5.11. Config File

Note

The configuration corresponds to the probe version 2.1.4 (2022.10.21 10:53:16 UTC)

5.11.1. General Information

Configuration File

This is the monitor.cfg file received from the archive file via your personal account and located in the directory together with the streamMonitor executable file. A configuration file is intended for the probe settings storage including a tasklist. While controlling the probe, setting tasks for analysis and other actions performed on the server, a configuration file is modified by the probe application. When starting, restarting or in case of unexpected restart, the probe uses the monitor.cfg file to restore the recently saved configurations.

Be aware of the fact that the monitor.cfg file does not include the project settings. Consequently, all trigger notifications settings, system notifications settings (thresholds and triggers), project access settings are not applied to the configuration file. Thresholds settings are contained in the monitor.cfg file; however, when starting the probe, the server-stored settings will be applied.

• One of the methods of setting tasks to the probe is to modify the monitor.cfg file.

• One of the methods of transferring settings and backup is to save and copy the monitor.cfg file.

Important

If the probe is managed via browser, all settings and adjustments are applied to the monitor.cfg file. Moreover, the file content will be updated automatically in compliance with the default format of the currently used probe. So, if you are going to set tasks to the probe by editing the monitor.cfg file, always save a backup copy of the file.

Configuration File Editing

Before start editing a configuration file, look through basic information described below:

1. Minimal set of parameters required for successful start of the probe application is included in the monitor.cfg file contained in the downloaded archive file.

2. Invalid JSON syntax is the most common reason for errors. It is recommended to validate any data planned to be used.

3. The monitor.cfg file must be saved as utf-8.

4. While debugging, save a copy of the monitor.cfg file before start controlling from browser.

5. To start the probe, setting a simple task list in the monitor.cfg is only required. Other probe settings can be configured in a browser at any time.

Configuration is saved in the format similar to JSON. In addition:

• C-type comments are supported:

  • Text starting with /* and ending with */ forms a comment block;

  • Text starting with // and till the end of the line is a comment.

• A trailing comma (after the last value in a data object or in an array) is supported.

5.11.2. File Structure

General Configuration

Contains probe settings and description of a limited number of settings which applied to all tasks.

Configuration from the downloaded archive

A configuration file received from the archive contains probe settings required for successful connection with the server. The file does not contain any information about monitoring tasks.

Configuration from the downloaded archive

 {
   "config":{
     "AppDescription":"My probe name", // probe description
     "server":"https://api.boro.elecard.com",
     //"proxy":"http://192.168.1.2:3128", // proxy to connect with Boro server
   }
 }

General configuration

Below is an example of configuration with all possible settings specified. Having successfully launched the probe, a user added two monitoring tasks using a web-interface.

General configuration

 {
   "config":{
     "allowDownloadPcapDump": false,
     "AppDescription":"My Probe address and description",
     "server":"https://api.boro.elecard.com",
     "proxy":"http://10.192.173.239:3128",
     "defaultBindAddress":"10.10.30.152",
     "epsnrCalc":false,
     "captureThumbnails":false,
     "checkFreeze":true,
     "videoFreezePeriod":5,
     "EITMessages":false,
     "ottAllRenditions":false,
     "checkMasterPlaylist":false,
     "uri":[
       {
         //Task configuration #1
       },
       {
         //Task configuration #2
       }
     ]
   }
 }

• allowDownloadPcapDump - a logical type, allows/denies downloading of Pcap records. This functionality is disabled by default due to security reasons;

• AppDescription - a string, text description/name of the probe;

• server - a string, address of data collection server. The field is set automatically when downloading probe’s archive. It is not recommended to change the field value;

• proxy - a string, specifies proxy server for communication of Boro-probe with the server. Proxy server for analyzed data receiving is configured separately in a task configuration;

• defaultBindAddress - a string, defines NIC IP as a default IP address. The probe will receive data through a specified interface if another value is not specified in a task configuration;

• epsnrCalc - a logical type, enables/disables EPSNR calculation 1. Applied to all analyzed streams if another value is not specified in a task configuration. Disabled by default;

• captureThumbnails - a logical type, enables/disables the thumbnail capturing. Applied to all analyzed streams if another value is not specified in a task configuration. Disabled by default;

• checkFreeze - a logical type, enables/disables video freeze analysis. Applied to all analyzed streams if another value is not specified in a task configuration. Disabled by default;

• videoFreezePeriod - an integer value, specifies a period in seconds. If scene freeze exceeds the stated period, the Video Freeze Error state is detected. Applied to all analyzed streams if another value is not specified in a task configuration. 0s is set by default;

• EITMessages - a logical type, enables/disables sending EIT data to the server. Disabled by default. It is not supported by the server;

• ottAllRenditions - a logical type, the mode of OTT analysis. Applied to all analyzed streams if another value is not specified in a task configuration:

  true - the analysis mode of all Alternative Renditions of all Variant Streams. The probe analyzes all Alternative Renditions URLs contained in a Master playlist (even if a Rendition is not associated with any Variant Stream). Further, a main task is created as well as subtasks for each Rendition analysis. If the configuration applied to a main task is edited, the probe implements the new settings to all subtasks. The monitor.cfg file includes the main task configurations only;

  false (default) - the “Player” mode. The probe uses a standard algorithm inherent to OTT media players, i.e. the probe downloads and analyzes the Variant Stream with the highest bitrate allowed by the network bandwidth at this time. If a Variant Stream contains media of different types (AUDIO, VIDEO, SUBTITLES), all of them are analyzed, i.e. a main task is created as well as subtasks for each Rendition analysis. If a Variant Stream contains set of Renditions, the default Rendition (DEFAULT=YES) is analyzed. If none of the Renditions is set as default in a group, an arbitrary Rendition URL from this group is used.

