User Manual
MTS4CC
Elementary Stream Compliance Checker
071-2075-00
This document supports software version 1.0
www.tektronix.com
Copyright © Tektronix. All rights reserved. Licensed software products are owned by Tektronix or its subsidiaries
or suppliers, and are protected by national copyright laws and international treaty provisions.
Tektronix products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents, issued and pending. Information in this publication
supercedes that in all previously published material. Specifications and price change privileges reserved.
TEKTRONIX and TEK are registered trademarks of Tektronix, Inc.
"Dolby", "Pro Logic", and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.
Contacting Tektronix
Tektronix, Inc.
14200 SW Karl Braun Drive
P.O. Box 500
Beaverton, OR 97077
USA
For product information, sales, service, and technical support:
- In North America, call 1-800-833-9200.
- Worldwide, visit www.tektronix.com to find contacts in your area.
Warranty 9(b)
Tektronix warrants that the media on which this software product is furnished and the encoding of the programs
on the media will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of three (3) months from the
date of shipment. If any such medium or encoding proves defective during the warranty period, Tektronix will
provide a replacement in exchange for the defective medium. Except as to the media on which this software
product is furnished, this software product is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or
implied. Tektronix does not warrant that the functions contained in this software product will meet Customer's
requirements or that the operation of the programs will be uninterrupted or error-free.
In order to obtain service under this warranty, Customer must notify Tektronix of the defect before the expiration
of the warranty period. If Tektronix is unable to provide a replacement that is free from defects in materials and
workmanship within a reasonable time thereafter, Customer may terminate the license for this software product
and return this software product and any associated materials for credit or refund.
THIS WARRANTY IS GIVEN BY TEKTRONIX WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT IN LIEU OF
ANY OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TEKTRONIX AND ITS VENDORS
DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FIT NESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. TEKTRONIX' RESPONSIBILITY TO REPLACE DEFECTIVE MEDIA OR
REFUND CUSTOMER'S PAYMENT IS THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY PROVIDED TO THE
CUSTOMER FOR BREACH OF THIS WARRANTY. TEKTRONIX AND ITS VENDORS WILL NOT
BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER TEKTRONIX OR THE VENDOR HAS ADVANCE NOTICE OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Table of Contents
Software License Agreement.................................................................................v
Environmental Considerations.............................................................................vii
Preface..................................................................................................................ix
Related Material....................................................................................................ix
Manual Conventions..............................................................................................x
Number Conventions.............................................................................................x
User Documentation ..............................................................................................x
Getting Started
Overview..............................................................................................................1-1
Applications......................................................................................................... 1-3
Software, Hardware, and User Prerequisites................................................... 1-5
Installation and Licensing..................................................................................1-9
License Types ....................................................................................................... 1-9
Installing the MTS4CC Software.......................................................................... 1-9
Compression Standards and File Types..........................................................1-11
Supported Video Compression Standards...........................................................1-11
Supported Audio Compression Standards .......................................................... 1-18
Permitted Video Types/Formats .........................................................................1-20
Permitted Audio Types/Format...........................................................................1-28
Standards References..........................................................................................1-30
Operating Basics
How to Use the MTS4CC ...................................................................................2-1
Window Elements................................................................................................. 2-2
Starting to Use the MTS4CC................................................................................2-3
Main Menu .......................................................................................................... 2-12
File Menu...........................................................................................................2-13
Open Stream........................................................................................................2-13
Close Stream.......................................................................................................2-29
Save Video Stream As ........................................................................................2-30
Open Other..........................................................................................................2-31
Preferences.......................................................................................................... 2-31
Example Files......................................................................................................2-32
MTS4CC User Manual i
Table of Contents
Recent File ..........................................................................................................2-37
Exit......................................................................................................................2-37
Play Menu..........................................................................................................2-39
Audio Sounds Broken Up ...................................................................................2-41
Audio/Video Synchronization.............................................................................2-43
Play......................................................................................................................2-44
Fast Forward........................................................................................................2-45
Stop .....................................................................................................................2-45
Pause/Step Forward.............................................................................................2-46
Reverse Play........................................................................................................2-46
Fast Backward.....................................................................................................2-47
Pause/Step Backward..........................................................................................2-47
Skip Forward.......................................................................................................2-47
Skip Backward....................................................................................................2-48
Video Start Position ............................................................................................2-49
Continuous Play..................................................................................................2-49
Hold Last Frame..................................................................................................2-50
Pause on Frame ...................................................................................................2-50
Video Decoder Options.......................................................................................2-51
Audio Decoder Options.......................................................................................2-58
Mute audio ..........................................................................................................2-60
Synchronize audio...............................................................................................2-60
Overlay Menu....................................................................................................2-61
Summary Tooltips Manipulation ........................................................................2-62
Video Summary Tooltip......................................................................................2-64
MacroBlock Types..............................................................................................2-74
Motion Vectors....................................................................................................2-78
MB Statistics.......................................................................................................2-82
Overlay Color......................................................................................................2-86
Visual Difference ................................................................................................2-87
Luma Only ..........................................................................................................2-88
Blank Video ........................................................................................................2-88
Audio Summary Tooltip .....................................................................................2-89
Show Audio Waveform.......................................................................................2-91
Show Audio Frame Markers...............................................................................2-94
Show Sync Markers ............................................................................................2-94
Analysis Menu ...................................................................................................2-95
Enable Fidelity Trace..........................................................................................2-96
ii MTS4CC User Manual
Table of Contents
Enable Fidelity Analysis...................................................................................2-102
View Video Stream Hex...................................................................................2-107
View Video Stream Structure...........................................................................2-114
View Video Buffer Analysis.............................................................................2-117
View Bits per Video Frame Analysis ............................................................... 2-128
View Fidelity Analysis......................................................................................2-131
View Fidelity Trace .......................................................................................... 2-134
Alert Menu....................................................................................................... 2-139
Alert Levels....................................................................................................... 2-140
Explanation of Fatal/Error/Warning/Info Display............................................2-141
Description of Alert Levels...............................................................................2-148
Configure Alerts................................................................................................2-150
View Alert Log.................................................................................................2-152
Status Bar Indication of Alert Status.................................................................2-159
Window Menu.................................................................................................2-161
Quickly Switch Windows .................................................................................2-161
Cascade, Tile, Arrange Icons, Close All........................................................... 2-162
Toolbars ............................................................................................................2-164
MacroBlock Types Color Key Tooltip ............................................................. 2-173
Status Bar.......................................................................................................... 2-174
Video Scale.......................................................................................................2-175
HexView Settings .............................................................................................2-176
Graph View Settings.........................................................................................2-178
Synchronize views ............................................................................................2-179
Active Views..................................................................................................... 2-179
Ctrl Shortcut Keys.............................................................................................2-180
Alt Menu Keys.................................................................................................. 2-181
Help Menu .......................................................................................................2-183
User manual (PDF) F1......................................................................................2-183
Tutorials (PDF).................................................................................................2-183
License manager ............................................................................................... 2-184
About MTS4CC................................................................................................ 2-184
Reference
Command Line/Batch Mode.............................................................................. 3-1
Command line mode.............................................................................................3-1
Batch mode ...........................................................................................................3-1
Running the MTS4CC in command line/batch mode........................................... 3-1
MTS4CC User Manual iii
Table of Contents
Appendices
Glossary
Decoder Plugins for MTS4CC ...........................................................................3-9
Purpose of MTS4CC Decoder Plugins..................................................................3-9
Support of Decoder Plugins ..................................................................................3-9
Decoder Plugin File Layout on the CD...............................................................3-10
Format for Generating Decoder Plugins .............................................................3-11
Use of Decoder Plugins.......................................................................................3-11
Decoder Plugins..................................................................................................3-12
Tests of MTS4CC...............................................................................................A-1
Tests with MPEG-4 normative and donated bitstreams.......................................A-1
Bitstreams: Normative ISO..................................................................................A-2
Bitstreams: Donated \ I-VOP ...............................................................................A-3
Bitstreams: Donated \ Overall.............................................................................. A-3
Bitstreams: Donated \ Short Header.....................................................................A-4
Bitstreams: Donated \ P-VOP .............................................................................. A-5
Bitstreams: Donated \ Error..................................................................................A-8
Index
iv MTS4CC User Manual
Tektronix Software License Agreement
IMPORTANT
READ BEFORE OPERATING EQUIPMENT
This software is provided under license from Tektronix, Inc. Retention of this program for more than thirty (30) days or use of the
program in any manner constitutes acceptance of the license terms.
CAREFULLY READ THE ENCLOSED SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT. If you cannot agree to the license terms,
promptly contact the nearest Tektronix Field Office for return assistance.
TEKTRONIX SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
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PROGRAM AND ANY ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION SHOULD BE RETURNED PROMPTLY TO TEKTRONIX.
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UPON TRANSFER OF ANY COPY, MODIFICATION, OR MERGED PORTION OF THE PROGRAM WITHOUT THE PRIOR
WRITTEN CONSENT OF TEKTRONIX, THE LICENSE GRANTED HEREIN IS AUTOMATICALLY TERMINATED.
MTS4CC User Manual v
Software License Agreement
TEKTRONIX DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY WITH RESPECT TO ANY APPLICATION
PROGRAMS CUSTOMER MAY DEVELOP USING THE PROGRAM.
TERM. The license granted herein is effective upon acceptance by Customer, and shall remain in effect until terminated as
provided herein. The license may be terminated by Customer at any time upon written notice to Tektronix. The license may be
terminated by Tektronix or any third party from whom Tektronix may have obtained a respective licensing right if Customer fails
to comply with any term or condition and such failure is not remedied within thirty (30) days after notice thereof from Tektronix or
such third party. Upon termination by either party, Customer shall return to Tektronix, or destroy, the Program and all
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consent of Tektronix.
All questions regarding this Agreement or the license granted herein should be directed to the nearest Tektronix office.
vi MTS4CC User Manual
Environmental Considerations
This section provides information about the environmental impact of the product.
Product End-of-Life Handling
Observe the following guidelines when recycling an instrument or component:
Equipment Recycling. Production of this equipment required the extraction and use
of natural resources. The equipment may contain substances that could be harmful
to the environment or human health if improperly handled at the product's end of
life. In order to avoid release of such substances into the environment and to
reduce the use of natural resources, we encourage you to recycle this product in an
appropriate system that will ensure that most of the materials are reused or
recycled appropriately.
The symbol shown to the left indicates that this product complies with
the European Union's requirements according to Directive 2002/96/EC
on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). For information
about recycling options, check the Support/Service section of the
Tektronix Web site (www.tektronix.com).
Restriction of Hazardous Substances
This product has been classified as Monitoring and Control equipment, and is
outside the scope of the 2002/95/EC RoHS Directive. Although not required, this
product complies with the RoHS Directive requirements for nonexempt products.
MTS4CC User Manual vii
Environmental Considerations
viii MTS4CC User Manual
Preface
Related Material
This manual describes the functions and use of the Tektronix MTS4CC
Elementary Stream Compliance Checker. The manual is organized into the
following sections:
Section 1: Getting Started
Section 2: Operating Basics
Section 3: Reference
Appendix A: Tests of MTS4CC
Glossary
Manual Conventions
Additional documentation, such as ReadMe files, may be included on the
installation CD-ROM.
