MediaKind RX8200 Advanced Modular Insertion Signaling Receivers and Transcoders User Guide

RX8200 Ad Insertion Signaling
User Guide

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The contents of this document are subject to revision without notice due to continued progress in methodology, design, and manufacturing. MediaKind shall have no liability or any error or damage of any kind resulting from the use of this document. To the extent this document contains forward-looking statements, such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events to differ from such forward-looking statements. The information in this document is the property of MediaKind. Except as specifically authorized in writing by MediaKind, the receiver of this document shall keep the information contained herein confidential and shall protect the same in whole or in art from disclosure and dissemination to third parties. Disclosure and dissemination to the receiver’s employees shall only be made on a strict need-to-know basis. Where diamond provides a translation of any part of this document, in the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between that translation and any part of the English language a version of this document, the English language version of the document shall control.

Table 1 – Revision history

Table 2 – References

Introduction

The RX8200 has the capability to provide relay contact closure on detection of splice events arriving in SCTE-35 through the input signal (RF). This document is a user guide specific to the setup for SCTE 35 handling, and Cue Tone support only. Detail of other features of the RX8200 is available in the RX8200 Reference Guide.

SCTE 35 Splice Message Decode Support

All variants of the RX8000 support SCTE 35 (Digital Program Insertion Cueing Message for Cable) that contain Splice commands intended for notifying a splicer of splice events. It is designed to accommodate advert insertion in and out of network feeds.

2.1. Control

2.2. Functional Description
SCTE 35 defines a mechanism for signaling splice points in the transport stream. The RX8200 can process SCTE 35 splice information to control two contact closures, one signaling network Out Point and another signaling network In Point. Also, the RX8000 can convert SCTE 35 into SCTE 104 for insertion in VANC.
2.2.1. SCTE 35 Splice Messages
A number of Splice commands are defined within SCTE 35 but only the following commands are parsed by the RX8000, all others are silently ignored:

• splice_null()
• splice_insert()

splice_null()
The splice_null() command is provided for extensibility. It can be used as a means of providing a heartbeat message to downstream splicing equipment. This message is silently passed through by the RX8000.
splice_insert()
The splice_insert() command syntax allows a number of different splice messages to be sent. Splice network Out/In and splice cancel are two main sub- types of message. Splice network Out/In Points have further optional parameters allowing specification of time, duration, and the auto_return flag. The time specifies when the splice network Out/In Point occurs. The RX8000 processes the splice events to filter out the network Out/In points and uses them to signal two single throw double pole relays:

• A network Out Point (may also be referred to as Splice On) would typically indicate the beginning of the advert break. This is signaled by Relay 3 with a duration of 200 ms.
• A network In Point (may also be referred to as Splice Off) would typically indicate the end of the advert break. This is signaled by Relay 2 with a duration of 200 ms.

Only one splice event is processed at a time, the RX8000 is not designed to handle multiple splice messages signaling multiple events. If a splice event has been signaled then the RX8000 will only accept splice messages tagged with the same Splice Event ID as the current event until the current event is either canceled or expired.

2.2.2. Relay Assignments for SCTE 35 Control
By default, the RX8000 relays are assigned to the Summary Alarm and SCTE 35 Control. The network avails are signaled by two single-throw double pole relays. One relay for the network out and the other for the network in. The relay closure duration is 200ms for both networks in and out.

The relays are routed to the alarm port, a 9-way D-type female connector on the rear panel.

Table 2.1 Relay Pin Assignment for SCTE 35 Control

Note: If the satellite input card (DVB-S/S2) is fitted, the relay assignment can be manually configured for another purpose. Check that the Relay Configuration mode found under the main Alarm tab is configured correctly for SCTE 35 operation.
2.2.3. Conversion to SCTE 104
For units supporting HD-SDI output, SCTE 35 messages can also be converted into SCTE 104 messages inserted in line 10 of the VANC space using DID 0x41 and SDID 0x07. This feature is enabled using the Splice Insertion tick box and a count of the spice points inserted is recorded in the Splice Count field.
Notes: Only the supported Splice messages specified above will be inserted into the VANC space.
SCTE 104 conversion requires the RX8200/HWO/HD or RX8200/HWO/HD/3G option, so is not supported on the RX83XX IRD range.

