QC Test Reference

The tables below contain a list of all of the tests included with Qualify, and information about what each test does and how it can be configured.

File Checks

CheckIdentifierDescription
File Bit RateFC-101Verifies that the calculated bit rate of the file (video audio bit rate/duration) falls within the defined Min/Max parameters.
DurationFC-102Checks that the duration of the file (video and audio) falls within the defined Min/Max parameters.
Container FormatFC-103Verifies the 'wrapper' or container file used to hold the video and/or audio matches the user defined value. Examples would be 'TS' (MPEG-2 Transport Stream), 'MXF', 'MOV' etc.
SizeFC-104Checks that the total file size falls within the Min/Max parameters.
Container Start TimecodeFC-105Verifies that the Container Start Timecode matches the user specified value, with an adjustable tolerance. Can also optionally check for drop frame verification.
Container End TimecodeFC-106Verifies that the Container End Timecode matches the user specified value, with an adjustable tolerance. Can also optionally check for drop frame verification
Compare Stream LengthsFC-108Checks whether the audio track is present throughout the duration of the video. An alert is raised if the audio track is shorter than the video track by more than 2 video frames. An alert is also raised if the audio track is found to be significantly longer (more than 2 seconds) than the video.
Transport Stream Bit RateFC-109Check stream bitrate using PCRs which accounts for various stuffing methods.
Container/Header Agrees With EssenceFC-112This is intended to be a general test to check that parameters which are potentially duplicated between container (systems layer) and essence (elementary stream) are consistent.
Essence Start TimecodeFC-115Verifies that the Essence Start Timecode matches the user specified input, with an adjustable tolerance. Can also optionally check for drop frame verification. The material package start timecode can also optionally be compared against the GOP timecode.
Essence End TimecodeFC-116Verifies that the Essence End Timecode matches the user specified input, with an adjustable tolerance. Can also optionally check for drop frame verification.
Number of TracksFC-121Check the number of video, audio, subtitle and timecode tracks in the file.
Container Drop FrameFC-122Check that the container's start timecode is either drop-frame or non-drop as specified.
Essence Drop FrameFC-123Check that the essence's start timecode is either drop-frame or non-drop as specified.
Dolby E PresenceFC-125Test for the presence of Dolby E.
PID Versus LanguageFC-127The Verification Unit compares the PID (Packet Identified in Transport Stream) versus the audio language ID coded in the PMT descriptor. The possible language codes are defined by ISO 639-2.

Deep MXF Tests

CheckIdentifierDescription
Deep MXF TestsMX-101A range of in-depth MXF checks, to ensure technical conformance with a variety of MXF constraints.
MXF Operational PatternMX-102Tests the Operational Pattern of an MXF file. Currently only OP-1a and Op-Atom are supported.
AVC SPS/PPSMX-103This test ensures that every frame of an AVC stream contains an SPS and PPS header. This is mandated by SMPTE RP2027. This test is only available when the 'Video Codec' test is enabled and set to 'H.264' and the 'Container' test is enabled and set to 'MXF'.

Syntax Checks

Enabling syntax checking will test the appropriate codec based on the file provided.

CheckIdentifierDescription
MPEG-2 Video Codec SyntaxSC-101For MPEG-2 streams, section 8.5 (Table 8-13) defines upper limits for bit rate, in Mbps, for each combination of Profile and Level.

For MPEG-2 streams, section 8.5 (Table 8-14) of ISO/IEC 13818-2 defines the vbv_buffer size requirements (in bits) for each combination of Profile and Level.
AVC/H.264/MPEG-4 Video Codec SyntaxSC-102Tests that the sequence should always start with an IDR picture as per ITU-T H.264. Sequences that start with a non-IDR picture can cause playability problems, including tearing, stuttering and freeze frames.

Tests that bitstreams do not cause an underflow or overflow in the hypothetical reference decoder (HDR), as per ITU-T H.264, Annex C.

Tests that PPS referenced in the headers exist in the file as per ITU-T H.264.

Tests that bitstreams do not cause coded picture buffer (CPB) removal timing violations in the hypothetical reference decoder as per ITU-T H.264, Annex C.
Dolby-E Audio Codec SyntaxSC-108CRC Check: Checks the CRC of each Dolby-E frame. Frames that fail the CRC check are likely corrupted either in transport or in the decoder.

Guard Band Alignment: Checks Dolby-E guard band start position against the values from Table 4-2 of the Dolby-E specifications.