• checkMasterPlaylist - a logical type, enables/disables Master playlist update. Applied to all analyzed streams if another value is not specified in a task configuration. Disabled by default. If enabled, a playlist updates in accordance with the period specified in the masterPlaylistUpdatePeriod setting;

• uri - an array of objects, defines each task configuration.

Attention

Configuring task by specifying general settings is a deprecated method.

It is advisable to configure tasks using web-interface after launching the probe. In this case, settings will be saved as individual task configurations.

Task Configuration

Contains description of all settings of a particular task. The addr field is required, other fields will be added as the probe is launched. Task settings have priority over corresponding ones in general settings.

Task configuration example

 {
   "taskId":199498,
   "addr":"udp://235.0.0.5:1234",
   "name":"1st Channel",
   "protocol":"udp",
   "iface":"10.10.30.203",
   "closeCaptions":false,
   "proxy":"172.16.1.2:3128",
   "igmpSourceFilter":[
     "10.10.30.5"
   ],
   "ottGreedyVOD":false,
   "DSM-CC":{
     "enable":true,
     "additional_tag":[
       5
     ]
   },
   "freeze":{
     "enable":true,
     "threshold":5,
     "forceCheck":60
   },
   "ottAllRenditions":false,
   "checkMasterPlaylist":false,
   "thumbnail":{
     "enable":true,
     "default_period":10,
     "freeze_period":"startEnd",
     "scte35_period":1,
     "storeThumbLocal":false,
     "keepAspectRatio":false,
     "jpeg_quality":70,
     "resolutions":[
       {
         "width":264,
         "height":148
       },
       {
         "width":468,
         "height":264
       }
     ]
   },
   "record_triggers":{
     "VideoFreeze":{
       "enable":false
     },
     "Scte35":{
       "enable":false
     }
   },
   "audio":{
     "enableAnalysis":true,
     "checkDecodability":true
   },
   "avrgBitrateInterval":10,
   "video":{
     "epsnr":false,
     "DecodabilityMode":"off"
   },
   "usePcr":"auto",
   "srt":{
     "maxListenerRenditions":5,
     "receiveLatency":120,
     "mode":"caller",
     "username":"user",
     "password":"pass",
     "keyLength":"AES-128"
   },
   "cdi":{
       "adapterType":"EFA",
       "protocolType":"AVM",
       "audio":{
           "bitPerSample":16
       },
       "video":{
           "componentsFormat":"Planar",
           "orderFormat":"YUV"
       }
   },
   "thresholdsProfile":{       //The *thresholds* profile
     "eth":{
       "enabled":true,
       "IAT_error":50,
       "IAT_warning":45,
       "MLR_error":8,
       "MLR_warning":1,
       "bitrate_max":15000,
       "bitrate_min":100
     },
     "etr290":{
       "enabled":true,
       "maxPmtInterval":500,
       "maxPatInterval":500,
       "maxPidVAInterval":5000,
       "maxPidInterval":5000,
       "maxPTSInterval":1000,
       "excludeType":[
         "0x86",
         "0x5",
         8191
       ],
       "excludeCCType":[
         "0x86",
         8191
       ],
       "excludeTimestampType":[
         "0x86"
       ]
     },
     "etr290p2":{
       "enabled":true,
       "maxPTSRepetitionPeriod":700,
       "pcrRepetitionTime":40
     },
     "etr290p3":{
       "enabled":true,
       "deliverySystem":"Auto",
       "defIntervals":{
         "defMinInterval":25,
         "defBatInterval":10000,
         "defTotTdtInterval":30000,
         "defNitInterval":{
           "actual":10000,
           "other":10000
         },
         "defSdtInterval":{
           "actual":2000,
           "other":10000
         },
         "defEitInterval":{
           "actual":2000,
           "other":10000
         },
         "defEitSheduleInterval":{
           "actual":10000,
           "other":30000
         }
       }
     },
     "freeze":{
       "interval":5,
       "psnrThreshold":42
     },
     "audio":{
       "silence_threshold":-70,
       "DecodabilityThreshold":50
     },
     "video":{
       "DecodabilityThreshold":50
     },
     "ott":{
       "enabled":false,
       "download_speed_error":100,
       "download_speed_warning":80,
       "actual_bitrate_min":50,
       "actual_bitrate_max":200,
       "identical_playlist_cnt":3,
       "manifest_size":500000,
       "min_profiles":1,
       "check_hls_segments":0,
       "masterPlaylistUpdatePeriod":30,
       "hlsAnalyzeFrom":"default",
       "dashAnalyzeFrom":"default",
       "ottDownloadKey":"auto",
       "Source_only":false,
       "download_period":0,
       "noBodyMethod":"head",
       "regTextBandError":false
     },
     "OttOnEndOfStream":"restart",
     "http_url_params":[
       {
         "key":"key1",
         "value":"val2",
         "force":false,
         "type":"url"
       }
     ],
     "ottCustomTagDetection":{
       "case_sensitive":true,
       "filter":[
         {
           "tag":"DATERANGE",
           "includes":[
             "DURATION"
           ],
           "excludes":[
             "SCTE35-IN"
           ]
         }
       ]
     },
     "bufferCheck":{
       "enable":true,
       "bufferUpperBound":2000,
       "bufferLowerBound":0
     },
     "digitalProgramInsertion":{
       "scte35TagInOttSubs":true,
       "adInsertionMode":"auto",
       "resetStateOnBadSource":"5"
     }
   }
 }