2.3. Setup: Decode > Splice
The basic selection and status information for Splice control can be found in the Decode > Splice sub-tab found within the Service section of the main Decode tab.

Figure 2.2 Decode > Splice Section in Web Page

2.3.1. Splice PID:309-∨ 
The Splice PID field provides the PID selection. The Splice PIDs are automatically assigned when a service is selected and is based on their order within the service PMT. This field provides an opportunity for the user to override any PID selections.
Splice PID:NOSELECTION-∨ 
The NO SELECTION option allows the user to clear any PID selection and stop Splice processing. Depending on the state of the PMT Update Mode selected from the Decode > Advanced > Selection Control section, this setting may be automatically overridden by the RX8000 after a PMT update event.
Splice PID:200- USER- ∨  
Also provided is the option to select a USER PID that has been defined in the Decoder > Splice section. This allows the user to process any splice stream that has not been declared in the PMT of the selected decode service. However, the decoder will continue to enforce synchronization with the Program Clock Reference (PCR) identified in the service PMT. If synchronization fails, this will disrupt the splice processing.
2.3.2. UserPID: -200
The User PID field specifies the User PID value for Splice processing. The field accepts PID values between 0 and 8191. The User PID is selected from the main Splice PID selection list.
2.3.3.Status: NET OUT pending ( 2 seconds) 
The Status field reports back the current state of any Splice processing. Possible status messages are:

• IDLE – A network In Point has been processed and nothing else is pending. It could also mean Splice processing is inactive, normally when no Splice PID is selected or
  no Splice Event ID has been received/filtered.

• NET OUT Pending (X seconds) – A network Out Point has been received but not yet signaled by the RX8000, a time has been specified and the event is pending (where X is the number of seconds remaining before signaling the network Out Point). If the time specified failed to satisfy the minimum Pre-Roll time and Clamp Pre-Roll is active, this will be indicated by adding the term (Clamped) at the end of the Status field message.

• NET OUT (Remaining duration X seconds) – A network Out Point has been signaled by the RX8000, the duration has been specified (where X is the number seconds) and the auto_return flag is set. A network In Point will be signaled at the end of the duration period.

• NET OUT (Expected duration X seconds) – A network Out Point has been signaled by the RX8000 and the duration has been specified (where X is the number seconds) but the auto_return flag was not set. A second splice_insert message would be expected to signal a network In Point to end the break.

• NET OUT (Duration indefinite) – A network Out Point has been signaled by the RX8000 but no duration has been specified. A network In Point won’t be signaled until a further splice_insert message is received to indicate the event.

Note: Where X seconds are specified, click Refresh to update this value.
2.3.4.Splice Event ID: 400003E8  
This field displays the 32-bit hexadecimal value of the current event ID extracted from the SCTE 35 message.
2.3.5.Unique Program ID: 0001 This field displays the value extracted from the splice_insert command of the SCTE 35 message. It provides a unique identification for viewing events within the service.
2.3.6.Splice Count: 10 
This field displays a counter for the number of splice packets parsed by RX8000. The counter rolls back to zero after the value 65535.
2.3.7.Χ Cancel Active Splice
This button causes any active or pending Splice event to be canceled, returning the status to IDLE.
2.3.8.SCTE 104 Splice Insertion: √  
This field enables or disables Splice Insertion in the VANC space of the SDI output in the form of SCTE 104 messages.
Note: The Splice Insertion tick box works independently of VANC insertion control determined by the Enable VANC option (located in Decoder > VBI-VANC section).
2.3.9.SCTE 104 Insertion: HD VANC only ∨ 
This drop-down determines where the SCTE 104 messages are inserted if enabled. The options are HD VANC space only, SD VANC space only, or both the HD and SD VANC spaces
2.3.10.Clamp Pre-Roll: √ 
When enabled, this option ensures that the pre-roll time signaled in the SCTE 104 messages is at least 4 seconds, thus ensuring that the Splice message is not discarded by the downstream processing equipment. In addition, if set this option will also adjust the point that the Network Out relay pulse occurs so that it is at least 4 seconds after the receipt of the splice_insert() message.