The following URLs access the Web sites for the standards organizations listed
(the URLs listed were valid at the time of writing):
MPEG-2 standards (International Organization for Standards)
http://www.iso.ch/
DVB standards (European Technical Standards Institute)
http://www.etsi.org/
ATSC standards (Advanced Television Systems Committee)
http://www.atsc.org/
Naming conventions for the interface elements are based on standard Microsoft
Windows naming conventions. Naming conventions for MPEG-2, ATSC, and
DVB structures follow the conventions derived from the referenced standards
documents.
Mono-spaced text can indicate the following:
Text that you enter from a keyboard
Example: Enter the network identity (http://TSMonitor01)
MTS4CC User Manual ix
Preface
Number Conventions
Characters that you press on your keyboard
Example: Press CTRL+C to copy the selected text.
Paths to components on your hard drive
Example: The program files are installed at the following location:
C:\Program Files\Tektronix\
Within MTS4CC all numbers are decimal unless they are preceded by 0x, in which
case they are hexadecimal.
For example:
16 [decimal] = 16 decimal
0x16 [hexadecimal] = 22 decimal
User Documentation
The PDF version of this manual can be accessed from MTS4CC Help > User
manual (PDF).
Tutorials are supplied as a separate PDF file that is accessible through the Help
menu.
The PDF version of this manual and the tutorials are also on the installation
CD-ROM.
x MTS4CC User Manual
Getting Started
Overview
MTS4CC ES Compliance Checker is a powerful real-time analytical tool for the
investigation of compressed video data that has been encoded using the
H.264/AVC, MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4, VC-1, and H.263 video standards.
MTS4CC operates as a standalone software application for use on a personal
computer (PC) in a Windows environment. It can also be installed on the MTS400
MPEG Test Systems.
MTS4CC enables the display, analysis, debug, and optimization of the
compression algorithm or equipment:
Next generation (VC-1, H.264/AVC, MPEG-4 and 3GPP) and Legacy
(MPEG-2, and H.263) CODEC support
Frame-by-frame and block-by-block analysis to allow easy CODEC
comparison
Audio decode and waveform display
Synchronized audio and video displays
Real-time and non real-time decoding and compliance checking of
compressed video streams (dependent on PC performance)
Batch mode to allow automated testing
Extraction of elementary stream from transport stream
Available as single user local license for PC and Tektronix instruments
MTS4CC User Manual 1-1
Overview
1-2 MTS4CC User Manual
Applications
This next generation compression ES analysis tool meets the needs of the
following:
Equipment Manufacturers
Semiconductor device designers and manufacturers
Video codec software and hardware developers and verification engineers
STB, PVR, and DVD consumer electronics developers and verification
engineers for cable, satellite, terrestrial, and IP applications
Video conferencing and communications equipment developers, and
verification engineers
Mobile video infrastructure and handset developers
Systems engineering and customer support staff
Video Content Transmission Distribution
CODEC and equipment evaluation and comparison in cable, satellite,
terrestrial, and IP applications
Network operators
Network equipment providers
Application and service providers
Streaming media applications
MTS4CC User Manual 1-3
Applications
1-4 MTS4CC User Manual
Software, Hardware, and User Prerequisites
MTS4CC runs under the Microsoft Windows operating system and has been tested
on:
Windows XP (Home and Professional)
Windows 2000 Professional
MTS4CC is not supported under any other operating system.
Audio Playout
In order to extract and play audio streams in MTS4CC the PC requires an audio
device, correctly configured.
Personal Computer Prerequisites
MTS4CC will work satisfactorily on relatively modest PC systems (for example
800 MHz).
However, in order to decode and display CIF (Common Intermediate Format)
video streams in real time the following minimum PC configuration is
recommended for MPEG-4 and H.263 format video:
Processor speed >1.2 GHz
Memory at least 256 MB RAM
Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 (recommended)
500 MB minimum hard disk space
For H.264/AVC with CIF-size video (and larger) and MPEG-2 with D1-size video
(and larger) the processing requirements are significantly higher and therefore a
higher performance PC is required to display the video in real time: for these a PC
with processor speed of at least 2.5 GHz is recommended.
When writing trace information to the hard disk, the limiting factor is the speed of
the hard disk (regardless of the video standard), so the faster the better. Also, the
video files can be large (hundreds of MB), so that a large hard disk is needed:
Hard disk speed: at least - 7200 rpm
Hard disk size: as required for high-speed access to the video files to be
analyzed
MTS4CC User Manual 1-5
Software, Hardware, and User Prerequisites
CAUTION. Apart from those specifically authorized by Tektronix, there should be
no other applications installed on the PC. If other applications are installed, it is
possible that they may interfere with the operation of the MTS4CC software.
Software operation cannot be guaranteed under these circumstances.
MTS400 MPEG Test Systems
You can install the MTS4CC on the Tektronix MTS400 family of MPEG test
systems. The installation procedure is described in the Section 4.
User Prerequisites
The MTS4CC is sophisticated compliance checking software, which presents
detailed information relating to the video and audio standards.
To operate this software, you should understand audio and video standards in
significant detail and be able to interpret the information presented by the
MTS4CC.
A list of references are provided (see Compression Standards and File Types,
Section 2).
1-6 MTS4CC User Manual
Software, Hardware, and User Prerequisites
MTS4CC Options
Table 1-1: License options
Item Option Description
MTS4CC - Base software Compliance Checker. Includes Command line
execution with report file output for batch mode operation. All
container file types are included as standard. Includes English
manual and CD-ROM.
PPD Parallel Port software key (dongle)
USB USB software key (dongle)
LUD Add MTS4CC to a current MTS400 MPEG Test
system software key; please provide serial
number of your software key with your order.
MPG4 MPEG-4 Simple Profile (Levels 0 to 3), Advanced Simple Profile
(Levels 0 to 5), and H.263
MPG2 MPEG-2 Main Profile Main Level, 4:2:2 profile at Main Level, MPEG-2
Main Profile High Level, High Level 1440, and 4:2:2 profile at High
Level
AVC H.264/AVC Baseline, Main, and Extended Profiles (Levels 1 – 5),
High Profile with FRExT (10 bit, 4:2:2, 4:4:4)
VC1 VC-1 (all Profiles, all Levels) and ASF extraction
FID Fidelity (PSNR) analysis and visual differencing
Note 1) At least one of the CODEC options MPG4, MPG2, AVC, and VC1 must be ordered.
Mandatory
and
mutually exclusive
Note 2) Full audio decode is enabled for any purchased video CODEC. Supported audio
CODECS are MPEG-2 Layer 1 & 2, AAC, HE AAC, and AC-3.
MTS4CC User Manual 1-7
Software, Hardware, and User Prerequisites
1-8 MTS4CC User Manual
Installation and Licensing
This chapter describes licensing and installation of MTS4CC.
License Types
To run MTS4CC, you will need a software key (dongle) with the correct license
permissions.
Two types of software key are available; they perform the same function.
Parallel port device - This plugs into the parallel port of your PC. If a printer
is already attached to the port, the software key should be inserted between
the port and the printer connector.
USB device - This plugs into a standard USB socket.
NOTE. The software key contains the MTS4CC license. If the software key is lost,
you will have to purchase another software key, which may be at full list price of
the software.
All options are visible in the installed MTS4CC menus. Options not enabled by the
license will be unavailable (grayed out). The status and scope of the license can be
checked at any time by clicking on the Help menu option License manager.
A node-locked license is locked to a particular PC, that is, MTS4CC will only run
on the PC on which a software key is installed. When using node-locked licenses,
each PC that is to run MTS4CC must have a separate node-locked license.
Installing the MTS4CC Software
1. Insert the MTS4CC installation CD.
NOTE. If the installation process does not start automatically, run setup.exe from
the root directory of the installation CD.
2. At the bottom of the window showing the readme file, click the Install button
to start the installation.
3. The MTS4CC installation will continue. When finished, reboot the machine.
Ensure that the software key (parallel port or USB) is installed before starting
MTS4CC.
MTS4CC User Manual 1-9
Installation and Licensing
1-10 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
This chapter provides:
A description of the standards (and elements within those standards), that the
MTS4CC supports, both video and audio
The file types that the MTS4CC can work with, both video and audio
The exact titles and numbers of the standards on which the MTS4CC is based
(For details of the given references, refer to the Standards References section on
page 1-30.)
Supported Video Compression Standards
The video compression standards supported in this version of the MTS4CC are:
H.264/AVC
VC-1
MPEG-4 Part 2
MPEG-2 Part 2
H.263
The MTS4CC will open container files (containing the above types of video):
MPEG-2 Transport Stream (H.264/AVC, VC-1 Advanced profile, MPEG-2
Program Stream, MPEG-2 Packetized Elementary Stream, MPEG-2
Elementary Stream only)
MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 2, H.263 Baseline only and H.264)
3GPP (MPEG-4 Part 2, H.263 Baseline only and H.264)
VOB/MPEG-2 Program Stream (MPEG-2 only)
Microsoft ASF files
RCV files
MTS4CC User Manual 1-11
Compression Standards and File Types
The MTS4CC will also open uncompressed video files: see Opening an
Uncompressed Video File (any File Extension) in the Operating Basics section for
more information.
The MTS4CC will also open audio files of the standards given in Supported Audio
Compression Standards on page 1-18, and container files that have these types of
audio within them.
NOTE. Not all container files support all types of audio listed under Supported
Audio Compression Standards on page 1-18, see also Permitted Audio
Types/Format on page 1-28.
H.264/AVC
This version of MTS4CC supports the following elements of the H.264/AVC
standard (see Reference [13]).
H.264/AVC Profiles, Levels. The following Profiles and Levels are supported:
Baseline Profile
All Levels from 1 to 5.1 inclusive
Extended Profile
All Levels from 1 to 5.1 inclusive
Main Profile
All Levels from 1 to 5.1 inclusive
High Profile
All Levels from 1 to 5.1 inclusive
High 10-bit Profile
All Levels from 1 to 5.1 inclusive
High 4:2:2 Profile
All Levels from 1 to 5.1 inclusive
High 4:4:4 Profile
All Levels from 1 to 5.1 inclusive
1-12 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
H.264/AVC Tools. (See Reference [13] for a description of these tools.)
All tools are supported, as permitted in the H.264/AVC standard, listed below.