• taskId - an integer value, a task identifier;

• addr - a string (array of strings), specifying (a) path(-s) to the analyzed streams. The following prefixes are supported: file://, udp://, rtp://, http://, https://. HLS format is supported as well (URL should end with .m3u or .m3u8);

• name - a string, the stream name (e.g. a channel name);

• protocol - a string, specifies a stream (service) protocol forcibly. It has priority over the protocol specified in a task URI. The following variants are supported: file, udp, rtp, http, https, hls;

• iface - a string, IPv4/IPv6 address of a interface;

• closeCaptions - a logical type, the field is reserved for future use;

• proxy - a string, a proxy server for data receipt when analyzing HLS service;

• igmpSourceFilter - an array of strings, contains IPv4 unicast addresses of sources (for IGMPv3 only);

• ottGreedyVOD - a logical type, sets the HLS VoD analysis mode:

  true - VoD analysis mode (aggressive download mode). Content is analyzed with maximum possible speed;

  false (default) - “live” analysis, i.e. analyzing speed is equal to a segment playback speed.

• DSM-CC - an object, describes DSM-CC parsing settings 2:

  • enable - a logical type, enables/disables DSM-CC parsing. Disabled by default;

  • additional_tag - an array of integer values, a list of elementary stream types which should be considered as streams containing DSM-CC data. Empty by default.

• freeze - an object, containing settings for video freeze detection:

  • enable - a logical type, enabling/disabling video freeze detection. Disabled by default. It has priority over the checkFreeze global setting;

  • threshold - an integer value, specifies a ratio of I frames to P frames. If the ratio exceeds the stated threshold, both neighboring I frames are compared to detect video freeze. 5 is set by default;

  • forceCheck - an integer value, specifies a period in seconds upon which two neighboring I frames are forcibly compared by the probe to detect video freeze. I.e. initial check results are ignored, and a forcible check of the second level is automatically performed. 60 seconds is set by default.

• ottAllRenditions - a logical type, the mode of OTT analysis. It has priority over the ottAllRenditions global setting:

  true - the analysis mode of all Alternative Renditions of all Variant Streams. The probe analyzes all Alternative Renditions URLs contained in a Master playlist (even if a Rendition is not associated with any Variant Stream). Further, a main task is created as well as subtasks for each Rendition analysis. If the configuration applied to a main task is edited, the probe implements the new settings to all subtasks. The monitor.cfg file includes the main task configurations only;

  false (default) - the “Player” mode. The probe uses a standard algorithm inherent to OTT media players, i.e. the probe downloads and analyzes the Variant Stream with the highest bitrate allowed by the network bandwidth at this time. If a Variant Stream contains media of different types (AUDIO, VIDEO, SUBTITLES), all of them are analyzed, i.e. main task is created as well as subtasks for each Rendition analysis. If a Variant Stream contains set of Renditions, the default Rendition (DEFAULT=YES) is analyzed. If none of the Renditions is set as default in a group, an arbitrary Rendition URL from this group is used.

• checkMasterPlaylist - a logical type, enables/disables updating of a Master playlist. It has priority over the checkMasterPlaylist global setting. Disabled by default. If enabled, a playlist updates in accordance with the period specified in the masterPlaylistUpdatePeriod setting;

• thumbnail - an object, containing configurations for the thumbnail capture. Periods have the following action priority (in descending precedence order): scte35_period, freeze_period, default_period:

  • enable - a logical type, enables/disables the thumbnail capturing. Disabled by default. It has priority over the captureThumbnails global setting;

  • default_period - an integer value or a string. An integer value specifies an interval between thumbnail captures in seconds. 0 value disables the thumbnail capturing during the program broadcast. 10 s is set by default. A string specifies an operation mode:

    off - disables the thumbnail capturing;

    allIFrame - the probe will capture thumbnails from each keyframe.
  • freeze_period - an integer value or a string. An integer value specifies an interval between thumbnail captures in seconds. 0 value disables the thumbnail capturing during the video freeze. 10 s is set by default. A string specifies an operation mode:

    off - disables the thumbnail capturing;

    startEnd - capture thumbnails at the beginning and at the end of the event (for the video freeze only);

    allIFrame - the probe will capture thumbnails from each keyframe.
  • scte35_period - an integer value or a string. An integer value specifies an interval between thumbnail captures in seconds. 0 value disables the thumbnail capturing during the Ad display (SCTE35 event). 1 s is set by default. A string specifies an operation mode:

    off - disables the thumbnails capturing;

    allIFrame - the probe will capture thumbnails from each keyframe.