2.4. Setup: Decode > Splice > Filter Control
This feature also referred to as Addressable DPI, makes the RX8000 at downlink sites capable of filtering out undesired DPI events according to the splice_event_id in the incoming SCTE-35 messages. It can be configured using Directors Over Air Command control where IRDs can be allocated into groups. For example, all receivers in Group 1 might be configured to only output SCTE-35/104 messages with splice_event_id 1, all receivers in Group 2 only output splice_event_id 2, and so on

Figure 2.3 Decode > Splice > Filter Control

2.4.1.Event ID Filter:  
This field enables or disables Splice Event ID filtering according to the Event ID Mask and Event ID Value settings. Event filtering allows operators to specify different splice points for different units. Splice Event ID filtering can be configured to effect:

• Relay Control
• SCTE 104 insertions in VANC
• SCTE 35 TS packets being passed through

When Event ID filtering is enabled, then the Event ID field extracted from every SCTE 35 message is evaluated against a filter mask and if the result is true then the SCTE 35 message will trigger the appropriate relay. When Event ID filtering is disabled, all SCTE 35 messages will trigger the appropriate relay, are inserted as SCTE 104 (if enabled) and all SCTE 35 TS packets are passed through to the output transport stream interfaces. Event ID filtering is evaluated by determining the two results A and B as described in  Table 2.2 below. If result A is equal to result in B then this would allow the SCTE 35 message to pass the filter.

Table 2.2 Event ID Evaluation

Mask using a logical-AND operator.
For example:
Event ID ………….0000 1200 (hex) &
Event ID Mask………1000 1000 (hex) =
Result A………0000 1000 (hex)
B| The Event ID Value specified by the user is evaluated against the
Event ID Mask using the logical-AND operator.
| For example:
Event ID Value……0000 1000 (hex) &
Event ID Mask…….1000 1000 (hex) =
Result B……………0000 1000 (hex)
---|---

In the examples shown above, the value of result A (0000 1000) is equal to the value in result B (0000 1000) and therefore this would trigger the relay.
Event ID Filtering Example
Scenario: Using the RX8000 to attempt to filter 2 SCTE triggers, definable by the SCTE event ID. To use the Event ID filter to allow all SCTE triggers that begin with 4 or 6.
Allow any events that match:
Id 1 4xxxxxxx (where x means ‘don’t care)
Id 2 6xxxxxxx
First, identify the common bits that match the 2 IDs, in this case, converting the hexadecimal to binary gives:
0x4 = 0100
0x6 = 0110
Therefore the matching bits that are important are:
0xD = 1101 <- ignores the 3rd bit for comparison as it can be 1 or 0
When an SCTE trigger arrives then it bitwise ‘ands’ it with the Event ID Mask and then compares the result against the Event ID Filter, if this matches then the trigger passes.
E.g. (working with 16 bits instead of 32 to make things simpler):
Event ID Mask D000 (in binary 1101 0000 0000 0000)
Event ID Value 4000 (in binary 0100 0000 0000 0000)    (a)

The only bits that should be set in the Event ID Value are those whose corresponding bits in the Mask are set to 1 and the values should match the common bits of the 2 Event IDs.
Then for SCTE trigger Event IDs as they arrive:
Incoming Event ID 4123 Comparing with the mask:

D00 0 (in binary 1101 0000 0000 0000) &
4123 (in binary 0100 0001 0010 0011)
result 4000 (in binary 0100 0000 0000 0000 )….(b)
(a) and (b) match so the SCTE Trigger passes.
Incoming event ID 6123 Compared with the mask
D000 (in binary 1101 0000 0000 0000) &
6123 (in binary 0110 0001 0010 0011)
result 4000 (in binary 0100 0000 0000 0000) (c)
Since (c) also matches (a) it also passes.
Incoming Event ID 5123 Comparing with the mask
D000 (in binary 1101 0000 0000 0000) &
5123 (in binary 0101 0001 0010 0011)
result 5000 (in binary 0101 0000 0000 0000) (d)
(d) doesn’t match (a) therefore the event is blocked.
2.4.2.Event ID Mask: 00000000 
This field allows the user to specify a 32-bit hexadecimal value for the Event ID Mask.
See the above section describing the Event ID Filter operation.
2.4.3.Event ID Value: 00000000 
This field allows the user to specify a 32-bit hexadecimal value for the Event ID Value.
See the above section describing the Event ID Filter operation.
2.4.4.Apply Filter to Relay Control: √ 
When the Event ID Filter is enabled and the Apply Filter to Relay Control is enabled, any SCTE 35 messages that pass the filter will trigger the Relay Control. When the Event ID Filter is enabled and the Apply Filter to Relay Control is disabled, all SCTE 35 messages will trigger the Relay Control. When the Event ID Filter is disabled, the Apply Filter to Relay Control has no effect and all SCTE 35 messages will trigger the Relay Control.
2.4.5.Apply Filter to SCTE 104 Insertion:

When the Event ID Filter is enabled and the Apply Filter to SCTE 104 Insertion is enabled, any SCTE 35 messages that pass the filter will be inserted into SCTE 104 VANC data. When the Event ID Filter is enabled and the Apply Filter to SCTE 104 Insertion is disabled, all SCTE 35 messages will be inserted into SCTE 104 VANC data. When the  Event ID Filter is disabled, the Apply Filter to SCTE 104 Insertion has no effect and all SCTE 35 messages will be inserted into SCTE 104 VANC data.

Note: For backward compatibility reasons, the SCTE 104 Splice Insertion control must also be enabled when converting SCTE 35 to SCTE 104.

2.5.Apply Filter to SCTE 35 Pass-Through:  
When the Event ID Filter is enabled and the Apply Filter to SCTE 35 Pass- Through is enabled, any SCTE 35 messages that pass the filter will be passed through as SCTE 35 packets on the outgoing transport stream interfaces, otherwise, the packet will be dropped (filtered out). When the Event ID Filter is enabled and the Apply Filter to SCTE 35 Pass-Through is disabled, all SCTE 35 messages be passed through as SCTE 35 packets on the outgoing transport stream interfaces. When the Event ID Filter is disabled, the Apply Filter to SCTE 35 Pass-Through has no effect and all SCTE 35 messages will be passed through as SCTE 35 packets on the outgoing transport stream interfaces.

2.6.Insert Splice Null (SCTE 35 Only):  
When the Event ID Filter is configured to filter the outgoing SCTE 35 TS packets, it will drop the filtered out packet. Rather than dropping SCTE 35 packets which can affect the outgoing TS bitrate slightly, enable this option to replace the dropped SCTE 35 packet with an SCTE 35 packet containing a splice_null() message to maintain the same effective bitrate.

2.7. Setup: Alarms > Relay Configuration
This field displays the options available for how to configure the behavior of the three relays. It is located under the main Alarm tab only if the satellite input card (DVB-S/S2) is fitted otherwise the control is hidden.

• Summary Alarm; S CTE 35 Signalling: This is the default assignment for the three relays. Relays 2 and 3 are used for signaling SCTE 35 splice events.

delay 3

• Summary Alarm; C/N Margin Alarm: This option is exposed only when the satellite input card (DVB-S/S2) is fitted. This option allows the user to assign the C/N Margin Alarm to a dedicated relay.

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