated to the operator who uses the monitoring application on the server as a Client. This level of privilege means that whoever uses the application from the server acquires complete control of the monitoring system, therefore, he can at any time log off the remote administrator by taking over the monitoring session. With a monitoring session active directly on the server, it is therefore not possible to administer the system from a remote client until the session on the server has been released with a dedicated flag.

The information necessary to drive the supply chain devices can be present in the following files, containing appropriate fields for the univocal identification of the parameters necessary for the tuning of the devices:

â € ¢ Channel Type.csv

â € ¢ IN.csv list

â € ¢ ASI 3rdP csv

â € ¢ Sys.csv

â € ¢ Yesmulcast.csv

â € ¢ Service- pid.csv

â € ¢ Transponder.txt

The set of these files represents the configuration information, although the same information can be organized in a single file, or in a single table or in a set of tables, as well as in other forms of storage as known to the person skilled in the art. . Furthermore, it is not necessary that the configuration information include all the parameters listed below, but it is sufficient that the parameters necessary to make the signals to be monitored and the information necessary to configure the means of monitoring are included in the probe points. monitoring to perform the desired monitoring.

In fig. 10 The relationship between these files is shown graphically, highlighting the fields that compose them. Below, we discuss in detail the enhancement of these fields and how the parameters present in them are extracted and processed for the coordination of the monitoring tool equipment.

The Channel Type file consists of three fields:

â € ¢ Content, enhanced with the name of the A / V stream; â € ¢ Type, associates the relative tag to each of the channels; â € ¢ SID Output, contains the Service ID that the Secondary Mux associates with the multiplexed stream transmitted on satellite.

Among all the fields, the SID Output is, for the logic of the monitoring system, the most relevant since it is used as an internal and external key to uniquely extract all the necessary fields from all the files, determining the set of parameters, that is the n-tuple, sufficient to drive the supply hain equipment (the matrices) and the monitoring system. The reason why this field was chosen as the key lies in the fact that it is unique: in fact, each channel must be assigned a Service ID that cannot be repeated in order to allow the STB to function correctly. In other words, the SID is an example of the channel identifier uniquely associated with a channel. Other examples are represented by the commercial name (ie the one known to the viewer) of the television channel. However, the identifier can also be represented by two or more values (as long as the values as a whole are uniquely associated with a channel), for example the SID and the channel tag, in particular if the combination of more values can make more easy to locate all necessary configuration information.

The List IN file consists of two sections, one which contains all the information relating to the entrants of the SD matrix and the second which instead characterizes all the entrants of the ASI matrix. In fact, in Fig. 10 this distinction is indicated through two different logical tables. This file is divided into the following fields:

â € ¢ Matrix, is enhanced with "ASI" or "SD", allowing the distinction between the entrants of the ASI matrix and the entrants of the SDÃŒ matrix;

â € ¢ Incoming, it is a cardinal number and specifies the order number of the entrant of the corresponding matrix through which the flow specified by the "Content" field of the same file passes;

â € ¢ Origin, specifies the system from which the flow comes; depending on the type of matrix and content, the provenance can assume different values;

â— Content, specifies the flow in transit through the incoming of the matrix;

â € ¢ SID Output. it uniquely denotes the stream in transit â € ¢ Monitoria, it is set to "YES" to indicate that only the entries relevant to the operation of the monitoring system are present in the file. The lines with the "no" field are not imported into the IN List file.

For the purposes of device tuning, the Content field is not needed, but it can still be imported by the system to allow easy debugging in case of anomalies during the tuning. However, it should be noted that, when the Matrix field is set in "ASI", the entrants do not pass single A / V flows, ie SPTS, but multiplate flows; consequently, the SID Output field, in this case, cannot be valued with a specific SID, since the corresponding flow carries several channels. The SID Output field, therefore, in this case is set to "nul" and the Content field is used as a reference index. In fact, in the case of the ASI matrix, this field can indicate either the output of a compression system and in this case, this flow is indicated with the letter identifying the compression system itself), or the name of the optical fiber of the Backbone that carries the 3rdP ASI flows, or the identifier of the DM remultiplexer line that performs the band check on the flows (this identifier consists of two numbers, i.e. X-Y, of which the first identifies the DM and the second the output line of the same).

The 3rdP ASI file, on the other hand, is composed of the following fields:

â € ¢ Content, which contains the name of the channel;

â € ¢ 3rdP Flow Name, enhanced with the name of the fiber that carries the 3rdP ASI flow;

â € ¢ ASI entrant, bearing the number of the entrant of the ASI matrix to which the fiber coming from third parties is attested;

â € ¢ DM, which specifies the X-Y pair relating to the remultiplexing of the ASI 3rdP stream;

â € ¢ SID arrivals ASI 3rdP, which contains the SID that the content owner has applied to the various multiplexed A / V flows (it is the analogue of the SID applied by the primary multiplexer upstream of the entry into the ASI matrix for the tagged channels SDÃŒ, Simulcast and Remote);

â € ¢ SID output, which contains the Service ID assigned by the secondary multiplexer to the individual channels.

Again, the Content field is not necessary for tuning purposes, but is imported to facilitate debugging in case of anomalies. Also the ASI Incoming field is not necessary, since the 3rdP Flow Name field applied on the Content field of the IN List file is sufficient to know the incoming of the ASI matrix on which the flow coming from the third parties is attested.

The Sys file has the following fields:

â € ¢ System, indicates the compression system that encodes the A / V stream;

â € ¢ Content, bears the name associated with the A / V stream;

â € ¢ SID Output, indicates the Service ID assigned by the secondary multiplexer to the individual channels.

As in the previous cases, the Content field is not essential for tuning purposes and is inserted only to facilitate debugging in case of anomalies. The Sid Output field, also in this case, is used as a referencing foreign key. The System field is necessary to know the corresponding entrant of the ASI matrix through which the flow will be diverted.

The Simulcast file has the following fields:

â € ¢ Incoming Pre-Dolby Audio Processor, contains the cardinal number corresponding to the incoming of the SD matrix in correspondence with which the SD stream is provided by the Playout Broadcasting;

â € ¢ IN List Contents (Pre-Dolby Audio Processor), contains the name of the A / V stream assigned before it passes through the Dolby Audio Processor for audio downmixing;

â € ¢ Incoming Post-Audio Processor, contains the cardinal number corresponding to the incoming of the SD matrix at which the A / V stream leaves the Dolby Audio Processor and re-enters the matrix;

â € ¢ List Contents. IN (Post-Dolby Audio Processor), contains the name of the A / V stream assigned after passing through the Dolby Audio Processor;

â € ¢ SID Output, contains the Service ID provided by the secondary multiplexer to the A / V stream.

Also in this case, the IN List Contents (Pre-Dolby Audio Processor) and IN List Contents (Post-Dolby Audio Processor) fields are not necessary for tuning purposes and perform a mere simplification task in case of debugging. The SID Output field, on the other hand, is used as a referencing key.

It should be noted, by way of example, that the two Content fields have different names, because the name Content List IN (Pre-Dolby Audio Processor) contains information that the feed will be used to obtain the downscaled version with Dolby 2.0 audio in front of a native feed with Dolby 5.1 Embedded; the output stream from the Dolby Audio Processor, on the other hand, bears the information "SD" in the name, in order to specify that this feed will be used to generate the simulcast version in Standard Definition of the High Definition channels.

As regards the information necessary for the tuning of the devices that need the feed coming from the Datamux, it should be observed that this flow enters directly into the ASI matrix, therefore its information is contained in the IN List file and is obtained by statically referencing this file using the field Content, enhanced with Datamux 2 (Application). Datamux 1 (XSI), Datamux Spare, and the Matrix field with ASI.