  • storeThumbLocal - a logical type, true - the probe will send Thumbnail events without thumbnails to the server 2. Thumbnails will be saved in the thumb folder next to the executable file. False is set by default;

  • keepAspectRatio - a logical type, true - thumbnails will be captured while keeping the original aspect ratio 2. False is set by default;

  • jpeg_quality - an integer value, specifies jpeg compression quality within the interval from 0 to 100. 70 is set by default.

  • resolutions - an array of objects, describing thumbnails resolution 2:

    • width - an integer value, specifies a thumbnail width in pixels. 160 is set by default;

    • height (optional field) - an integer value, specifies a thumbnail height in pixels. If not specified or 0 is set, height will be calculated automatically to keep the original aspect ratio. 0 is set by default.

• record_triggers - an object, specifies triggers which are set to start recording automatically:

  • VideoFreeze - record on Video Freeze event. Record includes Pre-buffering period, Record Duration after event detection and, if event has been lasting for a long period, End of State separately;

    • enable - a logical type, enables/disables recording on the Video Freeze event.

  • SCTE35 - record on Ad insertion (SCTE35 event). Record includes Pre-buffering period, Record Duration after event detection and, if event has been lasting for a long period, End of State separately;

    • enable - a logical type, enables/disables recording on the SCTE35 event.

• audio - an object, containing settings of accompanying sound QoE analysis 3 :

  • enableAnalysis - a logical type (false by default), enables/disables the following measurements:

    1) Program loudness and peak levels of audio signals according to EBU R 128-2011;

    2) Audio silence detection.

  • checkDecodability - a logical type, enables/disables audio decodability estimation (ratio of audio decoder output bitrate to declared bitrate). Disabled by default.

• avrgBitrateInterval - an integer value, a time interval for average bitrate calculation used by the probe (used for Delay Factor calculation). 10 is set by default. For internal use only. It is not recommended to change the default value;

• video - an object, containing settings of video QoE analysis:

  • epsnr - a logical type, allows enabling/disabling EPSNR 1 calculation for a particular task. Disabled by default. It has priority over the epsnrCalc global setting;

  • DecodabilityMode - a string, enables/disables video decodability estimation. It compares the number of correctly decoded frames with the declared framerate. Modes:

    off - the metric is disabled;

    lite - the mode performs semantic analysis of an elementary stream without further decoding. Measuring accuracy is approximate, resource consumption is medium. This mode is sufficient to estimate video decodability, but it disregards possible issues occurring inside a frame;

    full - the mode performs full decoding. Measuring accuracy is precise, resource consumption is high. The correctly decoded frame corresponds to the lack of errors.

• usePcr - a string, sets a time counter to be used for calculating bitrates of streams, analysis of ETR290, etc.

  auto (default mode) - automatic selection (PTS/DTS for OTT and PCR for all other stream types);

  off - use PTS/DTS;

  on - use PCR.

• srt - an object, containing settings of the SRT protocol analysis:

  • maxListenerRenditions - an integer value, maximum number of connections to one task in listener mode. 5 is set by default;

  • receiveLatency - an integer value, defines the minimum receiver buffering delay before delivering an SRT data packet from the receiving SRT socket to the receiving application, 120 is set by default;

  • mode - a string, a connection mode over the SRT protocol:

    caller (default mode) - in this mode, the probe itself initiates the connection to the SRT stream source;

    listener - in this mode, the probe waits for incoming connection;

    rendezvous - in this mode, both the SRT source and probe are ready to establish the SRT connection as soon as an SRT stream starts. The mode is used when both nodes are behind the firewall and allows for establishing connection without the firewall configuration.

  • username (optional field) - a string, a username;

  • password (optional field) - a string, a password;

  • keyLength (optional field) - a string, a cryptographic key length:

    AES-128 - 16 bytes;

    AES-192 - 24 bytes;

    AES-256 - 32 bytes.

  • cdi - an object, contains settings for analyzing the AWS CDI protocol:

  • adapterType - a string, a network contoller type for receiving data:

    EFA (default mode) - Elastic Fabric Adapter is a network interface for Amazon EC2 instances;

    SOCKET - allows to perform CDI task analysis without the use of basic EFA equipment, with data transfer over UDP;

    SOCKET_LIBFABRIC - the libfabric socket adapter provides a reliable transport over UDP and is recommended for creating prototypes on platforms different from EFA.
  • protocolType - a string, type of transmitted data:

    RAW - is designed for transmitting data that should not be parsed;

    AVM (default mode) - is designed for transmitting audio/video/metadata.

  • audio - an object, contains settings for audio

    • bitPerSample - an integer, the number of bits in each sample.