Guard Band Not In Ideal Position: Checks for a Dolby-E frame that is not in the ideal position in reference Table 4-2 of the Dolby-E specifications.

Frame Rate Coherency: Checks for a Dolby-E stream where the frame rate does not match with the container metadata frame rate.

Frame Synchronization: Checks for a frame without a synchronization header in the Dolby-E stream.

Caption / Subtitle Checks

CheckIdentifierDescription
Closed Caption PresenceCC-101Checks for the presence or absence of closed captions (C608, C708).
Closed Caption DropoutsCC-102Detect and report any closed caption dropouts. Maximum time allowed with no caption data can be specified in seconds or frames.
Teletext Subtitle PresenceCC-103Checks for the presence of specified teletext pages.
Discreet Subtitle PresenceCC-104Checks for the presence or absence of discrete subtitles.
Discreet Subtitle DropoutsCC-105Detect and report any discrete subtitle dropouts. Maximum time allowed with no subtitle data can be specified in seconds or frames. The following STL checks are also available within this test:

  • STL Checks: enable/disable STL checks.
  • Check that Sidecar STL is present: test that an STL that matches the content is present.
  • STL Group: verify the STL Group (for example: service 01 or 00). Only one group can be tested for.
  • STL start timecode check: check that the start timecode of the STL matches the start timecode of the media.

CGMS-A ValueCC-106Test the CGMS-A value from the CEA-608 caption data packet.

CGMS-A is defined in CEA-608-E, section 9.5.1.8 in the Type 0x08 copy and redistribution control packet. This is a 2 byte packet and CGMS-A resides in b4 & b3 of the first byte.

B4 - B3 - CGMS-A Meaning
0 - 0 - Copying permitted without restriction
0 - 1 - No more copies (one generation copy has already been made)
1 - 0 - One generation of copies can be made
1 - 1 - No copying is permitted
Caption Word DetectionCC-107Check captions for the presence of words from a specified list.
Service CountCC-111Check the number of services in the file. This test can check for any type of service or specifically for CEA-608 or CEA-708 services.
Caption Paint StyleCC-116Checks the caption paint style used in selected channels and services. There are three standard caption transitions that can be used for video: pop-on, roll-up and paint-on.
Video Bit Rate ModeSTL ChecksCC-121The following STL checks are available within this test:

- STL Checks: enable/disable STL checks.
- Check that Sidecar STL is present: test that an STL that matches the content is present.
- STL Group: verify the STL Group (for example: service 01 or 00). Only one group can be tested for.
- STL start timecode check: check that the start timecode of the STL matches the start timecode of the media.

