Tektronix VNM SGE,VNM SXG,VNM VER,VNM VXG,VNM ASR,VNM SABR,VNM EDGE,VNM EDGE2 Primary User
xx
Sentry Series
ZZZ
Video Quality Monitors
User Manual
*P077320205*
077-3202-05
Sentry Series Video Quality Monitor
User Manual
Supports software version 10.6.
SENTRY SERIES VIDEO QUALITY MONITOR
User Manual
© 2004-2019 Tektronix, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Printed in U.S.A.
Tektronix, Inc.
14150 SW Karl Braun Drive
P.O. Box 500
Beaverton, OR 97077
USA
Federal copyright law protects this publication. No part of this publication may be copied or distributed, transmitted,
transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any human or computer language in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, magnetic, manual, or otherwise); or disclosed to third parties without the express written
permission of Tektronix, Inc.
Tektronix makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any
warranties, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Furthermore, Tektronix reserves the right to revise this
publication and to make changes from time to time in the contents hereof without obligation of Tektronix to notify any
person of such revisions or changes.
Sentry User Manual 1
January 2019
US/Canada toll-free 1-844-219-5329
India toll-free 1800-3000 4835
Russia toll-free 810800-22554411
United Kingdom 44 1344 39 2541
Europe* toll-free 00800-22554411
Sentry User Manual
Trademarks
Tektronix, the Tektronix logo, and Sentry are trademarks of Tektronix, Inc.
Contacting Tektronix
Tektronix, Inc.
14150 SW Karl Braun Drive
P.O. Box 500
Beaverton, OR 97077
USA
For technical support:
Sentry Technical support is available on Business Days from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time and 9:00 AM
to 5:00 PM Indian Standard Time on the following numbers:
*Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK
Worldwide, please email
videosupport@tektronix.com
About This Document
Audience
This user manual is intended for service providers who use Tektronix Sentry, Sentry Verify, or Sentry ABR for
monitoring, historical reporting, and alerting from MPEG-2, H.264 AVC, MPEG-4 part 10, and VC-1 transport
streams. We assume that you understand the concepts and tools used in a head-end environment. We assume
that you are familiar with basic computer operations such as click, drag and drop, and that you are also familiar
with the operation of an internet browser.
Purpose
The Tektronix Sentry Series User Manual introduces you to the Sentry, Sentry Verify, Sentry Assure and
Sentry ABR Video Quality Monitors, and describes in detail Sentry's features.
This user manual shows you how to configure, control and use Sentry, Sentry Verify, Sentry Assure and Sentry
ABR. Please note that some of the features and applications described in this manual may not apply to all
products. Refer to the Sentry Family Product Matrix
Screen Shot Note
While all screen shots in this document are accurate and truthful representations of the product, some may have
been edited to remove information that could pose a security risk.
for more information.
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Table of Contents
Sentry Family Product Matrix .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Preface ................................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Who Should Use This Manual ........................................................................................................................................... 13
How to Get Help................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 14
What is Tektronix Sentry? ................................................................................................................................................. 14
The Engine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Internal database ......................................................................................................................................................... 14
What does Tektronix Sentry do? ........................................................................................................................................ 16
Monitoring ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Reporting........................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Alerting .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Getting Started ................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Front Panel Functions (2016 to present models only) ...................................................................................................... 18
IP address on the front panel .......................................................................................................................................... 18
Navigation buttons ......................................................................................................................................................... 18
USB ports ....................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Status LEDs ................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Power-off procedure ...................................................................................................................................................... 20
Front Panel Functions (2009 to 2016 models only) .......................................................................................................... 20
IP address on the front panel .......................................................................................................................................... 21
Manual power down from front panel............................................................................................................................ 21
LED Brightness .............................................................................................................................................................. 21
Interface Components ....................................................................................................................................................... 22
Main Page Menu ............................................................................................................................................................ 22
Login Info ...................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Page Title Bar ................................................................................................................................................................ 23
Thumbnails .................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Group Tabs and Input Ports ........................................................................................................................................... 23
Change a Port Assignment ............................................................................................................................................. 25
ASI Port tab ................................................................................................................................................................ 25
License Management ......................................................................................................................................................... 26
Activation of the software license .................................................................................................................................. 27
Deactivation of the software license .............................................................................................................................. 29
Basic Operations ............................................................................................................................................................... 30
Bitrate Violation ................................................................................................................................................................ 31
Reports ................................................................................................................................................................................ 32
Search................................................................................................................................................................................ 33
Programs ........................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Sentry User Manual
Current Status ................................................................................................................................................................. 34
To Filter the Ports on the Report .................................................................................................................................... 36
Filter Sentrys licensed with VLAN support ................................................................................................................ 37
Program Status ............................................................................................................................................................... 38
ASI Models ................................................................................................................................................................. 41
Program Search and display ........................................................................................................................................ 42
Column Sort By arrows .............................................................................................................................................. 43
Bell Icon for Alert creation ......................................................................................................................................... 43
Configure Report History ........................................................................................................................................... 44
Configure Provider Name ........................................................................................................................................... 46
Other Configurable Items ........................................................................................................................................... 47
Program Bandwidth Graph ............................................................................................................................................... 48
Program Details Screen .................................................................................................................................................. 48
Access Program Details .............................................................................................................................................. 48
Color Key.................................................................................................................................................................... 49
Error Seconds .............................................................................................................................................................. 50
PID Type descriptor .................................................................................................................................................... 50
Refresh Thumbnail ..................................................................................................................................................... 51
Capture button ............................................................................................................................................................ 51
Stream button .............................................................................................................................................................. 51
Detailed Graph View .................................................................................................................................................. 54
Other Program information ......................................................................................................................................... 55
Quality of Experience Details ..................................................................................................................................... 56
Access the QoE Details ............................................................................................................................................... 56
Average Video QoE from the Program Status Page ................................................................................................... 57
