ASI, TS over IP, SDI MultiViewer
FlexViewer is a high-quality IP multiviewer that supports various input interfaces such as RF, SDI, the latest ST2110 input, and TS over IP, with the implementation of DekTec’s interface on the server. The output is compatible with on-board VGA, HDMI, DVI, and DP utilizing the graphics card. It is also possible to output SDI and multiview screen as TS over IP. By selecting the server according to the user’s environment, it provides the best cost-performance visualization monitoring environment suited for the purpose and the number of channels.
Content is transmitted on various platforms. SDI, ASI, TS over IP, OFDM, QAM, OTT, and FlexViewer can monitor streams in all formats using not only common codecs but also by integrating physical interfaces without requiring additional converters.
FlexViewer can have a distributed architecture. It can decode 30-40 h.264 HD TV services on a single powerful server. Furthermore, by using a distributed architecture to distribute decoding processes to multiple servers, it can display more channels on the multi-view screen. The number of channels that can be processed depends on the server’s specifications at installation, and to support additional channels, the entire system must be replaced. With FlexViewer, decoding processes can be added by adding servers and cascading them.
When the number of channels on the multi-view screen increases, it becomes difficult to identify the channels that are causing alarms. The Penalty Box is a feature that allows error-inducing services to be dynamically displayed in specific locations on the multi-view screen. Simply looking at the Penalty Box is sufficient to assess the status.
A single server supports output from multiple multi-view screens. In addition to HDMI and DP, output is also possible as SDI or TS over IP, allowing for flexible display and the ability to design fully customized systems.
In a master-slave cascade configuration, we monitor 35 channels of H.264 HD service per pair, with a total system monitoring of 500 channels. At our customer sites, we needed to update our monitoring systems from the previous SDI-based systems to IP streams. We chose FlexViewer because we needed to be able to handle not only black screens and freeze frames but also PID errors and NULL signals.
In broadcasting of global sports events, multiple contents are streamed and progressed simultaneously. In order to monitor all content, we displayed all videos on one screen using a multi-view screen in 4K resolution, which would usually be too small on a normal display, without compromising the video quality.
A broadcasting station in the Philippines is using FlexViewer to monitor services directly from the ISDB-T signals of terrestrial television. The support of the receiving card (DTA-2131 from DekTec) by FlexViewer has been key to achieving this simple, affordable, and powerful system.