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StreamXpert
MPEG-2 Transport-Stream Analyser
www.dektec.com
DTC-320
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2. Specifications and Minimum Requirements ............................................................................................ 4
2.1. Input bit-rate....................................................................................................................................4
2.2. Compatible Input Devices.................................................................................................................4
2.3. Minimum PC / Laptop Requirements .................................................................................................4
3. StreamXpert Software Installation.......................................................................................................... 5
3.1. DekTec PCI Cards ............................................................................................................................5
3.2. DekTec DTU-225 FantAsi .................................................................................................................5
3.3. Licensing .........................................................................................................................................6
3.4. Determining DirectX Version .............................................................................................................7
4. StreamXpert Overview ......................................................................................................................... 9
4.1. Launching the StreamXpert ...............................................................................................................9
4.2. StreamXpert Application General Layout ...........................................................................................9
5. Setup Tool Bar: ................................................................................................................................. 11
5.1. Analyser Setup ...............................................................................................................................11
5.2. Recording ......................................................................................................................................12
5.3. View ..............................................................................................................................................13
5.4. Input Device Selection ....................................................................................................................13
5.5. Help..............................................................................................................................................14
6. Analysis Left Window Pane ................................................................................................................. 15
6.1. PID View........................................................................................................................................15
6.2. TS Table Hierarchy View .................................................................................................................16
6.3. PID Grid View: ...............................................................................................................................16
7. Analysis Right Window Pane:.............................................................................................................. 18
7.1. Real-Time Video/Audio Decoding ...................................................................................................18
7.2. PCR Analysis ..................................................................................................................................21
8. Message Bar Window: ....................................................................................................................... 23
9. Trace Bar Window: ............................................................................................................................ 24
9.1. Bit-rate ..........................................................................................................................................24
9.2. TR 101 290 ...................................................................................................................................24
9.3. ETR-290 Error Log File ...................................................................................................................25
10. Status Bar ....................................................................................................................................... 26
Appendix A: Support for ISO 8859-x character code tables ...................................................................... 27
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1. Introduction
The DTC-320 StreamXpert is a comprehensive software package designed to provide real-time
analysis of MPEG-2 compliant Transport Streams. The StreamXpert is intended to be loaded by the
end-user on any qualifying PC or laptop and work in conjunction with DekTec input devices. The
StreamXpert provides Table, PID, and Bit-rate analysis for a complete overview of the incoming
Transport Stream. The StreamXpert also provides PCR and basic TR 101 290 (ETR-290) analysis to
assist in identifying problems in the transport stream. These features, along with real-time decoding
of the incoming digital video and audio, team up to give you a powerful and portable analysis
solution that will not break your budget.
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2. Specifications and Minimum Requirements
2.1. Input bit-rate
214 Mb/s maximum, limited by the capabilities of the input device:
DVB/ASI with DTA-120/124/140, DTU-225 = 214 Mb/s.
DVB/SPI with DTA-122 = 108 Mb/s.
Operating System:
DirectX:
Video Card:
Sound Card
Processor:
RAM:
Disk Drive:
Note 1: Parallel ATA Drives may be used, but usually do not achieve same performance as SATA or
SCSI.
Note 2: Drive specifications are recommendations. Different architectures will yield different results
in some systems.
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3. StreamXpert Software Installation
3.1. DekTec PCI Cards
1. With power off, install DekTec PCI card (DTA-120/122/124/140) into your PC and poweron the unit.
2. Download current version of the DTC-320 StreamXpert software from the DekTec website to
a folder on your PC (http://www.dektec.com/downloads/applications.html).
3. The installation application will be contained in a .zip file. Double-click on the StreamXpert
SetUp.exe application to begin the installation.
4. The installation is self-explanatory. The main thing to keep in mind is that you will be
prompted to install a driver. Select the DTA-1xx driver, the DTU-2xx driver should not be
selected unless installing the DTU-225 FantAsi (see Figure 1).
You will now be able to use your StreamXpert software with installed DTA-1xx PCI cards.
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3.3. Licensing
To be able to run the StreamXpert software a valid license is required4. Upon start-up the
StreamXpert will check if it can find a valid license on one of the DekTec DTA-1xx or DTU-2xx
device5 in the system. If no license is found the StreamXpert will disable all its features and will
display a no license message in the status bar (see 10). If a valid license is encountered the
StreamXpert will be ready for usage.
If you have bought a DekTec device together with a StreamXpert license (e.g. DTA-120SX or DTU225SX) the license will have been pre-loaded on the device by DekTec and you should be able to
start using the StreamXpert immediately.