  • video - an object, contains settings for video

    • componentsFormat - a string, the order of YUV data planes:

      Planar (default mode) - the components of Y, U, and V are respectively grouped together;

      Packed - the components of Y, U, and V are interleaved.
    • orderFormat - a string, the order of YUV components:

      YUV (default mode) - for the Planar mode;

      UYVY - for the Packed mode.

Group of settings related to the Threshold profile

• thresholdsProfile - an object, group of settings related to the Thresholds profile.

• eth - object, describes Ethernet configurations:

  • enabled - a logical type, enables/disables Ethernet configuration (such parameters as IAT, DF, MLR). Disabled by default;

  • IAT_error - an integer value, time in milliseconds. The probe registers the maxIAT Error state in case of threshold excess. 50 ms is set by default;

  • IAT_warning - an integer value, time in milliseconds. The probe registers the maxIAT Warning state in case of threshold excess. 45 ms is set by default;

  • MLR_error - an integer value, the number of threshold transport packets lost per second upon which the probe registers the MLR Error state. 8 pcs are set by default;

  • MLR_warning - an integer value, the number of threshold transport packets lost per second upon which the probe registers the MLR Warning state. 1 pc is set by default;

  • bitrate_max - an integer value, the upper threshold of multicast rate 4 in kbps upon which the probe registers the Multicast Rate Overflow state. 15000 kbps is set by default;

  • bitrate_min - an integer value, the lower threshold of multicast rate 4 in kbps upon which the probe registers the Multicast Rate Underflow state. 100 kbps is set by default.

• etr290 - an object, containing configurations to calculate ETR 290 errors (the first priority):

  • enabled - a logical type, allows enabling/disabling calculation of ETR 290 errors of the first priority. Disabled by default;

  • maxPmtInterval - an integer value. The PMT Error state occurs if sections with table_id 0x02, (i.e. PMT) do not appear in a stream within the stated interval, in milliseconds. PMT has PID specified in PAT. Default interval is 500 ms. “0” value disables error detection;

  • maxPatInterval - an integer value. The PAT Error state occurs if PID 0x0000 (PAT) does not appear in a stream within the stated interval, in milliseconds. Default interval is 500 ms;

  • maxPidVAInterval - an integer value. The Audio/Video PID Error state occurs if data for the specified Audio/Video PID does not appear within the stated interval, in milliseconds. It corresponds to partial loss of the service or errors in PAT/PMT. Default interval is 5000 ms. “0” value disables error detection;

  • maxPidInterval - an integer value. The PID Error state occurs if data for the specified PID does not appear within the stated interval, in milliseconds. It corresponds to partial loss of the service or errors in PAT/PMT. Default interval is 5000 ms. “0” value disables error detection;

  • maxPTSInterval - an integer value. The error state occurs when timestamps discontinuity is detected for a stream. It monitors continuity of the timestamps (PTS/DTS for MPEG-TS), detects backward time shifts and sudden skips in the stream (it relates to packet loss and/or stream splicing). This parameter specifies maximum time interval between timestamp values, in milliseconds. Backward time shifts generate an error despite a threshold value. Default interval is 1000 ms. “0” value disables Timestamps Discontinuity error detection;

  • excludeType - an array of strings, media types of the elementary streams in hex or decimal format and/or integers (elementary stream PIDs in the decimal format) that should be excluded from PID Error and Audio/Video PID Error detection;

  • excludeCCType - an array of strings, media types of the elementary streams in hex or decimal format and/or integers (elementary stream PIDs in the decimal format) that should be excluded from CC Error detection;

  • excludeTimestampType - an array of strings, media types of the elementary streams in hex or decimal format and/or integers (elementary stream PIDs in the decimal format) that should be excluded from Timestamp discontinuity error detection.

• etr290p2 - an object, containing configurations to calculate ETR 290 errors (the second priority):

  • enabled - a logical type, allows enabling/disabling calculation of ETR 290 errors of the second priority. Disabled by default;

  • maxPTSRepetitionPeriod - an integer value, time in milliseconds. The error state occurs when the time interval between packets with PTS values exceeds the specified interval. The default value is 700 ms;

  • pcrRepetitionTime - an integer value, time in milliseconds. The PCR Repetition Error state occurs when the time interval between two packets with PCR values exceeds the specified interval. The default interval value is 40 ms;

• etr290p3 - an object, containing configurations to calculate ETR 290 errors (the third priority):

  • enabled - a logical type, allows enabling/disabling calculation of ETR 290 errors of the third priority. Disabled by default;

  • deliverySystem - a string, type of the delivery system according to which time intervals between tables are checked (see ETSI TR 101 211, para. 4.4):

    Auto (default mode) - automatically determine the delivery system. If the delivery system cannot be determined, user-defined intervals are used;

    Manual - use the user-defined intervals;

    Satellite - use standard time intervals for the Satellite delivery system;

    Cable - use standard time intervals for the Cable delivery system;

    Terrestrial - use standard time intervals for the Terrestrial delivery system.

