SSIMWAVE pushes monitoring down to the HDMI output

Sept. 24, 2019
SSIMWAVE announced the availability of its SSIMPLUS Single-Ended HDMI-Out monitoring, intended for evaluation and scoring of video quality close to subscribers' ...

SSIMWAVE announced the availability of its SSIMPLUS Single-Ended HDMI-Out monitoring, intended for evaluation and scoring of video quality close to subscribers' devices. SSIMWAVE will be demonstrating the new product at SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo 2019 in New Orleans.

Designed in response to requests from tier 2 and 3 North American operators, the new test product place-shifts end point analysis to the farthest reaches of the network to provide objective measurement of the video quality subscribers see. The new product utilizes probes with the SSIMPLUS single-ended AI algorithm to measure quality at the HDMI outputs of legacy and IPTV set-top boxes located in hubs, nodes or even test homes of cable, fiber and 4G/5G wireless networks.

SSIMPLUS' technology mimics the human visual system, evaluating video quality on a pixel-by-pixel basis and scoring each measured piece of content on a 0-100 basis.

"Operators can use existing resources to test and measure their networks, but until now they haven't had the ability to measure scientifically the quality that subscribers are seeing," said Dr. Abdul Rehman, CEO and co-founder of SSIMWAVE. "By leveraging the AI capabilities of SSIMPLUS at the very last point in the delivery chain, operators can gain valuable new functionality: real-time, automated visibility into actual video quality that can inform business and operational decisions and can impact customer satisfaction and ROI."

Intended to evaluate both live and VOD content, SSIMWAVE Single-Ended HDMI-Out monitoring is designed to support a variety of use cases, including:

  • Ongoing testing of different hubs and nodes, as well as anticipation and localization of problem areas, to preemptively resolve issues ahead of customer complaints
  • Replace remote "eyes on glass" with automated monitoring and customer configured alerts to expedite quality assurance
  • Confirmation of video quality per program, per channel or scheduling to assure content owners that service level agreements (SLAs) are being honored
  • See the effect that changes in configurations have on the video quality levels at the edge, the closest point to the viewer
  • Benchmarking of existing video workflows and services for reference when implementing new equipment or delivery networks

SSIMWAVE also will be demonstrating its SSIMPLUS VOD Monitor Inspector, designed to help content owners and distributors know exactly what viewers will experience on any screen, as well as its SSIMPLUS VOD Monitor Production tool that uses the SSIMPLUS algorithm to optimize quality for high volumes of video assets across complex delivery chains.