Scoring QoE ................................................................................................................................................................ 58
Reason Codes Definitions ........................................................................................................................................... 60
Perceptual Video Quality (eMOS) ................................................................................................................................. 61
TekMOS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 62
Over-compression Artifacts ........................................................................................................................................... 63
Group of Pictures (GOP) Length Reporting (Group of Pictures) ............................................................................... 64
Audio Volume Level Details ......................................................................................................................................... 65
Functionality ............................................................................................................................................................... 65
Access Audio Level Details ........................................................................................................................................ 65
Graphing ..................................................................................................................................................................... 66
Thumbnail Timeline ....................................................................................................................................................... 67
Discontinuity Details...................................................................................................................................................... 68
Alert Details ................................................................................................................................................................... 69
PCR Details .................................................................................................................................................................... 70
Data Detect ....................................................................................................................................................................... 72
Report Types .................................................................................................................................................................. 72
Copy Generation Management System (CGMS) ........................................................................................................ 72
Closed Caption Data ................................................................................................................................................... 73
Other Data ................................................................................................................................................................... 74
Generate a Report........................................................................................................................................................... 75
Ad Cue Info (Digital Ad Insertion) .................................................................................................................................... 77
Access Ad Cue Info ....................................................................................................................................................... 77
Reading the Ad Cue Info report ..................................................................................................................................... 79
Ad Splice Command Types ........................................................................................................................................ 82
Drill down/Zoom In .................................................................................................................................................... 83
Blackout Detection ..................................................................................................................................................... 83
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Repeated commands ................................................................................................................................................... 84
Audio Level Graph ..................................................................................................................................................... 84
Program Statistics (Report and Export) ............................................................................................................................ 85
Access Program Statistics: .......................................................................................................................................... 85
Tab View ........................................................................................................................................................................ 85
Create a Program Statistics Report ............................................................................................................................. 86
History tab .................................................................................................................................................................. 89
Port Statistics .................................................................................................................................................................... 90
Summary tab .................................................................................................................................................................. 90
Create a Port Statistics Report........................................................................................................................................ 91
Program Groups ............................................................................................................................................................... 93
Using Program Groups ................................................................................................................................................... 93
Program Groups Bandwidth ........................................................................................................................................... 95
Access Program Groups Bandwidth ........................................................................................................................... 96
Dynamic Program Groups ............................................................................................................................................. 98
Thumbnail Wall View ...................................................................................................................................................... 102
Transport ......................................................................................................................................................................... 103
Transport Status ........................................................................................................................................................... 103
Transport Bitrate History .......................................................................................................................................... 105
PSIP .......................................................................................................................................................................... 107
TR101/290 Status ......................................................................................................................................................... 110
Access TR101/290 Status ......................................................................................................................................... 110
Show TR101/290 Priorities....................................................................................................................................... 112
IP Stats ......................................................................................................................................................................... 113
Functionality ............................................................................................................................................................. 113
The Leaky Bucket Buffer Analogy ........................................................................................................................... 113
Access IP Stats .......................................................................................................................................................... 115
IP Stats Welcome Page ............................................................................................................................................. 116
Graphing Ports .......................................................................................................................................................... 117
Zoom in on a Graph .................................................................................................................................................. 118
Create IP Stats Alerts for Arrival Interval ................................................................................................................ 118
Create Alerts for Delay Factor .................................................................................................................................. 121
IP Stats Monitoring Notes ......................................................................................................................................... 121
Port Failover History ...................................................................................................................................................... 122
Carousel Status ............................................................................................................................................................... 123
OCAP Carousel ............................................................................................................................................................ 123
Access OCAP Carousel ............................................................................................................................................ 124
OCAP Summary tab ................................................................................................................................................. 125
OCAP Files tab ......................................................................................................................................................... 126
Files tab ..................................................................................................................................................................... 128
Applications tab ........................................................................................................................................................ 131
Events tab .................................................................................................................................................................. 132
Set Alerts in OCAP Status ........................................................................................................................................ 134
Review OCAP Alerts in Alert History ...................................................................................................................... 137
BFS Status .................................................................................................................................................................... 139
Monitoring the S-A Broadcast File System (BFS) ................................................................................................... 139
BFS Overview .............................................................................................................................................................. 139
BFS Mapping ............................................................................................................................................................ 139
Access BFS Status .................................................................................................................................................... 141
Sentry User Manual
Summary tab ............................................................................................................................................................. 142