  • defIntervals - an object, containing configurations to check time interval between tables:

    • defMinInterval - an integer value, time in milliseconds. The minimum time interval between delivery of the section last byte and the first byte of the next delivered section with the same PID, table_id and table_id_extension and with same or other section_number. The default interval is 25 ms.

    • defBatInterval - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the BAT table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 1x10⁴ ms.

    • defTotTdtInterval - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of TOT and TDT table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 3x10⁴ ms.

    • defNitInterval - an object, containing configurations for checking the NIT table repetition time:

      • actual - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the NIT Actual table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 1x10⁴ ms.

      • other - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the NIT Other table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 1x10⁴ ms.

    • defSdtInterval - an object, containing configurations for checking the SDT table repetition time:

      • actual - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the SDT Actual table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 2x10³ ms.

      • other - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the SDT Other table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 1x10⁴ ms.

    • defEitInterval - an object, containing configurations for checking the EIT Present/Following table repetition time:

      • actual - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the EIT Present/Following Actual table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 2x10³ ms.

      • other - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the EIT Present/Following Other table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 1x10⁴ ms.

    • defEitSheduleInterval - an object, containing configurations for checking the EIT Schedule table repetition time:

      • actual - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the EIT Schedule Actual table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 1x10⁴ ms.

      • other - an integer value, time in milliseconds. All sections of the EIT Schedule Other table should be delivered within the specified interval. The default interval is 3x10⁴ ms.

• freeze - an object, containing settings for video freeze detection:

  • interval - an integer value, specifies a period in seconds. If scene freeze exceeds the stated period, the Video Freeze Error state is detected. 0s is set by default. It has priority over the videoFreezePeriod global setting;

  • psnrThreshold - an integer value, the Video Freeze detector sensitivity, is set as frames similarity threshold that is calculated as PSNR (peak signal-to-noise ratio) metric (in decibels). The higher threshold is, the greater similarity degree is applied for subsequent frames. Default value is 42,0 dB 5.

• audio - an object, containing settings of accompanying sound QoE analysis:

  • silence_threshold - an integer value, Short-Term Loudness threshold in LUFS. If threshold is reached (equal or lower), Audio silence is detected. Default value is -70.0 LUFS;

  • DecodabilityThreshold - an integer value, threshold ratio of decoded audio stream bitrate to declared bitrate (channels * sample_rate * sample_size(bit)), in percent. Used for audio decodability estimation. Default value is 50%.

• video - an object, containing settings of video QoE analysis:

  • DecodabilityThreshold - an integer value, threshold ratio of decoded video frames to declared framerate, in percent. Used for video decodability estimation. Default value is 50%.

• ott - an object, containing OTT analysis configurations:

  • enabled - a logical type, enabling/disabling OTT analysis;

  • download_speed_error- an integer value, specifying download speed rate threshold in %. If download speed is lower than the stated threshold, the Download Bitrate Too Low error is generated: Download time / Segment duration >= Error threshold (%). For example, exceeding the threshold of 100% means the load time of a segment exceeds its duration. As a result, playback freezing occurs. 100% is set by default;

  • download_speed_warning - an integer value, specifying download speed threshold rate in %. If download speed is lower than the stated threshold, the Download Bitrate Low warning is generated: Download time / Segment duration >= Warning threshold (%). Warning threshold cannot exceed the error threshold. 80% is set by default;

  • actual_bitrate_min - an integer value, the lowest threshold relating to bitrate stated in a Master playlist, in percentage. The Actual Bitrate error is generated if average bitrate of the downloaded segment is less than the stated threshold: Downloaded segment size / Specified duration <= Variant stream bitrate (%). 50% is set by default;

  • actual_bitrate_max - an integer value, the highest threshold relating to bitrate stated in a Master playlist, in percentage. The Actual Bitrate error is generated if average bitrate of the downloaded segment is higher than the stated threshold: Downloaded segment size / Specified duration >= Variant stream bitrate (%). 200% is set by default;

  • identical_playlist_cnt - an integer value, specifies the number of sequent attempts of a Media playlist downloading. A pause equal to the duration of the last downloaded segment is made between download attempts. If a Media playlist has not been updated during sequent downloads, the Static Manifest Error is generated. 3 is set by default;

  • manifest_size - an integer value, specifying maximum size of manifest in bytes. If manifest size exceeds the stated value, the Manifest Size Error is generated. 5x10⁵ bytes is set by default;

  • min_profiles - an integer value, specifying minimum number of Variant Streams available in the Master playlist. If the number of profiles stated in a Master playlist is less than the minimum threshold, the Minimum Profiles error is generated. 1 is set by default;

  • check_hls_segments - an integer value, enables/disables analysis of segments number stated in a Media playlist:

    0 (default value) - detection with automatically calculated threshold. The threshold is calculated as an average value of the number of segments stated in a Media playlist (during the last 10 minutes) divided into two. The value is rounded to the nearest integer (no less than 1);

    -1 - detection is disabled;

    <value> - the number of segments, detection with the stated threshold.

