Tekom: Orbox

Main Article: Data Quality Management

Orbox is a software product that monitors the compliance of media files with the technical requirements of broadcasters, producers and content providers.

2024

The ability to determine the type of audio bitrate

On October 28, 2024, Tekom announced the updated release of the domestic system for automatic technical quality control of ORBOX media files. Key improvements were increasing the number of checks available and expanding the capabilities of existing tests.

An extensive list of checks was supplemented by a number of tests. It became possible to determine the type of audio bitrate, which allows the system to automatically analyze whether constant (CBR) or variable bitrate (VBR) is used. Also, a test was added to ORBOX to determine the type of GOP structure.

The work of existing tests has been improved:

• When analyzing the level of color components, as well as black and white, it became possible to adjust the boundaries of brightness and color components in mV;
• GPU support has been added to check for drop-out lanes;
• In the tests "Integral volume level and normalization" and "Volume parameters" the trimming setting appeared.

Criteria such as Error and Successful Normalized Files have been added to the routing settings, allowing you to more flexibly manage the content movement process. Also, in the system, you can now track file movements after the analysis is completed and view the results of the check taking into account the initial timecode. The ability to display intervals with defects, taking into account the initial timecode, also appeared in the ORBOX video player.

The Adobe Premiere plugin has added support for working with video files stored in StorNext sources.

Docker support

Tekom On May 13, 2024, the company "" announced the update of the domestic system for automatic control of the technical quality of media files. A fundamental change was the ability to deploy the ORBOX system using ready-made ones. Dockercontainers

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Tekom

Using Docker allows you to solve several tasks at once related to the speed of implementation and security:

• The implementation and scaling process takes much less time. If you need to change the OS, ORBOX can be quickly transferred to another infrastructure;
• ORBOX works in isolation, without access to the main operating system and the ability to affect its operation;
• The update opens up possibilities for working with Linux-based operating systems. ORBOX in the Docker container runs easily and runs on various operating systems, including CentOS 7, Debian 11, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, Red OS 7 and others.

In the updated version, support for the M2P format has become available, and the algorithm for the test for detecting porridge has been improved.

The changes also affected the media player of the system. It has support for adding files using simple drag and drop (Drag & Drop), as well as displaying metadata to view complete information about the file.

The system of automatic technical quality control of ORBOX media files is included in the Register of Russian software.

The ability to control the functionality of the system by connecting additional modules

On February 8, 2024, Tekom, a software developer for the TV and telecommunications markets, announced an update to the domestic system for automatic control of the technical quality of media files. ORBOX received an updated interface, as well as the ability to control the functionality of the system by connecting additional modules.

According to the company, the updated ORBOX interface has retained the usual sections and system controls, while expanding the possibilities for customizing the workflow. One of the notable changes was the appearance of a dark theme.

The system was supplemented with a check for the compliance of the color space. The test will allow you to map the actual color space in the metadata file to the expected values ​ ​ that the user will set using the settings. Also, ORBOX has increased the number of supported sources. Now you can use not only cloudy the version, Amazon Web Services S3 but also other object, storages compatible Amazon S3 API with and deployed in the user infrastructure. The ability to deploy a PostgeSQL cluster will avoid losing information in the event of a failure of one of the nodes. databases

Now you can manage the capabilities of the system by connecting additional modules. Users will be able to select and add only those features and checks that are necessary for their work. With this release, an extension of functionality is available using the AI test and the optimized Drag & Drop application.

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Users will be able to increase the number of checks that are carried out using deep machine learning algorithms. The test allows you to check content for drop-out strips that occur when transferring or rewriting content from cassettes. The check detects bands of macroblocks that either remain from the previous frame or have moved in the frame as a result of a transmission or reading error.

Drag & Drop, which allows you to send files for verification using drag and drop, has received noticeable changes in this release. Detailed information on each of the analyzed files is now available in the application, including the status of the check, its start and end times.

2023

Drag & Drop functionality and Yandex Object Storage cloud support

On September 26, 2023, the company Tekom"," a developer software for the TV markets and, telecommunications announced an updated release domestic system of automatic technical quality control of ORBOX media files. With the updated version, users will receive completely redesigned pdf validation reports, support for cloudy Yandex Object Storage sources, and access to simplified loading files using the Drag & Drop application.