Detail tab ................................................................................................................................................................... 143
Drill Down to BFS Detail View ................................................................................................................................ 145
EBIF Status .................................................................................................................................................................. 147
Access EBIF Status ................................................................................................................................................... 147
Summary tab ............................................................................................................................................................. 147
Detail tab ................................................................................................................................................................... 148
Viewing Program Detail from EBIF Status .............................................................................................................. 149
Applications tab ........................................................................................................................................................ 151
Events tab .................................................................................................................................................................. 153
Alerts ............................................................................................................................................................................... 154
Alert History ................................................................................................................................................................ 154
Report Export ............................................................................................................................................................ 156
Alert Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 159
Access Alerts Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 159
Alert Analysis Summary Screen ............................................................................................................................... 160
Report Navigation tabs and New Report icons ......................................................................................................... 161
Counts tab ................................................................................................................................................................. 161
Trends tab ................................................................................................................................................................. 165
Trend Details tab ....................................................................................................................................................... 166
Distributions tab ........................................................................................................................................................ 168
History tab ................................................................................................................................................................ 169
Program Alert Definitions Report ................................................................................................................................ 170
Create/Edit tab .......................................................................................................................................................... 171
History tab ................................................................................................................................................................ 174
System Error Alerts ...................................................................................................................................................... 175
Configure........................................................................................................................................................................... 176
Configure Alerts .............................................................................................................................................................. 177
How Sentry Handles Alerts .......................................................................................................................................... 177
Create an Alert ............................................................................................................................................................. 178
Create Alerts Step by Step ........................................................................................................................................ 181
View Created Alerts .................................................................................................................................................. 185
Delete Alert ............................................................................................................................................................... 185
Modify an Alert ........................................................................................................................................................ 185
Access Alerts Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 186
Scrambled Alerts .......................................................................................................................................................... 188
Transport tab ................................................................................................................................................................ 190
Types of Transport Alerts ......................................................................................................................................... 191
PID Alerts ................................................................................................................................................................. 193
Any PID on a Port ..................................................................................................................................................... 194
Table on a Port .......................................................................................................................................................... 194
Table on a PID .......................................................................................................................................................... 194
PMT .......................................................................................................................................................................... 195
DSM-CC on a Port .................................................................................................................................................... 195
DSM-CC ................................................................................................................................................................... 196
Port Alerts ................................................................................................................................................................. 196
Sample Transport Alerts .............................................................................................................................................. 197
Create Audio Level Alerts ........................................................................................................................................ 197
Create a Transport NULL PID Bitrate Alert ................................................................................................................ 201
Create Mean Audio Level Alerts ................................................................................................................................. 202
Create Audio Dialnorm Alert ....................................................................................................................................... 203
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Buffer overrun/underrun detection ............................................................................................................................... 204
Configure Buffer overrun/underrun detection .......................................................................................................... 205
BFS tab ..................................................................................................................................................................... 207
Types of BFS Alerts ..................................................................................................................................................... 208
BFS Source ............................................................................................................................................................... 208
BFS Carousel ............................................................................................................................................................ 208
BFS File .................................................................................................................................................................... 208
Types of OCAP Alerts ................................................................................................................................................. 209
File Alerts ................................................................................................................................................................. 209
Folder Alerts ............................................................................................................................................................. 209
Extension Alerts ........................................................................................................................................................ 209
Configure Program Availability Definitions ................................................................................................................ 210
Create Program Template Alerts .................................................................................................................................. 213
Template Alerts ............................................................................................................................................................ 213
Create an alert from a Template using a Program Alert ............................................................................................... 217
Create an alert template without a Program Group ...................................................................................................... 220
Program Groups ............................................................................................................................................................. 222
Create Program Groups ................................................................................................................................................ 222
Access Program Groups ............................................................................................................................................ 222
Groups Summary tab ................................................................................................................................................ 223
Add unlisted programs .............................................................................................................................................. 226
Configure Program Mappings ........................................................................................................................................ 228
Add a New Mapping .................................................................................................................................................... 228
Delete a Mapping ......................................................................................................................................................... 231
Modify a Mapping ....................................................................................................................................................... 231
Configure Port Names ..................................................................................................................................................... 232
