Tektronix, Inc. has announced enhanced features for the Sentry video quality monitor in response to broadcasters' technical change requirements.

Tektronix believes that broadcasters will be able to maintain competitiveness while reducing operational costs by utilizing the enhanced features of Sentry. Sentry has improved TR 101 290 monitoring and alarm functionality for output compliant with the latest FCC regulations, and has added RF interface and enhanced closed caption capabilities. The enhanced features of Sentry are scheduled to be demonstrated at the Tektronix booth during the KOBA2016 exhibition held at COEX in Samseong-dong from May 24 to 27.



The enhanced Sentry provides immediate notification when errors occur in priority inspection areas that broadcasters are most concerned about through real-time monitoring and alarm functions, thereby reducing operational costs for problem resolution. In addition to TR 101 290 checklist 1, 2, and 3 inspection functions, Sentry provides Program Clock Reference (PCR) measurement functions including PCR jitter, PCR drift, PCR frequency offset, and PCR cycle time (period).

Beyond the enhanced broadcast monitoring capabilities, two new RF interfaces (DVB-S/S2, DVB-T/T2) have been added, further expanding Sentry's RF monitoring capabilities. When used together with these new interface functions and IP, ASI, and 8VSB, any broadcast signal can be easily integrated into a monitoring system.

Charlie Dunn, executive director in charge of Tektronix's video product line, states: "Broadcasters are choosing Sentry, an economical QoS monitoring solution that enables them to quickly identify and address problems. As we progressively add more services and features, it is now possible to upgrade to an easy and cost-effective QoE (Quality of Experience) monitoring environment."