DVB Inspector
Digitalekabeltelevisie.nl
A DVB Analyzer
What is it
DVB Inspector is a program that can be used to analyze captured
DVB-streams. It is open source and written in java. DVB Inspector can
show the logical structure of the DVB SI and PSI data. It can also
show bit rate usage data.
DVB Inspector is not a real time tool that can interact with PC-TV DVB hardware directly. You have to use another program, like Twinhan TS capture tool or TransEdit to record a Transport stream.
Contents
Why was it created ?
As many programmers I too suffer from the "not invented here" syndrome. Every available program on the market is just not exactly what I want/need. So the only solution is to make it myself. Also this is a great way to study different aspects of DVB, and some aspects of Java I don't get to use in daily life.
Competition
There are a lot of programs that offer similar functionality. Some of them 'inspired' me. Also I have used them to verify my own results. Most of these are able to connect to DVB cards directly, and show real time results. In that way they are better than my tool. I think it is only fair to mention them (as a credit), and let the user decide which one he likes best.
- DVB Snoop - DVB snoop is a free DVB / MPEG stream analyzer program, which enables you to watch (live) stream information in human readable form. DVB snoop is a command line based program. Output is in text, sometimes it is hard to find what you are looking for. Lot of very detailed info and options. It is written in C, and is open source. You will find small parts of DVB Snoop reused in DVB Inspector.
- TransEdit - TransEdit is a transponder list editor, scanner and analyzer, available as a free add on for purchasers of DVBViewer Pro. If this was written in Java and I could extend it I would never have written my own DVB Inspector.
- NxTSA - NxTSA is also a off-line TS analyzing tool. NxTSA performs analysis and verification of MPEG2/DVB TS. NxTSA is designed to analyze SI/PSI tables, extract Audio, video,teletext components of DVB TS. Goes beyond DVB SI information, and also analyzes content (MPEG Video, audio, teletext)
- TSReaderLite - TSReader is a transport stream analyzer, decoder, recorder and stream manipulator for MPEG2 systems. The free version is limited in exporting information, and must be restarted for every file.
- ProjectX - DVB demux Tool, not really for analyzing, more for demuxing and processing of various types of MPEG streams. Open source and written in java, small parts of it (teletext handling) are used in DVB Inspector.
- TSR (Transport Stream Reader) - Hard to find program without official home page and no longer maintained, small but useful to look at low level bytes.
- MPEG-2 Transport Stream packet analyser - Also useful to look at low level bytes, but also shows details about video decoding.
Prerequisites
You need to have at least Java 1.5 installed on your machine. If you don't know where to find it, or how to install it give up right now. This program is not for you.
Also you will need a decent amount of memory. 2 GB is recommended.
Advantages
Why choose DVB Inspector over other programs? This is a list of advantages it may have over some other programs, but for your purpose it may not be the right choice. You decide.
- It is free.
- It is open source
- It is extendible
- It supports versions of most important tables, so if a PMT changes, you can see all the versions.
- Supports IP/MAC Notification Tables
- Filtering and reordering of PIDs for bit rate charts
Disadvantages
- No warranty
- No support
- You get what you pay for
- Not real time or direct connection to DVB card. Only works on recorded TS files.
- Not very robust for transport streams with lot of reception errors
This page was last modified on 8/11/2011