Case study for OTT operators: Subscribers experience video freezes
Today we would like to share the case regarding issues with the OTT service.
One of our customers got negative feedbacks from subscribers due to the absence of some programs and video freezes. To find the cause of the problem, it was necessary to analyze the stream. For that, we used a client-server software monitoring system that continuously checks the health of IPTV and OTT streams and sends statistics to the server.
The OTT service had a standard structure: the content was received from several providers, transcoded and packetized in HLS, and then sent to regional CDNs.
We installed the analyzing clients (probes) in three network points:
- before the encoder (to check the stream received from the content provider);
- after the encoder/packetizer (to check its operation);
- after regional CDN servers (to check the content distribution system).
Several issues on the transport level were detected. When CC errors appeared, the encoder switched into the static picture mode. Sometimes after input stream recovery the encoder did not switch back and streamed a static picture. The encoder had to be rebooted.
Thus, the monitoring revealed two issues: malfunctioning encoder and defective streams received from the content provider. The operator had to replace the encoding equipment and reported the poor quality of input streams. To examine the problem with streams, we recommended installing analyzers on the provider’s side.
In this case, we used the Elecard Boro monitoring system — a software solution for UDP, RTP, HTTP, and HLS streams quality control and measurement of QoS and QoE parameters in all segments of distributed networks.