ID3 Tag Validator Application User Manual
Release 1.8 Revision F
30
Nielsen Confidential
The breakout type is a user-configurable value. Your application, however, should include
safeguards that guarantee that the breakout code is set to 0.
Test 10 Result: Watermark Time Test
Format
Format
<number of watermark time errors / 0 /
maximum tolerated>
Number of Errors
Number of errors detected
0
Not used
Maximum Tolerated
Maximum number of errors tolerated before failure is
declared
Meaning
The PCM-to-ID3 SDK keeps track of any watermarks that have timestamps that appear
to jump forward or backward (or remain the same) at a pace that is not synchronized with
the running transport-stream or ID3 tag “clock.” It also keeps track of changes in daylight
saving time (DST) flags. Any discrepancies between the expected watermark time (or
DST flag) and the actual setting are tallied as watermark time warnings.
These observations regarding watermarks are counted as
warnings
, not errors, because
ID3 tag-inserter applications are not responsible for
generating
watermarks. Tag-inserter
applications simply
report
watermarks and use them to set CID values.
Test 10 provides supporting information if there are reported CID errors in a specific ID3
tag. The watermark warnings should be considered informational only.
Example
The example below shows Validator found 36 time stamp errors. The test passed
because Validator allows up to 59 errors.
Audio Watermark: Time Code Test: Pass <36/0/59>
Corresponding Log Message
When a watermark time code error occurs, the following message appears in the log file:
-59: Warning, Sequence Number xx, EDU xx: Watermark timecode
error.
Diagnostic Tips
Watermark issues can result from poor encoding or decoding. If you are running the live
test, avoid quiet program content such as talk shows. If the decoder is a problem, you
may need to investigate your pre-processing of the audio stream.