Quantel selects Dscope for server test/measurement

Mark Whyle, test and QA manager at Quantel, said that a key reason for the decision to use Dscope was the amount of time the instrument would help save in carrying out AES digital audio testing on Quantel's multi-port server systems.

He estimates that the benefits to Quantel of using an automated audio test system equates to enough time saved during the testing procedure to build and test one extra server per month, per person.

The Dscope system is now used on every sQ server built at Quantel.

Matthew Pearton, senior test engineer at Quantel, said: 'Every port on our servers has the capability to ingest and/or output eight channels of AES digital audio on both balanced and unbalanced interfaces.

'That all needs testing - and with up to 12 ports on a single server that is an awful lot of testing.

'This is where Prism Sound's automated system comes into its own.

'The system gives a thorough test of our audio paths including checking the digital carrier signal or jitter and frame rate compliance, and also checking that every data bit is handled transparently,' he added.

With Quantel's sQ servers in use with clients in critical online, on-air environments, ensuring that every part of the system is fully functional and correctly configured is essential.

Whyle said that an added bonus of using Dscope was the professional way that Prism Sound's sales team dealt with sales and support.

Prism Sound's Dscope series III external interface processor includes precision analogue and highly-optimised digital outputs and inputs.

Precise and automatic gain-ranging allows high-resolution measurements over a wide range, from a few micro-volts to more than 150V rms and from less than 1Hz to more than 90kHz.

Its interface processor uses dedicated digital signal processing to provide a range of real-time measurements, while its software uses the host PC for almost unlimited number crunching and analysis options such as Fast Fourier Transforms, power spectrum analysis, swept sine and multi-tone testing.

Designed to be highly programmable, the Dscope series III can be automated from a wide range of third-party software using Active X controls, or internally using VBScript.