At the NAB Show in Las Vegas in April, Rohde & Schwarz will introduce R&S PRISMON, a monitoring and multiviewing solution for broadcast and streaming video services. The solution is software-based and takes a multistandard, multi-protocol approach. It's designed to support traditional SDI signals and all relevant IP-based protocols, including MPEG-DASH, AIMS and ASPEN. Future protocols and media formats can be added via software upgrades. R&S PRISMON is available as a standard IT platform and also as a cloud-based solution.

The platform is intended for automatic monitoring of transported broadcast and streaming media content. It supersedes the BMM-810 monitoring solution from Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary GMIT GmbH. The BMM-810 already supports HLS, MSS/HSS, DASH, HDS, RTMP, HBBTV and IceCast, for OTT/streaming services.

Hannes Strobel, vice president of Monitoring & Headend at Rohde & Schwarz, said: "R&S PRISMON takes the innovative monitoring functions from the BMM-810 to the next level, and it adds new functionality for use in playout and contribution environments. For the first time, a single instrument platform can now be used to monitor both contribution and distribution - including the dynamic field of streaming media services."

R&S PRISMON supports the SDI, SMPTE 2022-1/2, SMPTE 2022-6, AIMS, ASPEN, HLS, DASH transport standards as well as media formats such as MPEG-2/4, HEVC and TICO. R&S PRISMON is designed to automatically detect dropouts and content errors in real time, using monitoring functions such as "Video freeze with whitelisting" and "Video content compare."

A large number of channels - including those in UltraHD - can be monitored in parallel and visualized on a multiviewer video wall. Using a mobile app, a cloud-based service from Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary GMIT transmits the collected monitoring data via a secure connection and displays it on mobile user equipment, allowing technicians to identify and assess the sources and effects of errors without an on-site visit.