Tektronix Helps Video Service Providers Ensure Regulatory Compliance & Multiscreen Service Quality

BEAVERTON, Ore., June 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tektronix (www.tektronix.com), the market leader in broadcast video test, monitoring and analysis solutions, today announced the addition of significant new monitoring capabilities to its award-winning Sentry family of digital content monitors.  These new capabilities will enable cable operators, broadcasters and other video service providers (VSPs) to comply with new Closed Captioning regulations, to better identify audio issues – including overly loud commercials – and to ensure the quality of their OTT and TV Everywhere services.  

"From delivering picture-perfect multiscreen video to meeting new FCC regulations that combat loud commercials and ensure the quality of Closed Captioning, VSPs constantly face new challenges which we remain committed to helping them overcome," said Sudeep Bose, product and business development manager, Video Network Monitoring, Tektronix.  "The new capabilities we have added to our Sentry family specifically address VSPs' most urgent monitoring requirements and are the latest examples of our ongoing commitment to helping customers deliver high quality, compliant programming."

The new capabilities for the Sentry Portfolio include:

• The capturing of "thumbnail" images when audio issues occur, which allows VSPs to visually confirm the relative location of the audio issues. For example, users can see whether errors occurred during programming or ads, helping in the diagnosis of the underlying issue.
• Support for Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) – also known as Enhanced AC-3 (E-AC-3) – which further enhances Sentry's audio loudness monitoring capabilities.
• The ability to audit closed captioning to determine if VSPs are in compliance with new FCC guidelines, which include being able to determine if closed captioning is actually present on all channels.
• Doubling of the number streams monitored, representing an unprecedented gain in scalability and density.
• Along with the ability to monitor multiscreen programming packaged in HLS, Sentry now includes Adobe's HDS adaptive bit rate (ABR) streaming protocol, which enables VSPs to ensure their TV Everywhere / OTT programming assets are properly stored, that they are ready for immediate delivery when requested and the correct fragments for the available bandwidth are delivered.

About Sentry
The award-winning Sentry line of digital content monitors is used by leading VSPs worldwide to deliver programming with the best possible picture and sound quality to ensure that their viewers enjoy an excellent quality of experience (QoE).  Sentry's advanced monitoring capabilities identify picture and audio errors in their MPEG-2 and H.264, helping VSPs to quickly diagnose and repair these issues – often before viewers experience any problems.  Sentry is proven in deployments with nine of the top 10 U.S. cable operators and four of the top five Canadian operators.

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About Tektronix
For more than sixty five years, engineers have turned to Tektronix for test, measurement and monitoring solutions to solve design challenges, improve productivity and dramatically reduce time to market. Tektronix is a leading supplier of test equipment for engineers focused on electronic design, manufacturing, and advanced technology development. Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Tektronix serves customers worldwide and offers award-winning service and support. Stay on the leading edge at www.tektronix.com.

Tektronix is a registered trademark of Tektronix, Inc. All other trade names referenced are the service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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SOURCE Tektronix