Reduction in the possibility of misjudgment in automated File QC solutions
High-quality video artifact detection, file-based QC in the Amazon cloud, and AS-10 PAD specification support

Tektronix announced new features added to the Tektronix Aurora automated file-based quality control (QC) solution, which is used by content creation, editing, and distribution companies and broadcasters to efficiently test and monitor the rapidly increasing volume of video content.

An innovative video quality measurement technology called PVQ (Perceived Video Quality) measurement has been added to Aurora. This feature allows for accurate assessment of summarized quality measurements for file-based content. Other enhanced features include support for Aurora on the AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud and support for the AS-10 PAD transmission specification, which is currently a mandatory requirement in France.

As the broadcasting industry moves toward a trend of transmitting all services based on files, and with the increasing adoption of multi-screen and OTT (Over-The-Top) media services, the volume of video content that needs to be tested and inspected is rapidly increasing. An efficient way to maintain the quality of all content is to use automated QC tools. While these tools offer advantages in terms of speed and cost compared to manual QC, automated tools can be a source of false positives because it is difficult to filter out errors that actually affect the viewer's perceived picture quality from those that do not.

Tektronix has solved this problem by adopting PVQ technology, proven through its Sentry product family of video network monitors, into the newly released Aurora version. This technology enables operators to closely integrate file-based and real-time stream monitoring technologies with accurate quality measurement methods evaluated over years in real-world environments. Like Sentry, Aurora can now analyze video content using proprietary algorithms designed to detect video compression artifacts that affect the viewer's perceived picture quality.

Aurora can also graphically display video quality using a format similar to MOS (Mean Score). MOS, a well-known industry metric, is a technique that quantifies the quality perceived by the viewer.

Charlie Dunn, General Manager of the Tektronix Video Product Family, commented on the newly added feature: “Maintaining the quality of file-based content is a never-ending task. This is becoming increasingly severe, especially as more content distributors transition to multi-screen and Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) delivery models. The new feature added to Aurora will play a crucial role in helping our customers maintain their leading position in the content industry. Until now, there has been no such feature as PVQ in automated tools. We believe this feature will provide long-term benefits in terms of improved efficiency, cost reduction, and ultimately, quality enhancement.”