    If the number of segments is less than the threshold, the “Few Segments in Manifest” error is generated;

  • masterPlaylistUpdatePeriod - an integer value, specifies the Master playlist update period in seconds. To allow the Master playlist update, the checkMasterPlaylist setting should be enabled. 30s is set by default;

  • hlsAnalyzeFrom - a string, specifies the analysis starting point (analysis offset) in a Media playlist. Only for HLS:

    default (default) - the analysis starts from the third segment from the end of the playlist;

    <value>s - offset in seconds with respect to the last declared media segment in the playlist. If the offset value exceeds the playlist duration, the analysis starts from the first media segment in the playlist;

    <value>% - offset in percentage with respect to the last declared media segment in the playlist. 0% - analysis starts from the most recent segment in the Media playlist; 100% - analysis of the entire playlist.
  • dashAnalyzeFrom - a string, specifies the analysis starting point (analysis offset) in an MPD file. Only for DASH:

    default (default) - the analysis starts from the last declared media segment in the manifest in case the @timeShiftBufferDepth parameter is not present. If this parameter is specified, the analysis offset will be equal to the buffer depth subtracting one segment duration;

    <value>s - analysis offset in seconds with respect to the last declared media segment in the manifest. If the offset value exceeds the playlist duration, the analysis starts from the first media segment in the manifest;

    static - analysis of all segments declared in the manifest. Use this setting for the analysis of <b>VoD</b> services (@type=”static”).
  • ottDownloadKey - a string, encryption key downloading control:

    auto (default) - download a key only when a download link changes. In this mode, the probe uses a current key until the key download link is updated in a playlist. In case of download failure, the probe initiates asynchronous checking for a key availability. Each 30 seconds the probe will attempt to download a key in background, thus the sequential segment download will not be interrupted;

    onEachSegment - download a key before each segment download. This mode allows for more frequent key availability checking but increases the License Server load. Please be aware that in this mode, a possibility of segment loss exists if there is no HTTP response when requesting a key. The request ends with a timeout of 15s and during this period the segments are not downloaded, while the playlist can be updated several times;

    disable - disable downloading of encryption keys.
  • Source_only - a logical type, the “analyze transport only” mode:

    true - analysis of transport layer only. For OTT: analysis of playlists, keys and segments without TS monitoring. For IPTV: analysis of Ethernet parameters only;

    false (default) - standard mode of analysis of allowed parameters.
  • download_period - an integer value, specifying a period for sequential analysis of segments in seconds:

    0 (default mode) - the probe downloads all segments entirely;

    -1 - the probe downloads http headers only, without downloading segment files;

    <interval> - time in seconds, the probe downloads a segment file in the specified time interval. For other segments the probe downloads http headers only.

    Decreasing the download frequency or prohibiting the segment file download significantly reduces the network load. However, in these modes, the probe cannot measure some QoS and all QoE parameters and cannot perform service Recording correctly.
  • noBodyMethod - a string, specifies the mode of downloading http headers when download_period does not equal to zero:

    head (default mode) - sending a HEAD request for http(s);

    range - sending a GET request with the set file download range equal to 1 byte for http(s).
  • regTextBandError - a logical type, enable/disable “Bandwidth Missed in Variant Stream” detection for subtitles. Only for DASH. Disabled by default.

• OttOnEndOfStream - specifies the probe actions in case of EndOfStream detection (playlist does not update AND all declared segments have been downloaded and analyzed):

  restart - restarts an analysis task (analysis looping);

  stop - stops the task;

  continue - continues the task (expects occurrence of new segments).

• http_url_params - an array of objects, containing HTTP request parameters specified in the key:value format sent by the probe in each HTTP request. Parameters can be passed in the URL or in the Header Section of HTTP request.

  • key - a string, specifies a parameter (key) name;

  • value - a string, specifies a parameter value;

  • force - a logical type. Forcible reassigning of the specified parameters if they have already been included in a request. If force=false, the parameters with the same names are not reassigned. If the specified parameters are not included in a request, they are automatically added despite the “force” setting state;

  • type - a string, specifies how to pass parameters:

    url (default) - parameters are passed in the URL (Query String Parameters);

    headers - parameters are passed in the Header Section of HTTP request.

• ottCustomTagDetection - an object, configuration of the OTT custom tags detection in HLS Master and Media playlists. The probe detects any tag with the standard #<TagName>:<Content> structure:

  • case_sensitive - a logical type, enables/disables a case-sensitive search. Applies to all filter fields, including content. Disabled by default;

  • filter - an array of objects, contains the filter groups for the tags detection. The tag and some includes/excludes fields within the one group are combined by the AND logic. The filter groups are combined by the OR logic;

  • tag - a string, a tag name or part of a name. The separating colon character (“:”) should not be used;

  • includes - an array of strings, content or its part (information following by #<TagName>:) should be included in the required tag. If at least one of the array strings is not found in the tag content, the tag will not be registered (the AND logic);

  • excludes - an array of strings, content or its part (information following by #<TagName>:) should NOT be included in the required tag.

• bufferCheck - an object, containing configurations for detecting issues related to timestamp divergence (PTS, DTS, PCR):

  • enable - a logical type, enables/disables tracking issues related to timestamp divergence. Disabled by default;

  • bufferUpperBound - an integer value, a threshold value defining the maximum allowed timestamp divergence (the buffer overflow error). 2000ms are set by default;

  • bufferLowerBound - an integer value, a threshold value defining the minimum allowed timestamp divergence. 0ms is set by default.

• digitalProgramInsertion - an object, containing configurations for controlling the Ad insertion tags:

  • adInsertionMode - a string, the ad insertion monitoring mode (affects the SCTE-35 Ad Insertions Are Missing trigger operation):

    auto (default) - the probe automatically decides whether Ad insertions should be monitored in a certain program or in a playlist. For a transport stream, the probe selects programs that contain a PID carrying SCTE-35 tags. For OTT, the probe checks playlists for the presence of any Ad Insertion tags. If any tags are present, the probe will enqueue the media representation for monitoring Ad insertions;

    allProgram - the probe expects the appearance of Ad Insertions within each program contained in a transport stream or in playlists of each media representation.

  • scte35TagInOttSubs - a logical type, enables/disables checking playlists for SCTE-35 tags (affects the SCTE-35 Tags Are Not Present in the Playlist trigger operation). Enabled by default (set to true);

  • resetStateOnBadSource - an integer value, duration of the guard interval. If during the interval the signal is absent (the BadSource state), trigger down counters will be reset. The setting affects the following triggers: SCTE-35 Ad Insertions Are Missing and SCTE-35 Tags Are Not Present in the Playlist. As the signal restores, the probe will redetect programs for which insertions should be expected, and the trigger counters will start counting. The guard interval can be disabled by setting to 0, thus counters will be reset as the signal disappears. 5s is set by default.’

1(1,2)

EPSNR (Estimated Peak Signal to Noise Ratio) – is a metric representing the statistical evaluation of the ratio distortion of digital video data in the process of encoding. EPSNR is measured in terms of the decibel scale and is determined as an attitude of peak quadratic value of the video signal to the quadratic deviation of the decoded image to the original/source image. EPSNR is estimated based on data contained in the encoded video stream and does not require reference (uncoded) video images. EPSNR calculation is hardware resource consuming.

2(1,2,3,4)

The setting is designed for a certain software based on the Boro probe, for more details contact the Elecard Technical Support Team.

3

It is not required to enable enableAnalysis or checkDecodability to: 1) display headers of audio streams (the Audio Information window); 2) detect at least one audio stream in a program (Audio track missing).

4(1,2)

Multicast rate refers to data volume received from multicast source per 1 second.

5

PSNR 20 - frames technically could be the same, but there is significant difference. PSNR 35 - frames most probably are the same, but there is visible difference. PSNR 42 - upper level of human visual perception of the difference. PSNR 60-100 - almost no difference.

5.11.3. Examples of Tasks Setting

To set tasks from a configuration file, it is enough to specify the mandatory field addr. Other settings may be specified in web-interface after launching the probe.

Important

After launching the probe, the config file content will be updated automatically in compliance with the default format of the currently used probe. So, if you are going to set tasks to the probe by editing the monitor.cfg file, always save a backup copy of the file.

It is possible to add tasks using a simple URI list:

A simple URI list

 {
   "config":{
     "AppDescription":"My probe name",
     "server":"https://172.16.11.111",
     "uri":[
       "udp://239.0.0.22:1234",
       "udp://239.0.0.41:1234",
       "udp://239.0.0.71:1234",
       "udp://239.0.0.73:1234",
       "udp://239.0.0.181:1234"
     ]
   }
 }

If it is required to add several task parameters, e.g. URI, Name and Network Interface IP, they are specified as object fields of a task.

Tasks with parameters

 {
   "config":{
     "AppDescription":"My probe",
     "server":"https://boro.elecard.ru",
     "uri":[
       {
         "addr":"udp://239.0.0.22:1234",
         "name":"Channel_1",
         "iface":"10.10.30.197"
       },
       {
         "addr":"udp://239.0.0.41:1234",
         "name":"Channel_2",
         "iface":"10.10.30.197"
       },
       {
         "addr":"udp://239.0.0.71:1234",
         "name":"Channel_3"
       },
       {
         "addr":"udp://239.0.0.73:1234",
         "name":"Channel_4"
       },
       {
         "addr":"udp://239.0.0.181:1234",
         "name":"Channel_5"
       }
     ]
   }
 }

See below the same example formatted in string. This is a convenient way to make a configuration file in spreadsheet editors, when configuration should be formed from a channel plan.

Task with parameters in string

 {
   "config": {
     "AppDescription": "My probe",
     "server": "https://boro.elecard.ru",
     "uri": [
       {"addr": "udp://239.0.0.22:1234","name": "Channel_1","iface":"10.10.30.197"},
       {"addr": "udp://239.0.0.41:1234","name": "Channel_2","iface":"10.10.30.197"},
       {"addr": "udp://239.0.0.71:1234","name": "Channel_3"},
       {"addr": "udp://239.0.0.73:1234","name": "Channel_4"},
       {"addr": "udp://239.0.0.181:1234","name": "Channel_5"}
     ]
   }
 }