Tektronix has announced several important new features for its popular MPEG transport stream monitor that enhance usability for broadcasters, network operators and system integrators. The company claims to be a the world leader in MPEG-2 compressed digital video test and measurement equipment,

An official release informs that digital television broadcasters will win or lose the battle to secure viewers based on the quality and reliability of their service. Given the number of programmes broadcast over digital transmission systems, broadcasters can no longer rely on monitoring methods using system operators watching a wall of video monitors. Progressing digital television technology is creating demand for monitoring systems that present a complete picture of the network and can detect signal degradation at both the RF and MPEG layers.

Tektronix has stated that its proven MTM400 Transport Stream Monitor, a scalable solution that detects systems degradation, adds RF monitoring capability. This enables operators to easily perform diagnostics and rapidly pinpoint the place where a fault has been introduced..

The company has added that the digital evolution requires broadcasters and system integrators be equipped with tools to monitor at one or more layers of the broadcast signal. With the addition of RF monitoring functionality, these customers gain a comprehensive set of measurements to detect signal degradation and rapidly identify where errors are occurring.

The MTM400 is an MPEG transport stream monitor for broadcasters and network operators who need a scalable solution to detect signal degradation caused during transmission and distribution. This prevents viewers from experiencing signal loss. The addition of new QAM Annex B and C interfaces for the US and Japanese cable markets enables Tektronix to offer the most comprehensive support for operators.

The new MTM400 RF monitoring capabilities add key measurements including MER, BER and RF constellation displays to the QAM and QPSK interfaces. The addition of cost effective RF monitoring functionality for the MTM400 enables broadcasters and network operators to deploy RF signal monitoring throughout their cable or satellite network where it previously had been too expensive.