Configure BFS Settings ................................................................................................................................................... 233
Configure Triggered Stream Captures ............................................................................................................................ 234
Access Alert Stream Captures .................................................................................................................................. 234
Create Alert Stream Captures (When none currently exist) ...................................................................................... 235
Deactivate or Delete a Stream Capture (when one previously exists) ...................................................................... 242
Retrieve Captured Files ............................................................................................................................................ 243
Delete Captured Files ................................................................................................................................................ 243
Defaults tab ............................................................................................................................................................... 244
Configure Triggered Stream Captures(via Nexidia Comply™) ...................................................................................... 245
Configure the Nexidia Server....................................................................................................................................... 245
Create a Nexidia Comply Profile .............................................................................................................................. 246
Create Caption Profile .................................................................................................................................................. 247
Choose a Program to Verify ......................................................................................................................................... 247
Review Job History ...................................................................................................................................................... 249
Review Closed Caption Verification Results ............................................................................................................... 251
Configure Schedules ........................................................................................................................................................ 254
Create a Daily schedule ................................................................................................................................................ 254
Create a Weekly Schedule ........................................................................................................................................... 257
Dashboard Graphs .......................................................................................................................................................... 259
Create a Dashboard Graph ........................................................................................................................................... 260
Configure MPEG Input Settings ..................................................................................................................................... 261
IGMP v3 SSM Support ................................................................................................................................................ 263
Sentry User Manual
Access MPEG Input System Settings ....................................................................................................................... 263
Set SSM ....................................................................................................................................................................... 265
Backup Multicast Settings ........................................................................................................................................... 266
Multicast Stream Collision Errors (Multiple Sources Detected on Input Ports) ....................................................... 268
Sentry with 2nd MPEG Input Option Installed ............................................................................................................. 269
Sentry with VLAN Support Enabled ........................................................................................................................... 270
Configure VLAN monitoring option ........................................................................................................................ 270
Assign/Configure Ports on a VLAN ......................................................................................................................... 272
Move a Port between VLANs ................................................................................................................................... 273
Reviewing Port/VLAN Assignments and VLAN Status .......................................................................................... 274
Configure System Preferences ........................................................................................................................................ 275
Configure TekMOS .......................................................................................................................................................... 277
TekMOS License ......................................................................................................................................................... 277
TekMOS Settings ......................................................................................................................................................... 278
TekMOS Program Alert ............................................................................................................................................... 279
TekMOS PID Alert ...................................................................................................................................................... 280
Configure TR101/290 Settings ........................................................................................................................................ 281
Configure System Settings ............................................................................................................................................... 282
Network settings .......................................................................................................................................................... 283
Set the Time ................................................................................................................................................................. 284
Set the Locale ............................................................................................................................................................... 285
Maintenance Mode ....................................................................................................................................................... 286
SSL Settings ..................................................................................................................................................................... 287
System Alerts ................................................................................................................................................................... 289
System Diagnostics .......................................................................................................................................................... 291
Email Diagnostics ........................................................................................................................................................ 291
Network connectivity ................................................................................................................................................... 291
System Communication ............................................................................................................................................... 292
SNMP Trap .................................................................................................................................................................. 292
Health Check ................................................................................................................................................................ 293
Configure Import/Export Settings ................................................................................................................................... 294
Export tab options ........................................................................................................................................................ 296
Import tab options ........................................................................................................................................................ 298
Configure Users .............................................................................................................................................................. 299
API Access ................................................................................................................................................................... 299
Add a User ................................................................................................................................................................... 299
Delete a User ................................................................................................................................................................ 301
Modify a User .............................................................................................................................................................. 302
Configure System Upgrades ............................................................................................................................................ 303
Upgrade Procedure ....................................................................................................................................................... 303
Upgrade Errors ............................................................................................................................................................. 306
Recoverable error ...................................................................................................................................................... 306
Error Requiring a Patch ............................................................................................................................................ 306
Uploading the Error Patch File .................................................................................................................................... 307
Upgrade History ........................................................................................................................................................... 307
Configure Power Off and Restart Capability .................................................................................................................. 308
Accessing Remote Restart and Power Off ................................................................................................................... 308
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Power Off a unit: .......................................................................................................................................................... 308
Restart a unit ................................................................................................................................................................ 309
Status ................................................................................................................................................................................. 310
ASI Status page ............................................................................................................................................................ 311
System Status for Sentry with Second MPEG Input Option Installed ......................................................................... 311
About ................................................................................................................................................................................. 312
