VSE-1100
Productivity
Free
The VSE-1100 app is designed to be used in conjunction with the Viavi VSE-1100 CATV and spectrum analyzer.
Note: The VSE-1100 app provides limited demonstration capability without being connected to the analyzer.
The VSE-1100 is the CATV industry’s first consolidated digital spectrum video analyzer and noise-troubleshooting platform designed for the challenges of the converged cable access platform (CCAP) and remote PHY evolution. It is not an update to an existing, analog-based platform, but a completely redesigned product and the industry’s first device developed specifically for the digital cable world – and the rise in unicast traffic.
VSE-1100 provides:
∙ One tool to update and replace outdated measurement/analysis equipment, combining everything needed to prepare, deploy, and troubleshoot Remote PHY and/or CATV signals efficiently from the headend through the Hubsite and into the premise in a portable, compact size.
∙ Powerful capabilities not found in a single platform, including spectrum analysis, MPEG analysis, reverse path/upstream analysis, and QAM measurements – all at a fraction of the cost of owning individual testers required to do similar tests.
∙ A device superior to current and legacy tools that are immobile and heavy, provide slower measurement times, and complicated to set up and use.
∙ Ease-of-use regardless of technician capability, providing automatic network scan/detect to minimize setup time and a tablet user interface that is simplicity itself in terms of operation and remote test capabilities.
∙ Fast, innovative upstream test modes that speed troubleshooting to shorten mean time to repair.
more Easiest to use spectrum analyzer ever. Downstream analysis is fast, MER on every channel and level in just a minute. Depth of MER is better than anything else on market, even with tilt. Getting channel names off of tunnel, makes troubleshooting channel problems a snap. The upstream analyzer is easy to use. Hyper spectrum always sees the noise.
Easiest to use spectrum analyzer ever. Downstream analysis is fast, MER on every channel and level in just a minute. Depth of MER is better than anything else on market, even with tilt. Getting channel names off of tunnel, makes troubleshooting channel problems a snap. The upstream analyzer is easy to use. Hyper spectrum always sees the noise.
Updated to support network discovery in iOS 14+
2.5.4 02/04/2022
Updated to support iOS 15
2.5.3 01/20/2022
Updated to support iOS 13.2
2.5.2 11/08/2019
Updated to support iOS 13
2.5.1 10/23/2019
• Noise Trace added to HyperSpectrum Heatmap
o A new trace available when the HyperSpectrum Heatmap is active
o Helps more easily identify the peak of a noise signal, especially under an active QAM carrier
o Can be used on either Port 1 or Port 2 of the VSE
• Total/Span Integrated Power of downstream channels
o Automatically calculates the power of all the downstream channels being tested
o Adjusts which channels are included based on those being viewed and tested
o Measurement available in RapidScan and Performance Scan views
• Test Point Compensation
o AutomaticallyadjuststhedisplayedlevelsbasedonconfiguredTestPointtemplates
o Easily select different templates while in each applicable mode
o Can be applied to both Upstream and Downstream measurements
Other changes made in the v2.5 release:
• Level measurement consistency issue in frequency extension band above 1.1GHz
• Empty Channel Plan label will no longer crash the iPad application
• Better display of CW levels in a wide span when using markers
• PAL-D analog channels are correctly detected
• Channel Plan discovery date now displayed in the local time zone rather than UTC
• Corrected possible 1dB level fluctuations with high levels
2.5.0 07/02/2018
• Multiple Channel plans
○ Support up to 20 channel plans for each type
20x DOCSIS
20x Physical
20x Logical Channel Plan
• Heatmap signal persistence display in HyperSpectrum mode
• Insert & Delete custom CW channels into & out of currently active Physical Channel plan via AutoChannel’s right gear menu
• CPI column added to Packet Table
• Updated Performance Scan
○ Moved DOCSIS and skipped channels into their own section
○ Added formatting for numbers
• Better differentiate between corrupt packets and bonded packets in Packet Table/Dashboard
• Packets which fail to demodulate now impact CPI score
• Better overview trace and higher resolution traces for HyperSpectrum
• AGC updated to no longer AGC down after an overrange if the impacting signal is no longer active
• Upstream Demod enhancement - will trigger under in additional circumstances, even if packet cannot be demodulated.
