Advanced Measurement Technology User Guide for OmniTek XR Software Version: 2.
© 2008 Image Processing Techniques Ltd. All rights reserved This documentation contains proprietary information of Image Processing Techniques Ltd. No part of this documentation may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recorded or otherwise without the prior written permission of Image Processing Techniques Ltd. The information contained in this documentation was prepared by Image Processing Techniques Ltd.
Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................7 From Power-Up .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Quick Start Guide ....................................................................................................................................................... 8 Display Mode.................................
Wide Screen Signalling: (Line 23) Reader Settings ................................................................................................28 Teletext/OP-47: Reader Settings ..............................................................................................................................29 Closed Caption: Reader Settings..............................................................................................................................30 4. TOOLBARS.............................
Video Status window................................................................................................................................................. 55 Options menu................................................................................................................................................ 55 Waveform Window ................................................................................................................................................... 56 Area displayed ..
10. AUDIO CHECKING FEATURES ........................................................................89 Audio Level Displays (PPMs) ...................................................................................................................................89 Embedded Audio PPMs ................................................................................................................................89 Dolby-E Audio PPMs............................................................................
1. Introduction This user guide describes the OmniTek XR product. This product consists of a PCI card installed into a Windows PC together with OmniTek software. The product may be supplied already installed and configured by OmniTek, or this may be done by the user. Note however that the installation and configuration of the PCI card and the OmniTek software are not covered here but in the separate PCI Card Installation Guide.
Quick Start Guide This section provides a basic guide to starting work with the OmniTek XR application. On starting, a message first appears enquiring whether you wish to use the program’s Advanced Audio or the Motion-Capture facilities. Then, by default, since all OmniTek systems have the ability to send status messages over SNMP, the system attempts to connect to an SNMP service running on the PC. If such a service cannot be found, you will see the following message.
Display Mode OmniTek XR offers two display modes referred to as ‘Normal’ mode and ‘Full Screen’ mode. In Normal mode, the screen follows standard Windows conventions, offering multiple windows, dialogues and toolbars. In this mode, there will be a menu bar at the top, with some toolbars underneath. Below that is a large area where various windows may be opened. At the bottom of the screen, there is a status bar.
The usual selection of the sync for a waveform monitor is Serial lock (as selected by Auto detect). For further details of video setup, please refer to page 21 of this guide. Windows Layout Normal mode generally opens with the choice of windows and toolbars that was last used in that display mode. This selection of windows is not affected by any Full Screen layouts that have been used.
At the right-hand end of the Status Bar is a little field interrupt indicator. This spins during normal operation, indicating field interrupts are being processed. It will stop during certain operations, such as loading files from disk. Note that the four Page buttons on the status bar are only fully available if your screen resolution is set to a minimum of 1280 * 1024. For smaller resolutions, some of the buttons will be off the edge of the display.
Presets are individual macros that work both in the normal Windows environment and in Full Screen mode. They can be freely assigned to the hot-keys Shift-F1 – Shift-F12. The information recorded as a preset can be of two types: the first is a snapshot of all the settings currently in place, the second records the effect of a set of changes made to the settings currently in place.
Window Sizes The size of all of the windows is related to the video standard. When you position and size the windows in one standard, they may well turn out to be wrongly sized when you switch to a different standard. However, right click on many of the windows and a menu will appear that includes a ‘Resize to fit’ option. Select this, and the window will become the minimum size to suit the data being displayed. Size and Position Snap By default, windows are set to ‘jump’ if they are sized or moved.
2. Menus This section describes the menus offered on the main application menu bar when Omnitek XR is being run in Normal (Windows) mode. While this section is chiefly for reference, the options offered by these menus provide a good overview of the facilities offered by OmniTek XR. Note: The precise range of options offered depends on which additional packages are included in the OmniTek XR system that is being used. File menu The File menu controls some overall aspects of Omnitek XR.
Message Boxes The Preferences menu also lets you control the display of message boxes in response to error conditions. Message boxes that currently may be displayed are ticked. Clearing the tick disables that particular message box. Ticking an option re-enables a message that has been disabled. Window Layouts and Snapshots Window Layouts It is possible to load and save window layouts used in Normal mode.
Region Of Interest This toolbar is a separate window that acts in conjunction with the Waveform and Vector Scope windows, and provides fine detail control over the part of the video frame that is used to create waveforms etc. This is described in detail on page 63. Crosshair Gives position control and read-back of main cursor. Cursors Provides measurement cursors for time and amplitude. Closed Caption Log This enables closed caption data to be logged to an XML file.
Engineering Options The Engineering options allow the current Engineering Settings to be saved in .ode files and to be subsequently re-loaded. The layout of the windows and toolbars is unaffected by saving and loading Engineering settings. SNMP Settings This option controls the program’s configuration for SNMP. This is only required as part of the logging package. Consequently details of SNMP configuration are given alongside the description of the logging facility, which starts on page 104.
formats other than NTSC are also located on a line other than Line 21. These details are recorded on the Teletext/OP-47 page or the Closed Caption page of the Engineering Settings control window (see pages 29 and 30). Reset Status and Logging This option offers a way to simultaneously reset the video status, audio status and error logging described elsewhere in this user guide. Audio Menu Note: This menu only appears in systems that include the Advanced Audio option.