Appendix A: Sentry ABR ............................................................................................................................................... 314
Configure: Alerts Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 314
Manifest Alerts ............................................................................................................................................................. 314
Create a Manifest Alert ................................................................................................................................................ 315
Representation Alerts ...................................................................................................................................................... 317
Representation Alerts Definitions ................................................................................................................................ 317
Create Representation Alerts........................................................................................................................................ 318
Dynamic Program Groups .............................................................................................................................................. 320
Creating a Static Program Group from Dynamic ......................................................................................................... 322
Configure MPEG Input Settings ..................................................................................................................................... 323
Administrator Set up Notes .......................................................................................................................................... 323
Reports ............................................................................................................................................................................ 325
Program Statistics: ABR Stats ..................................................................................................................................... 325
Create/Edit tab .......................................................................................................................................................... 325
History tab .................................................................................................................................................................... 327
Port Statistics .................................................................................................................................................................. 328
Summary tab ................................................................................................................................................................ 328
Create a Port Statistics Report...................................................................................................................................... 329
Media Set Status Report .................................................................................................................................................. 332
Media Set Details ......................................................................................................................................................... 334
HTTP Status Codes ................................................................................................................................................... 334
Representations Statistics.......................................................................................................................................... 334
Fragment Load Headroom ........................................................................................................................................ 335
Fragment Load Time ................................................................................................................................................ 336
Fragment Load Latency ............................................................................................................................................ 336
Fragment Load Bitrate .............................................................................................................................................. 337
Fragment Size ........................................................................................................................................................... 337
System Status ................................................................................................................................................................... 338
Appendix B: Sentry Edge, Edge II, Edge III-S, and Edge III-T ................................................................................. 340
Preface ............................................................................................................................................................................ 340
Getting started ................................................................................................................................................................ 341
Product description ...................................................................................................................................................... 341
Sentry Edge RF Monitoring Products ....................................................................................................................... 343
Sentry Edge Family Features and benefits ................................................................................................................ 343
Sentry Applications ................................................................................................................................................... 343
Sentry Edge I Features and benefits .......................................................................................................................... 343
Sentry Edge II Features and benefits ........................................................................................................................ 344
Sentry User Manual
Sentry Edge III-S Features and Benefits ................................................................................................................... 344
Standard and optional accessories .......................................................................................................................... 345
Power cord options ................................................................................................................................................... 345
Configuration ............................................................................................................................................................... 346
Recommended steps ................................................................................................................................................. 346
Configure the RF Stats Alerts ...................................................................................................................................... 347
Configure the MPEG settings ...................................................................................................................................... 348
Activate an RF input connection ............................................................................................................................... 349
To define/edit import settings for an RF configuration. ............................................................................................ 349
Filter
options
................................................................................................................................................................ 351
Update the schedule/import schedule information .................................................................................................... 352
Import a configuration from a CSV file .................................................................................................................... 353
To schedule an import ............................................................................................................................................... 354
View/edit RF configuration details ........................................................................................................................... 355
Change the schedule .................................................................................................................................................. 355
Configure port names for a channel .......................................................................................................................... 356
Configure
Create a new schedule. .............................................................................................................................................. 358
Operating basics ............................................................................................................................................................. 360
Reports ......................................................................................................................................................................... 360
Current Status report ................................................................................................................................................. 360
Port / channel numbers ............................................................................................................................................. 360
Program Detail report : Tuning information ............................................................................................................. 361
Program graph options .............................................................................................................................................. 362
RF Stats ........................................................................................................................................................................ 363
Constellation Diagram .............................................................................................................................................. 364
Frequency Domain Graphs .......................................................................................................................................... 366
Status ............................................................................................................................................................................ 369
Park a tuner for a set amount of time ....................................................................................................................... 371
To park a
To park a tuner for a set amount of time: ................................................................................................................. 374
schedule summary
tuner
(alternate
.................................................................................................................................... 357
method)
.......................................................................................................................... 373
Appendix C: Acronyms .................................................................................................................................................... 375
Appendix D: Examples .................................................................................................................................................... 377
Notices ............................................................................................................................................................................... 381
Trademarks ..................................................................................................................................................................... 381
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Service
Sentry
Sentry Verify
Sentry ABR
Audio loudness & AC-3 Dialnorm (ITU-R BS.1770)
monitoring
Closed captioning (708, 608, SCTE-20), DVB Subtitle,
Teletext reporting
Program/PID/Transport Stream/Program Group
bandwidth graphing
MPEG-PSI, DVB-SI, ATSC-PSIP table detect, bit rate, cycle
time
Sentry User Manual
Sentry Family Product Matrix
This Sentry product manual contains technical information on the Sentry family of video quality monitors.
Information for the Sentry Edge products can be found in Appendix B of this manual.
Some of the features and purchasable options described in this manual are not supported on all of the
products. For a breakdown of features and options by product, please refer to the table below.
