Digital video analyser

National Instruments has a new NI Digital Video Analyzer, which automates a wide range of tests for the latest HDMI sources such as set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players and DVD players. The analyzer features configuration-based test steps that automate measurements of HDMI features including 3-D video, HDMI 1.4 protocol and picture quality analysis. With hardware based on the NI PXI Express platform and software designed for multicore computing, engineers can use the NI Digital Video Analyzer to achieve high-performance, high-precision measurements of HDMI content in a fraction of the time required by traditional video test solutions.

“The new NI Digital Video Analyzer and NI Picture Quality Analysis software address the growing demand for test solutions that identify perceived audio and video quality of HDMI content,” said Steve Warntjes, director of modular instruments research and development at National Instruments. “These tools deliver reliable measurements for HDMI-enabled multimedia devices and eliminate the challenges associated with manual operator inspection.”

The NI Digital Video Analyzer combines with NI Picture Quality Analysis software to precisely measure streaming audio and video quality and eliminate challenges inherent with subjective operator inspection. Using the system’s variety of measurements, engineers can analyze streaming video for defects such as macroblocking, stuck frames and audio drops, which single-frame static image analysis cannot detect. Engineers also can use the system to conduct higher performance measurements of total picture quality with pixel-to-pixel reference tests such as peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity.

The NI Digital Video Analyzer also supports HDMI protocol tests including InfoFrames, consumer electronics control (CEC) messaging, extended display identification data (EDID) emulation and hot plug detect (HPD) events. Such capability makes it possible for the NI Digital Video Analyzer to simulate an LCD or HDTV and better guarantee interoperability with other HDMI-enabled devices.

With its NI PXI Express architecture, the analyzer incorporates solutions for multiple HDMI measurements into a single compact solution. The instrument includes the NI PXIe-6545 200 MHz high-speed digital I/O module, the NI PXI-2172 deserializer and decryption module and the NI PXI-7813R reconfigurable I/O FPGA module, all of which integrate with the NI Video Measurement Suite and NI Picture Quality Analysis software to offer engineers a fully integrated solution for automated testing of HDMI sources.