Tool Baseline Extended Main High High 10 High
4:2:2
Profile and level indications:
profile_idc
constraint_set0_flag
constraint_set1_flag
constraint_set2_flag
constraint_set3_flag
level_idc
Slice types:
I
P
B
SP
SI
NAL unit types:
1 - coded slice of a non-IDR picture
2 - coded slice data partition A
3 - coded slice data partition B
4 - coded slice data partition C
5 - coded slice of an IDR picture
6 - supplemental enhancement
information
7 - sequence parameter set
8 - picture parameter set
9 - access unit delimiter
10 - end of sequence
12 - end of stream
13 - filler data
Structural:
data partitioning (NALU type 2-4)
interlace (frame_mbs_only_flag)
arbitrary slice order
slice groups (num_slice_groups_minus1)
redundant coded pictures
(redundant_pic_cnt_present_flag)
Weighted prediction:
weighted_pred_flag
weighted_pred_idc
Entropy coding
(entropy_coding_mode_flag):
CAVLC
CABAC
66
1
0 or 1
0 or 1
0 or 1
10 - 51
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
1 - 8
Yes
0
0
Yes
No
88
0 or 1
0 or 1
1
0 or 1
10 - 51
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
(L2.1 - 4.1)
Yes
1 - 8
Yes
=> 0
=> 0
Yes
No
77
0 or 1
1
0 or 1
0 or 1
10 - 51
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
(L2.1 - 4.1)
No
1
No
=> 0
=> 0
Yes
Yes
100
0 or 1
0 or 1
0 or 1
0
10 - 51
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
(L1-2 &
4.2 - 5.1)
No
1
No
=> 0
=> 0
Yes
Yes
110
0 or 1
1
0 or 1
0
10 - 51
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
(L1-2
& 4.2 - 5.1)
No
1
No
=> 0
=> 0
Yes
Yes
122
0 or 1
1
0 or 1
0
10 - 51
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
(L1-2
& 4.2 - 5.1)
No
1
No
=> 0
=> 0
Yes
Yes
High
4:4:4
144
0 or 1
1
0 or 1
0
10 - 51
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
(L1-2
& 4.2 - 5.1)
No
1
No
=> 0
=> 0
Yes
Yes
MTS4CC User Manual 1-13
Compression Standards and File Types
Tool Baseline Extended Main High High 10 High
4:2:2
B frames:
direct_8x8_inference_flag
MinLumaBiPredSize
Fidelity range:
chroma format (chroma_format_idc)
bit depth (bit_depth_luma_minus8,
bit_depth_chroma_minus8)
transform bypass
(qpprime_y_zero_transform_bypass_flag)
No = not allowed; n/a = not applicable
n/a
n/a
0
0
0
1
8x8
L3.1 - 5.1
0
0
0
0 (L1-2.2)
1 (L3-5.1)
8x8
L3.1 - 5.1
0
0
0
1 (L3–5.1)
8x8
L3.1 -5.1
0 - 1
0
0
1 (L3–5.1)
8x8
L3.1 - 5.1
0 - 1
0 - 2
0
1 (L3–5.1)
8x8
L3.1 - 5.1
0 - 1
0 - 2
0
VC-1
This version of MTS4CC supports the following elements of the VC-1 standard
(see Reference [17]).
VC-1 Profiles, Levels. The following Profiles and Levels are supported (this is all
Profiles and all Levels):
Simple Profile:
High
4:4:4
1 (L3–5.1)
8x8
L3.1 - 5.1
0 - 3
0 - 4
0 or 1
Low
Medium
Main Profile:
Low
Medium
High
Advanced Profile:
L0
L1
L2
L3
L4
1-14 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
MPEG-4
This version of MTS4CC supports the following elements of the MPEG-4 standard
(see Reference [1]).
NOTE. The MTS4CC support for MPEG-4 has been updated to the 2004 version of
the MPEG-4 standard, which has a number of differences from the previous
version.
MPEG-4 Profiles, Levels. The following Profiles and Levels are supported:
Simple Profile:
Level 0 (see note below)
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Advanced Simple Profile:
Level 0
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 3b (see Reference [6])
Level 4
Level 5
Main Profile:
Level 2
NOTE. Level 0, which is not in the MPEG-4 Standard Reference [1] is an addition
to Simple Profile. Level 0 is targeted at mobile applications: for example, with a
maximum picture size of QCIF and maximum frame rate of 15 frames per second.
MTS4CC User Manual 1-15
Compression Standards and File Types
MPEG-4 tools. (See the following standard for a description of the MPEG-4 tools:
MPEG-4 Part 2 (Visual), Reference [1] Table 9-1.)
For MPEG-4 Simple Profile, Advanced Simple Profile and Main Profile, the
following tools are supported:
Tool Simple
Profile
Basic:
I-VOP
P-VOP
AC/DC prediction
4 Motion Vectors
Unrestricted Motion Vectors
Short header Y Y Y
Error resilience:
Slice Resynchronization
Data Partitioning
Reversible VLC
B-VOPs Y N
Method 1/Method 2
quantization
Global Motion Compensation:
Mode 0
Mode 1
Mode 2
Mode 3
Quarter Sample Motion
Compensation (quarter pel)
Interlace Y
Y Y Y
Y Y Y
Y Y
Y
Y
Advanced
Simple
Profile
(L4, 5 only)
Main Profile
N
Means that this tool is not allowed in the profile concerned.
NOTE. MPEG-4 Simple Profile Short Header is decoded by MTS4CC as H.263
Baseline, as defined by the MPEG-4.
1-16 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
The following additional tools are not supported for Main Profile:
P-VOP based temporal scalability:
Rectangular
Arbitrary shape
Binary shape
Gray shape
Sprite
MPEG-2
This version of MTS4CC supports the following elements of the MPEG-2 standard
(see Reference [14]).
MPEG-2 Profiles, Levels. The following Profiles and Levels are supported, subject to
the restrictions given under Permitted Audio Types/Format on page 1-28.
Main Profile:
Main Level
High Level
High Level 1440
4.2.2 Profile:
Main Level
High Level
MPEG-2 tools. For MPEG-2 Main Profile at Main Level, at High Level and at High
Level 1440, the following tools are supported:
Tool Main Level High Level High Level 1440
I-frames Y Y Y
P-frames Y Y Y
B-frames Y Y Y
Field-coded pictures (Interlaced) Y Y Y
Frame-coded pictures:
With field or frame order
MacroBlocks
MTS4CC User Manual 1-17
Y Y Y
Compression Standards and File Types
Tool Main Level High Level High Level 1440
Layers:
GOP
Picture
Slice
MacroBlock
Block
NOTE. Higher syntactic structures are also supported within MTS4CC - PES and
VOB - see MPEG-2 Higher Syntactic Structures on page 1-22.
H.263
The following H.263 standards are supported:
H.263 baseline standard (see Reference [2]).
Supported Audio Compression Standards
MTS4CC supports audio extraction and playout.
Supported standards are:
Y Y Y
MPEG-1 Part 3 audio (see Reference [23])
MPEG-2 Part 3 audio (see Reference [19])
MPEG-2 Part 7 AAC (see Reference [20])
MPEG-4 Part 3 audio (see Reference [21])
Dolby Digital (AC-3) (see Reference [25])
MTS4CC also supports audio files in the following container formats:
MPEG-4 Part 3 ADTS files (see Reference [22])
MPEG-4 Parts 1 and 14 (see References [11] and [24])
MPEG-2 Transport, Program, PES streams (see Reference [15])
3GPP (see Reference [12])
1-18 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
MPEG-1 Part 3 audio
MTS4CC supports the MPEG-1 Part 3 audio standard, as defined in Reference
[23]. MTS4CC supports the following layers of this standard:
Layer I
Layer II
MTS4CC supports monophonic and stereophonic streams in this standard.
MPEG-2 Part 3 audio
MTS4CC supports the MPEG-2 Part 3 audio standard, as defined in
Reference [19]. MTS4CC supports the extension of MPEG-1 part 3 audio to LSF
(Low Sampling Frequency) for the following layers:
Layer I
Layer II
MPEG-2 Part 7 AAC audio
MTS4CC supports monophonic and stereophonic streams in this standard.
MTS4CC supports the MPEG-2 Part 7 AAC audio standard, as defined in
Reference [20]. MTS4CC supports the following profiles of this standard:
Main
LC (Low Complexity)
LTP (Long Term Prediction)
MTS4CC supports monophonic and stereophonic streams in this standard.
MTS4CC User Manual 1-19
Compression Standards and File Types
MPEG-4 Part 3 audio
MTS4CC supports the MPEG-4 Part 3 audio standard, as defined in
Reference [21]. MTS4CC supports the following profiles of this standard:
Main
LC (Low Complexity)
LTP (Long Term Prediction)
HE-AAC (High Efficiency, ‘AAC plus’), low complexity profile with SBR
(Spectral Band Replication)
MTS4CC supports monophonic and stereophonic streams in this standard.
MPEG-4 Part 3 ADTS files
MTS4CC supports the Audio Data Transport Stream (ADTS) for AAC audio, as
defined in Reference [22].
Permitted Video Types/Formats
MTS4CC analyzes and displays many file types, such as:
Video files containing video Elementary Streams
Container files, such as ASF files, RCV files, MP4/3GPP files, MPEG-2
Transport Streams, and MPEG-2 Program streams, which include video,
audio and other data
MTS4CC Trace files (which have a .vpt file extension)
Uncompressed video files, such as YUV, RGB or grayscale color models,
8-16 bit sample depth, various chroma sub-sampling formats
Any data file, using MTS4CC HexView (hexadecimal file viewer, on the
Analysis menu)
The primary analysis functions of MTS4CC are performed on video Elementary
Streams, and features are provided to extract these from within container files such
as MP4 and 3GPP files.
Microsoft ASF Files
ASF files typically contain video, audio and other data. An ASF file can contain
more than one video stream (see Reference [18]).
1-20 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
RCV Files
RCV files contain video in the VC-1 format (see Reference [17]).
MP4 Files
MP4 files typically contain video, audio, and other data. An MP4 file can contain
more than one video stream; these streams can be located consecutively or split up
in many areas of the MP4 file.
The MP4 files that the MTS4CC analyzes should conform to the relevant part of
the MPEG-4 standard (see Reference [11]).
By default, the MTS4CC looks for MP4 files with an .mp4 file extension, although
any file name can be used. The MTS4CC will determine that it is an MP4 file by
looking through the file contents.
The video streams can be extracted from the MP4 file and analyzed directly, or
extracted and analyzed later. For information on opening MP4 files, and extracting
and saving the video streams, see Open Stream in the Operating Basics section.
The structure of the MP4 file can be examined, using the View file structure option
in the Analysis menu (see View file structure in the Operating Basics section for
more information).
3GPP Files
3GPP files are a subset of MPEG-4 files, with an indicator in the file to denote that
it is a 3GPP file.
3GPP files should conform to the standard concerned (see Reference [12]).
By default, the MTS4CC looks for 3GPP files with a .3gp file extension, although
any file name can be used. The MTS4CC will determine that it is a 3GPP file by
looking through the file contents.
The video streams are extracted from 3GPP files and analyzed directly or extracted
and analyzed later in the same way as MP4 files. For information on opening
3GPP files and extracting and saving the video streams, see Open Stream in the
Operating Basics section.
The structure of the 3GPP file can be examined, using the View file structure
option in the Analysis menu (see View file structure in the Operating Basics
section for more information).
MTS4CC User Manual 1-21
Compression Standards and File Types
MPEG-2 Transport Stream Files
MPEG-2 Transport Streams typically contain video, audio, and other data. (An
MPEG-2 Transport Stream can contain more than one video stream – possibly
hundreds. These streams can be located largely consecutively in the transport
stream packets or split up in many areas of the transport stream.)
Transport streams with 188 bytes per packet, 196 bytes per packet, 204 bytes per
packet, and 208 bytes per packet can be analyzed.
MPEG-2 Higher Syntactic Structures
MPEG-2 Program Stream and PES files. An MPEG-2 Program Stream contains one or
more Packetized Elementary Streams (PES), with a common time base. (The
Program Stream is designed for use in a relatively error-free environment.)
The format of the Program Stream is defined in Part 1 of the MPEG-2 standard
(see Reference [15]).
A Program Stream can contain a complete Elementary Stream, or it can contain
only part of an Elementary Stream.
MTS4CC will open MPEG-2 Program Stream files (typically with a file extension
of .mpg) and display the structure of the Program Stream, such as the PES packets
inside.
In accordance with the MPEG-2 standard (see Reference [15]), the Program
Stream file will start with a 32-bit start code: 0x000001ba, 0000 0000 0000 0000
0000 0001 1011 1010.
MPEG-2 VOB files (DVD). VOB files are used on a DVD to store the video and audio;
a VOB contains a Program Stream.
A single video Elementary Stream (for example, a movie) is usually distributed
among a number of VOB files.