Full Screen Menu As well as operating within a conventional application ‘window’, OmniTek XR can also operate within a ‘Full Screen’ environment. This menu allows you both to define full screen views and to select a specific view to launch in Full Screen mode. Full Screen mode is described starting on page 65. Note: The precise range of options seen depend on the details of the system being used and on what full screen views have been defined.
3. Engineering Settings When using OmniTek XR, perhaps the most important controls are the Engineering settings. These determine the entire configuration of the system in terms of what video format to use, the video lock reference, etc. The Engineering settings are accessed either by clicking on the Engineering Settings icon in the main (Windows) toolbar or by taking the Engineering… option from the Configuration menu or by pressing Shift E.
Video Standard The video standard currently selected is shown in the box. The current standard can be changed by clicking the drop-down arrow, and selecting one of the available choices. Alternatively, if you are monitoring external video, it may be more convenient to select Auto detect. This causes the format of the input stream to be identified by matching against the range of video standards supported by OmniTek XR.
Video: Generator Settings The controls on the Video: Generator page of the Engineering Settings control window all relate to video generated by OmniTek XR. This page is not available when the OmniTek XR system does not include the Motion-Capture option.
Video: Analyzer Settings Range Errors OmniTek XR can detect and count where the incoming video falls outside pre-defined luma/chroma ranges. The levels that trigger an error are determined in this dialogue. You specify the minimum and maximum IN RANGE values for each luma / chroma component. Normally, the YCbCr Polarity Outside box is ticked and values less than the minimum or greater than the maximum will be detected and reported.
These errors can also be highlighted on the waveforms. This option is selected through the Options menu within the Waveform window (see page 59). The same thresholds are used. Note however that it is not possible to simultaneously highlight pixels with YCbCr range errors and pixels with RGB range errors on the waveforms, as pixels with YCbCr range errors can only be seen when displaying YCbCr/YUV waveforms, while pixels with RGB range errors can only be seen when displaying RGB waveforms.
Once multiple profiles have been created, it is possible to select between them from the Profiles dialogue (called up as described above). When OmniTek XR is started, the last used profile is automatically loaded but a new profile may be loaded at any time. Note: A ‘Preset’ is ideal for switching between different profiles. See page 11 for details on defining presets.
Note that whilst the lookup table adjusts how the waveforms and the Vector Scope are displayed, the data shown in the Data View window is always the exact data on the serial inputs. Output Format Where OmniTek XR includes the Dual Link option, it is possible to produce either singlelink or dual-link output from either single-link or dual-link input. It is further possible to produce this output in either YUV, RGB or XYZ format as required.
• Luminance Content This control works in exactly the same way as the Motion Content control, and detects if the picture is black. • Chrominance Content This control works in exactly the same way as the Motion Content control, and detects if the picture is black and white. The results of these detectors are displayed in the Video Status window, described on page 84 of this manual. These same detectors may also be used in the logging or in SNMP alerts, as described in the section starting on page 104.
Video Index: Reader Settings OmniTek XR includes a Video Index reader, which is configured from this dialogue. The lines normally used for the Video Index signal are indicated in the dialogue, but other lines may be selected, for example for test purposes. The Link Fields option makes setting the required line values easier by automatically setting the Field 2 value from the Field 1 value. Note: Video Indexes can only be read in SD.
This data can be interpreted either as per EN 300 294 or as modified by ARDSPEC. For flexibility, it is possible to monitor other lines in addition to line 23. Teletext/OP-47: Reader Settings This page of the Engineering Settings control window is concerned with the additional information needed when working with OP-47 or PAL teletext. The main information needed to detect and display PAL or OP-47 teletext is the number the page on which the data is provided.
Closed Caption: Reader Settings This page of the Engineering Settings control window caters for ‘Line 21’ captions sent within video formats other than NTSC. In NTSC, these captions are required to be transmitted on Line 21. When delivered in a video format other than NTSC, the captions can be on any line between 7 and 23. Page 30 OmniTek XR User Guide, Software Release 2.
4. Toolbars This section describes the toolbars available when OmniTek XR is being used in Normal (Windows) mode. These toolbars provide direct access to many of the functions contained in the menus. The above illustration shows just one possible arrangement of the toolbars. Windows provides the ability to undock or move each toolbar individually, while the Show menu allows the user to choose which toolbars are displayed.
Crosshair Toolbar The Crosshair toolbar provides both information about and controls for the current point of interest within the video display (as indicated by the crosshair on the Mini-Pic display). Position The toolbar shows the sample number and line number that the crosshair is positioned over. Using the mouse, you can click in the Mini-Pic to position the crosshair roughly in the required place, then use these boxes to make fine adjustments.
Region of Interest Toolbar The Region of Interest toolbar is a control window that acts in conjunction with the Waveform and Vector Scope windows, and provides fine detail control over the part of the video frame that is used to create waveforms etc. It is described on page 63, alongside the description of the Waveform and Vector Scope windows. Run (Transport) Toolbar The Run toolbar is available where OmniTek XR includes the Motion-Capture option.
A Time Shift recording can be triggered by any of the trigger conditions shown in this dialogue. It can be triggered in response to any of several VITC, LTC or ATC time code values, or in response to a specific error condition such as a CRC error occurring. In all cases, it is possible to remain in Time Shift mode, waiting for the next trigger, until the RAM is full; or to capture a specific number of triggered events; or to only capture once then ask the user whether to continue.