If you have bought a device without StreamXpert license and you would like to start using the
StreamXpert software please contact DekTec (mailto:sales@dektec.com) or your local distributor to
request a license for the StreamXpert software. To be able generate a license for your device please
include the serial number (use the DtInfo tool to determine the serial number or refer to the sticker
on the back of the device) of the device(s) you want to license in your request.
The license will be send to you in the form of a small application which you will need to run once, so
that this application can program the license on your device. After successfully running this small
application you should be able to use the StreamXpert with your DekTec device.
To check if your device is licensed for the StreamXpert the DtInfo tool can be used
(http://www.dektec.com/Downloads/Utilities.html). DtInfo is a free tool which scans your system for
The StreamXpert requires that at least one device in the system (PC) has a valid license. If one or more
devices contain a valid license you will be able to use all DekTec input devices with the StreamXpert.
5
DekTec llicenses are located on the DekTec device (i.e. the device itself acts as a kind of dongle).
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all available DekTec devices and displays: their serial number, firmware version, available license
and the current version of the driver used.
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4. StreamXpert Overview
4.1. Launching the StreamXpert
Double-click on the desktop icon created by the software installation. This will launch the
StreamXpert software.
6
1. Setup Tool Bar: The top area of the StreamXpert application contains all of the settings that allow
you to tailor the analyser to your individual situation. Some of the settings are ATSC/DVB mode,
record path and duration, video decoding setup, and environmental options.
2. Analysis Left Window Pane: This area displays transport stream parameters. You may choose to
view the stream based on PID, TS table hierarchy, or PID Grid view.
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3. Message Bar Window: You may view basic stream information or system (I/O card) information
in this window.
4. Analysis Right Window Pane: This area is capable of displaying the same information as the Left
Window Pane. In addition, you may also view real-time video decoding and PCR analysis in this
window.
5. Trace Bar Window: The Trace Bar Window displays a graphical view of the incoming transport
stream bit-rate or the presence of Priority 1, 2, and 3 ETR-290 errors.
6. Status Bar: This area, at the bottom right of the application, shows you a snapshot of the setup.
You will see presence of signal, analysis mode, input card selected, and record status.
You may resize the windows as desired by placing the mouse cursor on the edge of a window,
holding down the left mouse button, and dragging.
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5. Setup Tool Bar:
To properly utilize the StreamXpert application, you must first ensure that you have correctly defined
the analysis parameters that will apply to the transport stream under test. The Setup Bar contains all
of the configuration parameters.
2
3
4
5
1. Environment: Use the pull-downs to change the Screen and PCR Snapshot refresh rates. You may
also select whether you want the PID numbers and Service ID number displayed in decimal or
hexadecimal format.
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2. Recording: This option allows you to configure how the application will handle recording of the
incoming transport stream. In Normal mode, you must manually stop the recording. In Max. Time
mode, you define how long the recording will last. In Max. Size mode, you define the file size to
capture. Selecting "Always ask for new file" will force the application to prompt you for a file name
every time you initiate a recording. Leaving this box unchecked will allow overwriting the record file
rather than creating a new one.
3. Decoding: Under video, you may change between full and quarter resolution. Using quarter
resolution allows a more seamless video decode with systems that do not have the processing power
or video output capability to correctly decode in full resolution. You may also change the decoded
video brightness. The audio selection allows changing the volume level of the decoded audio. You
may also need to adjust the volume on your speakers or in the control panel to achieve desired
audio output level.
4. Algorithms: Selecting standard allows you to switch between ATSC and DVB mode. This defines
the analysis paradigm that is applied to the incoming transport stream based on the ATSC/DVB
standard. The bit-rate settings define the profile you wish to apply to bit-rate measurements. The
gate determines the time period over which the bit-rate is averaged. The time-slice determines the
frequency at which the bit-rate is sampled. For instance: a gate of 1s and time-slice of 100ms
means that we measure the average over a 1s period and we sample the bit-rate every 100ms.
Short-term is pre-defined as 1s gate and 100ms time-slice. Long-term is pre-defined as 60s gate
and 1000ms time-slice. You may select User and define the gate and time-slice using the pulldowns.
5. TR101 290: You may set the maximum size of the ETR-290 error log file in this selection.
Many of the Analyser Setup parameters may also be found in shortcuts on the Setup Tool Bar.
5.2. Recording
The StreamXpert application allows you to capture the incoming transport stream to a file. Be aware
of the guidelines contained in the Specifications and Minimum Requirements section as it applies to
the incoming bit-rate. Initiating a recording to disk is a very simple task involving only a few mouse
clicks.
Figure 8 Recording
You may initiate a recording from two different places on the Setup Tool Bar (see Figure 8). Save
allows you to define the file path you will record to. Start and Stop are self-explanatory. Keep in
mind the recording parameters you defined earlier under the Analyser Setup Options section.