NOTE. You can specify the different VOBs that contain a single Elementary
Stream, so that the MTS4CC can extract the Elementary Stream from the different
VOBs.
MTS4CC will open MPEG-2 VOB files (typically with a file extension of .vob)
and display the structure of the Program Stream, such as the PES packets inside
(see Reference [16]).
NOTE. When opening a VOB, there is no requirement that the VOB begins with an
I-frame. In this situation, the video will not display correctly until an I-frame is
reached.
Encrypted (scrambled) VOBs cannot be opened.
1-22 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
Uncompressed Video File Format
The general uncompressed video file format is as follows:
No headers of any kind (no file or frame headers)
Concatenated planar image data
Row raster order (top picture row first)
Unsigned samples
For 8-bit sample depth:
One byte per sample
For 9-16 bit sample depth:
Two bytes per sample
Both little- and big-endian byte orders supported
For YUV format:
Concatenated Y, U, and V planes
U and V planes sub-sampled as required
Y plane samples are unsigned
U and V plane samples are unsigned with a DC offset of 2
chroma sample bit depth
For RGB format:
n-1
, where n is the
Concatenated R, G, and B planes
For grayscale format:
Luma plane only
The uncompressed video file format is only applicable where the Fidelity option is
licensed (see page 1-7).
MTS4CC User Manual 1-23
AU SPS
PPS
a
Compression Standards and File Types
Compressed Video File Format
The formats of the raw compressed video data files (for example called Elementary
Streams, typically with a file extension of .m4v or .cmp in MPEG-4) that MTS4CC
analyzes are defined in the relevant standards. Proprietary file formats are not
supported.
This means that the compressed video file to be analyzed should not be an AVI file
(which puts a wrapper around the encoded video and audio).
The compressed video elementary stream file cannot contain audio, although the
original container file (such as MP4 or 3GPP) may have contained audio.
Once the video is extracted, the MTS4CC will automatically determine the format
of the compressed video in the file by searching through the video and looking for
the appropriate start codes. Accordingly, the file name does not require a particular
file extension to be decoded correctly.
H.264/AVC Byte Stream file format. In accordance with the H.264/AVC standard (see
Reference [13]), the video file must start as given in the following diagram.
The abbreviations mean:
AU access_unit_delimiter_rbsp_nal_unit
SPS sequence_parameter_set_nal_unit
PPS picture_parameter_set_nal_unit
Start of Bitstream
Byte stream
NAL unit
Byte stream
NAL unit
Byte stream
NAL unit
Byte stream
NAL unit
Byte stre
NAL uni
any
type
Zero or more byte stream NAL units of type Filler
and/or Reserved may be inserted at these points.
For example, if the bitstream does not contain the optional items at the start then
the first six bytes in an Extended profile byte stream file will be:
00 00 00 01 67 58 (all values in hexadecimal).
1-24 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
VC-1 Advanced Profile and Elementary Stream file format. Within the VC-1 standard
(see Reference [18]), only the Advanced Profile can exist as a separate Elementary
Stream. (The Simple and Main Profiles are required to be part of a container file such as RCV, ASF or MPEG-2 TS - so that the required header information is
stored.)
MTS4CC fully supports the VC-1 implementations of the Simple, Main and
Advanced Profiles in each standard.
(See the standards in Reference [17] for details of the start codes and syntax
permissible for each of these.)
MPEG-4 Elementary Stream file format. In accordance with the MPEG-4 standard (see
Reference [1]), the file will start with a valid header start code that contains
configuration information such as:
visual_object_sequence_start_code (0xB0)
or visual_object_start_code (0xB5)
or video_object_layer_start_code (0x20 - 0x2F)
or video_object_start_code (0x00 - 0x1F)
For MPEG-4 Short Header video there is no header code other than the 22-bit start
code:
video_plane_with_short_header() (see below)
The start codes actually used will vary from one stream to another.
These start codes (except Short Header) may be followed by further configuration
data until the start code for the video data is reached, which must start with one of
the following functions:
Group_of_VideoObjectPlane() start code: 0xB3
VideoObjectPlane() start code: 0xB6
See the MPEG-4 standard Reference [1] (in section 6.1.2) for more information.
Note the entry points MeshObject() and fba_object() also given in
section 6.1.2 of the MPEG-4 standard are not supported, but also these are
non-allowable tools in the Profiles and Levels supported by MTS4CC.
MTS4CC User Manual 1-25
Compression Standards and File Types
This means that for
Group_of_VideoObjectPlane()
VideoObjectPlane ()
the 24 bits in the video file before the start code must be the Start Code Prefix:
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001. This is then followed by the 8-bit start code
value.
MPEG-2 Elementary Stream file format. In accordance with the MPEG-2 standard (see
Reference [15]), the Elementary Stream file will start with a 32-bit start code:
Hex: 0x000001b3; Bin: 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001 1011 0011.
H.263+, H.263 file format. The first bits in an H.263 compressed file should be the
22-bit PSC (Picture Start Code): 0000 0000 0000 0000 1000 00.
Source Video Format
The compressed video file format means that when the video was encoded, the
uncompressed source format of the video file to be encoded should have been
YUV 4:2:0; that is, with 4 bytes of Y data (luminance) for every 1 byte of U and
1 byte of V data (color differences). The color difference data is sub-sampled by 2
in horizontal and vertical directions.
For H.264/AVC High Profiles, the following alternative image formats are also
supported:
YUV, RGB or grayscale color models
Alternative YUV chroma sub-sampling: 4:2:0, 4:2:2, or 4:4:4
Alternative image sample bit depths: from 8 to 12 bits
It is up to the encoder to take the input data and order it correctly, so that in the
compressed bitstream, the pixel data must appear with the top left pixel first,
followed by the pixel to the right. If the video data stream input to the encoder
does not follow this order then it is up to the encoder to reorder the data.
1-26 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
Video Image Size
The maximum size of the video images that can be analyzed within MTS4CC is
effectively 16384x16384 pixels.
For each standard, there is a maximum size and within this limit, MTS4CC will
analyze video to the maximum size allowed in the video standard concerned, for
example:
4096 pixels wide x 2304 pixels high in H.264/AVC
1920 pixels wide x 1088 pixels high in MPEG-2 Main Profile @ High Level
There is no minimum size for video images.
Video File Size
The maximum video file size that can be analyzed is effectively limited only by the
disk space on your computer.
MTS4CC will open the first part of the video file and start playing and analyzing
this immediately if possible. In some cases, MTS4CC must search through a
certain amount of the file before there is sufficient data for display.
In addition, the results from analysis of the input video file are cached in MTS4CC
memory in the Step-back buffer. If the results for the section of video to be
displayed/analyzed are not in the cache, then this is indicated on-screen and
MTS4CC will pause while loading the relevant data in the cache.
PAL/NTSC
Both PAL and NTSC format video can be analyzed with MTS4CC.
MTS4CC User Manual 1-27
Compression Standards and File Types
Permitted Audio Types/Format
Audio is supported under the following container formats, as described in the
previous section:
MPEG-4 Part 3 ADTS files
MPEG-2 Transport Stream, Program Stream, Packetized Elementary Stream
(PES)
3GPP
MP4
MPEG-2 Transport Stream files
MPEG-2 Transport Streams typically contain video, audio, and other data. (An
MPEG-2 Transport Stream can contain more than one video stream – possibly
hundreds. These streams can be located largely consecutively in the transport
stream packets or split up in many areas of the transport stream.)
Transport streams with 188 bytes per packet, 196 bytes per packet, 204 bytes per
packet, and 208 bytes per packet can be analyzed.
MPEG-2 Program Stream and PES files
An MPEG-2 Program Stream contains one or more Packetised Elementary Streams
(PES), with a common time base. (The Program Stream is designed for use in a
relatively error-free environment.)
The format of the Program Stream is defined in Part 1 of the MPEG-2 standard
(see Reference [15]).
The MTS4CC will open MPEG-2 Program Stream files (typically with a file
extension of .mpg) and display the structure of the Program Stream, such as the
PES packets inside.
In accordance with the MPEG-2 standard (see Reference [15]), the Program
Stream file will start with a 32-bit start code: 0x000001BA, for example, 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0001 1011 1010
1-28 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
3GPP files
3GPP files are a subset of MPEG-4 files, with an indicator in each 3GPP file to
denote that it is a 3GPP file.
3GPP files should conform to the standard concerned (see Reference [12]).
By default, the MTS4CC looks for 3GPP files with a .3gp file extension, although
any file name can be used; the MTS4CC will determine that it is a 3GPP file by
looking through the file contents.
The audio streams are extracted from 3GPP files and analyzed directly or extracted
and analyzed later in the same way as for MP4 files. For information on opening
3GPP files, and extracting and saving the audio streams see the Operating Basics
section.
The structure of the 3GPP file can be examined, using the View file structure
option on the Analysis menu: see the Operating Basics section for more
information.
MP4 files
The MP4 files that the MTS4CC analyzes should conform to the relevant part of
the MPEG-4 standard (see Reference [11]).
By default, the MTS4CC looks for MP4 files with an .mp4 file extension, although
any file name can be used. The MTS4CC will determine that it is an MP4 file by
looking through the file contents.
The audio streams can be extracted from the MP4 file and analyzed directly, or
extracted and analyzed later. For information on opening MP4 files and extracting
and saving the audio streams see the Operating Basics section.
The structure of an MP4 file can be examined, using the View file structure option
on the Analysis menu; see the Operating Basics section for more information.
