Mixed Signals Scores QoE

LOS ANGELES -- Mixed Signals, the leading provider of digital content monitoring solutions, today announced its new Perceptual Scoring System, the first solution of its kind to enable cable, telecom and other video service providers to accurately determine the severity of video and audio glitches as they occur and precisely how much these errors affect viewers and impact their quality of experience (QoE). The Perceptual Scoring System is available to all users of Mixed Signals’ award-winning Sentry® content monitoring solution.

Service providers have implemented video content monitoring and probe-based error detection solutions to identify and fix video and audio errors, but since these solutions cannot gauge the severity of errors, they simply report that an error has occurred with little to no additional detail. This is a major issue when service providers are inundated with simultaneous alerts but cannot determine which require immediate action and must investigate everything without understanding the true subscriber impact. This is time consuming and means minor glitches that do not affect subscribers may be resolved while major errors continue.

Mixed Signals Perceptual Scoring System addresses this issue by taking into account human visual and auditory responses to gauge a subscriber’s frustration level over video and audio impairments. The real-time, 24/7 system detects, tracks and reports the three most serious video errors – video tiling, black and frozen screen – simultaneously in literally hundreds of high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) programs in either the MPEG-2 or MPEG-4/H.264 codecs. The system can determine which type of error is occurring, on which programs, where on the subscriber’s screen the error is occurring and its duration. This unprecedented amount of specific information allows service providers to determine the errors that require immediate attention to preserve subscriber satisfaction.

Similarly, the Perceptual Scoring System also detects, tracks and reports major audio issues, including dropped left or right audio channels and silence and volume differences between programs and commercials. The system takes into account human ear responses to determine a subscriber’s frustration level over audio impairments.

“Our new Perceptual Scoring System addresses a major QoE issue and represents a major leap forward in real-time video monitoring technology,” said Eric Conley, CEO of Mixed Signals. “For the first time, service operators will understand the severity of the subscriber impact whenever an error occurs. This is critical because engineers can focus only on the problems directly affecting subscribers rather than chasing down the root cause of every single error. Service providers can then immediately determine the video and audio impairments that must be addressed to ensure a high QoE for subscribers and reduce operational expenses dramatically.”

Mixed Signals Inc.