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5.3. View
You may change the layout of the StreamXpert Application by selecting or de-selecting which
windows (Bars) you want displayed.
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5.5. Help
The Help > About StreamXpert selection will display the current version of StreamXpert software that
you are running.
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6. Analysis Left Window Pane
The main analysis capabilities of the StreamXpert are displayed in the Left and Right Window Panes.
The Left Window Pane is capable of displaying the incoming transport stream via PID view, TS table
hierarchy view, and PID Grid view.
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6.2. TS Table Hierarchy View
The TS table hierarchy view displays the transport stream via the table structure (PAT, PMT, Services,
etc.). Click on the TS tab at the bottom of the Left Analysis Window Pane. You may expand the
analysis down to the PID and even further by left-mouse clicking on the "+" signs next to the tables.
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You may hold the mouse cursor over the graph boxes to see a pop-up box that displays the value
and type of the PID.
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7. Analysis Right Window Pane:
The Right Window Pane is capable of displaying the same information as the Left Window Pane (PID
view, TS table hierarchy view, and PID Grid view). This gives you the flexibility to view PID and TS
table hierarchy at the same time. The Right Window Pane, however, offers two additional
capabilities over the Left: Real-time video/audio decoding and PCR analysis.
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7.2. PCR Analysis
PCR Analysis is a measurement of the Program Reference Clock contained within each service
(program) of a transport stream. PCR timing can be indicative of the quality of the incoming stream
and large inaccuracy values will often lead to problems decoding the video/audio contained within
the services of a transport stream. Click on the PCR tab at the bottom of the Right Window pane to
initiate PCR analysis. You will need to right-mouse click in the right window pane to select the service
whose PCR you would like to measure (there should be one PCR per service).
2
3
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500ns by holding the left-mouse button down in the PCR_AC Snapshot field and pressing the
Up/Down arrow keys on your keyboard.
2. PCR Accuracy Density: This field is a graphical representation of the number of PCR time stamp
occurrences versus their accuracy compared to zero. Ideally the distribution will be centered around
zero with no occurrences greater than 500ns. You may change the vertical axis by holding the
left-mouse button down in the PCR_AC Density field and pressing the Up/Down arrow keys on your
keyboard. You may change the horizontal axis by holding the left-mouse button down in the PCR
Interval Density field and pressing the Left/Right arrow keys on your keyboard.
3. PCR Interval Density: The frequency of occurrence of PCR time stamps within the service. Values
should be distributed over values less than 40ms for DVB streams and less than 100ms for ATSC
streams. You may change the vertical axis by holding the left-mouse button down in the PCR Interval
Density field and pressing the Up/Down arrow keys on your keyboard. You may change the
horizontal axis by holding the left-mouse button down in the PCR Interval Density field and pressing
the Left/Right arrow keys on your keyboard.
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8. Message Bar Window:
The Message Bar Window contains two tabs. The Info tab contains general application information
such as: signal detection, loss of synchronization, and start of ETR-290 tracing. The System tab
contains information regarding DekTec input devices such as: DTA PCI cards and DTU USB devices.
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9. Trace Bar Window:
The Trace Bar Window contains two tabs: Bit-rate and TR 101 290.
9.1. Bit-rate
The bit-rate tab graphically displays the bit-rate of the incoming transport stream. The green line is
the overall bit-rate of the transport stream and should be a constant value. The red line indicates the
bit-rate that is actually being used to carry a payload (video, audio, data, etc.). The difference
between the two lines is indicative of the overhead present in the transport stream. You may hold the
mouse cursor over the graph lines to see a pop-up box that displays the values of the two lines.
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9.3. ETR-290 Error Log File
The ETR-290 log file is saved as a *.log file type. You may open it with any standard text editing
application (the application defaults to Notepad ). Keep in mind that errors are reported per the
ETR-290 standard using the DVB paradigm. Valid ATSC streams may show errors in the log that are
not indicative of a problem with the stream.
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10. Status Bar
The Status Bar appears in the lower right corner of the StreamXpert application. The Status Bar gives
you a brief overview of system operation.
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Appendix A: Support for ISO 8859-x character code tables
The StreamXpert includes support for decoding strings in SI tables which use different ISO 8859-x
code tables. However for the SteamXpert to be able to display all strings correctly the necessary
Windows Code page conversion tables need to be enabled in the Regional and language
options settings. In most cases the needed tables are enabled by default, but depending on the
regional version (e.g. US, UK, French, German, etc) of Windows used some tables might not have
been enabled by default.
To enable the necessary code page conversion tables please perform the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The screenshot below shows an example of the Regional and language options screen.
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