MTS4CC User Manual 1-29
Compression Standards and File Types
Standards References
[1] MPEG-4 Part 2 (Visual): standard number ISO/IEC 14496-2:2004; ISO
[2] H.263: Video Coding for Low Bit Rate Communication. International
[3] H.261: Video Codec for AudioVisual Services at px64 kbit/s. International
[4] MPEG-4 Video Verification Model version 18.0: document reference
[5] MPEG-4 Part 2 (Visual) ISO/IEC 14496-2 Amendment 2, 2002-02-01:
title: Information technology - Coding of audio-visual objects: Part 2:
Visual, 3rd Edition 2004-06-01; plus 14496-2:2004 Technical
Corrigendum 1 Published 2004-06-15
Telecommunication Union (ITU) 1998
Telecommunication Union (ITU) 1994
number ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 N3908 dated January 2001
Streaming video profile (contains Advanced Simple Profile)
[6] MPEG-4 Part 2 (Visual) ISO/IEC 14496-2:2001 Final Draft Amendment 3
FDAM 3:2003(E): New levels and tools for MPEG-4 visual (contains
Advanced Simple Profile Level 3b)
[7] MPEG-4 Part 2 (Visual) ISO/IEC 14496-2 Microsoft reference software:
FDAM1-2.3-001213 version 2 dated July 3rd 2000
[8] MPEG-4 Part 4 (Conformance Testing) ISO/IEC Study of CD 14496-4
N3067 1999-03-18, Visual clause w3067_4(v)
[9] MPEG-4 Part 4 (Conformance Testing) ISO/IEC 14496-4 MPEG-4
Normative ISO bitstreams dated 05/11/2001, specified in sections 4.5.3.1
and 4.5.7 of Reference [8]
[10] MPEG-4 Part 4 (Conformance Testing) ISO/IEC 14496-4 MPEG-4
Donated bitstreams dated 14/07/2000, referred to in section 4.5.8 of
Reference [8]
[11] MPEG-4 Part 1 (Systems) ISO/IEC 14496-1: Information technology -
Coding of audio-visual objects: Part 1: Systems, 3rd Edition dated March
2002
[12] 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group
Services and System Aspects; Transparent end-to-end Packet-switched
Streaming Service (PSS); Protocols and codecs (Release 5); reference
3GPP TS 26.234 V5.5.0 (2003-06)
1-30 MTS4CC User Manual
Compression Standards and File Types
[13] H.264/AVC Standard ISO/IEC 14496-10 (First Edition 2003-12-01):
Information technology - Coding of audio-visual objects - Part 10:
Advanced video coding with document JVT-K051 "Version 3 of
H.264/AVC" dated 9 June 2004 (errata and Fidelity Range Extensions) and
document JVT-L047d8 "Draft Text of H.264/AVC Fidelity Range
Extensions Amendment" (AVC Amendment 1 Fidelity Range Extensions,
Draft) dated 28 August 2004
[14] MPEG-2 Part 2 (Visual): ISO/IEC 13818-2 Second edition 2000-12-15
(2000 E): Information technology - Generic coding of moving pictures and
associated audio information: Video with Amendment 1: Content
description data (2001-12-15, corrected version 2002-08-01) and Technical
Corrigendum 1 (published 2002-03-01)
[15] MPEG-2 Part 1 (Systems): ISO/IEC 13818-1 Second edition 2000-12-01
(2000 E): Information technology - Generic coding of moving pictures and
associated audio information: Systems with Amendment 1: Carriage of
metadata over ITU-T Rec. H.222.0 ¦ ISO/IEC 13818-1 streams
(2003-08-01, corrected version 2003-10-15) and Technical Corrigendum 1
(published 2002-03-01) and Technical Corrigendum 2 (published
2002-12-01) and Amendment 3 Transport of AVC video data over ITU-T
Rec. H222.0/ ISO/IEC 13818-1 streams, dated 2004-11-01
[16] DVD Standard for Video: DVD-Video Book Part 3: Video Specifications
v1.1
[17] SMPTE "Proposed SMPTE Standard for Television: VC-1 Compressed
Video Bitstream Format and Decoding Process" committee draft 2,
revision 1, reference number SMPTE CD xxxM (otherwise referred to as
VC-1)
[18] Advanced Systems Format (ASF) Specification: revision 01.20.02;
Microsoft Corporation, June 2004
[19] MPEG-2 audio: ISO/IEC 13818-3:1998 Information technology -- Generic
coding of moving pictures and associated audio information -- Part 3:
Audio
[20] MPEG-2 AAC: ISO/IEC 13818-7:2004 Information technology -- Generic
coding of moving pictures and associated audio information -- Part 7:
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)
[21] MPEG-4 AAC (AAC plus): ISO/IEC 14496-3:2001 Information
technology -- Coding of audio-visual objects -- Part 3: Audio plus
Cor1:2002, Cor1:2004, Cor2:2004, Amd1:2003, Amd2:2004, Amd3
MTS4CC User Manual 1-31
Compression Standards and File Types
[22] HE AAC codecs: ISO/IEC 14496-3:2001 Information technology --
[23] MPEG-1 audio: ISO/IEC 11172-3:1993 Information technology – Coding
Coding of audio-visual objects -- Part 3: Audio plus Cor1:2002,
Cor1:2004, Cor2:2004, Amd1:2003, Amd2:2004, Amd3
of moving pictures and associated audio for digital storage media at up to
about 1.5Mbit/s – Part3: Audio
[24] MPEG-4 Part 14:
Coding of audio-visual objects -- Part 14: MP4 file format
[25] Digital Audio Compression Standard (AC-3) ATSC A/52, (1995-12)
ISO/IEC 14496-14:2003 Information technology --
1-32 MTS4CC User Manual
Operating Basics
How to Use the MTS4CC
This chapter:
Describes the elements of MTS4CC display window (see Window Elements,
page 2-2 and Window Menu, page 2-161)
Tells how to start using MTS4CC display (see Starting to Use the MTS4CC,
page 2-3)
Describes each of the menu items in detail and how to use them
Explains the use of the command line/batch mode (see Command Line/Batch
Mode Options, page 3-1)
MTS4CC User Manual 2-1
How to Use the MTS4CC
Window Elements
Name of video or other loaded file
Main menu
Icon toolbars
Window area in which decoded or
other data displayed (HexView, Trace
view, VBV view
Status bar
NOTE. The preceding screenshot was taken with the MTS4CC running under
Windows XP. When the MTS4CC is running under Windows 2000, there may be
some visual differences in the borders, menus, and the way that pop-up menus
appear from those shown in the screenshots. However, there are no functional
differences in the way the MTS4CC operates on these different versions of
Windows. (The desktop theme in use will also affect the look.)
Several additional toolbars are visible when particular functions are enabled.
Also, some toolbars, tooltips, and menu items are context-sensitive, depending on
the video/audio standard being used and/or the function being performed.
2-2 MTS4CC User Manual
How to Use the MTS4CC
Starting to Use the MTS4CC
When the MTS4CC starts, the display looks like the following figure:
The gray background in the window indicates that no video or other files are
loaded. The only icons on the toolbar that are currently enabled are the icons:
Open stream...
Help
NOTE. Some features on some menus may stay permanently grayed out
(unavailable). There are two possible reasons for this: the function or feature is
never enabled or is not relevant to the standard you are using, or the existing
license you have for MTS4CC does not allow all the features to be used. See the
Software, Hardware, and User Prerequisites section for more information.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-3
How to Use the MTS4CC
When menu items are grayed out, leaving the mouse at the location of the grayed
out menu item for a few seconds will display some popup text explaining why the
menu item is disabled and/or how it can be enabled. The following example is on
the Overlay menu, for the Blank video menu selection:
Opening a File
To open a file, do one of the following:
Click on File > Open stream...
Click the Open file icon
Press Ctrl+O
When a stream is loaded, the first frame is decoded and displayed by the MTS4CC.
While the first frame of the stream is displayed, the stream itself is not in Play
mode, therefore Analysis options can be selected and configured.
In the following screenshot, the example file Beijing Girl is loaded with its first
frame displayed, but as indicated by the Stop icon and the empty frame counter in
the bottom right corner of the screen, the stream is yet to be played. Where there is
audio content, the audio waveform view is also displayed.
2-4 MTS4CC User Manual
How to Use the MTS4CC
If the loaded stream is initially advanced by one frame, the first frame is again
decoded/played before entering the Pause mode. In this mode, Analysis options are
not available. When stopped, the first frame reappears on the display until the
stream is advanced/played further.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-5
How to Use the MTS4CC
As is normal with Windows applications, the window can be dragged around
within the frame of the application, resized, maximized, and minimized.
If another file is opened, it replaces the file last opened; another window is not
opened.
NOTE. You can open a number of copies of the MTS4CC to allow direct,
side-by-side comparisons of multiple streams.
Playing Mode: Restrictions
There are two Play modes: these are indicated at the lower left corner of the status
bar:
Stop: stream is stopped
Play: stream is paused (after Pause/Step forward) or playing at normal speed,
Fast forward, Blind, or Silent fast forward.
Certain actions can be performed only when the open file is in the appropriate Play
mode. A few such examples are:
The Trace options on the Analysis menu are only available in Stop mode
The real-time onscreen image overlays, such as MB types (see MacroBlock
Types on page 2-74) and motion vector overlay (see Motion Vectors on
page 2-78) do not update the video window when in Stop mode
See Audio/Video Synchronization on page 2-43 for further information and details
on playing audio and audio-video synchronization.
Synchronized Views/Navigating the Views
When a video or audio stream is played, MTS4CC has many views of the video,
audio and other data:
Alert log
Video view
Video hex view
Buffer analysis view
Fidelity view (for example, PSNR analysis)
Bits per frame view
Trace views
2-6 MTS4CC User Manual
How to Use the MTS4CC
Audio waveform views
File structure view
Some of these views are linked. A right-click in one view will open a context menu
with a Goto command that will take you to the corresponding location in another
view (provided the file being played has both video and audio streams in order to
bring up the Audio waveform view).
Example of Goto view menus:
Example of moving between views. For example, when in the video view and using
the MacroBlock tooltip, to see the hex/binary data for a specific MacroBlock,
right-click at the MacroBlock location of interest, select the Goto option from the
context menu, and then select the HexView. The HexView window opens (if it is
not already open for this stream) and the first byte of the selected MacroBlock is
highlighted.
Selecting a specific byte in the HexView, and then using the right-click context
menu to select the Video view, will take the video window to the MacroBlock that
contains the selected byte, with the MacroBlock highlighted (see Highlighting of
selected areas in the video view on page 2-8).
MTS4CC User Manual 2-7
How to Use the MTS4CC
Highlighting of selected areas in the video view. If a data area is selected in a view
other than the video view, and the context menu is used to go to the video view,
the corresponding area of the video view is highlighted, as follows:
If the area can be resolved to a single MacroBlock, then a yellow and black
dotted box is displayed around the MacroBlock concerned:
If the area cannot be resolved to a single MacroBlock, then a yellow and black
dotted rectangle is displayed surrounding the top row of MacroBlocks in the
video frame that contains the first selected area.
If the selected area is in a frame or file header, not within a specific
MacroBlock, then a yellow and black dotted rectangle is displayed
surrounding the top row of MacroBlocks in the video frame that immediately
follows the frame or file header, see the preceding illustration: the data
selected in the HexView window is in the VOP header, so the highlight
rectangle is displayed across the top row of MacroBlocks of the
corresponding VOP).
When the Black/White digits icon is pushed in, the video plays in black and white.
2-8 MTS4CC User Manual
How to Use the MTS4CC
Highlighting of selected areas in the audio view. Highlighting selected areas in the
audio waveform view works in a similar manner to highlighting areas in the video
view (see page 2-8).
NOTE. An audio frame consists of a fixed number (per channel) of audio samples
representing a fixed time length of decoded audio. Typically each iteration through
the decode loop will output one audio frame of decoded audio.
Synchronization of views/Synchronize views icon. When the Synchronize views icon
is pushed in, all open windows automatically follow the selection that you
made.
For example, if the Video and Hex views are both open at the same time as the
Audio waveform view, and the Synchronize views icon is pushed in, if video is
played, all views display the same relative points in the stream at the same time.
NOTE. This can cause a delay when playing video for some views or when the
memory buffers used by the MTS4CC do not contain all the required data and
therefore time is taken to decode and interpret the video and refill the buffers.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-9
How to Use the MTS4CC
Opening Multiple Windows
Within the MTS4CC, it is possible to open many windows at once. These can be:
A video/audio window with another window, such as a HexView window
with a video window (as shown in the following figure):
Other combinations, such as the video/audio and HexView with the Trace file
view and file structure view.
To open windows other than for video files (or files that contain video, such as
MP4 or 3GPP files, or MPEG-2 Program/Transport Streams):
For Trace views, do one of the following:
Select File > Open other (or click the icon) to open a Fidelity Trace
file that was previously stored or associated with another video stream
Select Analysis > View fidelity trace (or Ctrl+Shift+T) to open the
current trace file, as named in the Analysis menu - Trace tab
For HexView, click Analysis > View stream hex... (or click the icon or
press Ctrl+H)
2-10 MTS4CC User Manual
How to Use the MTS4CC
For the stream structure view, click Analysis > View file structure... (or click
icon or press Ctrl+R)
the
For the buffer analysis view, click Analysis > View buffer analysis... (or click
the
icon)
For the fidelity analysis, click Analysis > View fidelity analysis... (or click the
icon)
For the Alert Log, click Alert > View alert log... (or click the icon)
For the Audio waveform view, click the icon. (If there is audio content,
the toolbar and the view will be displayed automatically when the video view
is opened.)
