VBrick Systems VB5000, VB6000, VB4000 manual Optimizing MPEG-2 Performance, Option, Applicable Model

Table 2. IWS Configurable Options

Option	Applicable Model
Network	All VBrick models.
	•	Ethernet.
Billboard	Only on models which have decoders.
Decoder	Single or dual:
	•	Ethernet MPEG-2.
	•	Ethernet MPEG-4.
	• SDI MPEG-2 (see SDI Configuration).
Encoder	Single or dual:
	•	Ethernet MPEG-2.
	• SDI MPEG-2 (see SDI Configuration).
	•	Text insertion.
Pump	VBStar models only (see VBStar).
Recorder	VBStar models only (see VBStar).
FTP File Transfer	VBStar models only (see VBStar).
Conferencing	Encoder and decoder combination models only.
Passthrough	All VBrick models.
System	All VBrick models.
Video on Demand	Decoder models only.
Script Management	All VBrick models.

Optimizing MPEG-2 Performance

VBrick appliances are designed to accommodate a variety of configurations. Options such as Hard Disk record and playback, and FTP file serving capability are fully meshed together, supporting a diverse set of applications. VBrick unit's configuration choices enable the widest range of features and capabilities and are designed to provide the user with a high degree of flexibility. In some extreme cases, users can create configurations that exceed the normal processing capacity of the unit causing it to not perform optimally. VBrick units provide statistical counters and status variables indicating current device utilization and can even be configured to report SNMP trap alarm conditions when these situations occur. Corrective action usually involves the reduction of a video rate or disabling a channel, easily performed via the IWS or CLI user interface. Under abnormal operating conditions, VBrick units provide total system protection against any integral damage and guarantee management connectivity via IWS or CLI.

In general, MPEG-2 video quality improves when video rate is increased. Significant video quality improvements are noticeable when moving between 1.2 and 5 megabits per second video rates. The video quality improvement becomes less noticeable when moving from medium rates to higher video rates (from 5–9 Mbps.) with most of the improvement occurring only during high motion video scenes. In essence, video quality is very subjective and relates to other components such as the response of the human eye, the quality and

6 © 2007 VBrick Systems, Inc.