Comprehensive MPEG Quality of Experience (QoE) Monitoring
Video QoE real time monitoring
Optional
Video eMOS/PVQ real time monitoring Optional Optional
Video TekMOS picture quality monitoring Optional
Audio QoE real-time monitoring
Optional
Optional
Video freeze detection
Audio Silence detection
Optional
Optional
Comprehensive MPEG Quality of Service (QoS) Monitoring
Transport Stream QoS Monitoring
IP (UDP) statistics
Optional
HTTP Statistics
Optional
Error Seconds and Program Availability Reporting
GOP length reporting
Video and Audio PID metadata
Optional
Optional
Optional
Program/PID discontinuity
PCR interval & jitter
TR 101 290 (priority 1, 2, 3) reporting
Scalable RF Monitoring (16/64/256 QAM A, B, or C) Optional Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Perceptual Video Quality (eMOS) on MPEG-2, AVC/H.264,
HEVC/H.265
Non-reference Picture Quality (TekMOS) on MPEG-2,
AVC/H.264
Video: UHD/4K, HD, SD, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264),
VC1, JPEG2000
Audio: Dolby AC-3, MPEG-1 Layer II, AAC, HE-AAC,
HE-AAC v2
Audio: Dolby E-AC-3
Optional
Optional
Optional
DVB-S/S2
Optional
Optional
Sentry User Manual
Service Sentry Sentry Verify Sentry ABR
Purchasable Software Options
QoE Monitoring
Carousel monitoring (tru2way / OCAP/MHP / DSM-CC) Optional
Ad Insertion/Digital Program Insertion Optional
Advanced Closed Caption Analysis Optional
EBIF Monitoring Optional
SA-BFS Monitoring Optional
Optional
Optional
Audio Loudness Monitoring (includes CALM Compliance)
IDR/EBP Alignment Optional
Video & Audio
Optional
Optional
Optional Optional
Interfaces
ASI Optional Optional
GigE
Dual GigE Optional Optional
10G Single-Mode or Multi-Mode LC SFP+ Optional Optional Optional
8VSB & QAM-B Optional Optional
QAM A, B, or C Optional Optional
QAM A/B/C RF Measurements: Level, EVM, MER, CNR,
Pre-RS BER, Post-FEC Erred Packets, Carrier Offset
Optional Optional
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US/Canada toll-free 1-844-219-5329
India toll-free 1800-3000 4835
Russia toll-free 810800-22554411
United Kingdom 44 1344 39 2541
Europe* toll-free 00800-22554411
Sentry User Manual
Preface
This user manual describes the Sentry family of video quality monitors and the web browser-based interface.
This manual introduces the components and features, so you can begin using the device.
Who Should Use This Manual
This manual is intended for service providers who use Tektronix Sentry products for monitoring, reporting and
alerting from MPEG transport streams. You should understand the concepts and tools used in a headend
environment. You should also be familiar with basic computer operations such as click, drag and drop, as well
as the operation of a web browser.
How to Get Help
If you purchased a service contract for your Tektronix Sentry products from a distributor or authorized reseller,
contact the technical support staff for that distributor or reseller for assistance.
If you purchased a Tektronix service program, contact Tektronix technical support:
For technical support:
Sentry Technical support is available on Business Days from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time and 9:00 AM
to 5:00 PM Indian Standard Time on the following numbers:
*Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK
Worldwide, please email
Additional information about the Tektronix Sentry family of video quality monitors is available at the
following URL:
http://www.tek.com/video_quality_monitors/
videosupport@tektronix.com
Sentry User Manual
Introduction
What is Tektronix Sentry?
Tektronix Sentry is an MPEG transport stream monitoring device that supports next generation digital services
and traditional program monitoring. Sentry supports MPEG-2, H.264 AVC, MPEG-4 part 10, and VC-1 video
compression standards. The components of Sentry are:
The Engine
Internal database
Sentry supports real-time monitoring through single- and 4-port ASI and Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) input of all
MPEG source streams within the headend or hubs.
Sentry digs deep into the complex and private data residing within the stream, allowing video service providers
to gain insight and solve problems in their digital networks. Sentry’s extensive feature list includes:
• Audio and Video Quality of Experience Scoring System
• Audio Silence and Audio-level Issue Detection
• Detect Black Video, Frozen Video, Tiling/Macroblocking
• Perceptual Video Quality (eMOS)
• Non-reference Picture Quality (TekMOS)
• Live Thumbnails
• User Triggered and Alert Triggered Stream Captures
• Stream to View
• Historical Reporting and Graphing
• Transport Stream Bandwidth Graphing
• Program Group Bandwidth Graphing
• Carousel Monitoring (SA-BFS, DSM-CC, tru2way™)
• Digital Program Insertion
• 24/7 Real-time QoE Monitoring of Entire Channel Lineup
• Detect Intermittent Problems
• Alert Notification and Historical Reporting
• Error Second and Program Availability Reporting
Sentry's video quality monitoring solutions provide unique flexibility to enable you to implement any
combination of monitoring components for any digital application, using the same Sentry hardware.
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Figure 1: Sentry Network Diagram
Sentry User Manual
What does Tektronix Sentry do?
Functioning completely within the digital domain, Sentry receives MPEG transport streams and monitors them
for normal and unusual activity.