NOTE. The Audio waveform view is available only when an audio stream or
file/project containing an audio stream or streams is open.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-11
How to Use the MTS4CC
Main Menu
The submenu options that are available under each main menu selection (for
example, File, Play, Overlay) are described in detail in their respective sections. A
summary of each main menu item is given here.
Several of the common functions can be accessed through:
The icon toolbars (see Window Menu, page 2-161)
Ctrl keys (see Ctrl Shortcut Keys on page 2-180)
NOTE. You can open a number of copies of MTS4CC to allow direct, side-by-side
comparisons of multiple video streams.
Summary of Function of each Main Menu Item
Main menu item Principal functions/sub-options
File Opening and saving files, recent file list, example files, exit
Play Play video and audio, stop, pause, fast forward, set decoder
options
Overlay Hide/show video/audio data and tooltips
Analysis Set Trace and Graph options; view Trace, Graph files, Hex view,
file structures, buffer analysis, fidelity analysis
Alert Enable/disable/configure overall alert levels and individual alerts
Window Arrange windows and toolbars, view settings, synchronize views,
window list
Help Help topics, PDF help and tutorials, license manager, version info
2-12 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
The following paragraphs describe the options that are available in the File menu.
Open Stream
With this option, you can browse the file system to find a file to analyze. This file
can be:
A file containing only audio, for example, an MPG file
A compressed video file that contains video data only, for example, an
MPEG-4 video Elementary Stream (see Compression Standards and File
Types, section 2).
A container file that includes audio and transport information as well as video,
for example MP4, 3GPP and MPEG-2 (see Compression Standards and File
Types, section 2).
An uncompressed video file, see Opening an Uncompressed Video File (any
file extension) on page 2-24.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-13
File Menu
Autodetect File Type
When Autodetect is selected in the Open as type drop-down box, the file contents
are automatically selected by the MTS4CC.
In this case, the Files of type drop-down list is simply used to narrow the list of file
extensions searched for:
The default file extensions that the MTS4CC looks for are:
For video-only files: .v9e, .264, .m4v, .m2v, .263, .261, .cmp, .bits
For audio-only files: .adts, .mpg, .mp1, mp2, aac, ac3
For container or media files including video: .mp4, .3gp, .mpg, .vob, .asf,
.wmv, .rcv
With Autodetect selected, the MTS4CC will automatically override the Files of
type selection and choose the standard to which the file is compressed.
NOTE. The exceptions to this autodetection are VOB files, where MTS4CC will
take different actions due to the VOB extension (see Open Stream on page 2-13).
The selected file extension is reinstated by the MTS4CC the next time a file is
opened.
2-14 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
Force to Open as a Specific File Type
Sometimes, particularly if there are errors in a file, the autodetect function of the
MTS4CC does not correctly identify the type of data contained in the file.
In this case, the file type can be forced by selecting a file type from the drop-down
Open as type list. In this case, the file extension is ignored.
NOTE. To open an uncompressed video file, select the appropriate item from the
list and the MTS4CC will open the file in the appropriate format, regardless of the
file extension or the data found in the file.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-15
File Menu
Opening a Video/Audio Elementary Stream
When a raw video/audio elementary stream file is opened, initial checks are done
on the file for validity and to determine the compression standard.
When the file has been read in correctly, the appearance of the Play icon on the
toolbar changes from grayed out
play.
If MTS4CC recognizes that the open file includes an audio stream, the toolbar is
displayed.
to blue , to indicate that the file is ready to
Opens the Audio waveform view (see Show Audio Waveform, page 2-91).
Turns the sound off/on: the stream continues to play and decode even
when sound is disabled (see Mute audio on page 2-60).
If the file contains only audio data, the video toolbar will not be displayed. The
Synchronize audio icon is also unavailable, because there is no video with which to
synchronize (see Audio/Video Synchronization on page 2-43).
The title of the elementary stream is displayed in the title bar of the video and
audio window.
2-16 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
Opening a Container File
Track type
(video, audio,
other – note
the icon)
Tree structure
showing the programs
in the file (click the +
and – to open and
close the items)
Track/stream
ID number
Size of
track/stream
Streams selected for analysis –
enter check mark in Select column
Scrambled
(encrypted)
Decoder type
(see below)
Check box below to
hide tree structure
When a container file is loaded, the MTS4CC automatically opens the Elementary
stream select window (as shown in the preceding figure), which lists all streams,
audio and video. The streams can be browsed, individually selected for analysis
with your choice of decoder, and either immediately played and analyzed within
the MTS4CC or extracted and saved to a file before going on to play/analyze them.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-17
File Menu
Select. To select an audio or video stream for analysis, enter a check mark in this
column beside the desired stream. Its description appears in the Video or Audio
fields under the browsing area (as shown in the following screenshot). Only one
video and one audio stream can be selected; if a stream is selected and a check
mark is subsequently entered beside another stream of the same type, the
description will change to show the updated selection.
Clicking Goto will move the view in the browser window to the location in the tree
structure containing that stream, where it can be deselected or the Decoder can be
chosen from the drop-down menu (see the following definitions).
Type. This is the media stream type as identified by the container signaling
information. If insufficient signaling information is present, this may show a
general type such as Video ES (Elementary Stream), Audio ES, or, where the type
is unknown, no text at all.
ID. This is the media-stream identifier as dictated by the container signaling
information, using appropriate notation for the container standard.
Description. This is a description of the media stream as dictated by the container
signaling information, incorporating text from the relevant standard.
Bytes. This is the number of bytes that will be extracted for the stream. If the value
is suffixed by a + sign, the total stream size is not known; without the + sign, this
value is the final total.
Scrambled. This column shows Yes if the stream is scrambled or encrypted in some
way. Scrambled streams cannot be decoded.
2-18 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
Decoder. Once a stream is selected, the decoder must be chosen. The Decoder
column shows the decoder(s) found for the selected stream. There can be multiple
streams containing video or audio, each with different decoders. If the Decoder
column is empty, then the MTS4CC has been unable to match one of its decoders
with the data it found.
Clicking the drop-down arrow shows a list of all the available decoders, with the
decoder that has been autodetected shown by a green circle:
Selecting a different decoder forces the MTS4CC to use that decoder for this
track/Elementary Stream.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-19
File Menu
Hide unknown streams. When Hide unknown streams is selected, the MTS4CC does
not show the streams for which it has been unable to match one of its decoders.
When Hide unknown streams is enabled, the empty streams are also hidden,
because they will not contain valid data for which the MTS4CC can select a
decoder.
Hide empty streams. By default, this is enabled. When enabled, this hides streams
that appear to be 0 bytes in size (note that these can still be searched to see if they
are in fact larger - see below, under Search).
Search (Extended stream search). For some standards, the total size of the stream is
indicated in the container file - for example, MPEG-4. In this case, the size of the
elementary stream is shown.
However, for some container formats, the size of the elementary streams is not
indicated in the container file, and the only way to learn the total size is by
searching the entire file. (An example of this is MPEG-2 VOBs.)
2-20 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
For these types of files, the MTS4CC reads the first part of the file only, until an
MTS4CC decoder can be matched with the data found. In this case, the MTS4CC
will display the size in the Bytes column with a + sign to the right of the size, as
shown in the following figure:
The + sign indicates that only part of the file has been searched and that there may
be additional data.
NOTE. This stream selection also means that other views, such as the HexView,
may not show the data from the whole file (in which case, a warning is shown). See
View Video Stream Hex on page 2-107 for more information.
In order to find the total size of the whole file, and to search other streams, use the
Search button. All streams, including the highlighted, or selected, stream, are then
searched.
When the search is complete, the display will be similar to the following figure:
During the search, the blue progress bar fills, until the search is complete.
During the search process, the MTS4CC will search through all the linked files,
and therefore may find other streams. The additional streams (and their sizes) will
be shown in the stream window.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-21
File Menu
Extract. This allows the highlighted audio or video track to be saved as a separate
elementary stream (in the following figure, .m4v is offered as the file type, because
the container file is MP4):
The video track ID from the
MP4/3GPP file is appended
to the name of the
MP4/3CPP file name
A file extension is added
automatically, depending
on the video type (see
below)
NOTE. If you play and analyze the selected stream immediately, and then decide to
save it later, this can be done by clicking the Save as... option in the File menu (see
Save Video Stream As on page 2-30).
The correct type is automatically added as a file extension, depending upon the
data in the file:
H.264/AVC video format files are given the extension: .264
VC-1 Advanced Profile video files are given the extension: .v9e
MPEG-4 video format files are given the extension: .m4v
(except for MPEG-4 Short Header, with extension
.263)
MPEG-2 video format files are given the extension: .m2v
H.263 and MPEG-4 Short Header video format
files are given the extension:
NOTE. The suggested file name and extension do not have to be accepted - any file
name and extension can be entered.
.263
2-22 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
OK. OK opens the selected stream using the decoder shown; if the OK button is
grayed out, then the selected stream cannot be opened.
A window is opened with the title of the container file with the track/stream
number.
Because the MTS4CC has recognized that the open file contains both audio and
video streams, the video and the audio views are opened. The audio toolbar is also
displayed and the synchronize is enabled (see Synchronize audio, page 2-60).
NOTE. If you play and analyze the selected stream immediately, and then decide to
save it later, this can be done by clicking the Save as... option in the File menu (see
Save Video Stream As on page 2-30).
To examine the structure of the file, click the View file structure... option on the
Analysis menu (see View Video Stream Structure on page 2-114).
MTS4CC User Manual 2-23
File Menu
Opening a VOB/series of VOBs (.vob file extension)
NOTE. This only applies to files with a VOB extension (the MTS4CC treats these
files differently than files with other file extensions).
If there are two or more VOBs with sequential numbers from the first VOB
selected, then MTS4CC will display a message box:
Clicking Yes means that the MTS4CC will extract the video Elementary Stream
from all the VOBs indicated; clicking No means that the MTS4CC will only select
the Elementary Stream from the VOB selected in the File open dialog box.
After you click Yes or No, the MTS4CC opens the standard stream selection
dialog box used for all container files (see Opening a Container File on
page 2-17).
Opening an Uncompressed Video File (any file extension)
Uncompressed video files can be opened by selecting YUV, RGB, or grayscale in
the Open as type list.
In each case the MTS4CC ignores the extension and does not look for a
compressed video standard within the data - it assumes that the data is in one of the
following formats.
The YUV data is either:
8 bits per sample, 4:2:0
More than 8 bits per sample, and/or 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 (as used by H.264/AVC
High 10, High 4:2:2 and High 4:4:4 profiles and MPEG-2 4:2:2 profile)
2-24 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
YUV format of 8 bits per sample 4:2:0. The YUV file output is raw YUV with no
headers of any kind. This is the same format used by the Microsoft MPEG-4 Part 2
reference encoder Reference [7] (see Compression Standards and File Types
section) and used commonly by other programs:
No headers of any kind (no file or frame headers)
One byte per sample
Row raster order (top picture row first)
Planar YUV 4:2:0 subsampled (4 bytes of Y data for each byte of U data and
each byte of Y data)
Y plane values are 0 - 255 unsigned
U and V plane values are unsigned with a DC offset of 128
Other uncompressed formats. The general uncompressed video file format is as
follows:
No headers of any kind (no file or frame headers)
Concatenated planar image data
Row raster order (top picture row first)
Unsigned samples
For 8-bit sample depth:
One byte per sample
For 9-16 bit sample depth:
Two bytes per sample
Both little- and big-endian byte orders supported
For YUV format:
Concatenated Y, U and V planes
U and V planes subsampled as required
Y plane samples are unsigned
U and V plane samples are unsigned with a DC offset of 2
chroma sample bit depth
MTS4CC User Manual 2-25
n-1
, where n is the
File Menu
For RGB format:
Concatenated R, G and B planes
For grayscale format:
Luma plane only
When opening an uncompressed video file, by default MTS4CC shows the
uncompressed video decoder options, to enter the required parameters.
