This book explains how to monitor, test, and diagnose IPTV systems and services. Covered are the quantitative (packet loss, error rate) and qualitative (perceptual) quality measurement and control processes. Discover how quality of experience (QoE) can be very different than traditional quality of service (QoS) measurements. IPTV systems are complex multimedia communication systems and communicating through them involves the use of multiple layers, which can make testing and diagnostics more difficult. Discover how different layers in an IPTV system can interact and why multilayer testing may be used to evaluate and diagnose operation and performance issues. Learn about audio, video, and MPEG formats and what parts of them can be measured in IPTV systems. Audio quality characteristics including fidelity, frequency response, and signal to noise ratio are described. Key video quality characteristics such as error blocks, aliasing effects, object retention, and artifacts are explained. Discover the different types of network measurements such as packet loss, gap loss, and jitter and how they influence quality of service (QoS). The types of content measurements such as frame loss rate (FLR), synchronization loss, and audiovisual synchronization offset are explained. Command and control measurements such as channel change time, encoder initialization time, and connect time are described. The fundamentals of full reference, partial reference, and zero reference quality processes such as MDI, MPQM, and V-Factor are explained. Other types of quality measures including video, audio, synchronization, interaction (control), and other measurable values are explained. The different types of testing including laboratory, acceptance, conformance, field, and diagnostic testing are described along with some of the common types of IPTV test equipment that are used. You will learn about the different types of network monitoring devices and probes that are used in IPTV systems, what they can do, and how to understand and analyze the information they provide to determine the operation and performance of the IPTV system. Find out about test client software and how it can be installed in devices such as set top boxes which can measure and report back performance information to a network monitoring system. Some of the key areas covered in this book include: . IPTV Testing Challenges . Testing Methods . Audio, Video, and MPEG Formats . Audio Quality . Video Quality . Network Measurements . Content Quality Measurements . Command and Control Metrics . MDI, MPQM, V-Factor Quality Rating . IPTV Test Equipment
Mr. Harte is the managing director of Althos, an expert information provider that covers the communication industry. Mr. Harte has worked for leading communications technology companies since 1985 including Ericsson/General Electric, Audiovox/Toshiba and Westinghouse. Lawrence holds degrees of Executive MBA from Wake Forest University (1995) and a BSET from the University of the State of New York, (1990). Mr. Harte has instructed at and received numerous certificates from many non-university courses including IPTV, Internet Marketing, 3G wireless, billing systems, cryptograph, microwave measurement and calibration, radar, nuclear power, Dale Carnegie, 360 leadership, and public speaking.
Mr. Harte has appeared on television as an industry expert and has been referenced in over 75 telecommunications related articles in industry magazines. He has been a speaker and moderator at numerous industry seminars and trade shows. His magazine publications include Popular Science, Wireless Week, RCR, Cellular Business, Cellular Marketing and others. Between 1993-1995, Mr. Harte wrote a monthly column in Cellular Marketing called "Techniques." The monthly Techniques column explained the business related issues behind key technology innovations that were developing in the telecommunications industry.