• And other minor issues:
○ Corrected "MHz" label issue
○ Handles situation where duplicate files names are detected while saving
○ Sorting corrected by modulation, searching by 4 digit program number, and fixed frequency display for analog channels in AutoChannel
○ Corrected issue in Spectrum settings
○ Cleaned up error descriptions from Packet Table
○ Overlapping UCDs should draw more consistently
2.4.0 01/25/2018
• Upstream Packet Table / Dashboard now show packets which are unable to be demodulated o Demodulation error, if detected, is shown / saved
• NoiseTrak displays incrementing errored packet count if unable to demodulate packet
• Packet number is now adjusted to better correlate to the packets in Packet Table
• Performance Scan now saves the data in HTML as well as the CSV formats and can be exported to USB
or synchronized to StrataSync for easier viewing
• Added 256QAM Annex C as a valid channel type for detection and measurements
2.3.3 06/30/2017
* iOS 10 updates
2.3.2 10/17/2016
• Modified Performance Scan to now quickly populate the table with measurements from RapidScan, including Level, MER, and IUC allowing review of the results before saving it, or copying the data to CSV or HTML directly
• Added ability to copy CSV from the save file screen for any mode
• Added a way to delete all save files from the About menu, even files from other users
• Improved Physical Channel Building on systems with FM channels
• Mislabeled measurements in Performance Scan are now correctly labeled
2.3.1 06/27/2016
Features added in this release:
• Performance Scan added to RapidScan replacing the "Results" button
o Measures Level, MER, Pre/Post BER, DQI, and other measurements across a selected frequency range
o These results are placed into an easily consumable format for archiving or reporting
• Long Term TimeTrak
o Ability to switch between normal TimeTrak and Long Term TimeTrak
o Long term will measure once per second, collect data up to 25 hours, and allow the VSE to measure without an iPad connected
• Detection and level for DOCSIS 3.1 OFDM channels in 6MHz blocks
• Video Analysis to analyze/record MPEG over IP via Ethernet
• Spectrum reference added in Spectrum mode
o Save the reference using the normal file save and then it will be accessible from the gear menu
• Program names when present in-band for DVB Streams
Other changes made in this release:
• Updated branding from JDSU to Viavi
• Re-ordered tabs based on use
• Updated the USB protocol in accordance with Apple standards
NOTE: iPad 2/3, though never officially supported via USB, will not work via USB after this update these older iPads can still be used over WiFi connections – speed of measurement updates may be affected
o Recommend using an iPad 4, Air, or Air2 with USB
• Support for VSEs with 1.8GHz measurement hardware – hardware availability to come later
• TimeTrak now displays date/time
• Changed TimeTrak CSV file to have timestamps in absolute times from negative milliseconds
• Fixed an issue where statically configured Ethernet DNS server configuration wasn't persisted through reboot
• Corrected 2 Pal BG channel numbers that were assigned to the wrong frequencies
• Made it easier to press the buttons on the About VSE screen
• Fixed display of uptime in About screen
• Fixed a crash in BIST if it was run while the BCM was on
• Fixed the drive name, if it wasn't set, it would be displayed oddly after a USB export/MPEG recording capture
• Changed the "Min MER" display in the side bar to come from the "live" MER instead of the averaged MER
• Fixed an issue where a channel plan with inaccurate information can keep the user from building UCDs/LCP because it will trust the info from the physical plan instead of just doing a channel detect at the user's requested frequency
• Fixed a layout issue with BER Elapsed Time where it would be pushed off the screen after running a long time
• Modified when the upgrade screen is displayed, so it won't be displayed when the application gets disconnected while connecting
• Fixed marker boxes so if 2 had collided and one was partially visible, when bringing up the advanced controls to close it, the advanced controls will be always visible
• Changed the format of the way Downstream physical and logical plans are saved so they load much faster
o Both will need to be captured again after update
• iPad application UUID is now able to be copied from the About screen where it's displayed
Known issues in this release:
• IP MPEG over Ethernet may have more issues than RF for recordings that require a large buffer (slow drive, large pre- trigger buffer)
• If a menu is open when re-attaching to Long Term TimeTrak, simply tap outside of it, don’t choose something from the menu – this will cause the mode to stop measuring
2.3.0 04/14/2016
Fixed an issue related to StrataSync configuration.