Source Toolbar OmniTek XR has two main Source toolbars. Single Link Source Toolbar The above toolbar is offered where OmniTek XR is used with the Motion-Capture option. (A shorter version appears when the Advanced/External Audio option is being used.) The functionality of the above toolbar is best understood by reference to the block diagram shown below.
The functionality of this Source toolbar is shown through the following block diagram.
The principal effect of ticking this option is to control the action of the Auto Detect circuit. Ticking Dual-link forces the Auto Detect circuit to interpret whatever format it next finds on Link A or Link B as a dual-link format. Ticking Dual-link also extends the drop-down menu of supported video standards. All the single link formats are listed as for the regular XR system, but underneath these is a list of supported Dual Link formats, including 2K formats.
Audio PPMs icon. Enables the display of PPMs for either Embedded Audio, Dolby-E Audio or AES/EBU Audio (where installed). See page 89 for details. Audio Lissajous icon. Opens a window in which the phase relationship between a selected channel pair is displayed as a Lissajous figure. See page 103 for details. Note: This icon is only included on the toolbar when the Advanced Audio option is installed. Event Log icon. Opens the Event Log window, which shows a live display of data that can be logged.
5. Application Windows OmniTek XR offers a range of windows within which to display different aspects of the video that is being analysed. The various displays are generated in hardware in real time from the video being processed. The displays are also fully integrated, with the different windows showing information about the same frame of the video data stream. The windows that can be displayed are called up by clicking icons on the Windows toolbar.
Window menu The windows also all have a ‘Window’ menu that provides the following possibilities. Full Screen Select this to display the chosen window data in Full Screen mode, without any windows artefacts present, such as toolbars, menus etc. Press ESCape to return to the standard display. Resize to fit Select this to change the window size to the default minimum size to suit the data being displayed.
Audio Lissajous window This window is only included where OmniTek XR includes the Advanced Audio option. It displays a Lissajous figure of the audio transmitted on the two channels of a particular stereo pair. The stereo pair from which the Lissajous figure is generated is selected by clicking on the required channel pair in the appropriate Embedded or AES Audio PPM display. Further information is given in the section describing OmniTek XR’s Audio Checking facilities, starting on page 103.
Audio Status window The Audio Status window is offered by all systems that include audio support. Where included, it displays a selection of information about the audio content of the input being processed. The information is arranged in a collapsible hierarchy with sections of the display able to be opened or hidden as required, allowing the user to select what is displayed according to their particular needs.
Configure Filter Calls up the dialogue through which items for display and/or logging are selected (see page 119). Look & Feel Calls up the Look & Feel dialogue used to set display parameters across the whole application (see page 59). Reset options These options reset different aspects of the Audio Status display. Enable columns This option displays a dialogue through which you can select which details are displayed in the Audio Status window.
Closed Caption Window This window displays details of the closed captions or teletext subtitles detected in the video being analysed.
Data View Window This window displays data values associated with the image that is currently being processed by the built-in analyzer, except in a Dual Link mode where it always shows data from the serial input. Data is shown for a specified sample number on the current line, plus samples earlier and later in that same line. The data may be shown purely as numbers (as shown above) or together with descriptions in the ‘Extended View’ version of the display (see below).
Extended View OmniTek XR offers an alternative ‘Extended View’ of the Data View window. When Extended View is selected within the Options menu, the standard pixel value display is enhanced through the addition of pixel colour data and descriptions of identifiable structures such as VANC packets in the video signal. The range of information that can be displayed depends on whether the video signal that is being analysed is SD or HD or dual-link.
Extended View Offers the option of displaying descriptive information alongside the basic numerical data (described above). Save Snapshot Allows the contents of the Data View window may be saved as a .txt file. The file created will include all the data within the scrollable window, so if the window is set to contain 100 samples, then these 100 samples will be saved to that .txt file. Further, the data will be stored in the file in whichever base they were being displayed i.e.
Dolby-E Audio The menu associated with this option enables you to select the Dolby-E channel on which Dolby-E delay measurements are made (where supported). PCM Delay This option controls whether the Delay Measurement window includes this item. Dolby-E Delay This option controls whether the Delay Measurement window includes this item. Reference Timing The menu associated with this option firstly controls whether the Delay Measurement window includes this item.
Gamut Window The display in this window chiefly comprises a set of bar graphs showing the range of values for the different possible colour components (YCbCr, RGB and Composite – or XYZ when Dual Link mode is selected) in the video currently being analysed. The range of colour components for which graphs are displayed is selected from the Control panel which is displayed/hidden by clicking on a release catch similar to that on the Waveform window (see page 55).
Graticule calibration can be based around the standard SMPTE range of 64 to 940/960 (expressed as decimal, in 10bit format), or alternatively around the full range of 0 to 1023 (again decimal, 10bit). Full range video formats are particularly useful when using RGB signals in a Dual Link set-up. For example, Thomson Viper cameras generate RGB in the range 0 to 1023. Other cameras generate RGB in the range 0 to 940. Having the variable calibration means the waveform monitor can be set to suit.
Options menu The Options menu in the Mini-Pic window includes the following options: Pulse/cross The Pulse/cross mode delays the video by half a frame both horizontally and vertically, to emulate the HV delay mode of CRTs. This can give a clearer view of data adjacent to blanking Note: This mode can be more useful if the ‘TRS Pass’ mode is also enabled in the Analyzer menu of the main application. Colour options The Mini-Pic display defaults to normal, full colour mode.
Closed Captions Source This option works in tandem with the similarly-named option within the Analyzer menu to set the source for closed captions/teletext subtitles shown on the Mini-Pic. EIA 708 Options This option is used to select which service and font should be used for displaying EIA 708 closed captions (where supported). Note: EIA 708 must first be selected as the Closed Captions Source (see above).
Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of the Mini-Pic can be changed from its default settings to preset values, or to a custom value, to the value specified in the Video Index or it may be forced to follow the Wide Screen Signalling values that can be contained within PAL video. Show Region of Interest This option controls whether the area picked out as the Region of Interest (see page 63) is displayed on the Mini-Pic.
Panel Controls ROI Controls The top set of controls let you zoom the Vector Scope in on any portion of the display. Once zoomed in, you can adjust the horizontal and vertical position, allowing you to see all areas, not just the centre of the Vector Scope. You can also zoom into the selected area by clicking and dragging over the Vector Scope (using the right mouse button) then return to the unzoomed display by double clicking the right mouse button over the Vector Scope.
Video Status window The Video Status window displays a selection of information about the video content of the input being processed, and in particular about errors detected in that stream. The information is arranged in a collapsible hierarchy with sections of the display able to be opened or hidden as required, allowing the user to select what is displayed according to their particular needs.
Configure Filter Calls up the dialogue through which items for display and/or logging are selected (see page 119). Look & Feel Calls up the Look & Feel dialogue used to set display parameters across the whole application (see page 59). Reset options These options reset different aspects of the Video Status display. Enable columns This option displays a dialogue through which you can select which details are displayed in the Video Status window.
Clicking on the release catch this time will hide the waveform display controls, and revert to the previous window. The window also offers Options, Colour mode and Window menus. Area displayed TQ+XR The part of the image for which waveforms are generated is referred to as the Region of Interest. This may be selected by using the Region of Interest toolbar (see page 63). Alternatively it can be picked out (and moved around) on the Mini-Pic as described on page 63.
Colour Modes OmniTek XR can display the waveforms in a variety of modes, which may be selected either from the Colour mode drop down in the panel or from the Colour mode menu.
Options Menu The Options menu allows you to adjust some specifics about how the waveform traces are displayed. In particular: Data For RGB type displays, the components can optionally be reordered into the GBR order. Graticule The graticule lines can be displayed or hidden, along with graticule text labels. In addition, amplitude markers may be overlaid onto the main graticules. These are horizontal lines that can be used to mark out important levels.
Note: All of the look and feel choices here directly affect the waveforms displayed within the Windows environment. They also affect waveforms displayed in Full Screen mode, unless specific look and feel settings have been assigned to the chosen full screen view as described on page 69. Reset gain/gamma/decay This gives you a single menu option to select to reset these aspects of the display to their default values.
Colour Mode menu This lists the different forms of waveform display that exist. This duplicates the Colour mode selection offered through the optional control panel. The controls are duplicated for user convenience. Note however that although you can select any mode from this menu, you will still need to access the control panel to select the specific components for display. Waveform Histogram Window The Waveform Histogram window displays colour histograms of the video that is currently being analysed.
Control Panel Display Options The controls in the panel enable the histograms to be displayed in different colour modes and as either a line or as a bar chart. You can also set the vertical scaling used for the histograms.
Region of Interest toolbar The Region of Interest toolbar acts in conjunction with the Waveform and Vector Scope windows to provide fine detail control over the part of the video frame that is used to create waveforms etc. Many of controls can also be achieved by other means but some less-required functions are only available through this toolbar.
In Sweep mode, the first line of the sweep is set as Y start, while the total number of lines in the sweep is set as Y lines. There are also buttons selecting 2-line and 15-line sweeps, full field sweeps (FL) and full frame sweeps (FR). In Multi mode, the control also includes AV and FV buttons that switch the Waveform display between being restricted to just the active portion (AV), or the full raster (FV).
6. Full Screen Mode As well as displaying different aspects of the video input as multiple windows on a standard Windows application display, OmniTek XR also offers the option of full screen views each showing a selection of the different displays available in a simple rectangular layout tailored to the requirements of the video format being analysed. A typical full screen view is shown below. The main portion of the display contains the panes defined for the selected layout.
Entering Full Screen Mode Full Screen mode can be entered in a number of ways. Some systems are set up to automatically enter Full Screen mode on Start-up. They can also be configured to be ‘locked’ in Full Screen mode. Both these options may be selected through the Full Screen Configuration dialogue (see page 67).
Defining Full Screen Views Full screen views are defined through the Full Screen Configuration dialogue, which is displayed either by clicking on the Full Screen Configuration icon or by taking the Configuration option from the Full Screen menu. The left-hand side of this window is concerned with some overall characteristics of full screen views, while the right-hand side of the window is given over to a Layout Editor through which the details of individual full screen views can be defined.
Startup/Help Settings It is possible to start up the application and directly start in Full Screen mode, by selecting in the Startup in full-screen mode: box. Ticking the Show help/information box enables the display of a small amount of Help information. In addition, pressing ‘I’ toggles the display of the Help information while in Full Screen mode. Control Panel Timeout Sets the length of time the Full Screen mode control panel remains displayed without being actively used.