Setting the uncompressed video frame size. Within an uncompressed video file, there
is no place to indicate the frame size, frame rate, and so forth. So when the
uncompressed video file is opened, the MTS4CC will display the following screen
(this is a tab of the Decoder options, which can also be accessed from the Play
menu):
2-26 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
Presets (Width and Height). If there are numbers in the filename that could indicate
the frame size, the MTS4CC will attempt to read these and offer these in the Width
and Height fields shown in the previous figure. The correct values can be entered
or selected using the drop-down list:
Chroma format. This control specifies the color model and format for the
uncompressed video data. The combo provides several common combinations,
including 8-bit YUV 4:2:0, 8-bit YUV 4:2:2, 8-bit YUV 4:4:4, 8-bit RGB and 8-bit
grayscale. Select an entry from the list to use one of these common formats. Other
formats can be specified by choosing the Custom entry in the list - this will open
the Image format dialog.
Advanced... button. Click this button to specify a custom chroma format - this will
open the Image Format dialog (see Image format dialog box on page 2-29).
Encoding. This control specifies the encoding of image samples in the file format.
The following options are available:
One byte - this specifies that image samples are stored in one byte per sample.
This format is appropriate if all image planes are 8-bits deep.
Two byte MSB first - this specifies that image samples are stored in a pair of
bytes for each sample. The most significant byte occurs first in each pair
(big-endian). This format is appropriate if one or more image planes are
deeper than 8-bits.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-27
File Menu
Two byte LSB first - this specifies that image samples are stored in a pair of
bytes for each sample. The least significant byte occurs first in each pair
(little-endian). This format is appropriate if one or more image planes are
deeper than 8-bits.
Header skip. The number of bytes at the start of the file before the first frame; the
MTS4CC will skip past these bytes (ignoring them).
Frame skip and Skip frames before each input frame. Frame skip is the number of
frames (not bytes) to skip between each frame that is viewed in the video window.
By default, these frames are skipped after each viewed frame; by selecting the Skip
frames box before each input frame, the number of frames is skipped before each
viewed frame.
Interlaced. The uncompressed video file has interlaced data in the format of
complete frames, with both fields within one frame, top-field first, each field on
alternate lines.
Enabling this check box switches on the Interlace toolbar in the MTS4CC, which
allows the two fields to be viewed independently, either one above the other (top
field above bottom field) or either field with the field lines repeated to full frame
height.
Frame rate. The rate at which to display the uncompressed frames, in frames per
second.
NOTE. The number entered in the Frame rate field can be an integer (for example,
30), a fraction (for example, 30000/1001), or a decimal number (for example,
29.97).
2-28 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
Image format dialog box. The Advanced button opens the following window:
Close Stream
This dialog box allows you to specify a custom image format by choosing a color
model, sample depths, and sub-sampling ratios.
Color model. Use this control to choose the class of color model for the image
format. Options are YUV, RGB, and grayscale.
Sample depth. The sample depth controls are used to specify the number of bits per
sample for each image plane. For RGB and grayscale, only one sample depth is
specified. For YUV, the luma and chroma depths can be specified separately.
Width divisor. This control specifies the horizontal sub-sampling factor for YUV
chroma planes. This option is only available for YUV color models. The value is
the factor by which the image width is divided to find the chroma plane width.
Height divisor. This control specifies the vertical sub-sampling factor for YUV
chroma planes. This option is only available for YUV color models. The value is
the factor by which the image height is divided to find the chroma plane height.
This allows you to close the current stream while keeping the MTS4CC window
open.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-29
File Menu
Save Video Stream As
This allows the active file to be saved to a particular file name.
This is typically used to save a video elementary stream, when this has been
extracted from an MP4, 3GPP, MPG (MPEG-2), ASF, or other file type, but was
not saved at the time it was extracted
(see Open Stream on page 2-13):
In this example, the video elementary stream from E-City.mp4 video track 1 is
being saved to an .m4v file: the -001 (for track 1) and .m4v are automatically
added by MTS4CC (because MTS4CC knows this is a 3GPP file), although any
file name and extension can be entered.
The video can also be saved as an uncompressed video file, in the format given in
Opening an Uncompressed Video File (any file extension) on page 2-24.
NOTE. The Save stream as... feature will save uncompressed video only if the input
format was also uncompressed.
2-30 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
Open Other
This allows you to browse the file system to find and open other file types, such as:
The MTS4CC trace files, with the file extension .vpt or .rtf
Any other file, to open in the HexView
Preferences
The Preferences dialog box allows you to select the audio playback device. Your
selection will depend on the your PC setup.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-31
File Menu
Example Files
Below this option are various example files that can be played/analyzed in the
MTS4CC:
These are provided to give examples of various compressed files to experiment
with and to compare with your own compressed files. Some of these are without
error; others have known errors and generate appropriate Warning/Error messages
(both as pop-up alerts and in the Trace files).
H.264/AVC Byte Streams
These are H.264/AVC compressed video Byte Streams; see Compression
Standards and File Types, Section 2.
Four example files are provided:
Name H.264
Profile/Level
Neon Night Baseline/2 - none -
Bus Junction Baseline/3 Fails HRD conformance error
Grenadier Guards Main/3 HRD buffer overflow in many frames (starting from
Stripey Shirts High 10 Maximum number of motion vectors per two
Warnings/Errors
(timing violation)
frame 8)
consecutive MacroBlocks exceeded
2-32 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
NOTE. A YUV reference file is provided for the first ten frames of the Grenadier
Guards bitstream; this YUV reference file can be used for fidelity analysis and
visual difference display.
The filename is automatically filled in for the YUV reference file, but the frame
rate must be set to 25.
VC-1 Advanced Profile Elementary Stream
This is a VC-1 format Advanced Profile compressed video Elementary Stream (as
described in Compression Standards and File Types, Section 2). Advanced Profile
of VC-1 is the only profile that can be a stand-alone Elementary Stream; the
Simple and Main Profiles can only exist in an ASF file or in an .rcv file.
One example file is provided:
Name VC-1 Profile Warnings/Errors
Central Park Advanced Invalid value (reserved) and invalid VLC
MPEG-4 Elementary Streams
These are MPEG-4 compressed video Elementary Streams (as described in
Compression Standards and File Types, Section 2).
Six example files are provided:
Name MPEG-4 Profile Warnings/Errors
Woman
Drinking
Train in Station Main - none Space Simple modulo time base
Man Walking Advanced Simple/Level 0 (with
Synthetic Advanced Simple/Level 2 (with
Window Car Advanced Simple/Level 2 (with
Main - none -
Method 1 quant used
VBV overflow
B-VOPs, Method 1 quant)
VCV overflow
B-VOPs, Method 1 quant,
Quarter Sample)
stuffing bits
B-VOPs, Method 1 quant, GMC
with 3 warping points, affine
model)
VCV overflow
MTS4CC User Manual 2-33
File Menu
NOTE. A YUV reference file is provided for the whole Man Walking bitstream; this
YUV reference file can be used for fidelity analysis and visual difference display.
The file name is automatically filled in for the YUV reference file, but the frame
rate must be set to 30.
H.263 Streams
These are H.263 compressed video files (as described in Compression Standards
and File Types, Section 2).
Three example files are provided:
Name Standard/Annex Warnings/Errors
Rally (250k) H.263 baseline (1) PSUPP is sent when file is H.263 baseline
(non-critical warning but PSUPP field
values only used in Annex L)
(2) Invalid variable length code for MCBPC in
the last frame (also causes Out of sync
error and other consequential errors)
MP4 Files
These are MPEG-4 .mp4 container files, containing compressed video and other
data (as described in Compression Standards and File Types, Section 2).
Four example files are provided:
Name Standard/Annex Warnings/Errors
Packet Woman MPEG-4 Simple
Profile/Level 1
Piccadilly
Circus
Beijing
Weather Girl
Las Vegas H.264/AVC Baseline
MPEG-4 Simple
Profile/Level 2
MPEG-4 Simple
Profile/Level 5
(video); AAC LC
(audio)
Profile/Level 1.2
Level is set at 1; max. frame size in this Level
is 176x144 pixels, but the video is 352x288
VCV overflow and VBV underflow
VCV overflow and VBV underflow
VBV overflow
HRD information missing: no pic_timing SEI
message
2-34 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
3GPP File
This is a 3GPP .3gp container file, containing compressed video and other data
(as described in Compression Standards and File Types, Section 2).
One example file is provided:
Name Standard Warnings/Errors
Mobile Hands MPEG-4 Simple
Profile/Level 1
Reserved value for
Profile and level indication
(set to 0)
MPEG-2 Program Streams
Three MPEG-2 .mpg Program Streams are provided, containing compressed
video and other data (as described in Compression Standards and File Types,
Section 2).
These examples contain audio streams, but they are all silent.
Name Standard Warnings/Errors
Bus Junction MPEG-2 Main
Profile/Main Level
Person Track MPEG-2 Main
Profile/Main Level
Grenadier Guards MPEG-2 Main
Profile/Main Level
- none -
Bad slice order
Invalid VLC for dct_differential
Numerator and denominator of
frame_rate_extension are both set to
1 but, when equal, they must be set to 0: this
also generates the errors of invalid values for
frame_rate_extension_d and
frame_rate_extension_n
NOTE. A YUV reference file is provided for the first ten frames of the Grenadier
Guards bitstream; this YUV reference file can be used for fidelity analysis and
visual difference display.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-35
File Menu
MPEG-2 Transport Streams
Two MPEG-2 .m2t Program Streams are provided, containing compressed video
and other data (as described in Compression Standards and File Types, Section 2).
Four example files are provided:
Name Standard Warnings/Errors
Golden Gate H.264/AVC Main Profile Use of undefined
disable_deblocking_filte
r_idc = 3
Mangroves MPEG-2 Main Profile/Main
Level
Captain Bob MPEG-2 Main Profile/Main
Level (video);
MPEG-1 Audio Layer II
(audio)
- none -
- none -
ASF files
Two Microsoft ASF files are provided, containing compressed video and other
data (as described in Compression Standards and File Types, Section 2).
Name Standard Warnings/Errors
Beach Girl VC-1 Simple Profile - none Great Wall VC-1 Simple Profile - none -
2-36 MTS4CC User Manual
File Menu
Recent File
The program retains a list of the eight most recently used files, numbered 1 to 8.
The recent files can be selected by highlighting them in turn.
Where a particular file could be opened in more than one view - for example, a
video bitstream could be opened as a video file (in the video window) or opened in
the HexView - the file is stored on the Recent File list with the last view type
appended to the end:
filename.m4v [hex] (this one is opened in the HexViewer)
filename.m4v (this one is opened as a video file)
filename.adts (this one is opened as an audio file)
filename.yuv [yuv] (this one is opened as YUV video)
The MTS4CC then uses this information to determine in which window the file
should be reopened.