Video Metadata

CheckIdentifierDescription
Bit DepthVM-101The number of bits per video sample. For cases where luma and chroma sample depths are different, this check will test the luma bit depth.
Video Track ID/PIDVM-102Checks the ID of the video track within its container format. This is the 'PID' for MPEG-2 Transport Streams, the 'stream_id' for MPEG-2 Program Streams and the 'Track ID' for MOV and MXF files.
Video Bit RateVM-103Check that the bit rate of the video track is within the given range, expressed in Mbit/s.
Video Bit Rate ModeVM-104Checks whether the bit rate mode of the video is variable (VBR) or constant (CBR).
CodecVM-105Tests the format of the video elementary stream.
Color Space InformationVM-106This tests that the video has certain color space properties (e.g. color primaries, transfer characteristics and matrix coefficients). If a property is not found in the video, a Warning will be generated
Frame RateVM-107Frame rate in video frames per second. "NTSC" denotes a drop frame rate, e.g. "30fps (NTSC)" corresponds to 29.97fps.
Drop FrameVM-108Specify whether the file must have drop/non-drop frame timecode.
Frame SizeVM-109Choose from a selection of standard frame sizes, or specify a Custom frame size (e.g. 2000x1000).
Frame Aspect RatioVM-111Choose from a selection of standard frame aspect ratios, or specify a custom value as an integer or floating point value (e.g. 3 or 1.4).
Pixel Aspect RatioVM-112The aspect ratio of each luminance sample in the coded stream, either as coded directly or implied by the display aspect ratio and frame size.
Pixel To Frame Aspect Ratio ComparisonVM-113This test checks for possible anamorphic video in a 4:3 frame. This will most easily be determined by showing rectangular pixels in a 4:3 frame, indicating that the pixels should be stretched during playback to achieve the standard square aspect ratio.
Chroma Subsampling FormatVM-114Checks that the chroma subsampling format matches the user specified value. Only applicable for YUV-based video.
Clean ApertureVM-115Checks that the Clean Aperture of the video is equal to the Production Aperture. This implies that no cropping of the encoded picture is indicated by the container. This test also verifies that no Clean Aperture offset is indicated. Clean Aperture is a QuickTime concept, thus this test will only be performed on MOV containers.
GOP LengthVM-116Check the distance between successive I-frames in the encoded video. For example, this distance will be 1 for I-frame only video and 12 for a long GOP sequence coded as 'IBBPBBPBBPBBI'. This test is suitable for GOP coded video, such as MPEG-2 and H.264.
Advanced GOP LengthVM-117A more thorough GOP test for MPEG-2 and H.264 that can test for a range of GOP lengths, test for open and closed GOPs (MPEG-2 only), and allow special handling of first and last GOPs. The "First GOP" and "Last 2 GOPs" sections, when ticked, enable specific values to be given for the first and last two GOPs. The "Other GOPs" section will apply to any other GOP (possibly including the first and last GOPs if their specific sections are not ticked). The input boxes for I-frame distance and P-frame distance are comma-separated lists of distances or ranges of distances. For example, "12", "1-12", "1,12,15' and "1,12-15" are all valid inputs. The syntax ">5" and "<5" mean "greater than" and "less than" 5 frames, respectively. If the input is empty, then no check is performed (i.e., any distance is valid). It is possible to choose whether the test operates on the coded frame order or the displayed frame order. This distinction is only important when B-frames are present. The test can be configured to either show unique GOP length errors (default) or to show all of them.
Video Reference FramesVM-118Checks the maximum number of short-term and long-term reference frames, complementary reference field pairs, and non-paired reference fields that may be used by the decoding process for inter-prediction of any picture in the coded video sequence. This test is applicable for AVC and HEVC video codec.
Dolby Vision ValidationVM-121Verifies compliance of input file with Dolby Vision metadata.
TV/MPAA RatingVM-123Checks the Type 0x05 Content Advisory Packet from the caption data packet in the video stream and compares the results to the value you set in the template.
AFD Detection (Dynamic)VM-124Tests the value of the Active Format Description (AFD) as sent in the User Data of an MPEG-2 video sequence.
Video Buffer SizeVM-125When MPEG-2 is selected, this test checks the VBV buffer size reported in the stream. When AVC/H.264 is selected, this test checks the CPB buffer size reported in the stream. Minimum and Maximum values are specified in KiB (1024 bytes) and either value may be left blank if not required. The 'Video Codec' test must be enabled and set to 'MPEG-2' or 'AVC/H.264' before this test may be used.
MOOV AtomVM-127This check is to identify that there is only one MOOV atom in an mov/mp4 file.
Single Sample DescriptionVM-128This test looks for the presence of multiple Sample Descriptions in the MOV/MP4 track metadata, which is often an indicator that such incompatible splicing has taken place.
Video Essence DurationVM-130Test if the essence is shorter/longer than specified value/range.
Is PAL or NTSCVM-131This checks if PAL/NTSC video is present.
NTSC Broadcast Format: NTSC Standard: 525 total lines, 480 displayed lines. 29.97 frames/second (59.97 fields/sec). Interlaced video only.
PAL Broadcast Format: PAL Standard: 625 total lines, 576 displayed lines. 25 frames/second (50 fields/sec). Interlaced video only.

Video Quality

CheckIdentifierDescription
Black FrameVQ-101Checks for instances of both intentional/unintentional black frames, using a luma level specified in the template (default value varies with different video bit depths). The Percentage of Frame option acts as a tolerance control, and the user can set the maximum number of consecutive black frames that are allowed before an alert is raised. This test also has the ability to check certain parts of the file using the "Layout" controls.
Color BarsVQ-102Checks for instances of both intentional/unintentional color bars. The user can specify which type of color bars to search for, and set a tolerance to account for non-standard encoding. This test also has the ability to check certain parts of the file using the "Layout" controls and by enabling the details option the test will provide information on why a frame is not a colorbar.
Field OrderVQ-103Tests whether the encoded flag matches the user specified input, and optionally tests that the baseband video also has the desired encoded field order. The user can specify a time threshold to ensure relevant alerts are caught.
CadenceVQ-104Checks that the baseband cadence is correct based on the user selected criteria of what is expected in the stream. The user can select from the following expected cadences:

  • Progressive
  • 2:2 (TFF) Top field first interlaced
  • 2:2 (BFF) Bottom field first interlaced
  • 2:3 (TFF) 2:3 cadence mix of progressive and top field first (Prog/Prog/TFF/TFF/Prog)
  • 2:3 (BFF) 2:3 cadence mix of progressive and bottom field first(Prog/Prog/BFF/BFF/Prog)
  • 24 -> 25 fps (TFF) Mix of progressive and top field first used in conversion from 24 fps to 25 fps (12 progressive frames then one TFF)
  • 24 -> 25 fps (BFF) Mix of progressive and bottom field first used in conversion from 24 fps to 25 fps (12 progressive frames then one BFF).

The user can optionally look for broken 2:3 cadence; opt to report all detected cadences or check for poor patterns that could cause excessive stutter.
Freeze FrameVQ-105Checks for instances of both intentional/unintentional freeze frames. The user can specify the maximum number of allowed consecutive frozen frames before an alert is raised. There is also the ability to ignore black frames, using a user specified luma level (default value varies with different bit depths). This test also has the ability to check certain parts of the file using the "Layout" controls.
HDR AreaVQ-106This test measures the number of HDR pixels in a PQ or HLG-1000 graded frame. As per ITU-R B.2408-1 recommendations, a pixel with luminance more than 203 nits is considered HDR. An alert is generated when the percentage of HDR pixels in a frame exceeds the Area Threshold and when this continues for the user specified number of measurements.
HDR LimitVQ-108This test measures how many HDR pixels lie above the brightest two thresholds, and how many lie below the darkest, giving the user a reliable and useful metric as to how much their content lies within "HDR" boundaries.
HDR MeasurementVQ-109This test measures analyses each decoded frame, in its native bit depth, to calculate the MaxCLL (Maximum Content Light Level) and MaxFALL (Maximum Frame Average Light Level). The measured values are compared against the HDR metadata within the file. PQ and HLG formats are supported as is Dolby Vision.
HDR Change DetectionVQ-110Checks for changes to the SEI-encoded HDR metadata on a frame-by-frame basis. Any changes to this metadata cause an alert to be raised.
Luma/Chroma LevelsVQ-112This tests that the luma component (Y) of the YUB signal is within valid limits. The Low Luma Limit and High Luma Limit fields allow for stricter or more lenient rules for when a pixel is considered a violation. The defaults of -1% to 103% comply with EBU r103.
RGB GamutVQ-113This test ensures that the YUV components of the decoded video lie within the legal range given by ITU-R- BT.601-5, 709-5 or 2020-1. The default values of -5% to 105% comply with EBU r103.
Media OfflineVQ-114Checks for the presence of the "Media Offline" slate, which can be produced by applications such as Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Avid Media Composer or DaVinci Resolve.
PSE Test (Proprietary)VQ-115Tests for rapid changes in luminance which could trigger photosensitive epilepsy (PSE). This test is in accordance with ITU-R BT 1702-2 (supporting both SDR and HDR content) but can be switched to be run in accordance with ITU-R BT 1702-1 by choosing "Use Legacy". The test will alert if a sequence has more than three and a half harmful flashed per second. Harmful flashes could be caused by both rapid changes of lighting in a scene, or by rapid editorial cuts that cause the screen to flash.
Video Segment DetectionVQ-116Detects video segments within the content and reports the start and end timecode of each segment found. This test works by identifying consecutive black frames, and assuming that anything which is not black is an active video segment. The user can request that digital silence is also present during black sections to ensure accuracy of detection.
Single Color FrameVQ-117Detects sequences where the entire frame is a single color. This can sometimes occur because of syntax errors, missing codecs, or erroneous media encoding.
TekMOSVQ-118TekMOS is a non-referenced perceptual video quality measurement for natural video content. The content is rated on a scale of 0-5, with 5 being the highest quality, in line with the ITU 5-point scale. The Program Threshold computes the percentage of frames within the entire program that fall below the user defined threshold. The short-term threshold searches and reports for short sections of poor video quality, according to a user specified rolling window duration.
Letterbox/PillarboxVQ-120This test is used to detect whether video content has the correct letterboxing (black bars at the top and bottom of the frame). If any content fails the test, then a single error alert is raised for each continuous frame sequence. Changes to letterboxing/pillarboxing are also reported. The user can specify the desired active picture aspect ratio, or a requirement for a specific number of black lines at the edges of the picture. A tolerance can also be set to mitigate false positive alerts, and the black level used to detect the black bars can also be adjusted.
Black Line DetectionVQ-121This test checks for black lines in the frame that exceed the percentage specified in the template. This value is a percentage of the frame width and by default is 10%. The black level values can be also set for various bit depths.