2.2.1 11/10/2015
• Added Licensing Support for new Spectrum Analyzer, Downstream, and Upstream models
• Added the ability to submit a software option key via the iPad on the About VSE screen
• Added Constellation display in Advanced Digital
• Added logical program types for DVB. Changed stream type display to be per stream. Added search highlighting on details column
• Added Peak Search functionality for markers
• Added channel number display for NCTA, PAL-BG, PAL-I, HRC, and IRC systems.
• Added ability to build the physical channel plan from Advanced Digital and TimeTrak screens
• Added MPEG Event Log to CSV file
• Added NTFS support to help with recording MPEG streams to a USB hard drive
• Added the ability for StrataSync users to assign a VSE to a tech, and have their Tech ID updated on the VSE after syncing
• Added MPEG standards type to event description to better clarify which standard is associated
Other Improvements
• Improved connection time.
• Added ability to configure MPEG recording in minutes and seconds instead of just minutes
• Updated German language translations
• Fixed an issue caused by a misconfigured DNS server setting
• Fixed regional number formatting issues
• Fixed an issue where very large collections of UCDs would fail to capture
• Added an auto-sync after a software option is deployed from StrataSync. That way it goes from Pending Deploy to Deployed in StrataSync instead of stopping at Pending Confirmation until the user syncs
• Synchronized VSE/iPad version display. It’s now in the format {Major Number}.{Minor Number}.{Patch Number}-{Build Number}
• Restored analog channel type display in the single channel side bar for Analog channels.
• Modified DCII PID typing so that it is only set if the PID hasn't already been set to another type (except for SCTE-65)
• Fixed an issue where RapidScan channel bars wouldn’t draw if the user was zoomed in to a single channel that would cover more than the full span.
• Fixed an issue where logical build couldn’t continue from the frequency choice after coming back from a deeper choice
• Modified the busy indicator to have a pale white background so it shows up better on a black background
• Fixed a formatting issue that caused the frequency to be rounded to the nearest whole number and saved that way when capturing DOCSIS or Logical Channel Plans
• Fixed an error where service ID and logical channel number were interchanged on AutoChannel
2.2.0 09/22/2015
Video Analyzer Option
The major feature addition for VSE-1100 v2.0 is the “Video Analyzer” capability. This is a RF QAM MPEG Transport Stream Analyzer that performs TR101-290 testing at multiple levels. An Event Logger and a Transport Stream Recorder are also included. The Video Analyzer seamlessly integrates with the previous RF measurements and makes it quick and simple to go from the service layer to the physical layer.
AutoChannel™
The AutoChannel capability has been greatly expanded and brought out to a separate tab. It now compares and contrasts the Physical Channel Plan (RF) with the Logical Channel Plan (the channel information that is sent to the Set- top-box). AutoChannel also now provides a single location to build and track the channel plans (Upstream UCDs, Downstream RF and Downstream Logical).
Saving Measurement Data – File Save
Now when the user saves a measurement file a context specific dataset will be saved along with increased metadata and measurement snapshot. The format of the dataset is an easy to use *.csv file format that can be accessed through StrataSync or saved directly to a USB drive.
GUI changes
There have been a number of Graphical User Interface improvements implemented with v2.0. These include improved button designs on every tab, Channel Info increment and decrement channel buttons – to make it easier to go up or down a single channel step in the Downstream tools. Packet Table legibility has improved with color and layout changes. The Upstream NoiseTrak™ Wizard also has an animated connection diagram to simply the connection and measurement sequence.
Other Improvements
• DOCSIS Channels are now highlighted
• Improved upstream packet detection on RFOG networks
• Improved DQI to work at lower signal levels
• Portuguese language improvements
• German language improvements
2.0.0 06/08/2015
•Improved Chinese Language Translations
•Improved Portuguese Language Translations
•Improved connection robustness after application is placed in background
1.1.1 03/26/2015
VSE 1.1 includes the following:
•Added support for high bandwidth Cisco conditional access tunnels in the Logical Channel plan capture.
