Swiss netplus deploys Agama solution for TV quality assurance in cable head-end
June 12, 2012
Agama Technologies, the DTV quality assurance expert, has announced that netplus.ch SA, a triple-play service provider owned by a group of cable operators in Switzerland, has deployed a powerful service monitoring solution from Agama in its CATV head-end. With continuous and in-depth real-time monitoring of all services, netplus is equipped for rapid problem discovery and structured impact and root cause analysis, all to ensure what leaves the head-end is the best is can be.
“We were searching for a head-end monitoring solution able to efficiently detect problems related to the quality of our DVB streams in real-time, all the way down to content related issues such as macroblocking and black screen, and with the crucial possibility to access the monitoring history to identify bad sources and intermittent problems,” says Romain Lonfat, Head of iTV Group at netplus.ch. “Agama’s proven solution offered us a cost and space efficient deployment with high channel density per monitoring probe, and a future proof scalability. It also showed technology superiority, with characteristics including continuous in-depth video and audio analysis to detect all sorts of perturbations, automatic triggered recording of problematic channels for offline troubleshooting, real-time streaming of any monitored channel to our 24/7 remote support team, easy-to-use and comprehensive web based GUI, to mention a few.”
The deployed solution focuses around the Agama Analyzer H-E, a best-in-class monitoring probe for continuous full-service QoS and QoE monitoring in digital TV head-ends, identifying problems at the source. It monitors all services concurrently, from the network layer up to audio and video content, detecting everything from packet loss to encoding issues and freeze frame conditions. Key features include monitoring on the IP, UDP/RTP, TS, PES, and audio/video syntax and content layers with audio silence, black screen and freeze frame detection, encoding quality analysis with macroblocking and MOS calculation, full real-time TR290 Priority 1, 2 and 3 analysis on all monitored services, long-term historical data mining and correlation capabilities, and much more.
“We are proud that netplus has chosen our proven and flexible head-end monitoring solution to support them in keeping service quality high and problem discovery quick and efficient,” says Mikael Dahlgren, CEO at Agama Technologies. “Monitoring the service creation is crucial, and forms the first of three key areas in ensuring TV service quality, as the head-end’s performance ultimately affects each and every end-customer. Compared to transport monitoring, head-end monitoring requires a lot more from both functionality and raw power perspectives, and in this domain, we have one of the strongest and most scalable offerings on the market, forming an integral part of the complete Agama DTV Monitoring Solution for true end-to-end TV service quality assurance.”
Visitors to Agama’s stand 10.2/H37 at ANGA Cable Show 2012 in Cologne on June 12-14, can experience live demonstrations of the Agama Analyzer H-E and all other components of the Agama DTV Monitoring Solution for end-to-end TV service quality assurance for IP, Cable and OTT operators, including monitoring set-ups for multiplatform and multiscreen environments. Agama will also showcase the brand new version 4.2 of the solution, with all new features and extensions.