Assigning Settings By default, no specific settings are assigned to the various portions of the full screen view. So when you enter a full screen view, each pane will adopt the current settings of the related window within the normal environment. For example, the waveforms in a given full screen view could be currently set to show YUV. Go back to the normal (Windows display) mode, and change the waveform display to RGB, and then go back into full screen display.
7. Generator Functions Where the system includes the Motion-Capture option, OmniTek XR includes a video store, which is accessed via a Generator control window. The Generator window is displayed by clicking the Generator icon on the main (Windows) toolbar. The Generator window provides access to a range of functions associated with saving and loading data and with pattern creation.
Preferences Default pattern fit type Every time an image is loaded, its size is compared with the current video format. If it exactly matches, the image is loaded. Default pattern fit type lets you specify a default action to take when the image size doesn’t fit the current video format. One default action is to always pop up a dialogue box asking for a resize choice. The other options specify a default resize choice that the application will follow.
View Menu The View menu lets you turn off the toolbar and the status line if not required, and set the size of the image thumbnails. This menu can also be used to open or close the Playlist window, and switch between the Thumbnail view shown above and a text-based list. Source Menu The Source menu provides the controls used to load a previously saved image/sequence (Import image – see Pattern Creation below), or to grab images from the serial input (New input – see Grabbing Images below).
Window Menu The Window menu offers the single option to enable/disable ‘snap to grid’ when moving the window around. Generator Toolbar The Generator toolbar icons have the following functions.
At the bottom of the Generator window is a simple status display that displays the total memory available to store images, plus the amount that is used, along with a bar that gives a graphical indication of how much memory is used. The numbers used are calibrated in frames, and hence will change depending on the current video standard. If the Advanced module is present, two sets of numbers are used, separated by a ‘slash’.
The frames used can be of any of image types that the Generator window accepts for single frame images. However, the frames must be named in such a way that OmniTek XR recognises them as a sequence – see the note below. Once the sequence has been accessed, the first frame of the sequence will appear in the Generator window. To load it into the output buffer, click on the image. Once the sequence has loaded, the transport control icons on the Run toolbar can be used (as described on page 33).
Single – Grabs a single frame. Each time Grab is pressed, a new single image is grabbed, over writing the image previously grabbed. Repeated Frames – Grabs between 1 and 10 frames. Set the number of frames you wish to grab. If you select 3, press Grab three times and each time an image will be grabbed. Sequence - Select a length for the sequence (the maximum length will be determined by the standard you are in, and the amount of RAM fitted on your system).
Under Use blanking and ancillary data, select From Internal Generator to remove the entire ancillary data packets from the original source material. Alternatively select From Source Image (RVF) to use the actual data from the source image. Note: A simple RVF editor is supplied free alongside the Advanced Option to let you view and edit .rvf files. This editor can be run concurrently with any other OmniTek application.
To configure the monitor, click Add to choose the location for the monitored folder(s). Specify which file format(s) to monitor by ticking the appropriate boxes. The actual monitoring process can be enabled either by clicking the Monitor button on this dialogue or by clicking the ‘Start monitoring’ icon. This function is very useful in conjunction with remote processes that are rendering images to create clips.
Edit selected item Delete selected item Move selected item up/down Playlist pattern New playlist Open playlist Save playlist Showing item (in red/pink) Playlist it Selected item (in black) Playlist status text (total number of items, total duration) Generator Item details (path, type, and duration) Source pattern details (path, type) Thumbnail preview Item duration (frames/second Showing item Normal item Selected it Playlist options Adding/Editing items As previously mentioned, items can be added to
Source pattern path and thumbnail preview Duration for this item in frames and seconds Video generator settings for this item This window is displayed when a pattern is ‘drag and dropped’ from the Generator window into the Playlist window. The window can also be accessed for existing playlist items by double-clicking on the item, or by selecting the item then taking the Selected pattern properties option from the ‘Pattern’ menu or clicking on the ‘Selected pattern properties’ icon.
Playlist save/open/new Playlists can be saved or opened using the ‘Save playlist’ or ‘Open playlist’ toolbar icons or the Save playlist, Save playlist as, and Open Playlist menu items in the ‘File’ menu. Playlists are saved as .odp files. The last used playlist will be opened automatically when OmniTek XR starts up. Use the New playlist menu item in the ‘File’ menu to create a new blank playlist.
8. Cage Generator OmniTek XR systems include a cage generator – or more precisely, two cage generators, one for safe action, and one for safe title. The Cage Generator dialogue that controls these generators is displayed by selecting the cage icon from the main (Windows) toolbar. It is possible to save the settings made for the cage safe title as a ‘profile’ (see page 24), by clicking on the Profiles button in this dialogue and then taking the option to Add a new profile.
includes the Motion-Capture option, clicking the Video button will cause the keyed-out area to be replaced with the currently selected image or sequence in the Generator window. To enable masking, select the required mask type from the drop down box. Note: The mask will only be shown if Enable Cage is selected.
9. Video Checking Features OmniTek XR has the ability to display real-time video status information and to detect and count various types of error. This status information and associated error counts are displayed in the Video Status window, which may be called up either from the Window menu or by clicking on the Video Status icon on the main (Window) toolbar.
