News Industry Spotlight
Sentry and Sentry ABR devices enhance Bit Rate streaming
Tektronix has released a Sentry ABR (adaptive bit rate) device that enables video serv- ice providers to offer enhanced quality ABR-based TV Every - where and OTT services. Subscribers are not merely demanding to watch any program at any time and on any screen, they expect their TV Everywhere and OTT experi- ences to be pristine, with supe- rior sound and picture quality. The solution supports the delivery of TV Everywhere and OTT video and helps ensure it is available for immediate stream- ing when requested by viewers. It does this by validating all assets, bitrate profiles and manifest files based on a highly parallel HTTP frag- ment fetching engine. The device supports up to 250 top manifests, which translates into a much higher monitor- ing capacity as each manifest can support up to 12 profiles of each program.
Manifest files and frag- ments can be fetched from any place on the network – such as origin servers and content distribution network
(CDN) caching servers – to simulate a subscriber’s request for content. The new solution can be used with other models in the com- pany’s Sentry family, which is supported across the entire QC process for ABR content. The company advises, the first step is to use a Sentry to identify any quality of expe- rience (QoE) errors in pro- grams when they are ingested at the headend. The second critical step is to detect any errors created when these programs are transcoded into the multiple H.264 profiles required for ABR streaming. The device is available with two inputs, enabling service providers to use a single Sentry to monitor both their ingested and transcoded video assets.
It is after transcoding, and after the programs have been fragmented and ‘packaged’ when this device can be used to monitor manifest/playlist availability, integrity and correctness; the availability of all fragments at all profiles and to check network latency/delivery performance for each fragment. Tektronix
www.tektronix.com
Interconnect workbench released for analysis and verification of ARM
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. has released the latest in its design software offering with the launch of its Interconnect Workbench. This latest software update has been enhanced by the company to provide cycle-accurate perform- ance analysis of interconnects throughout the system-on-chip (SoC) design process. This is achieved by identifying design issues under critical traffic condi- tions and enables users to improve device performance. Additionally, it can reduce time to market as it also works in conjunction with the company’s Interconnect Validator. “Ensuring that on-chip inter- connects perform optimally is a baseline requirement for today’s complex SoCs, system designers
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need the cycle-accurate analysis that Interconnect Workbench provides to make trade-offs and enhance their designs,” said Andy Nightingale, Director, System IP Products, Processor Division at ARM. “Interconnect Workbench is specifically targeted at addressing the complexity of today’s SoCs,” said Ziv Binyamini, corporate Vice President of System and Verification Solutions, System and Verification Group at Cadence. “In addition to optimising performance of their ARM-based mobile, consumer, networking and storage SoCs, users can also get their designs to market much faster.” Cadence
www.cadence.com
Revolutionary microfluidic material could be key for future of medical devices
Photo-patternable Adhesive (PA) material developed by materials specialist, JSR and research insti- tute, Imec has successfully been used for wafer-scale processing of lab-on-chip devices. This material was used in the processing of microfluidic cell-sorter devices, merging microheaters and sensors with wafer-scale polymer microfluidics.
Described as a ‘breakthrough material’, PA is a good microfluidic channel material and adhesive at the same time, suitable for wafer-scale processes and mass production. Lab-on-chip technology is tipped to be a strong ‘driver’ of revolutionary technology in the medical industry in years to come. It will enable powerful point-of-care diagnosis and treatment through on-chip molecular synthesis, separa- tion, sensing, and detection. Key will be the ability to inte- grate microfluidics with hetero- geneous components such as electronics, sensors, micro- heaters, and photonics in a cost-effective manner. To merge these elements successfully, new bonding and surface treat- ment materials are needed. “PA solves a number of
issues that we have with other materials, such as the widely- used PDMS (polydimethyl- siloxane, a silicon-based organic polymer)”, said Liesbet Lagae, Imec R&D Manager of life science technologies. “It has all the characteristics we are looking for in a pho- topatternable material to create microfluidic channels on sili- con wafers, including a good channel definition and biocom- patibility. But at the same time, it is an adhesive that allows direct thermal bonding with the cover glass. But unlike PDMS, it allows for wafer-scale process- ing, which is a prerequisite for industrial mass production.” Imec advises it has used PA to process the next generation of its cell sorter lab-on-chip. Integrating on-chip imaging, in- flow cell tomography to iden- tify cells, and bubble jet-flow technology to guide and sort individual cells; the prototype lab-on-chip can process up to 2,000 cells per second.
One application envisaged for these ultrafast cell-sorters is the detection of circulating tumor cells in human blood. Imec
www.imec.be
Mixed signal added to HDO HD tools
Teledyne LeCroy has introduced new high definition oscilloscopes. The HDO4000-MS and HDO6000-MS instruments offer 16 channels of mixed signal capabilities with HD4096 high definition technology in band- widths from 200MHz to 1GHz. All models feature a large 12.1” touch-screen display and an intuitive interface for easier operation. Debug tools, automatic measurements, and waveform math capabilities enable an integrated analogue, digital, serial debug machine. The instruments come with ana- logue and Digital Cross Pattern Triggering, Digital Timing Measurements, Parallel Pattern Search, Logic Gate Emulation and
Activity Indicators. These features support the company’s HDO toolset which includes WaveScan search and find, history mode waveform playback, sequence acquisition mode, and LabNotebook report generation. Spectrum-analysis. The instruments come with analogue and Digital Cross Pattern Triggering, Digital Timing Measurements, Parallel Pattern Search, Logic Gate Emulation and Activity Indicators. This is supported by the com- pany’s full HDO toolset which includes WaveScan search and find, history mode waveform playback, sequence acquisition mode, and LabNotebook report generation. The oscilloscopes feature a sample rate of 2.5GS/s with up to 25Mpts/channel of memory (up to 50Mpts/ch when inter- leaved) in two- and four-channel models from 200MHz to 1GHz. Teledyne LeCroy
www.teledynelecroy.com
NOVEMBER 2013 Electronics
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