Exit
This option exits from the MTS4CC.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-37
File Menu
2-38 MTS4CC User Manual
Play Menu
The following paragraphs describe the options available in the Play menu.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-39
Play Menu
In addition to the menu selection, there is a right-click pop-up Play menu:
The functions of each of these Play menu items are explained on the following
pages. (For an explanation of Synchronized Views/Navigating the Views, see
page 2-6 and Video Scale, see page 2-175.)
2-40 MTS4CC User Manual
V
A4A5A6A7A8A
V
A4A5A6A7A8A
Play Menu
Audio Sounds Broken Up
When a file containing both audio and video streams is played and the Audio
synchronize function is engaged, if the PC is not sufficiently powerful,
synchronization may not be possible and the resultant audio will be broken. The
figures below describe, in simplified terms, how audio and video streams
interrelate when decoded in the MTS4CC.
When the Synchronize audio icon is selected, and the requested synchronization is
successful, the green display appears in the Status bar and the streams run
concurrently in real time.
In sync
40 millisecs
ideo (frames) 123456789101112
Audio stream
Time (milliseconds)
ideo (frames)
Audio stream
Time (milliseconds)
A1 A2 A3
40 80 120 160
The preceding illustration shows video being decoded at a display rate of one
frame every 40 milliseconds. Audio plays, unbroken, at the same rate as the video.
When synchronization is not requested, the Synchronize audio icon is not selected,
and audio and video will decode independently.
120 millisecs
1
40 millisecs
A1 A2 A3
40 80 120
9A10A11A12
200
280240 320 360 4000
440 480
234
9A10A11A12
200 280240 320 360 4000 440 480
The preceding illustration shows video playing more slowly, at a display rate of
one frame every 120 milliseconds. The audio plays at its own decode rate,
outstripping the video.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-41
Play Menu
V
A
When the Synchronize audio icon is selected, and the requested synchronization is
unsuccessful, the red display appears in the Status bar, the video decodes at a rate
determined by available processor power, and the audio is broken.
No sync
end of 3 sec. cache
ideo (frames) 23 24 25
Audio stream
Time (seconds)
0
A24 A25 A26
The preceding illustration shows an unsuccessful attempt to synchronize audio and
video: the cached data plays in sync, thereafter, limited processor power causes the
audio to fragment (usually more unevenly than suggested in the illustration)
because it attempts to keep pace with the video by means of timestamps.
120 millisecs
2826 27
27 A28
3.000 3.120 3.240 3.360
2-42 MTS4CC User Manual
Play Menu
Audio/Video Synchronization
MTS4CC will decode and analyze audio as well as video streams, but the audio
will only be played and audible when the stream is in forward play mode.
Function in
mode
Plays to end or
specified frame or
until paused.
Plays quickly in
forward direction.
Stops. Stops. Stops video and audio at once. Video stops. Audio
Pressed once in Play
mode, pauses.
Pressed again, or at
top of file, steps
forward 1 frame.
Plays file backwards,
at normal speed.
Pressed once in Play
mode, pauses.
Pressed again, steps
back 1 frame.
Plays file quickly
backwards.
Skips on to specified
frame/type/time/number of frames.
Skips back to specified
frame/type/time/number of frames.
Pauses when specified
video frame is
reached.
audio mode
Plays to end. Attempts to play video and audio
Pause. Pressed once in Play
Function in synchronous mode Function in asynchronous mode Icon Function in video
Video Audio Video Audio
Audio and video play independently;
synchronously.
Whenever play is resumed, audio
picks up at current location.
Video plays quickly in
forward direction.
mode, pauses.
Pressed again, or at
top of file, steps
forward 1 frame.
Plays video file
backwards, at normal
speed.
Pressed once in Play
mode, pauses.
Pressed again, steps
back 1 frame.
Plays video file
quickly backwards.
Skips on to specified
frame/type/time/number of frames.
Skips back to specified
frame/type/time/number of frames.
Pauses when
specified video frame
is reached.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
no common timing enforced.
Video plays quickly in
forward direction.
Pressed once in Play
mode, pauses.
Pressed again, or at
top of file, steps
forward 1 frame.
Plays video file
backwards, at normal
speed.
Pressed once in Play
mode, pauses.
Pressed again, steps
back 1 frame.
Plays video file quickly
backwards.
Audio and video play independently;
no common timing enforced.
Audio and video play independently;
no common timing enforced.
Pauses on specified
frame.
Audio
muted.
muted.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
Audio
muted.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-43
Play Menu
Play
When selected, this plays the compressed video or audio stream until it reaches the
end of the data. However, if, when playing a compressed video stream, a frame
number has been set in Pause on frame the video will pause at this frame number.
If a file containing both audio and video streams is being played, and the streams
are not synchronized, the video and audio will begin to play and continue to play
independently. So, if a compressed video file is playing slowly due to the available
processing power of the PC, it is likely that the video will lag behind the
accompanying audio stream. If audio synchronization is selected, the rate at which
the audio data is decoded adjusts and the audio stream keeps pace with the video,
by means of timestamps. (See Synchronize audio on page 2-60 for more
information about audio synchronization.)
NOTE. When playing compressed video, depending on the speed of your PC, the
standard in use, and the size of the video frames being viewed, there can be a
significant delay after pressing the Play or Pause/Step forward button. During this
delay, the message Buffering <nnn> (nnn is a number) is displayed near the top of
the video window. This indicates that the video decoder is loading the required
number of video frames into its internal buffer. This message disappears when the
video is ready to display. (This is most likely to be seen with the H.264/AVC video
standard, where up to 16 frames are loaded into the decoder buffer before
displaying the first frame.)
At the end of the data, the gray background screen is displayed unless:
Hold last frame is selected, in which case the last frame stays visible
Hold first frame is selected, in which case the first frame is redisplayed
2-44 MTS4CC User Manual
Play Menu
Fast Forward
When this option is selected, the compressed file will be played in Fast forward
mode, played more quickly than normal. The speed at which this is replayed
depends on the speed of the computer you are using.
This command is unavailable when playing audio files.
If a file containing both audio and video streams is being played, regardless of
synchronization, the video plays fast forward and the audio is muted.
NOTE. When playing video forward or backward, the MTS4CC buffers the video
and associated data. By default, the MTS4CC allocates a buffer size of 100 MB.
The amount of buffer required per frame of video and associated data varies
considerably with the video size and the video standard. Typically, 100 MB is
sufficient to buffer the video and data for 10-500 frames.
To change the buffer size, use the Play menu, Decoder options, General tab. See
Video Decoder Options on page 2-51 for more information.
Stop
The video frame count is given in a box at the top of the image, to indicate how far
through the video sequence the currently displayed frame is (the frame count is
also displayed at the bottom right of MTS4CC window in the status bar).
The frame count is displayed in white text if the option in the Overlay menu is
currently set to White, or in black text if this is set to Black (toolbar icon
Ctrl+W).
The fast forward may be stopped at any time by clicking the Pause/Step forward
icon.
If a frame number has been set in Pause on frame, the video will pause at this
frame number.
When this option is selected, it will stop the playing of the compressed file.
The gray background screen is displayed in the video window unless:
or
Hold last frame is selected, in which case the last displayed frame stays
visible.
Hold first frame is selected, in which case the first frame is redisplayed.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-45
Play Menu
Pause/Step Forward
This option can be selected from the Play menu, by pressing Ctrl+A, or by clicking
the tool bar icon Pause/Step forward
This command is available when playing audio files, but audio will be heard only
when the stream is in forward play mode.
NOTE. Repeated selection of this option will advance the displayed video one frame
at a time.
This has two functions:
.
If the file is playing, selecting this option will pause the decoding of the
stream and, in the case of a video file, display the most recently decoded
frame
If the file has stopped or is already paused, selecting this option causes the file
to advance by one displayed frame
Reverse Play
NOTE. See the Note under Fast Forward on page 2-45 regarding a possible
buffering delay immediately after this is selected.
In H.264/AVC where SI-frames and/or SP-frames are used, when using Pause/Step
forward (Ctrl+A), at the point of the switch, both the frames used for the switch
are displayed, one after the other. These are not fully displayed in the video when
it is viewed normally, and so are not displayed when using Play or Fast forward
selections.
Play the file backwards, at normal speed.
This command is unavailable when playing audio files. Audio will be heard only
when the stream is in forward play mode.
This option can be selected from the Play menu or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P, or
by clicking the tool bar icon Reverse play -
.
2-46 MTS4CC User Manual
Play Menu
Fast Backward
Play the file backwards, as fast as possible, while still displaying it.
This command is unavailable when playing audio files. Audio will be heard only
when the stream is in forward play mode.
This option can be selected from the Play menu or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+F, or
by clicking the tool bar icon Fast backward -
.
Pause/Step Backward
Step backwards through the video file one displayed frame at a time.
This command is unavailable when playing audio files. Audio will be heard only
when the stream is in forward play mode.
Skip Forward
See also the notes under Pause/Step Forward on page 2-46.
This option can be selected from the Play menu or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+A, or
by clicking the tool bar icon Pause/Step backward -
This will skip the video to the next frame type/time/number of frames indicated in
the drop-down box on the icon toolbar.
For example, if the box next to the skip forward icon has I-VOP in it (for example,
) clicking the Skip forward icon will skip to the next I-VOP.
This option can be selected from the Play menu or by pressing Ctrl+K, or by
clicking the toolbar icon Pause/Step forward
If going to the selected frame type/time/number of frames is beyond the length of
the video stream, the stream is advanced to the end.
See also Audio/Video Synchronization on page 2-43 and Video Decoder Options
on page 2-51 regarding the buffer used to hold the video and associated data.
When skipping forward or backward beyond the end of the buffer, the MTS4CC
must reload the buffer, so some delay may be experienced.
.
.
The possible selections in the drop-down box vary with the selected video
standard; the following example is for MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-47
Play Menu
Skip Backward
This command is unavailable when playing audio files. Audio will be heard only
when the stream is in forward play mode.
This is the same as Skip forward but in the reverse direction - see page 2-47.
This option can be selected from the Play menu, by pressing Shift+Ctrl+K, or by
clicking the tool bar icon Pause/Step backward
This command is unavailable when playing audio files. Audio will be heard only
when the stream is in forward play mode.
.
2-48 MTS4CC User Manual
Play Menu
Video Start Position
In the Start Position dialog box, you can set either a byte offset or decode frame
number as a starting position for decoding.
Continuous Play
The byte offset is relative to the start of the file.
This command is unavailable when playing audio files.
When this option is selected and Play/Fast forward/Blind fast forward/ Reverse
play/Fast backward/Blind fast backward is clicked, then the file will be continually
played in a loop; the file is decoded until its end, at which point decoding will start
again at the beginning of the file, until Stop or Pause is selected.
Audio will be heard only when the stream is in forward play mode.
MTS4CC User Manual 2-49
Play Menu
Hold Last Frame
Pause on Frame
When this option is selected and the video/audio file is played to the end, the last
decoded frame will be displayed. If Hold Last Frame is not selected, the gray
background video screen will be displayed when the video is not playing.
Hold Last Frame is selected as on by default when MTS4CC starts.
This command is not relevant for audio files.
This command is only applicable to the playing of video files.
This option allows you to select a frame number to pause on when the video is
played. Having selected a frame to pause on, and clicking Play, Fast forward, or
Blind fast forward, the video will play until the selected frame number and then
pause.
The last frame can be selected by using the Last Frame box. When this is done, the
video pauses on the last frame. The previously entered frame number (if there is
one) is still stored, and can be enabled again by clearing the Last Frame check box:
2-50 MTS4CC User Manual
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