If the information contained in these files is not sufficient to correctly pilot all the devices, therefore, the server must also retrieve the data relating to the Service IDs at various levels of the chain and the RF parameters to correctly perform the tuning of the receiver and the RF analyzer. .

The enhancement of the Service IDs is obtained from the Service-pid file. csv, obtained from the secondary multiplexer management system, in which detailed information relating to the channels present on the television operator's satellite platform is reported. The file is divided into the following fields:

â € ¢ Service Name, specifies the name of the service;

â € ¢ PCR PI, is the program ID assigned by the secondary multiplexer to the PCR in the MPTS in which the indicated Service is transported;

â € ¢ PMT PID, is the program ID assigned to the program map table by the secondary multiplexer in the MPTS in which the indicated Service is transported;

â € ¢ TS ID, specifies the identification of the transponder in which the indicated Service is present;

â € ¢ SID Input, is the Service ID assigned by the primary multiplexer to the A / V flow out of the compression system or out of the DM remultiplexer for ASI Third Party flows;

â € ¢ SID Output, is the Service ID assigned by the secondary multiplexer to the A / V flow in question;

â € ¢ PID Input, carries the program ID assigned by the primary multiplexer or by the DM remultiplexer to the programs that make up the A / V stream in question, depending on whether the stream is compressed locally or provided by a content owner through an ASI stream 3rdP;

â € ¢ PID Output, carries the program ID assigned by the secondary multiplexer to the programs that make up the A / V stream in question;

â € ¢ Type, specifies the type of PID relative to those contained in the Service in question;

â € ¢ Descriptor, provides additional information to characterize the PIDs contained in the Service in question.

Many of the fields present in the file, such as the Service Name, the PMT and the PCR PID, are imported only for reasons related to facilitating debugging. The SID Input field, on the other hand, is used to correctly tune the receivers and analyzers fed with the A / V streams routed through the ASI matrix. The PID Inputs are used to filter all and only PIDs with type Fusion, Opentv or Applications or Data, relating to the Service in question, outgoing from Datamux 2 or Datamux Spare. The SID Output field, as in the previous cases, uniquely indexes the records of the Service-PID file. The PID Outputs, obtained in reception downstream of the demodulation and decrypting on the Service in question, allow you to set the audio PIDs in ascending order for the correct audio decoding of the RF receiver.

The RF parameters are collected in the text file Transponder.txt, which has as many records as there are transponders of the television operator. The structure is as follows:

â € ¢ Name, specifies the synthetic name of the transponder; â € ¢ TS ID, specify the identification of the transponder. â € ¢ NID, specify the network. ID, which for the TV operator in the example is fixed at 64511;

â € ¢ Frequency, is the carrier frequency around which the power spectral density associated with the specific MPTS is distributed;

â € ¢ OL frequency, defines the frequency of the local oscillator used to demodulate the signal in the RF band;

â € ¢ Polarization, specifies the polarization of the electromagnetic wave for RF transmission;

â € ¢ Band, specifies whether the spectral allocation is in high (H) or low (L) band;

â € ¢ FEC, specifies the cyclic redundancy code rate;

â € ¢ Symbol Rate, defines the symbol rate in Mbaud / s;

â € ¢ Type, defines the type of modulation (QPSK or 8-PSK) and the type of transponder (DVB-S or DVB-S2).

The TS ID field allows you to uniquely identify the transponder to be tuned to start RF reception, moreover, thanks to the Frequency, OL Frequency, Polarization and Band parameters, it is possible to correctly configure the interface of the RF analysis apparatus. The previous parameters, together with the Symbol Rate, the FEC and the Type, allow the tuning of the RF receiver. The NID field, on the other hand, does not carry significant information for tuning purposes.

Since all the data analyzed up to now are frequently subject to variations, it was expected that every day, at 6:30 AM, the server imports the entire database, in order to incorporate the variations applied.

Furthermore, considering that the correct functioning of the Quality Sys Monitoring depends on the consistency of the database, a check has been provided for any mismatch present in the following files:

â € ¢ Channel Type- List IN for a check on the correspondence of the Output SID in both files by channel tag valued at "SDÃŒ"

â— - Channel Type - Service-PID in which it is checked whether the SID Output of the channel to be analyzed is also present in the Service-PID file

â € ¢ Channel Type - Sys for a check on the correspondence and uniqueness of the Output SID in both files by channel tag valued at "SD", "Remote" and "Simulcast".

According to an example of the operation of the system, upon insertion of the channel name by the operator (either following automatic selection, or following a manual selection that interrupts an automatic selection, or following a generated selection from an alarm) two parallel workflows are activated. The first proceeds directly to the tuning of the Datamux, while the second proceeds to drive the SD, ASI and RF matrices and to perform the tuning of the analysis equipment.

In the first case, the client performs the following operations: â € ¢ Search in the "Content" field of the "IN List" file for the "DataMux 2" (or other) value, which corresponds to the Applications flow, after evaluating the "Matrix "with the value" ASI ";

â € ¢ Extracts the numerical value of the "Incoming" field, determining the number of the entrant on which the specified Datamux flow is attested;

â € ¢ This flow is split on the cross output of the ASI matrix dedicated to the Datamux monitoring flow (cross ASI # 1 output).

These three steps are performed by default for each channel, regardless of the tag. If you want to analyze the stream coming from Datamux 1 or Datamux Spare, the operator can switch from the interface. In this situation, the indicated process is repeated, with the difference that the searched "Content" field must be filled in respectively with "DataMux 1" or "DataMux Spare". The parallel workflow, on the other hand, performs the following steps:

â € ¢ The "channel name" entered by the operator is used to refer to the "Channel Type" file, from which two pieces of information are extracted: "tag" and "SID Ouput";

â € ¢ The "Tag" information is used as a variable in a switch-case branch with four streams, as many as there are possible channel tags.

In the event that the channel tag is set with "SD":

â € ¢ Using "SID Output", one searches in the "IN List" file, after evaluating the "Matrix" field with "SDÃŒ", the entrant of the SDÃŒ matrix on which the flow is attested;

â € ¢ The flow to that input is also split on the cross output of the SD matrix allocated for the monitoring tool (cross SD # 1 output);

â € ¢ Using "SID Output", search in the "Sys" file for the compression system that processes the A / V stream, storing the identifying letter of this system contained in the "System" column in a variable;

â € ¢ Using the variable with the alphabetic identifier of the compression system of the previous step, the "IN List" file is referenced with the enhancement of the "Matrix" field in "ASI" and, filtering the "Content" field with this letter identifies indicative, the "Incoming" field is extracted corresponding with the number that specifies where the compressed stream containing the selected channel is located;

â € ¢ The flow determined in the previous step is "split" on the dedicated monitoring system output (cross ASI # 3 output).

If the channel tag is set with "Remote", the following steps are performed:

â € ¢ Using "SID Output", search in the "Sys" file for the compression system that processes the A / V stream, storing the identifying letter of this system contained in the "System" column in a variable;

â € ¢ Using the variable with the alphabetic identifier of the compression system of the previous step, the "IN List" file is referenced with the enhancement of the "Matrix" field in "ASI" and, filtering the "Content" field with this identification letter , the "Incoming" field is extracted, corresponding with the number that specifies where the compressed stream containing the selected channel is located;

â € ¢ The flow determined in the previous step is "split" on the dedicated monitoring system output (cross ASI # 3 output).

Considering that the channels with "Remote" tags are subject to remote encoding and therefore do not pass through the SD matrix, it is understandable why this will remain in idle state.

If the channel tag is "ASI 3rdP", the workflow is as follows:

â € ¢ Using the "SID Output", the "ASI 3rdP" file is referenced, extracting the values that characterize the "Fiber Name", "DM" and "SID Arrivals 3rdP" fields;

â € ¢ Using the value "Fiber Name", the "IN List" file is referenced after adding "ASI" to the "Matrix" field, determining the identification number of the entry in the ASI matrix through which the ASI contribution of the Third Parties arrives (usually in an MPTS stream, where the specified channel is one of the services present); â € ¢ The determined input is "split" on the cross output of the ASI matrix dedicated to monitoring (cross output ASI # 2);

â € ¢ Using the "DM" value, the "IN List" file is referenced after adding "ASI" to the "Matrix" field, determining the identification number of the entering the ASI matrix through which the same downstream flow returns to the matrix of the passage in the remultiplexer;

â € ¢ The input thus determined is "split" on the cross output of the ASI matrix dedicated to monitoring (cross output ASI # 3);

â € ¢ The "3rdP Arrivals SID" value is stored in a variable and used for the analysis of the service on the flow arriving from the Third Parties. Note that this is the only case where both outputs allocated by the ASI matrix for the monitoring tool are used simultaneously.

In case the channel tag is Simulcast, the operations performed are:

â € ¢ Using the "SID Output" the "Simulcast" file is referenced, extracting the values contained in the "Incoming Pre-Dolby Audio Processor" and "Incoming Post-Dolby Audio Processor" fields; the value associated with the "Incoming Pre Dolby Audio Processor" field determines the incoming of the SD matrix through which the A / V stream delivered by the Playout Broadcasting is provided, while the value associated with the "Incoming Post Dolby Audio Processor" field determines the input of the SDÃŒ matrix to which the same A / V flow is attested downstream of the down scale, performed by the Dolby Audio Processor; â € ¢ The flow attested to the incoming Pre Dolby Audio Processor is split on the cross output of the SD matrix allocated for the monitoring system (cross SD # 1 output);

â € ¢ The flow connected to the incoming Post Dolby Audio Processor, on the other hand, is split on the other cross output of the SD matrix allocated for the monitoring system (cross SD # 2 output);

â € ¢ Using "SID Output", search in the "Sys" file for the compression system that processes the A / V stream, storing in a variable the identification letter of this system contained in the "System" column;

â € ¢ Using the variable with the alphabetic identification of the compression system of the previous step, the "IN List" file is referenced with the enhancement of the "Matrix" field in "ASI" and, filtering the "Content" field with this identification letter, extract the "Incoming" field corresponding with the number that specifies where the compressed stream containing the selected channel is located;

â € ¢ The flow determined in the previous step is "split" on the dedicated monitoring system output (cross ASI # 3 output).

The case of the Simulcast channels is the only one in which all the cross outputs of the SD matrix allocated for the monitoring system are used simultaneously.

In parallel with the tuning of the SDÌ and ASI matrices, the tuning of the RF matrix and of the other devices takes place. The referencing of the files and the extraction of the tuning parameters proceed according to the following steps:

â € ¢ Through the "SID Output", the Service-Pid.csv file is referenced, containing the records produced with the correspondence Service ID and PID;

â € ¢ The numerical value contained in the "TS ID" field is extracted, denoting the Transponder that contains the selected service;

â € ¢ Using the "TS ID", the text file with the RF parameters of the TV operator's Transponders is referenced, determining the set of all the parameters necessary for tuning, including "Frequency", "Frequency OL", "Polarization", "Band", "FEC", "Symbol rate" and "Type".

The "Polarization" and "Band" fields will be the first to be used for the tuning of the RF matrix, placed upstream of both the receiver and the RF analyzer. The remaining parameters are passed, according to the methods described below, to the RF receivers, in order to tune the service specified by the operator on the downlink.

In order to allow the analysis of the channel selected according to this example, an appropriate set of further parameters must be passed to the devices that analyze the A / V flow These parameters differ depending on whether the analyzer performs the analysis on the SD or ASI flow .

Please note that the SDÌ format is not accessible for channel tags valued at ASI 3rdP or Remote, while for channel tags equal to ASi 3rdP, of the same ASI flow, there will be two different compressed versions. For this reason, the Control Unit must perform a check on the nature of the channels before activating the analysis equipment. Using the SID Output, you search for the corresponding record in the csv file, extract the "SID Input" field and, when necessary for audio tuning, the identifiers of the "PID Outputs". At this point, the Control Unit performs a channel type test, checking if the channel tag is Remote or ASI 3rdP or neither.

If the tag is none of the above and therefore SD or Simulcast is valid:

â— Activates the analysis and reporting on the devices connected to the cross output of the SD # 1 and also SD # 2 matrix for Simulcast tags, to the cross ASI # 3 output and in RF reception, filtering the logs according to the saved parameters to the previous step If the tag is Remote:

â € ¢ Activates the analysis and reporting on the devices connected to the cross output of the ASI # 3 matrix and in RF reception, filtering the logs according to the parameters saved in the previous step

In case the tag is ASI 3rdP, finally:

â € ¢ Search for the "3rdP Arrivals SID" corresponding to the Output SID in the 3rdP ASI file;

â € ¢ Search in the csv file for the "SID input" corresponding to the value set at the DM output;

â € ¢ Activates the analysis and reporting on the devices connected to the cross output of the ASI # 2 matrix, to the cross ASI # 3 output and in RF reception, filtering the logs according to the parameters saved in the previous step: more precisely, the 3rdP Arrivals SID is used for filtering the logs on the analyzer, which receives as input the ASI stream coming from the 3rdP content owner; the SID Input, on the other hand, is used for filtering on the analyzer, which receives as input the ASI stream downstream of the passage through the DM remultiplexer).

The monitoring system, in the following illustrative example, consists of devices that can be divided into three different categories:

â € ¢ Equipment that requires tuning;

â € ¢ Equipment for viewing video output on Client or TV;

â € ¢ Equipment dedicated to quality analysis;

Each or one or more of these devices is configured from the configuration information so that they can perform the desired monitoring.

The first category includes devices which, to display the A / V streams or the figures of merit relating to the channel selected by the operator, must be suitably tuned using information obtained from the database. For example, this first category includes devices of the type: RF Analyzer with DVB-S / S2 card; PQA (Picture Quality Analyzer) reai time; Integreted Receiver Decoder (IRD) RF-SDI with CAM NDS Videoguard module or other coding system; IRD ASI-SDI; SDÌ n x n matrix; ASI matrix n x n; RF matrix n x n.

The second category includes devices that do not require tuning or routing and are positioned downstream of the monitoring chain. For example: Multiviewer (ie a device capable of displaying multiple videos simultaneously on one screen); Embedded Audio Processor (if necessary for correct audio decoding on Multiviewer); IP encoder.

The third category includes the devices used to monitor the quality of the signal received in terms of RF parameters and MPEG errors of first, second and third priority defined in the ETSI TR 101 290 standard. This allows real time verification of the presence of anomalies and malfunctions. relating to encoding and multiplexing equipment. For example: RF / ASI Analyzer with DVB-S / S2 card; SD Analyzer; PQA real time.

The splitting of the A / V SD stream entering the matrix, by SD or Simulcast channel tag, is performed by sending appropriate commands sent by the Server to the Matrix SD Controller.

In order to avoid any unwanted impacts on the production equipment, a pool of static outgoing can be (but not necessarily) reserved (exit cross # 1 and # 2), so that the switchings can be performed only and exclusively on these ports and without altering the production routing of the flows.

It should be noted that the communication for the sending of the switching and splitting commands of the flows can take place through a proprietary protocol of the matrix system, which allows the switching of all the entrances in the main and backup matrix on only the two dedicated outgoing ones.

The information relating to the entrant (s) to be switched and split is obtained from the Control Unit by consulting the DB and sent to the Matrix Controller to physically perform the requested operation.

Downstream of switching, the video signal, coming from cross output # 1, is sent to the first input of the Multiviewer for its display. For channels with Simulcast tags, on the other hand, the A / V Post Audio Processor stream, coming from cross output # 2, is first forwarded to the Embedded Audio Processor of the monitoring system and then to the Multiviewer to display the audio bars downstream of the downmix by the production Audio Processor

Also in the case of the ASI matrix, the Control Unit will communicate with the Matrix Controller to send, according to the channel tag, the identifier of the entrants to be switched

The outputs of the ASI matrix dedicated to the monitoring tool can be statically assigned and the splitting procedure of the A / V streams is the same as in the case of the SD matrix. Note that in the case of the ASI matrix, there are three dedicated outbounds, of which the first is always active and connected to the incoming Datamux, the second to the optical fiber input coming from the Third Party content owner and the third deputy to routing the flow coming from the Primary Multiplexer or the DM Remultiplexer.

The information relating to which and how many entrants to switch to the dedicated cross outputs is determined by the Control Unit by consulting the DB and depends not only on the selection made but also on the channel tag.

The redirected A / V flows will be forwarded to the IRDs, where it will be possible to decode the service in question. Depending on the type of channel, as explained previously, in this example it is possible to have up to two streams redirected on the ASI-SDI IRDs.

The receiving means, in addition to comprising an Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD), can comprise an RF matrix operating as follows. For the routing of the ASI streams, RF modulated and discriminated by polarization and band at the output of the MTX RF n x n, the server can send the switching command through the serial port to the controller of the RF matrix: in fact, following the insertion of the channel name, the Control Unit will determine the polarization (Vertical or Horizzontal) and band (High or Low) of the Transponder that transmits the channel in question.

Considering that the operator, in addition to the choice of the Datamux to be analyzed, will be able to decide whether to monitor the "RF Main" or "RF spare" chain, identical to the main chain in terms of technical parameters and configuration but consisting of secondary multiplexers and different modulators, the Control Unit will also have to switch the corresponding inputs appropriately.

If the operator does not make any selection, the "RF Main" chain can be applied by default, which implies that the matrix switches four RF INPUTs on four OUTPUTs, as follows:

â € ¢ INPUT 1: VH switched to OUTPUT 1

â— INPUT 2: VL switched to OUTPUT 2

â € ¢ INPUT 3: HH switched to OUTPUT 3

â € ¢ INPUT 4: HL switched to OUTPUT 4

The "RF Spare" configuration, relating to the backup chain, uses four other INPUTs, always switching them to the four previous OUTPUTs, as follows:

â € ¢ INPUT 5: VH switched to OUTPUT 1

â € ¢ INPUT 6: VL switched to OUTPUT 2

â € ¢ INPUT 7: HH switched to OUTPUT 3

â € ¢ INPUT 8: HL switched to OUTPUT 4

In any case, regardless of the chosen configuration, the four outputs of the RF matrix, containing the modulated flows of the Main or Spare chain, will be addressed to a multiswitch, whose outputs will act as an input to the RF-SDI IRD for decoding and decrypting. and the RF analyzer for reporting.

The Integreted Receiver Decoders (IRDs) used in the monitoring system can be of two types:

â € ¢ IRD ASI-SDI, used to decode the ASI streams, taken from the dedicated cross outputs of the ASI matrix, perform the decoding operations on the MPTS in baseband (IF)

â € ¢ RF-SDI IRDs, used to demodulate, decrypt and decode the ASI streams received from satellite downlinks.

In order for the decoding operations to be carried out correctly, extracting the A / V stream corresponding to the channel name entered, the Control Unit must, downstream of the database query (i.e. based on the configuration information), send the configuration parameters to the IRDs.

The sending of the configurations to perform the tuning of the receiver, be it ASI-SDI or RF-SDI, can be done by uploading configuration files extracted from the IRDs or by sending SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) traps, generated ad hoc by the Control Unit, by entering the necessary information obtained from consulting the DB

In the case of the ASI-SDI receiver, the parameters to be set will relate to Input Source, valued in ASI; Service ID and Decoding of the audio / video stream. If the receiver in question is connected to the cross output # 2 of the ASI matrix, the SID to be set is the one indicated as "3rdP Arrivals SID", that is the one assigned by the Content Owner in the delivery optical fiber. If, on the other hand, the receiver in question is the one connected to the cross output # 3 of the ASI matrix, the SID to be set is the one indicated as "SID Input", that is the one assigned by the Primary Mulitplexer or by the Remultiplexer DM.

For the RF-SDI receiver, however, the information on the Service ID may not be sufficient. but it is also necessary to provide the device with the parameters to tune the transponder and to decrypt the received stream protected by Conditional Access. Specifically, it will be necessary to set 'Input Source valued in SAT, the Service ID assigned by the Secondary Multiplexer, the activation of the Decrypt if the stream is encoded, the Satellite Frequency, the Symbol Rate, the type of Modulation,' OL frequency and the Decoding of the audio / video stream.

Furthermore, the settings for the correct decoding and display of the channel audio (including Dolby D) on the audio bars of the Multiviewer will be set on the IRDs.

For each selected channel, the decoding order of the audio tracks is determined by setting the Dolby audio as first, followed in ascending order by the audio PID Output of the channel present in the Service-PID .csv file

All configuration parameters are extracted and used by the Control Unit to "post" the configuration to the receivers.

The RF 285 analyzer of the monitoring system must be equipped with a radiofrequency module that allows to tune the transponder and to perform measurements of the most relevant figures of merit (Carriet-to-Noise Ratio (CNR), Modulation Error Ratio (MER) , Bit Error Rate (BER), Input power)

In order to be able to perform these measurements, presets can be statically set on the machine with all the RF configurations of the Transponders, so that it is sufficient to extract the TS ID from the DB to select the analysis profile on the device. The selection of the RF profile can be done by sending SNMP commands from the Control Unit.

Once the device has been tuned, it will begin to extract the RF parameters of the received signal in real time.

The PQA (220) is an analysis device used to evaluate the quality of the audio video stream transmission, characterizing it by calculating the PSNR (evaluated by comparing a reference feed with a test feed), which varies according to the presence of video impairment, such as blockiness, color gamut errors. The configuration information can indicate the type of measurement to be performed (for example PSNR based only on luminance or also on parameters Cb and Cr).

The PSNR is calculated on the luminance matrix Y and the two chrominance matrices Cb and Cr. Considering that the PSNR value calculated on chrominances can vary very rapidly, with strong drops with respect to the "steady state" value, in some cases it is advisable to use the PSNR calculation on the luminance matrix Y alone, where the variations in value they occur in the presence of actual impairment. Also, to avoid generating overabundant alarms, the PSNR Y value should remain low for at least three consecutive frames before triggering an alarm. Note that the reference feed coincides with the A / V stream entering the SD matrix, while the analysis stream is the A / V stream received from the satellite downlink. Since the two A / V streams are not synchronized (due to processing and irradiation time), the PQA has to "align" the two streams before starting the comparison. For all these considerations, given the computational effort required of the machine, it is possible to choose to activate video analysis on request, only when the operator expressly requests it from the interface.

The operator can clearly start the analysis if the channel has SD or Simulcast tags: for all the other channel tags, in fact, there would not be an input SDÌ reference stream.

The Control Unit, for its part, following the activation of the PQA tuning, will have to start the analysis by first aligning the two feeds and ending it at the channel change, canceling the alarms of the previous session. The tuning and analysis commands can be activated via SNMP; in any case, the PQA must listen to these commands

According to the PSNR threshold set on the luminance matrix Y, the PQA performs the analysis and, whenever the value of the figure of merit falls below the threshold, an alarm is issued

The alarms are reported in a text file containing the date and time of the tuning operations (launch of the analysis, number of alignment offset frames, etc.) and of the alarm events (with the PSNR value determined for the Y or Cb matrices and Cr).

In the monitoring interface that can be viewed through the client, the logs filtered by date and time and by alarms on PSNR relating to matrix Y will be displayed. At the end of the analysis, the log files will be fully exported to the server and stored in a repository dedicated to the analyzed channel.

The Multiviewer is a device that receives in input five SD audio / video streams sent respectively by the SD Matrix, by the RF-SDI IRD with decrypted stream from downlink, by the ASI-SDI IRDs downstream of the ASI Matrix with streams coming from dedicated outgoing to the Primary Multiplexer / Remultiplexer DM and the fiber optic arrivals of the Third Party content owners.

The flows entering the Multiviewer are graphically composed in a four-window A / V mosaic made up as follows:

â € ¢ Window 1 (first window at the top left) with label "SD";

â € ¢ Window 2 (second window at the top right) with label "ASI 3rdP";

â € ¢ Window 3 (third window on the bottom left) with label "Sys / DM";

â € ¢ Window 4 (fourth window at bottom right) labeled "RF".

Each window identifies the stage of the chain that the channel in question is going through: specifically, SD corresponds to the flow out of the SDÌ matrix, ASI 3rdP displays the channel as released by the content owner of the Third Parties, Sys / DM shows the flow after the ASI matrix respectively at the output from the compression system or from the DM remultiplexer, RF represents the reception of the downlink channel from satellite. The right part of the layout, inve e, labeled "Post-Audio Processor" is occupied by the sound bars dedicated to the monitor output to the Audio Processor of the production chain.

For each incoming stream, the Multiviewer highlights the sound bars configured to display:

â € ¢ two Dolby E 5.1 / 2.0 groups or four PCM stereos for the streams coming from Broadcasting Playout; â € ¢ two Dolby D audio and two PCM stereo audio or up to four PCM stereo audio for the output streams from the IRDs downstream of third-party delivery, Sys, DM or RF reception;

â € ¢ one Dolby D audio and two PCM stereo for the streams coming from the Audio Processor of the

production chain

Furthermore, the Multiviewer is able to recognize the presence of a Video Loss or Black, activating the corresponding alarms by listening to the notifications by the Control Unit.

The latter, following the receipt of a Video Loss or Black signal and after having properly checked the channel tag, will highlight, if necessary, a red border on the alarmed window of the Multiviewer, so that the operator, viewing the flow A / V, can instantly detect the reported criticality.

If, on the other hand, the alarm is generated by the analysis performed by one of the SDI / ASI / RF analyzer, the Control Unit sends an SNMP command (or equivalent) to the Multiviewer to highlight the message relating to the alarmed window in orange (SD, ASI 3rdP, Sys / DM, RF) on which the error was found, i.e. whose analysis log is populated. Furthermore, the correlation of the errors will indicate the point at which the fault is believed to have originated. It has also been envisaged that the control system, when tuning a new channel, performs, if necessary and depending on the channel tag, the depopulation of the multiviewer and the detuning of the equipment. More specifically, on the Multiviewer the boxes can be "blacked out", by switching the Video Black source on the SD matrix and setting the No Selectìon Video parameter for decoding the receivers. By way of example, with the channel tag set to "Remote", the windows relating to the SDÌ stream arriving from Broadcasting and outgoing from the Audio Processor for the audio down scale will be obscured, in addition to the window relating to the delivery of the Third Parties. This same window will also be obscured with the tag set to Simulcast. With a tag equal to SD, the section dedicated to the channels that pass through the Audio Processor for the audio down scale and that relating to the stream arriving from the Third Parties will be obscured. Finally, with the same tag as ASI 3rdP, the two outgoing MTX SD will be obscured.

the "detuning" of the analyzer, on the other hand, is obtained by discarding all the logs produced in the period between the closing of the session and the opening of the next

The Embedded Audio Processor allows you to extract one Dolby D audio and two PCM audio from an embedded Audio signal, allowing, if necessary, the correct display in the right "Post-Audio Processor" section of the Multiviewer, The Audio Processor receives the stream as input of the SDÌ matrix coming from the Audio Porcessor frame of the production chain and containing three audio tracks: two stereo and one Dolby D,

The Dolby D audio received in this way can be processed and unpacked into six discrete tracks suitably defined as input order to the Multiviewer; specifically, the first six discrete tracks will show Dolby D, while the next four tracks (channels 7-10) will show two PCM stereo audio (the second and third in order).

The SD stream output from the Multiviewer, which will contain the set of all the streams with the audio bars and any alarm signals superimposed, can be forwarded to an IP Encorder. This will encode the SD stream by setting a specific bandwidth consumption in Mbit / sec and transforming it smooth streaming for viewing on PC and in HLS for IOS operating system. The video stream will then be delivered to the server, which will redirect it only when the operator explicitly requests it, and subsequently to the client for viewing from the web browser. A player capable of receiving and displaying the video stream must therefore be integrated on the client.

The SD 215 analyzer, positioned downstream of the SDÌ matrix, is dedicated to the quality analysis of the transport stream arriving from Playout Broadcasting through the collection of errors and anomalies (Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) error, Timing Reference Signal ( TRS), Active Format Description (AFD), End of Frame (EOF), audio silence or mute, audio clip over, video black or frozen, RGB error etc), reported on the instrument interface and on a text file, filtered through analysis date and time of the selected channel.

The Control Unit, by downloading the text file on the server and storing it in the repository dedicated to the channel in question, reports the alarms on the client interface and shows the message relating to the SDÌ window in orange on the video stream if the log file is populated.

In addition, on the Client, through the SD Image tab, a screenshot of the instrument will be shown so that the operator also has an immediate visual confirmation of the status relating to the signal arriving from Playout.

As discussed above, after the SD matrix routing, the RF-SDI IRD tuning and after alignment of the reference and target flows, the PQA 220 starts the audio / video quality analysis to evaluate any impairments present on the second feed. . These are highlighted by the calculation, frame by fratrie, of the PSNR (Peak Signal to Noise Ratio) on the luminance matrix Y and on the matrices Cb and Cr, calibrated on different thresholds and whose time course is shown on a graduated scale and with an adaptive range. .

The values calculated for the matrices on the feed reference are used as the reference against which the PSNRs of the target feed are monitored.

Should it occur that at least one of the three PSNR falls below the threshold values for the specified number of frames, an error will be reported and written in the log files, which will be sent to the server and shown on the Client application in the tabs dedicated to reporting. of the device, filtered on the analysis time of the selected channel.

The analyzers used in the monitoring system are of two types:

â € ¢ Equipment that performs analysis on the ASI flow;

â € ¢ Devices that perform analyzes on both the ASI flow and the RF signal.

As anticipated, the analyzer with RF module is used only in reception, while the other three devices are used for analysis on the ASI flows taken from the three cross outputs of the ASI matrix

â € ¢ The analysis of the DVB-S and DVB-S2 RF signal received by satellite, respectively in accordance with the ETSI EN 300 421 and ETSI EN 302 307 standards, is performed downstream of the tuning of the transponder of interest by reading several variables such as rfLock, rf Power, rfBERPRERS, rfCNR and rfMER. rfLock, to know if the analyzer tuner is working correctly;

â € ¢ rfPower, which indicates the input power to the receiver, expressed in dBm;

â € ¢ rfBERPRERS, which indicates the BER value upstream of the resolution of the Reed-Solomon encoding;

â € ¢ rfCNR, which reports the CNR value in dB;

â € ¢ rfMER, which indicates the MER value in dB

The values of these parameters can be reported periodically (for example every minute) in the RF Analysis section of the Compressed Stream Analysis tab of the Client interface of the monitoring system.

The BERPRERS (BER upstream of the resolution of the Reed-Solomon coding) is linked to the FEC of the Transponder and its value is set during the analyzer tuning.

For the part of the analysis relating to the RF modulated ASI flow, on the other hand, the SI / PSI tables will be monitored such as the TDT (Time and Date Table), the descriptors and the coding components for each PID belonging to the service of interest transported inside. of the Multiplexer, the total bitrate available and used on the entire transport stream and by each PID of the service. Essentially, the parameters indicated can be fetched either by using uri or by sending SNMP commands or files issued by the Control Unit (it is possible to configure which parameters to fetch for example via the configuration information).

Obviously, considering that the analyzers perform the analysis on the entire MP S. using the fields filtered by the DB (SID Input, SID Output, SID Arrivals 3rdP, PID Input), it will be possible to produce targeted reports (configurable for example through the information of configuration) to the service of interest at different levels of the chain for visualization on the interface of the monitoring tool. Thus, for example, to obtain the descriptors relating to a service, it will be necessary to launch and interpret up to three commands: the first with SID output to obtain the channel descriptors of the RF modulated television operator, the second with SID Input for values output from the compression system or from the DM remultiplexer and the third with SID Arrìvì3rdP for those of the channel released by the Third Party content owner. For each displayed pid, the relative type must be interpreted on the basis of the following correspondence:

â € ¢ 0: YES / PSI;

â € ¢ 2: MPEG-2 Video;

â € ¢ 3: MPEG-1 Audio;

â € ¢ 4: MPEG-2 Audio;

â € ¢ 5: Private Sections, for components of the Fusion or OpenTV platform;

â € ¢ 6: PES Private Data, for PID Download, Teletext or Dolby Audio;

â € ¢ 27: AVC - H264 video stream;

â € ¢ 255: ECM.

Furthermore, the value of the table containing the date and time relating to the Transponder (TDT) will be obtained, expressed in UTC Time (Coordinated Universal Time, which in Italy corresponds to UTC + 2 when daylight saving time is in force).

For exhaustive reporting, the information relating to the descriptors of each service is integrated with the bitrate values for Pid and for transport stream.

The Control Unit, in fact, once the PIDs of the service in question have been obtained, can temporarily store them to acquire and show the instant bitrate.

For the RF part, the interface also shows the useful bitrate of the transponder and the stuffing bitrate obtained by reading the bitrate of the PID 8191.

Finally, in ASI analysis in reception, it is important to know which PIDs are scrambled.

The information of the PIDs with relative bitrates and descriptors present on the service, collected and reported on the Client in real time and at different stages of the chain, are also extracted from the analyzers located downstream of the ASI Matrix, dedicated to the flows arriving from the Third Parties, at the output from Sys / Remux and Datamux. Thus, for example, as explained above, in the case of the analyzer placed on the monitor to incoming third flows, all the PIDs and the relative bitrates relating to the program must be selected with a value equal to the SID ASI 3rdP already extracted and used to tune the IRD corresponding for viewing the vìdeo stream)

For the device placed in monitor to output flows from Sys / DM, all the PIDs and the relative bitrates relating to the program must be selected having a value equal to the SID Input (already extracted and used to tune the corresponding IRD for viewing the video stream).

There is also an analyzer dedicated to the analysis of the data flows downstream of the ASI Matrix output from the Datamux which, by default upon selecting a channel in the monitoring tool, is set to feed DATAMUX 2, leaving the user the possibility to switch to other Datamux feeds (i.e. DATAMUX 1 and DATAMUX Spare). For the latter device, only the bitrate relating to the PIDs can be reported with the logic defined as follows:

â € ¢ If the Datamux chosen by the operator is Datamux 2 or Datamux Spare, all and only the PID Inputs must be shown on the Client, with a useful bitrate value, which in the Service-Pid file have the Type field set to "" Application "," OpenTV "or" Fusion "relating to the selected channel, identified by the Sid Output.

â € ¢ If the Datamux chosen by the operator is Datamux 1, all the pid present in the feed coming from Datamux 1 will be reported, with the relative bitrates.

Finally, MPEG errors can be detected, divided into three classes of decreasing severity:

â € ¢ First priority errors: TS sync loss, Sync byte error, PAT error, Continuity count error, PMT error, PID error

â € ¢ Second priority errors: Transport error, CRC error, PCR error, PCR repetition error, PCR discontinuity indicator error, PCR accuracy error, PTS error, CAT error

â € ¢ Third priority errors: NIT error, NIT actual_error, NIT other error, SI repetition error, Buffer error, Unreferenced PID, SDT error, SDT actual error, SDT other error, EIT error, EIT actual error, EIT other error, EIT PF error, RST error, TDT error, Empty buffer error, Data delay error.

The errors in progress for each flow under examination downstream of the ASI Matrix and of the RF reception will be collected and sent to the Control Unit, which will initially delete the logs of the previous analysis session and will filter the records of the MPEG ETR 101 290 errors, collected in real time, making them visible on the Client to the operators with an update frequency of one minute.

Furthermore, the alarm generated by the analysis carried out by one of the analyzer, will be notified to the Control Unit which will send a command to the Multiviewer to highlight in orange the message relating to the window (ASI 3rdP, Sys / DM, RF) whose log of analysis is populated. This will also allow you to detect any anomalies in the operation on the video stream.

At the end of the analysis session and with the STOP key, the log files will finally be saved on the server in a repository dedicated to the monitored channel.

In addition to viewing the mosaic video stream output from Multiviewer and collecting the error logs from the analysis equipment, the Quality Sys Monitoring is able to connect and relate the alarms received by setting a particular severity depending on the stage of the chain in which the alarm occurs (see the correlation described above with reference to the first and second monitoring information and the predefined patterns).

The correlations are present in the "Suggestions" tab of the application interface, containing in a concise and effective textual form, targeted indications and relevant information for the selected channel (entrants of the SD and ASI, Sys / DM, Transponder matrices), so that the operator can guarantee a quick restoration of normal operating conditions.

The messages prepared will then refer to the detailed section of the reports on Compressed Stream analysis, with useful and available bitrate on transport, service descriptors and bitrates, TDT, RF quality parameters, and on the ETR 101 290 logs for an in-depth analysis of the anomaly found.

Two primary types of errors are detected and related to each other, divided into two different sections:

* the first, of greater severity, linked to the absence or blackness of the video signal found on one or more windows of the Multiviewer, - * the second, which may be of a lighter entity than the previous one, relates to the signal logs SD incoming from Playout and to the output signals from the ASI matrix and RF modulated obtained by the quality analyzer. However, a first priority alarm ETR 101 290 could prevent the vision of the single channel or even of the entire transponder.

The Control Unit will deal with relating the error messages on the selected channel to each other, thus taking into account its specific tag and the priority that the alarm assumes according to the stage of the chain it crosses. This is made possible because the server listens to the notifications received by Multiviewer for the status of video Loss and Black and for the alarms detected by the SDI / ASI / RF analyzer.

By way of example, following the receipt of a notification of a Loss or Black video, both arriving from Playout and on other stages of the chain, a message of greater attention will be shown relating to the flow which in logical order is before the next stage of the chain (in this case SD), considering that the same status will also be present on subsequent levels.

Specifically, for this type of video alarm, with channel tag set to SDÌ or Simulcast, the following Video Loss / Black signals may occur:

â € ¢ on only window 1 of the Multiviewer corresponding to the SDÃŒ incoming stage. The message shown on the client will be "Attention Video Black or Loss on signal coming from Playout Broadcasting, Input MTX SD number xxx";

â € ¢ on only window 3 of the Multiviewer corresponding to the exit stage from Sys. The message shown on the client will be "Attention Video Black or Loss on signal coming from Sys xxx, Input MTX ASI number xxx";

â € ¢ on only window 4 of the Multiviewer corresponding to the RF reception stage. The message shown on the client will be "Attention Video Black or Loss on signal coming from Secondary Multiplexer, Transponder xxx, Type xxxx, Sat Frequ ncy xxx, Symbol Rate xxx, FEC xxx, SID OUT xxx

â € ¢ simultaneously on window 1, 3, 4 of the Multiviewer: in this case it is indicated to pay attention to the SD stage, which in logical order precedes the Sys and RF stage. The message shown on the Client will be "Attention Video Black or Loss on signal coming from Playout Broadcasting,, Input MTX SDÃŒ number xxx";

â € ¢ simultaneously on window 3, 4 of the Multiviewer: in this case it is indicated to pay attention to the Sys output stage, which in logical order precedes the RF stage. The message displayed on the client will be "Attention Video Black or Loss on signal coming from Sys xxx, Input MTX ASI number xxx".

The Remote tag is valid for a subset of channels with SDÌ and Simulcast tags, in fact, it can show anomalies on window 3, on window 4 (but not on window 1) and simultaneously on both windows. In this situation, as for SD or Simulcast channel tags, the message is shown to pay more attention to the stage coming out of Sys, preceding the RF stage.

Finally, with the channel tag valued at ASI 3rdP, the following Video Loss / Black signals can occur:

â € ¢ only on window 2 of the Multiviewer corresponding to the ASI 3rdP arrivals stadium. The message shown on the client will be "Attention Video Black or Loss on signal coming from content delivery of Third Parties, Source xxx, SID ASI 3rdP xxx";

â € ¢ on only window 3 of the Multiviewer corresponding to the DM output stage. The message shown on the client will be "Attention Video Black or Loss on signal coming from DM xxx, Input MTX ASI number xxx";

â € ¢ on only window 4 of the Multiviewer corresponding to the RF reception stage. The message displayed on the client will be the same as indicated for the SDÃŒ or Simulcast channel tag.

When the alarm relating to Video Loss / Black returns, any corresponding message on the interface will also disappear.

Similarly to the Loss / Black video, for the second type of error, linked to the appearance of alarms on the SD signal arriving from Playout and on the output signals from the ASI matrix and RF modulated, the anomaly with the details on the SD and ASI matrix entrants, on the SYS / DM and the data relating to the Transponder. When errors from the measuring devices appear, the following types of messages will be shown on the client depending on the Multiviewer window on which they appear:

â € ¢ For window 1 labeled SD: "Attention error message detected by SD Analyzer on signal coming from Playout Broadcasting, Input MTX SDÃŒ number xxx .. See SDÃŒ Anlysis and SDÃŒ Image sections for details".

â € ¢ For window 2 with ASI 3rdP label:

"Attention error message detected by ASI Analyzer on signal coming from content delivery of Third Parties, Source xxx, SID ASI 3rdP xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101 290 section on ASI 3rdP Analysis for details".

â € ¢ For window 3 labeled Sys: "Attention error message detected by ASI Analyzer on signal coming from Sys xxx, Input MTX ASI number xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101 290 section on SYS Primary Analysis for details"

â € ¢ For window 3 with DM label: "Attention error message detected by ASI Analyzer on signal coming from DM xxx, Input MTX ASI number xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101290 section on DM Analysis for details"

â € ¢ For window 4 with RF label: "Attention error message detected by ASI / RF Analyzer on signal coming from Secondary Multiplexer, Transponder xxx, Type xxxx, Sat Frequency xxx, Symbol Rate xxx, FEC xxx, SID OUT xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101 290 section on RF Analysis for details ".

Furthermore, depending on the channel tag, the Control Unit will take care of correlating the alarms with a specific priority level.

For example, for tags valued at SD or Simulcast, the same combinations of anomalies indicated above can be found for Video Loss / Black (on window 1, on window 3, on window 4), to which is added the possibility of simultaneous signaling. In detail, if the alarm appears:

â € ¢ Simultaneously on the window 1, 3, 4 of the Multiviewer it is indicated to pay more attention to the anomaly on the SDÃŒ stage which in logical order precedes the Sys and RF stage. Unlike the video case, the indications on anomalies relating to the other stages of the chain will not be omitted. The message shown on the Client, therefore, will be:

LEVEL 1 "Attention error message detected by SDÌ Analyzer on signal coming from Playout Broadcasting,, Input MTX SDÌ number xxx .. See SDÌ Anlysis and SD Image sections for details";

LEVEL 2 "Attention error message detected by ASI Analyzer on signal coming from Sys xxx, Input MTX ASI number xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101290 section on SYS Primary Analysis for details";

LEVEL 3 "Attention Error message detected by ASI / RF Analyzer on signal coming from Secondary Multiplexer, Transponder xxx, Type xxxx, Sat Frequency Symbol Rate xxx, FEC xxx, SID OUT xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101 290 section on RF Analysis for details ";

â € ¢ simultaneously on window 3, 4 of the Multiviewer it is indicated to pay more attention to the Sys output stage, which in logical order precedes the RF stage (level one priority), but the indications on anomalies relating to the stage will not be neglected RF of the chain (level 2 priority). The messages shown on the Client will be a subset of the previous three (LEVEL 2 and LEVEL 3).

For simultaneous alarms detected on combinations of windows 1, 3 and 1, 4, generally not correlated to each other, both messages relating to the individual windows are shown.

The Remote tag can be considered a subset of the SDÌ and Simulcast tagged channels, in fact, it can show anomalies on window 3, on window 4 (but not on window 1) and simultaneously on both windows. In this situation, as for the SDÌ O Simulcast channel tag, the message to pay more attention to the output stage from Sys, prior to the RF stage (message LEVEL 1), is shown, followed by indications on the anomalies relating to the RF stage of the chain ( LEVEL 2 message)

For channel tag valued at ASI 3rdP, the same combinations of anomalies indicated above can be found for Video Loss / Black (on window 2, on window 3, on window 4) plus the possibility of simultaneous signaling. In detail, if the alarm appears:

â € ¢ Simultaneously on the window 2, 3, 4 of the Multiviewer it is indicated to pay more attention to the anomaly on the ASI 3rdP stage which in logical order precedes the DM and RF stage. Unlike the video case, the indications on anomalies relating to the other stages of the chain will not be omitted. The message shown on the Client will be LEVEL 1 "Attention error message detected by ASI Analyzer on signal coming from content delivery of Third Parties, Source xxx, SID ASI 3rdP xxx";

LEVEL 2 "Attention error message detected by ASI Analyzer on signal coming from DM xxx, Input MTX ASI number xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101290 section on DM Analysis for details";

LEVEL 3 "Attention Error message detected by ASI / RF Analyzer on signal coming from Secondary Multiplexer, Transponder xxx, Type xxxx, Sat Frequency xxx, Symbol Rate xxx, FEC xxx, SID OUT xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101 290 section on RF Analysis for details ";

â € ¢ simultaneously on window 3, 4 of the Multiviewer it is indicated to pay more attention to the DM output stage, which in logical order precedes the RF stage (level one priority), but the indications on anomalies relating to the stage will not be neglected RF of the chain (level 2 priority). The messages shown on the client will be a subset of the previous three (LEVEL 2 and LEVEL 3).

For the simultaneous alarms detected on the combinations of windows 2, 3 and 2, 4, generally not correlated to each other, both messages relating to the individual windows are shown.

Finally, for errors coming from Datamux the message will be shown: "Attention error message detected by ASI Analyzer on signal coming from Datamux xxx, Input MTX ASI number xxx. See Log Streams ETR 101 290 section on Datamux Analysis for details"

If there is no signal concerning the two sections "Video Loss / Black" or "Alarm and Error" the message will be shown:

â € ¢ "No Video Loss / Black" for the video section

â € ¢ "No alarms and errors" for the second section, while the next line will say "For bitrate / descriptor / RF parameters see Compressed Stream Analysis section"

Naturally, the above description of embodiments and examples applying the innovative principles of the invention is given only by way of example of these principles and must therefore not be construed as a limitation of the patent scope claimed herein.

Claims (11)

Claims 1. Monitoring system of channels obtained by means of at least one manipulation starting from at least one digital signal, said system comprising: - at least first and second manipulation means (110, 150) each capable of manipulating at least one first digital input signal (111) and at least one second digital input signal (151) respectively; monitoring means (20) capable of carrying out at least one monitoring on at least one digital signal; storage means (30) for storing configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier, said channel identifier being uniquely associated with a channel to be monitored; configuration means (40) arranged to configure, on the basis of said configuration information, said first and second manipulation means (110, 150) to supply said monitoring means (20) at least a first digital signal (112) and at least one second digital signal (152) each obtained starting from, respectively, said first input signal (111) and said second input signal (151), in which each of said at least one first digital signal (112) and said at least a second digital signal (152) corresponds to said channel to be monitored; - wherein said configuration means (40) are further arranged to configure said monitoring means (20) to carry out, respectively, at least a first predetermined monitoring on said channel to be monitored on the basis of said at least one first digital signal (112) and at least a second predetermined monitoring on said channel to be monitored on the basis of said at least one second digital signal (152); wherein - said monitoring means (20) are configured to send to control means (50) first and second monitoring information corresponding to said first predetermined monitoring and, respectively, second predetermined monitoring. 2. Monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said control means are arranged to: receive said first and second monitoring information; determining the presence of a correspondence between said first and second monitoring information with a predetermined pattern of values, said predetermined pattern of values being associated with a predetermined indication of operation; generating an operating indication on the basis of said predetermined pattern, in the event that said presence is determined. 3. Monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said at least one first digital signal (112) comprises at least one of at least one non-coded signal and at least one coded signal; said first manipulation means (110) comprise at least one of first switching means (115) and second switching means (116); said second manipulation means (150) comprise receiving means for receiving at least one channel; said configuration means (40) are arranged to configure, on the basis of said configuration information, at least one of said first switching means (115) and said second switching means (116) for switching respective input signals in said at least one uncoded signal (113) and, respectively, said at least one coded signal (117); in which said configuration means (40) are also arranged to configure, on the basis of said configuration information, said second manipulation means (150) to receive said channel to be monitored corresponding to at least one of said at least one non-coded signal and said at least one coded signal. 4. Monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said at least one first digital signal (112) comprises at least one non-coded signal and said at least one second digital signal (152) comprises at least one coded signal; said first manipulation means (110) comprise first switching means (115); said second manipulation means (150) comprise second switching means (116); said configuration means (40) are arranged to configure, on the basis of said configuration information, said first switching means (115) and said second switching means (116) for switching respective input signals in said at least one non-coded signal (112) and, respectively, said at least one coded signal (152). 5. Method for monitoring in a distribution system of channels obtained by means of at least one manipulation starting from at least one digital signal, said distribution system comprising at least first and second manipulation means (110, 150), each capable of manipulating at least one first digital input signal (111) and at least one second digital input signal (151) respectively, and monitoring means (20) capable of carrying out at least one monitoring on at least one digital signal, said method comprising the steps of : - obtaining configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier, said channel identifier being uniquely associated with a channel to be monitored; configuring, on the basis of said configuration information, said first and second manipulation means (110, 150) to supply said monitoring means (20) at least one first digital signal (112) and at least one second digital signal (152) each obtained starting from, respectively, said first input signal (111) and said second input signal (151), in which each of said at least one first digital signal (112) and said at least one second digital signal (152) corresponds to said channel to be monitored; configuring said monitoring means (20) to carry out, respectively, at least a first predetermined monitoring on said channel to be monitored on the basis of said at least one first digital signal (112) and at least a second predetermined monitoring on said channel to be monitored on the basis of said at least a second digital signal (152); sending said first and second monitoring information to control means (50) corresponding to said first predetermined monitoring and, respectively, second predetermined monitoring. The monitoring method according to claim 5, further comprising the steps of: receive said first and second monitoring information; determining the presence of a correspondence between said first and second monitoring information with a predetermined pattern of values, said predetermined pattern of values being associated with a predetermined indication of operation; generating an indication of operation on the basis of said predetermined pattern, in the event that said presence is determined. Monitoring method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said at least one first digital signal (112) comprises at least one of at least one uncoded signal and at least one coded signal, said method further comprising the steps of: configure, on the basis of said configuration information, at least one of first switching means (115) and second switching means (116) to switch respective input signals in said at least one non-coded signal (115) and, respectively, said at least a coded signal (116); configuring, on the basis of said configuration information, said second manipulation means (150) to receive said channel to be monitored corresponding to at least one of said at least one non-coded signal and said at least one coded signal. 8. Monitoring method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said at least one first digital signal (112) comprises at least one non-coded signal and said at least one second digital signal (152) comprises at least one coded signal, said method further comprising the steps of : configure, on the basis of said configuration information, first switching means (115) included in said first manipulation means (110) and second switching means (116) included in said second manipulation means (150) for switching respective signals input into said at least one non-coded signal (115) and, respectively, said at least one coded signal (116). 9. Computer program arranged to execute, when said program is executed on a computer, all the steps according to any one of claims 5 to 8. 10. Entity for monitoring management in a channel distribution system obtained by means of at least one manipulation starting from at least one digital signal, said distribution system comprising at least first and second manipulation means (110, 150), each in able to manipulate respectively at least one first digital input signal (111) and at least one second digital input signal (151), and monitoring means (20) capable of carrying out at least one monitoring on at least one digital signal, said entity comprising: acquisition means for obtaining configuration information corresponding to at least one channel identifier, said channel identifier being uniquely associated with a channel to be monitored; - sending means for sending to said first and second manipulation means (110, 150) distribution configuration commands to configure, on the basis of said configuration information, said first and second manipulation means (110, 150) to provide to said monitoring means (20) at least one first digital signal (112) and at least one second digital signal (152) each obtained starting from, respectively, said first input signal (111) and said second input signal (151) , wherein each of said at least one first digital signal (112) and said at least one second digital signal (152) corresponds to said channel to be monitored; - in which said sending means are also arranged to send monitoring configuration commands to configure said monitoring means (20) to carry out, respectively, at least a first predetermined monitoring on said channel to be monitored on the basis of said at least one first digital signal (112) and at least one second predetermined monitoring on said channel to be monitored on the basis of said at least one second digital signal (152). 11. Entity for monitoring management according to claim 10, said entity further comprising: receiving means are further configured to receive first and second monitoring information corresponding to said first predetermined monitoring and, respectively, second predetermined monitoring; determining means for determining the presence of a correspondence between said first and second monitoring information with a predetermined pattern of values, said predetermined pattern of values being associated with a predetermined indication of operation; processing means for generating an operating indication on the basis of said predetermined pattern, in the event that said presence is determined.