Data Displayed Status Parameters Format Shows what video standard the unit has been set to (if standard has been manually set) or what standard has been detected (if auto detect selected). Digital input – OK, Missing or Wrong Format Both the text of the status message and the colour of that text are used to provide status information, as follows: Serial input is good, and is being used as lock reference. Serial input is good, but is not being used as lock reference.
Picture : Luminance content – Active/Chroma only The warning message can occur instantly, or after the condition has occurred for greater than a set period. This can be adjusted in the Picture section of the Engineering Settings control window. Picture : Chrominance content – Active/Monochrome The warning message can occur instantly, or after the condition has occurred for greater than a set period. This can be adjusted in the Picture section of the Engineering Settings control window.
the Video: Analyzer page of the Engineering Settings control window. There are programmable minimum and maximum thresholds for each of Y, Cb and Cr. Composite Range Check Indicates the proportion of the incoming video for which the composite signal generated from the YUV data fall outside the range specified on the Video: Analyzer page of the Engineering Settings control window. The value shown is based on the number of errors detected since it was last reset. TRS Check Check for valid TRS data.
Alternatively, the display of these errors can be cycled through the possible options by clicking the Toggle type button at the bottom of the Video Status display. There is also the option of displaying ‘timelines’ indicating the rate at which errors are occurring (see page 84). Resetting Errors The error counters within the Video Status display can be reset either individually or as a whole group.
10. Audio Checking Features The audio checking facilities offered by OmniTek XR depend on the system being run and which extra options are installed. Very basic systems do not include any audio checking facilities. Systems that include teither the Standard Audio or the Advanced Audio option, however, provide status information and metering on up to 16 channels of embedded audio.
Audio Source and Metering type Group and Pair labels In-bar message Permitted Maximum reference level Alignment reference level Peak Hold markers Highlighting indicating selection as pair for playback/ Lissajous figure/ Dolby-E analysis The display is created by comparing in real time the audio levels in the data stream against a series of thresholds set in the Configuration dialogue (see below) The basic Red, Yellow, Green colouration shows in traditional fashion how the output compares with Permitted M
Options menu The display is configured from the Options menu, which provides the following options: Configuration This opens the Audio Configuration dialogue (see below). Reset Peak And Hold This re-starts the determination of the position of the Peak Hold markers. This is particularly useful where Infinite Hold is selected in the Audio Configuration dialogue (see page 94). Alignment This allows a choice of arrangements for the display.
Graticule Type The graticule for the PPMs may be changed from DBFS to alternative calibrations corresponding to different meter types (Nordic, BBC etc.). The required meter type is selected from a drop-down list of Graticule options. Note: The settings for the reference levels, alarm trigger points etc. automatically switch to the ones conventionally associated with the selected meter type, though you can then make any adjustments to these levels that you require.
Note: These values are also automatically set to pre-defined standard values when a different graticule type is selected, so again it is important to ensure that the required graticule type is selected before making any adjustments to these reference levels. Group/Pair/Channel Labels These sections allow each group/pair/channel that is displayed to be assigned a name, which will appear at the top of that part of the display.
Show Phase Meters Phase meters may be displayed below the PPMs, in both the standard view and the surround sound view, to provide a quick visual report of the correlation between the audio data in the two channels that make up the stereo pair. Peak Hold When selected, Peak Hold markers are included in the display. Note: These markers normally show the highest value achieved over a period of 1 second. They can be switched to show the highest value achieved overall by selecting the Infinite Hold option.
Displaying the Dolby PPM window As stated above, the Dolby-E audio and the associated metadata are encoded on a pair of embedded audio channels, potentially alongside PCM audio. The first step is therefore to identify which pair of channels is carrying the Dolby-E data. The relevant pair of channels can readily be determined from the Embedded PPMs display where the channels will be picked out by the in-bar message ‘DATA’. (The channels will also typically be shown as ‘clipped’ in this display.
Audio Configuration Dialogue The Audio Configuration Dialogue also features a more limited range of items than the Embedded Audio version of this dialogue. Graticule, Error Detection and Reference Level settings still appear, as does the option to display Peak Hold markers and to set Pair labels, but the options to select a surround-sound view and to choose which groups are visible do not appear as the channel configuration used is pre-defined by the associated metadata.
Audio Status Display Where supported, information about the status of each audio group is displayed in a dedicated Audio Status window, which may be displayed either by clicking on the Audio Status icon on the main (Window) toolbar or by selecting this window from the main Window menu. This window is similar in operation to the Video Status window described on page 84.
Embedded Audio status information The following status information is displayed for each stereo pair of channels, arranged hierarchically according to the groups to which they are assigned. OmniTek XR firstly detects whether each pair of channels is enabled or disabled. If it is enabled, the following status information is displayed. If it is not enabled, none of the following will be detailed. Usage status Professional/Consumer. Audio sample Audio/Data Emphasis None/50/15ms/CCITT J.
Configure Filter Calls up the dialogue through which items for display and/or logging are selected (see page 119). Look & Feel Calls up the Look & Feel dialogue used to set display parameters across the whole application (see page 59). Reset options These options reset different aspects of the Audio Status display. Enable columns This option displays a dialogue through which you can select which details are displayed in the Audio Status window.
NTSC Line Line 512 513 Line Line 525 1 Approx. end of Dolby E Frame PAL Line Line 603 604 Line Line 625 1 Dolby E Frame Dolby E Frame Line 10 Line Line 13 14 Line Line 512 513 Switching Area Dolby E Reference Position Approx. end of Dolby E Frame Line 6 Line Line 13 14 Line Line 603 604 Guard Band Dolby E Frame Video Frame Guard Band Video Frame Guard Band Video Frame For NTSC format video (frame rate 29.
Note: In all, an extensive amount of information can be displayed. If simply opening and closing sections of the hierarchy doesn’t give you the display you need, you can ‘filter’ the information down to just those items you are interested in (and save the filtering you select). This is described in the section starting on page 119.
Metadata Segment This is the part of the Dolby frame that carries (the majority of) the Dolby metadata.
Playback Where the Advanced Audio option is installed, OmniTek XR has the ability to route any stereo pair of PCM audio channels to the sound output of the system on which OmniTek XR is currently being run. Where OmniTek XR also includes the External Audio option, the sound can alternatively be played back from a pair of AES channels. To select the stereo pair to play, click on the required pair in the Embedded Audio PPMs display or the AES Audio PPMs display (as appropriate).
11. Logging OmniTek XR includes a comprehensive logging package. The system has the ability to log events into an XML file whenever specific conditions occur. It can also transmit an SNMP alert when certain conditions occur. These two functions work independently. Both log entries and SNMP alerts can include VITC, ATC or LTC time codes where present, and the current time.
The other version of the window caters for multiple logging sessions and comprises a list of the sessions on the left and the display of the selected session data on the right. Further details of this version of the display are given on page 106. Each line in the Event Log window starts with one of three icons.
Save session This option saves the currently selected session to disk as an XML file. Shell-open session This option is only active where an existing Log file has been loaded. Taking this option displays the XML file from which the data being displayed is taken. Start/stop session This option provides manual Start/Stop control of the current selected session. Clear Taking this option clears the events currently displayed.
To launch this session, either select New session from the Options menu or click on the corresponding icon. This displays a dialogue through which you specify either that the session is to be started/stopped manually or the details of the time triggers that are to be used. Once these details have been set, another dialogue appears through which you set a name for the session (or accept the default name you are offered which will either be ‘Manual log’ or reflect the time triggers you have set).
The colour coding used is as follows: Grey Not reported yet (Note: Events in user-defined sessions can only be reported once the session has been completed) Green No error event occurred Red One or more error events have occurred These icons provide a simple green/red good/not good indication in analogy to traffic lights, allowing it to be interpreted at a glance.
SNMP Configuration and use The SNMP configuration dialogue is accessed from the main Configuration menu. When the OmniTek application starts up, it will always check to see if an SNMP service is running on the host PC. The number of attempts to connect can be set here, as well as an optional warning of connection fails. You can also use this dialogue to specify which of the listed conditions should be used to send SNMP traps.
12. Measuring Audio/Video Delays Where the Advanced Audio option is installed, OmniTek XR can measure the relative delay between the audio and video paths. In addition, all systems can measure the delay between an SDI input and the analog reference (the Reference Timing – see page 115) and use a variant of the Reference Timing measurement to determine the difference in timing between different input channels or indeed different inputs (see page 116).
(This last mode of operation is particularly useful where a PCM source is put through a Dolby-E encoder as the operation of dis-embedding the audio and encoding it often introduces an unknown delay.) The other test sequence is a PCM-only version that may be used to determine just the PCM delay affecting a PCM source. It is provided in addition to the Dolby-E test sequence because it can be used with the copy of OmniTek LAB that doesn’t include the support for RVF files.
5. Where a TSE_DOLBYE (RVF) test sequence is used, make sure that the option to use blanking and ancillary data From Source Image (RVF) is selected in the Video: Generator page of the Engineering Settings control window. This setting is essential for correct operation. Where the PCM-only (YUV) test sequence is being used, use the Audio: Generator page of the Engineering Settings control window to generate an audio tone on channel 1 is set for 8kHz, -18dB, and present only on frame 1 of the sequence.
Relative A/V Delay Testing When determining the relative delay between the transmission of the audio and video components of the signal, the OmniTek A/V Delay Test Sequence is installed remotely to the video analyzer, which means that it is possible to measure A/V delays in satellite, cable, or terrestrial broadcast links. Transmission Path RVF source (e.g.
6. The required audio and video delay values will be displayed in the Dolby-E Audio/Video Relative Delay slot in the Delay Measurement window, as illustrated below. The figure given shows the timing of the audio channel (the label below the bar) relative to the video (labelled above the bar). The label below the bar also moves in proportion to the delay being measured (imperceptible where the difference is small).
The figure given shows the timing of the audio channel (the label below the bar) relative to the video (labelled above the bar). The label below the bar also moves in proportion to the delay being measured (imperceptible where the difference is small). Please note that the delay calculations are performed once for each loop around the complete video sequence, so there is a latency of several seconds before new delay readings are displayed.
Differences between inputs Use of an external analog reference also allows differences between different input channels or between channels on different SDI inputs to be determined – as follows. 1. Use the steps given in the previous section to determine the timing of one of the channels of interest relative to the analog reference. 2. When that measurement has been made, click the Save Offset button. 3.