Updated ORBOX release

According to the company, in the updated version of ORBOX, the Drag & Drop application is available, which allows you to send files for verification using a simple drag and drop. This makes it possible to specify one storage in the settings and not register the path to each watchfolder'y with media files, optimizing the download process.

The updated pdf report design provides more visual statistics and a brief summary of the tests performed. When configuring reports, users can choose to group by test category (audio, video, and metadata) or by status (Successful, Failed, and others). You can also customize the display of the description of the analyzed files, which makes reports easier to use. It became possible to choose a description of the analyzed file - from a separate name to a variant that includes the full path to the media content. A hyperlink system is available in the report itself, which will allow you to quickly navigate to detailed information on the results of each test.

Additional report settings:

• Add or remove extended file metadata in the report;
• Specify the settings with which the tests were performed;
• Inclusion of information on analyzed audio tracks;
• Displays test results with Error, Canceled, and Skipped status in a simplified form.

Updated report

For each workgroup, the system allows you to set up a report type for the required parameters.

ORBOX continues to expand the number of supported sources. Now users can deploy the system in the Yandex infrastructure and upload files for verification from Yandex Object Storage.

A significant change was made to the Gamut error test, which complies with the EBUR103 standard. When checking, you can specify the bitness boundaries, select settings for pre-processing the frame and the ability to ignore some parameters video. The Black Stripes at the Edges test added the ability to check the video for the absence of porridge, and in the Profile and Format Level test, it became available to check for information about the profile and format level without specifying a specific expected value. The speed of checks for Color personnel, Gamut errors, White/black balance were also optimized.

The updated player provides additional tools for viewing the results of the analysis of media files, namely, the visual display of the vector and oscilloscope. Also added audio channel mapping settings in the player in according to the mapping according to which the file was analyzed by the system.

Features have been added to player control:

• Start or stop playing a file by clicking on the screen.
• controlling the video player with a keyboard shortcut;
• uploading a media file.

Orbox Migration to Debian 11

On May 2, 2023 domestic , the developer software for markets TV and "" telecommunications Tekom announced the next release of its ORBOX automatic media quality control system files.

A fundamental update to this version was the migration of the control server from the Windows 10 operating system to Debian 11. So each of the two hardware components of ORBOX, the control server and the analysis server, will run the same Linux-based OS. In addition, the latest release of the product provides a flatpack version of the analysis server for Ubuntu 18.04.

Updated tests

The extensive set of tests of the system was replenished with checks.

• The Upconversion Artifacts test will help you find intervals with lower image quality in the video file. For example, if personnel converted from SD is embedded in a Full HD video, the system will warn the user about this and highlight problematic timecodes.
• Using the Video Bitrate Type test, the user will be able to determine which encoding, permanent (CBR) or variable (VBR), was applied to the file.
• The test "Checking language tags of audio tracks" will allow you to find and map language tags in the file metadata with the expected values ​ ​ that the user will set using the settings.
• You can now detect color depth discrepancies in each frame and file metadata thanks to the updated Bit Depth Match in Metadata and in Frame test.

Improvements have affected existing tests.

• The Minimum Rejection Interval Duration parameter has been added to the Stereo/Monosignal Mismatch test.
• In the test signal test, it became possible to indicate the frequency of the signal.

Updated codecs

Users of the updated ORBOX release will be able to send files in XAVC and JPEG2000 formats for analysis.

Updated UI capabilities

The process of canceling a file analysis task is simplified. Now you can remove the file from the check directly in the "Tasks at work" menu.

The results of the analysis in the user interface became even more informative with the advent of an expanded list of metadata for each verified video. Additional information about file metadata can also be added to the report. You must first enable this option in the system settings. It is available for HTML or PDF reports.

It also became possible to separately select the format for auto-reporting and separately for a report sent by e-mail. Previously, a common format selection was available for both report types, which limited the use cases for the reports.

Now in the settings of this version of ORBOX you can find an option such as restarting a task in case of an error. When enabled, the monitoring server will automatically send files for re-analysis if their verification is completed with a certain type of error (for example, if there are problems with the network or access to the file). The system of automatic technical quality control of ORBOX media files is included in the Register of Russian software.

Launch Media Quality Assurance Service

On February 6, 2023, the company Tekom announced that it had expanded the use of an automated media quality verification system. With the files launch of an online service based on the ORBOX QC system, quality control became available media content without infrastructure costs with payment only for verified content (pay-per-use).

The ORBOX Online service helps you check video files for compliance with the technical requirements of TV broadcasters and streaming platforms. The tool is suitable for content manufacturers and providers who do not need to regularly analyze a large number of media files.

ORBOX Online does not require installation, ON pre-setup before use, and employee training. It is enough to upload the file to your personal account on the site, and then download PDF a report that contains detailed information passed and failed tests, as well as about problematic intervals accurate to the frame.

The ORBOX system, on the basis of which the service operates, allows automatic detection of technical defects and contains more than 60 checks of video, audio and metadata parameters. The system detects microplanes, black and color personnel and other defects visible to the eye with high accuracy, and recognizes and normalizes volume problems and detects problems in metadata.

We sought to make such a service so that industry participants could focus on the production and release of content and minimize the resources that are spent on checking it, "said Anatoly Zubashev, director of Tekom. - An online service based on the ORBOX system tested by the largest Russian TV channels will allow you to identify problem places in media files and eliminate them before transferring to the customer or getting on the air.

2021

AI integration

On April 22, 2021, the developer software for the markets TV and radio broadcasting and "" telecommunications Tekom announced the next release file of the ORBOX control system.

One of the main updates was the integration of artificial intelligence technology into ORBOX. In particular, a test for detecting microplanes using algorithmic machine learning has appeared in the system. Checking video files for microplanes has previously been implemented in ORBOX, but now a trained neural network is engaged in detecting this defect. The test showed more effective detection of microplanes, as well as a reduction in the number of false positives compared to the usual way of analyzing files.

Also in the current release, a set of audio tests supplemented the test for detecting a test signal. It searches the signal channels at 1000 Hz. A signal of this frequency is usually used in conjunction with calibration tables.

In addition, the Marriage Archive function has appeared in the general ORBOX settings. The principle of its operation is that the system cuts out from the entire video file those fragments where the defect was detected. For example, if five cases of comb occurrence were detected in the file, then ORBOX will send five videos with this error in the frame to the corresponding archive. The scrap archive is a special folder on the system operator's device, the path to which he previously reports ORBOX. Thanks to this feature, the user of the system can collect the defect file for training his engineer employees, as well as interact more efficiently with the system support service.

Among other things, Tekom specialists have improved the user interface of the system, added an analysis server activity log that records machine malfunctions. Comprehensive optimization of analysis servers was also carried out in terms of working with memory and checking files.

Inclusion in the Register of Domestic Software

The Orbox media quality control system, the own development of Tekom, has been added to the Unified Register of Russian Programs for Electronic Computers and Databases of the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation. This was reported on March 1, 2021 by Tekom.

The unified register of Russian software was created in accordance with Article 12.1 of the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" to expand the use of software of Russian origin, as well as provide state support to domestic software manufacturers.

The product is designed to automatically check media files for compliance with the technical requirements of broadcasters, producers and content providers. Orbox is characterized by a wide range of tests to control the quality of audio, video and metadata. Based on the results of the check, an error report is generated, and the detected video defects can also be viewed on the time code of the built-in media player. In addition to checking files, Orbox implements the EBU R 128 volume normalization function.

Opportunities

As of February 2021, the system allows you to check the following file parameters:

• Audio: Volume analysis, silence detection, overload detection, mono detection in stereo pairs, audio phase shift, etc.
• Video: Identification of artifacts (macroblocks), black personnel, porridge, microplanes, combs, stop frames and other defects.
• Metadata: Analysis of container and codec parameters, including integrity determination, video aspect ratio, frames per second, etc.

2018: Orbox Performance

Tekom officially introduced the Orbox system in 2018.