Black lines can be introduced by tape ingest processes (generally from VTR head RF dropouts). Additionally, they can be caused by PAL/NTSC conversion process or an interlace/de-interlace routine, where a line is partially wrapped from one field to the next.
Loss of ChromaVQ-122Detects any video frame where there is no color. This is done by checking the values of U and V: If both of these are at the defined level for no chroma to within the given tolerance then an alert is raised. Frames consisting entirely of a uniform color value (e.g. all black, or all white) will not be considered as part of a "lost chroma" sequence. This is to prevent false alerts on sections of filler material. Tolerance ± %: The tolerance to allow on the default value, rounded down to the nearest integer. E.g. a tolerance of 1% would be 1.28: this is rounded down to 1 so the Loss of Chroma test alert would then be triggered when U and V are both 127 to 129.
Analogue DropoutVQ-123Check for isolated bright or dark lines of pixels caused by analogue tape transfer errors. Sensitivity: A High sensitivity will find more problems but could also find more 'false positives'. A Low sensitivity will only detect more obvious dropouts. Note that not all dropouts may be detected - in particular larger problems may be ignored.
Chroma Block DropoutsVQ-124Check for chroma block dropout artifacts caused by digital tape transfer errors.
Luma Block DropoutsVQ-125Check for luma block dropout artifacts caused by digital tape transfer errors.
Speckle DropoutsVQ-126Check for speckle dropout artifacts caused by digital tape transfer errors.
Repeated Tile DropoutsVQ-127Check for repeated tile dropout artifacts caused by digital tape transfer errors.
Upconversion DetectionVQ-128Performs two passes on the key frames for each video stream in the container to determine if they have been upconverted from a lower resolution. A comparison is then made between the original frame to the frame that has passed through the two pass conversion.
Stripe ErrorsVQ-130heck for 'stripe' artifacts caused by tape transfer errors. This test looks for groups of lines which are offset horizontally from their correct positions, which can happen due to mechanical problems when transferring analog video from tape. Note that some horizontal patterns could be misidentified as stripe artifacts. Sensitivity: A High sensitivity will find more problems but could also find more 'false positives'. A Low sensitivity will only detect more obvious stripe problems.
MacroblockingVQ-131Checks for macroblocking artifacts where the macroblock edge is clearly visible. This test is a subjective measure of video quality where each frame is assigned a quality metric and an alert is raised if the video quality drops below the given threshold.
Corrupt FrameVQ-133Checks for corrupt or unexpected frames. Single or double frames which look out of place in a sequence will be found. These could be frames with a significant amount of corruption, or single dark or bright frames could also cause an alert to be raised. Sensitivity: A high sensitivity will find more problems but could also find more 'false positives'. A low sensitivity will only detect more obvious problems.
Dead PixelVQ-134Test for the presence of dead pixels.
HardingFPAVQ-135Tests for rapid changes in luminance which could trigger photosensitive epilepsy (PSE). This test is in accordance with ITU-R BT 1702-2 (supporting SDR, HDR and Dolby Vision content). When the color space of the file can not be determined from the metadata, the user can optionally specify the color space to use.
Combing ArtifactsVQ-136Checks for interlacing artifacts which manifest by showing a shift in every other line around motion areas of pictures. These are generally caused by the fields being out of order during ingest, and then being transcoded to a format that loses any reference to the proper field order.

Audio Metadata

CheckIdentifierDescription
Bit DepthAM-101Verifies that the audio bit depth matches the user specified value.
CodecAM-102Checks that the audio codec matches the user specified value(s).
Codec ProfileAM-103Tests the format of the audio elementary stream.
Sample RateAM-104Ensures that the audio sample rate (KHz) matches the user specified value.
Number of TracksAM-105Checks that the number of audio tracks found matches the user specified value.
Bit RateAM-106Ensures that the audio bit rate (kbps) matches the user specified value.
DialnormAM-107Verifies that the Dialnorm value matches the user specified range. This test is only relevant to assets containing a Dolby encoded audio stream.
Audio Channel Count DetectionAM-109Checks for instances of the ACMod metadata parameter (if present) or channel count changing between audio frames.
Number of ChannelsAM-110Checks that the number of audio channels found matches the user specified range.
Language IDAM-111Checks that the language ID found matches the user specified value. The user can optionally test the input audio baseband to verify that the spoken word is the same as the expected language or the same as the metadata.
AC-3 Service TypeAM-112This test checks for AC-3 Service Type/Service Kind for AC-3 (and E-AC-3) of the audio bitstream against the user specified value.

It corresponds to the 'bsmod' (Bit Stream Mode) parameter per the AC-3 specification (ATSC A/52);

Service Types:
Complete Main, Music and Effects, Visually Impaired, Hearing Imparied, Dialogue, Commentary, Emergency, Voice Over, Karaoke
Audio Essence DurationAM-115Test if the essence is shorter/longer than specified value/range.

Audio Quality

CheckIdentifierDescription
Peak LevelAQ-101Measures the Peak audio level throughout the program material, and will alert if it is in violation of the user specified value. The user can choose whether to measure as dBFS or dBTP.
Phase CoherenceAQ-102Measures the phase coherence between channel pairs. Phase is measured on a scale of -1 to 1, where -1 means "completely out of phase" and 1 means "completely in phase/mono".
Dual Mono AQ-103Compares two audio streams and will alert if dual mono sections are detected between them.
Max Allowed Duration units can be samples, milliseconds, seconds or percentage, where a dual mono section lasting less than this time window will be ignored.
Clicks and PopsAQ-104Detects transients or sudden changes in amplitude, such as those caused by noise on a digital or analog signal. The user can choose between low, medium or high sensitivity; high sensitivity is more likely to generate false positive results, but may also detect smaller transients which are deemed erroneous.
ClippingAQ-105Detects audio clipping by testing for successive samples of equal value. Quiet samples (those below a fixed small value) are supressed and do not count towards the clipping test.
Integrated Loudness (inc Dialog Gating)AQ-106Integrated Loudness is measured over the duration of the file. In calculating the loudness, the arrangement of channels is assumed as found in the Audio Layout settings. Dialog gating can be applied to ITU 1770-1, which will measure loudness only when dialog is present. ITU 1770-2, 1770-3, and 1770-4 options do not currently support dialog gating.
Short-term LoudnessAQ-107Short-term Loudness is measured over a sliding rectangular time window. The measurement is not gated. The default window length of 3 seconds corresponds to EBU-Tech 3341 short-term mode. The Max Violations setting will report only the worst violation, in accordance with EBU-Tech 3341/EBU r128. The All Violations setting will report all violations.
Momentary LoudnessAQ-108Momentary Loudness is measured over a 400ms sliding rectangular time window as per EBU-Tech 3341 Momentary mode. The measurement is not gated. The Max Violations setting will report only the worst violation, in accordance with EBU-Tech 3341/EBU r128. The All Violations setting will report all violations.
Loudness Range (LUFS)AQ-109Loudness Range is a measurement of the variation in loudness over the duration of a file. The algorithm is specified in EBU-Tech 3342 and produces an output Loudness Range (LRA) in terms of Loudness Units (LU).
Minimum LevelAQ-110Measures the audio RMS level per channel using a sliding window of the user specified length. If the RMS level for a given channel drops below this level for a contiguous period equal to or longer than the window length, an alert will be raised. Due to the nature of the windowing function, if the period is longer than the window length, only the minimum measurement during the period will be given.
SilenceAQ-111Detects both intentional and unintentional Silence. The threshold indicates the threshold below which an audio track is considered silent. If Digital Silence is selected, instead of using the threshold, the track is checked for the presence of absence of audio samples.
PPM LevelAQ-112The peak level according to the "BBC Peak Program Meter" (IEC 60268-10 Type IIa) standard. The meter can operate in MS (sum/difference) mode (modes M3 and M6), or AB mode (individual channels). Note that in MS mode, only the sum is measured.

  • Min Level: Min: The minimum acceptable PPM level.
  • Max: The maximum acceptable PPM level.
  • Mode: M3 and M6 modes determine how much attenuation is made after summing the left and right signals.

Channel PositionAQ-113Checks whether 5.1 channels are in the correct place by using known frequencies to analyze the baseband of the center and LFE channel and validating against what should be present.
Test ToneAQ-114Checks for the presence of a sine wave tone (a "test tone"), on each channel. Level is in dBFS peak-to-peak. If levels are supplied in RMS, approximately 3dB should be added; for example a -9dBFS RMS signal will measure -6dBFS peak-to-peak.
EAS ToneAQ-115Checks for the presence of an EAS (Emergency Alert System) tone.
Audio Hiss DetectionAQ-117The Verification Unit applies a low pass filter to the frequency transform of the audio track and determines if tape hiss noise is present. By default, the verification unit is checking for hiss noise across the entire time domain above 15,000 Hz.
Audio Hum DetectionAQ-118The Verification Unit applies a high pass filter to the frequency domain of the audio waveform to determine if 50 Hz or 60 Hz hum (mono tone frequency) is present (+/- 1 Hz) anywhere within the clip.
Audio Description Track DetectionAQ-120Checks for an audio description channel on a given mix. User should specify the expected audio description and control channels. In advanced settings, the user can adjust the frequency and amplitude of the control channel as well as their tolerances. The test reports the audio description / control pair (if any) and alerts when it is not found where expected.
Channel MappingAQ-121Checks the channel mapping of the given mix against an expected channel mapping. For reference, see the List Of Channel Labels.
Comparative LoudnessAQ-123Detect mismatch in program loudness across multiple audio tracks. Loudness tolerance, mode standard and dialog gating parameters are available

File Quality

CheckIdentifierDescription
Media Demux DecodeFQ-101Checks and reports errors when demuxing or decoding the media.

Distribution and Broadcast

CheckIdentifierDescription
IMF ConformanceDC-101Check for IMF conformance. This test can perform basic consistency checking of IMF assets and check package list asset hashes.
Netflix PhotonDC-102This test, when performed on an IMF Asset Map file, will validate IMF packages using Netflix Photon.
Nielsen Watermark DetectionDC-103Decode an audio stream and report Nielsen watermarks found in the stream.

  • NAES 2: Detects and reports N2 watermarks.
  • NAES 6: Detects and reports Nielsen Watermark TAM** Codes (NW) and Nielsen Watermark Commercial Codes (NWCC).

This test will detect watermarks with any specific SID. Multiple SIDs can be entered; they should comma separated (e.g. 45150,61717,6400).
iTunes ComplianceDC-107Tests several aspects of MOV file atom structure which are relevant for iTunes submission:

  • The video track should have a sample description atom of type 'apch'.
  • The video width and height in the video sample description atom should be either 1920×1080 or 1280×720.
  • The 'vendor' code should be 'appl'.
  • The 'fields' entry should be set to 1 to indicate progressive scan.
  • The 'colr' atom should be present and have the type 'nclc' to indicate non-constant luminance coding.
  • The color primaries, color transfer function and color matrix should all be set to 1.
  • No clean aperture (clap) information should occur after a field (fiel) atom.
  • The edit list (elst atom) for the video track should be exactly 1 entry in size.

Tables

MPEG-2 streams, section 8.5 (Table 8-13)

LevelProfile
SimpleMainSNRSpatialHigh
High80100 all layers 80 mid+base layer 25 base layer
High-14406060 all layers 40 mid+base layer 15 base layer80 all layers 60 mid+base layer 20 base layer
Main151515 both layers 10 base layer20 all layers 15 mid+base layer 4 base layer
Low44 both layers 3 base layer

MPEG-2 streams, section 8.5 (Table 8-14)

LevelLayerProfile
SimpleMainSNRSpatialHigh
HighEnh.2 Enh.1 Base9,781,24812,222,464 9,781,248 3,047,424
High-1440Enh.2 Enh.1 Base7,340,0327,340,032 4,882,432 1,835,0089,781,248 7,340,032 2,441,216

List Of Channel Labels

Channel LabelShort Code
UnknownU
LeftL
RightR
CenterC
Low Frequency EffectsLFE
Left SurroundLS
Right SurroundRS
Left CenterLC
Right CenterRC
Center SurroundCS
Left SideLSD
Right SideRSD
Top CenterTCS
Top Front LeftTFL
Top Front CenterTFC
Top Front RightTFR
Top Back LeftTBL
Top Back CenterTBC
Top Back RightTBR
Top Side LeftTSL
Top Side RightTSR
Left WideLW
Right WideRW
Low Frequency Effects 2LFE2
Left Rear SurroundLRS
Right Rear SurroundRRS
Left TotalLT
Right TotalRT
MonoM