•Added support for HRC system lowest channel detection.
•Added iPad App version number when syncing. App version number is now available in StrataSync for use statistics.
•Added Portuguese translations.
•Addressed an issue where an invalid static IP address configuration for Ethernet would prevent communication with the VSE.
•Added a way to configure a DNS server for Ethernet when Ethernet is statically configured
•Several small UI fixes for displaying localized text.
•Fixed an issue with channel selection for frequency markers in the Downstream Analyzer.
•Fixed an issue that would intermittently prevent successful DVB logical channel plan captures.
•Improved analog channel identification in the channel plan build.
•Fixed an issue where the VSE may not necessarily automatically restart after an application crash.
•Fixed an issue where if an update was downloaded, but the VSE was rebooted before applying it, the UI would only communicate there was an update to download, not that it was already downloaded and ready to be applied.
Known Issues
•StrataSync Technician IDs with leading space “ “ character(s) are not recognized. For example: “ 1234…” will not be recognized. A “Failed to connect. Check network connection and account ID” message will be displayed.
1.1.0 10/01/2014
Bug fixes.
1.0.1 08/13/2014
Release 1.0
1.0.0 06/12/2014
Changes:
MER Failure Thresholds set
Fixed occasional 0 dB MER readings.
Auto-Template now detects 6.777 MHz MSPS channels
RapidScan channel search results will now show the service number in the search results (abbreviated "sn").
QAM unlock detected during Logical Channel Plan and UCD capture
NoiseTrak and the JDSU 3-bar menu will now be accessible if the user is viewing the application in Japanese.
Fixed an issue where RapidScan Channel Details wouldn't be displayed in a saved screenshot.
Improved the Settings screen so that it won't cause as many disconnects if it's accessed while on a Downstream Single Channel screen.
Added an alert to the Wifi configuration screen if the VSE failed to authenticate with a Wifi access point.
HyperSpectrum now shows "Attenuation" rather than "Input Level". The change was made because the value shown is close to what effective attenuation is being applied, rather than what input level it's adjusting to.
Fixed several Wifi configuration screen issues where it could get out of sync with the VSE and display the wrong state.
The Settings screen will now indicate if Wifi is connecting to an AP.
The Settings screen will now show the IP address of the VSE when successfully connected over Wifi.
If the VSE fails to connect to a Wifi access point, it will now indicate that it is not connected on the Settings screen.
Fixed an issue where a delta marker would be one update behind its parent marker if it was to the left of it on the screen.
Previously the Logical Channel Plan view screen could get out of sorts if search text was entered and the user switched back to sorting. This issue should be fixed.
Added an alert to the user if we believe the first Known Issue below is happening. If the user selects OK, the application will close. Otherwise the user can select cancel and keep using the application while not connected.
Upgrade screen should no longer allow exiting while applying an upgrade.
The VSE will automatically attempt a sync after applying the upgrade in order to notify StrataSync that the upgrade was successful. Please allow another minute or 2 on the netwrok after the VSE reboots for it accomplish this, so we can track versions more easily.
Fixed a few cases where Downstream wasn't running automatically as we intended.
Randomized MER reading time.
Auto-reference on the screen should behave better when a value less than 10 dB/Div is selected.
Analog audio levels are now present in the Downstream Results view.
Improved the MER graph collapsed state tracking so that it will appear when needed (if desired) and disappear when unnecessary.
Fixed a cosmetic issue around the RapidScan MER graph grab-button not always being centered.
Known issues:
If the application is unable to connect via USB, force quit the application (press the home key twice, swipe upward on the application) and re-launch it from the home screen.
Battery capacity can vary when below 10% capacity.
Annex A 7 MHz channels show QAM ingress when there is a lower adjacent analog video carrier
0.6.0 05/30/2014
Handle the Apple USB disconnect gracefully
More translation work
Many small bug fixes
0.5.0 05/16/2014
Updated to support network discovery in iOS 14+
more Version 2.5.4 02/04/2022
Data Not Linked to You The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity: