News & Updates 2005

The latest incarnation of DekTec's StreamXpert (MPEG-2 Transport-Stream Analyser) has been enhanced with fully configurable TR 101 290 monitoring. The new engine can be configured using XML files, which define a custom TR 101 290 profile.

A profile specifies which of the TR 101 290 indicators are to be checked and which can be safely ignored. Furthermore the profile allows for full customisation of each individual indicator. Typical configurable items include include minimum table repetition rates, PIDs that are known to be unreferenced and a specification of which tables are to be checked.

The StreamXpert comes with two built-in profiles:
(1) a DVB profile containing the default rules as defined in the TR 101 290 specification
(2) an ATSC profile with TR 101 290 rules modified for ATSC and PSIP.

Another new feature of the StreamXpert the option to store generated TR 101 290 log messages in an XML file. The XML format allows third-party applications to easily extract information from the log file, e.g. for the generation of a custom analysis report.

A description of the XML TR 101 290 Profile structure is provided in the "Using and Defining TR 101 290 Profiles" document included in the StreamXpert setup application. This document is installed in the <install_dir>\StreamXpert\Doc directory.

The DTA-110 is a complete QAM modulator and UHF upconverter on a short PCI card. The QAM modulator is compliant to ITU-T J.83 Annex A (DVB-C) and ITU-T J.83 Annex C (Japanese QAM variant). The RF frequency is agile between 400 and 862 MHz and the symbol rate is software programmable between 5.0 and 7.1 MBaud, supporting 6-, 7- and 8-Mhz channels.

The software interface of the DTA-110 is the standard DekTec DTAPI library, which means that the DTA-110 is software-compatible with all other DekTec PCI- and USB-2 devices. It's astonishingly easy to port an application written for e.g. the DTA-100 ASI output adapter to an application that also supports the DTA-110: Slightly modifying the attachment code, and adding a few lines of code to set the QAM-modulation parameters is all that's needed.

The StreamXpress software supports the DTA-110, and enables control of the QAM-modulation parameters directly from the main screen. The DTA-110 is available together with the StreamXpress player software in one cost-effective package: DTA-110SP. This product enables the creation of a play-out station with direct RF-output compatible to DVB-C, at an incredible price!

Further documentation about the DTA-110 is available on the DTA-110 product page. Pricing can be found here. The DTA-110 is available from stock.

The StreamXpert - DekTec's real-time MPEG-2 Transport-Stream Analyser - includes a powerful PSI/SI/PSIP analysis capability, which displays system-information tables in a human readable format for the purpose of validating the table contents. The StreamXpert's internal table decoder uses XML templates to describe the tables & descriptors and the way to present (display) them. The StreamXpert includes a set of internal XML templates for the most commonly used tables and their descriptors, including PAT, PMT, CAT, SDT, EIT, MGT, VCT, NIT, TDT, TOT, etc.

To expand the number of descriptors recognised by the StreamXpert it has always been possible for a user to define a custom XML file for an unknown descriptor. If this custom XML description is placed in the correct directory (...\StreamXpert\Custom) the StreamXpert will be able to decode and present the custom descriptor when it is encountered.

StreamXpert V1.11.1.154 further enhances this concept by also allowing templates for entire tables. This new option enables the user to add support for manufacturer- or broadcaster specific tables, tables from new specifications or overrule an existing table template already included by the StreamXpert.

A number of other enhancements have been packed into this new version of the StreamXpert:

- The StreamXpert's internal XML template database now includes a template for the IP/MAC Notification Table (INT) as used in DVB-H Transport Streams
- Support for identifying MPE streams
- Analysis of a Transport Stream received from an IP source
- Support for DekTec's DTA-124 Quad-Input PCI adapter
- Recording alignment on packet boundaries.

StreamXpert V1.11.1.154 is a free download for all current StreamXpert users.