The primary features of Sentry are:
Monitoring
Reporting
Alerting
Monitoring
Sentry tracks, and fully dissects the content of the digital media stream as it leaves the headend, including:
Application data decode and verification
Closed captioning compliance
Bandwidth utilization
Broadcast data decode and verification
Carousel monitoring
BFS monitoring
OCAP monitoring
Ad insertion auditing
Tagged verification
PSI/SI/PSIP/PMT decode
Bitrate monitoring
Reporting
The Sentry web interface allows you to configure parameters and view the output of the Sentry engine
historically and in real-time. In addition to standard reports accessible from the menus on the displays, detail
views (e.g., program detail, BFS detail, ad cue detail) are available by clicking on various elements in the
displays.
Standard Sentry reports include:
Current Status
An overview of the current state of the programs
Program Status
Provides a configurable history of all MPEG programs and their PID contents
Data Detect Report
Identifies specific program content
Ad Cue Info
Displays composite and component ad cues inserted into the stream.
Transport Status
Dissects the transport packets
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TR101/290 Status
TR101/290 is a DVB standard for measurement and analysis of MPEG transport streams. Refer to the
section on TR101/290 for a more in-depth discussion of this report and its features.
IP Stats
Displays information relating to IP packet arrival interval and delay factor.
OCAP Status
Displays the status of OCAP streams.
EBIF Status
Displays monitoring information EBIF Status
BFS Status
Displays the status of the Broadcast File System. Refer to Scientific-Atlanta Broadcast File System for
a more in-depth discussion of this report and its features
Alert History
Lists alerts detected by the system. Refer to the section on Reports for a more in-depth discussion of
this report and the section on Configure: Alerts for a discussion of creating alerts.
Alert Analysis
Provides an easy to use graphic analysis to visually represent alerts
Alerting
Sentry enables real-time alerts to indicate if content within a stream is invalid, a stream goes down, or user
thresholds are exceeded. Alerts are visible within the web user interface (Alert History) and can be sent via
email and SNMP trap. There are three major alert types:
Thresholds
Alert when a given bandwidth level or cycle time has exceeded or falls below on a PID, program, table,
DSM-CC, or BFS. Alert when a program’s PCR arrival interval or PCR jitter has exceeded or falls
below a given level.
Thresholds with Frequency
Alert when a given threshold condition is met and it has occurred twice or more in a given time period.
Content
Alert when a selective piece of content has been received or transmitted correctly or incorrectly. Alert
when a given PID or program is active or not-active. Alert if a PID, program, table, DSM-CC, or BFS
drops. Alert if audio silences or video freezes.
Refer to the Configuring Alerts section for more information.
Sentry User Manual
Getting Started
Front Panel Functions (2016 to present models only)
The following applies only to units made in 2016 to present.
These models are able to provide the following functions:
IP address readout on LCD display
Manual Reboot option from front panel
Hard drive installation or replacement
Figure 2: Sentry front panel (2016 to present models only)
IP address on the front panel
The LCD (Local Control Display) is a 16-character, one-line display with two backlight colors:
Green. The LCD backlight is green under normal operating conditions.
Amber. If a hardware problem is detected with the server, the LCD backlight turns amber. When the
problem is cleared, the backlight returns to green.
Under normal operation, the readout will display the IP address of the Management Port in the form “Tektronix
Sentry IP: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx.” The factory default IP address is 10.0.10.200.
Depending on the status of the instrument, you may see additional status messages such as Rebooting,
Shutdown, Stopped, etc. When errors are encountered, associated error messages may be displayed.
Navigation buttons
Do not use the navigation buttons. The navigation buttons can be used to access and navigate an internal menu
system provided by the manufacturer of the Sentry chassis.
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Item
Description
ID
System ID button with LED
On/Standby button illuminates when the instrument is powered on
Illuminates when activity occurs on the Management Port (1) and on the IP Video port
Illuminates when there is drive activity
System status LED
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CAUTION: To prevent operational problems with the instrument, do not attempt to make any changes to
the menu settings.
USB ports
Use the two USB 2.0 ports to connect external USB devices to the instrument.
Status LEDs
The status LEDs indicate the following information about the state of the instrument:
(2)
LCD Display
Enter button
Power button
Right button
Left button
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Power-off procedure
The preferred method for rebooting or powering off a Sentry is through the web interface.
WARNING: When moving a Sentry, it is very important to properly power off the Sentry via the web
interface.
Never unplug a Sentry without performing the Power-off procedure. Improper shutdown
may cause file corruption and failure of the Sentry.
Perform the following steps to power-off the instrument:
1. Use the Configure > Power Off menu option from the user interface to start the power-off process.
2. In the event that you cannot access the user interface, press the front panel On/Standby button once to
power off the instrument.
NOTE: The LCD display does not indicate that the instrument has begun a Safe Power
Off process. Please wait more than 30 seconds for the instrument to visibly start to
power-off.
3. To completely remove power from the instrument after a safe power-off, disconnect both power cords
from the rear of the instrument.
Front Panel Functions (2009 to 2016 models only)
The following applies only to units made in 2009 to 2016 and that have a blue LED backlit display.