Appendix 1: File Types OmniTek systems use some unique file types. This section explains what type of data is held in each file type. Generic Files .ini (Initialization) Used to store generic data. OmniTek uses three .ini files, one for the full-screen-layout definitions (full_screen_ layouts.ini), one for analyzer range profiles (analyzer_range_error_profiles.ini), and one for cage safe-title profiles (cage_safe_title_profiles.ini).
Generator patterns Extension Input bmp x jpg/jpeg x tif x gif x png x yuv x yuv10 x Page 118 Output x x x x x x x Description Bitmap JPEG TIF (Tagged Image File Format) GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) PNG (Portable Network Graphics) YUV 8 bit-per-pixel (8 (U), 8 (Y), 8 (V), 8 (Y)) YUV 10 bit-per-pixel (10 (V), 10 (U), 10 (Y), 2 (padding)) dpx x DPX (Digital Moving-Picture Exchange) cin x Cineon rvf x x raw x x lpd zpd avi x x x x x x wmv x Windows Media Video asf x Microsoft Window
Appendix 2: Filtering OmniTek XR is able to monitor and report on a very wide range of different data within video streams. Not all of this data will be useful to monitor in any particular application, so OmniTek XR includes a ‘filter’ mechanism through which you can specify precisely which parameters you want: • Displayed in the GUI (i.e.
The hierarchy of the items does however mean that items can only be displayed and logged if their ‘parent’ item is also selected. To indicate this, the boxes of items that currently can’t be displayed because their parent isn’t displayed are shown as grey. These boxes can still be ticked but the corresponding item will only be displayed and logged if the parent item is also ticked (at which point both boxes will be shown in black).
Note: The present release of OmniTek XR includes a preset file that arranges for an OmniTek system with the Advanced Audio option to display the range of Dolby-E information you would expect to see on an equivalent Tektronix or Linear Acoustics system. The range of items covered is illustrated by the following screen shot of the Audio Status window. OmniTek XR User Guide, Software Release 2.
Index 608/708 captions, 17, 31, 44, 51, 86 reset, 18, 43, 99 About menu, 19 toolbar icon, 37 Active Format Description, 87 Auto detect, 21, 36 Amplitude measurement, 32, 59, 64 Blanking data, 51 units, 14, 23 Analyzer configuration, 17, 23, 35 checking, 32, 87 grabbing, 76 playing out, 22, 76 input, 17, 35 Bowtie display, 58 interpolator, 17 Cage low pass filter, 17 Analyzer menu, 17 Ancillary data checking, 32, 87 display on Mini-Pic, 52 sync to ROI, 64 Cage generator, 43, 82 toolbar icon, 3
time code readers, 27 teletext, 86 video index reader, 28 WSS, 86 video settings, 20 Dolby E video source, 35 delay measurement, 48 video standard, 36 metadata, 99, 100 waveform window, 58 PPM configuration, 96 WSS reader, 28 PPM display, 94 Configuration menu, 16 Configure Filter source, 90 Dual link audio status, 43, 99 configuration, 35 event log, 105 data conversion, 25 video status, 56, 88 input format, 25 Configure Timeline audio status, 42, 98 video status, 55, 88 CRC checks, 86
toolbar icon, 38 window, 48, 104 Extended Data View, 46 File menu, 14, 70 File monitor, 73 Files .oas files, 117 .ode files, 117 .odl files, 117 .ods files, 117 .ogs file, 117 .
video status, 56, 88 Output menu, 18 waveform window, 58, 59 Pages, 10, 15 Low pass filter, 17 Panning, 22 LTC, 27, 87 Pattern menu (generator), 72 Luma Qualified Vector Scope, 24, 53 Patterns Luminance, 58, 86 creating, 74 detection, 27 fitting to video format, 71 luma range, 23 frame-based patterns, 74 Measurement units, 14, 23 Message boxes, 15 Mini-Pic, 50 aspect ratio, 53 colour modes, 51 importing, 73 loading, 71, 72 PCM Delay delay measurement, 47 Picture Quality pulse/cross, 51 gr
RGB polarity Outside, 23 delay measurement, 47 Run menu, 16 video, 55, 84 Run toolbar, 33 Stuck frames, 87 frame, 33 speed, 33 RVF capture, 76 RVF playback, 76 Safe action/title area, 52, 82 dialogue, 38, 43, 82 sync to ROI, 64 SDI input, 35 status, 85 SDI output, 18, 35 Sync, 21, 86 free run, 21 serial lock, 21 System configuration at start-up, 14 files, 16 import/export settings, 16 Teletext, 29 detection, 86 Test pattern generator, 37 error signalling, 23 Thumbnails, 71, 73 including crosshair,
Video control panel, 56, 58 generation, 22 crosshair, 59 safe action/title area, 43 graticule, 59 source, 35 look&feel, 58, 59 Video capture, 75 parade view, 58 full frame (RVF), 76 resizing, 57 time shift feature, 33 split view, 60 Video Index, 28 reader, 28 Video standard, 21 toolbar icon, 37 Wide screen signalling, 28 Window menu, 19, 39, 73 auto detect, 36 Window toolbar, 37 dual link, 36 Windows, 39 toolbar, 36 Video Status, 55, 84 audio lissajous, 41 audio PPMs, 40, 89 configure
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