These models are able to provide the following functions:
IP address display on LED
Manual Reboot option from front panel
LED Brightness control
Figure 3: Sentry front panel (2009 to 2016 models only)
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IP address on the front panel
To see a display of the IP addresses of both of the system network interfaces on the front panel LCD display:
1. Press and hold Enter (green check mark) on the front panel.
2. The address displayed on the top line of the display corresponds to the Management interface and the
lower line corresponds to the MPEG/IP input.
Manual power down from front panel
NOTE: The preferred method for rebooting or powering off a Sentry is through the web interface. Please
see the Remote Power Off and Restart Capability section of this manual for more detail.
WARNING: When moving a Sentry, it is very important to properly power off the Sentry via the web
interface.
Never unplug a Sentry without performing the Power Off procedure. Improper shutdown
may cause file corruption and failure of the Sentry.
In addition to powering down through the Sentry interface, you may also use the front panel button.
4. Start the power down of the unit by pressing the front panel power button two times quickly within 2
seconds.
5. Within moments, the LCD display will indicate that the unit has begun the Safe Power Off process,
and several seconds following, the unit will power down completely.
LED Brightness
1. The brightness of the LCD display backlight can be changed by selecting either the left arrow or right
arrow buttons on the front panel. The left button will dim the display while the right will brighten it.
2. Changes to the brightness level persist until the unit is rebooted or powered down.
Group Tabs and Input Ports
Page Title Bar
Sub-Page Menu
Main Page Menu
Login Info
Thumbnails
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Interface Components
The Sentry interface consists of the following areas:
Figure 4: Sentry Interface Components
Main Page Menu
The buttons in this area (Configure, Reports, Status, and About) are the main categories of pages available
for collecting information, reporting, and configuring the system. Configure and Reports contain sub-pages,
accessible through drop-down menus.
Login Info
This area displays the username of the logged on user and provides a link to log out of Sentry.
Click Logout to log out of the system. The date and time of the most recent refresh of the screen is also shown.
Click Refresh to refresh the screen; otherwise the screen will refresh automatically at a periodic rate (~ every
300 sec.).
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Page Title Bar
The title bar identifies the name of the page currently in view.
Thumbnails
Current Status also features thumbnail visual confirmation of the content of each program or service. You
can control the size of the thumbnail at the top of the column. You can also refresh the thumbnail manually or
it will refresh automatically every 5 minutes. Settings for thumbnails can be found in System Preferences.
Group Tabs and Input Ports
Input ports indicate the sources of transport stream input, which can be either ASI (one or four ports) or GigE
(MPEG over IP unicast IP port or up to 30 multicast groups, each consisting of a Group ID and an IP Port).
Sentry allows you to organize input ports into system and user groups. You must have Administrator privilege
to create and modify system groups.
If the number of input ports is greater than one, then default system groups will be automatically created (two
groups for a four port Sentry and four groups for Sentrys with more than four ports). Settings that the user has
specifically saved are retained as they navigate from page to page.
For example, the figure below shows the groups and ports of a GigE Sentry. The Group 3 tab is selected
showing that Ports 16 through 23 are in Group 3. Selecting a group will report only on the data from the ports
in that group. Ports can also be renamed.
Figure 5: Groups and Ports of a GigE Sentry
Sentry User Manual
Below are groups and ports of a four port ASI Sentry.
Figure 6: Groups and Ports of a 4 Port ASI Sentry (0, 1, 2, 3)
In the case of ASI models, the port is known from the hardware. For MPEG over IP models, the port is known
from the configuration (refer to Configuring MPEG Input Settings.
Mouse over an input port to see a popup showing the input source.
Figure 7: Group 1 Acquisition AdCue port popup message showing the input source
Ports that are not configured are displayed as a light gray.
Ports that are configured and assigned to a group are shown as dark gray.
Ports that are configured but not assigned to a group are shown as white.
The user can change the group assignments by clicking on ports, which toggle as assigned (dark gray)
and unassigned (white).
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Change a Port Assignment
1. Click on the port you wish to change.
2. Click Save to save the assignments. Click on the Reset button to reset the assignments.
Figure 8: Save Button indicating Changed Port to Group Assignments
3. Selecting the Refresh button on the page before the assignments are saved will result in a note that
assignments have been modified. A Reset button to reinstate the original settings will also be
displayed.
ASI Port tab
A single port ASI Sentry has only one port tab and therefore has no need for a group tab.
Figure 9: Port 0 of a Single Port ASI Sentry
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License Management
Tektronix provides a 28-character license key to activate Sentry software modules. Use License Manager to
complete online or offline activation. The License Manager can be accessed to ways:
Select the About button from the main page menu. Then follow the HERE link next to the Licensed
Modules section heading.
Figure 10: Link to manage licenses
Select the Configure button from the main page menu. Then select License Manager from the drop-
down list of configurations.
Figure 11: License Manager selections
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