Input device metrics

You can use Amazon CloudWatch metrics to monitor input devices such as AWS Elemental Link. CloudWatch collects raw data that from these input devices, and processes it into readable, near real-time metrics that are kept for 15 months. You use CloudWatch to view the metrics. Metrics can help you gain a better perspective about how MediaLive is performing over the short term and long term.

Dimensions for input devices

• InputDeviceId – This value is a unique identifier for each input device.

• Device Type – The specific model type of the input device, such as AWS Elemental Link HD or UHD.

Using SDI

Indicates if SDI is the currently selected input for an AWS Elemental Link device.

A value of 0 indicates that SDI is not the active input. A value of 1 indicates that SDI is the active input.

Details:

• Name: UsingSdi

• Units: Boolean.

• Meaning of zero: SDI is not the selected input.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Minimum (SDI input is inactive) or maximum (SDI input is active).

Using HDMI

Indicates if HDMI is the currently selected input for an AWS Elemental Link device.

A value of 0 indicates that HDMI is not the active input. A value of 1 indicates that HDMI is the active input.

Details:

• Name: UsingHdmi

• Units: Boolean.

• Meaning of zero: HDMI is not the selected input.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Minimum (HDMI input is inactive) or maximum (HDMI input is active).

Input locked

Indicates if an AWS Elemental Link device has successfully locked on to the input signal.

A value of 0 indicates that the input signal is not locked. A value of 1 indicates that the input is successfully locked.

Details:

• Name: InputLocked

• Units: Boolean.

• Meaning of zero: The device is not locked onto a signal. Either because nothing is plugged in, or the device is unable to detect the input signal.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Maximum. Indicates that the signal is successfully locked.

Encoder running

The encoder is successfully processing the input signal from an AWS Elemental Link device

A value of 0 indicates that the encoder is not running and the input is not being processed. A value of 1 indicates that the encoder is successfully processing the locked input signal.

Details:

• Name: EncoderRunning

• Units: Boolean.

• Meaning of zero: The encoder is not processing the input signal. Verify that a valid signal is being passed to the input (device). Look at Locked and Running.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Maximum. Indicates that the encoder is successfully processing.

Linked to stream endpoint

An AWS Elemental Link device is connected to the streaming endpoint in AWS.

A value of 0 indicates that the device is not connected to the streaming endpoint. A value of 1 indicates that the device is successfully connected to the streaming endpoint.

Details:

• Name: LinkedToStreamEndpoint

• Units: Boolean.

• Meaning of zero: The device is not connected to a streaming endpoint.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Maximum. Indicates that the device is successfully connected to the streaming endpoint.

Streaming

An AWS Elemental Link device is successfully streaming the input signal to MediaLive.

A value of 0 indicates that the input signal is not being streamed through to MediaLive. A value of 1 indicates that the device is successfully streaming the input signal to MediaLive.

Details:

• Name: Streaming

• Units: Boolean.

• Meaning of zero: The device is not fully streaming. Verify that the previous metrics are displaying the recommended statistics.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Maximum. Indicates that the device is successfully streaming the input signal to MediaLive.

Temperature

The temperature in degrees Celsius of an AWS Elemental Link device. Consult your device's documentation for recommended operating conditions.

Details:

• Name: Temperature

• Units: Degrees Celsius.

• Meaning of zero: A temperature of zero degrees Celsius is below the recommended operating temperature of the AWS Elemental Link device family.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Average.

Configured bitrate

The configured Maximum bitrate on an AWS Elemental Link device.

This value represents the highest bitrate that the input signal will be encoded.

Details:

• Name: ConfiguredBitrate

• Units: Bits per second.

• Meaning of zero: Not applicable. Consult the minimum required bitrates for your device.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: P90.

Encoder bitrate

The actively encoded bitrate on an AWS Elemental Link device

This value represents the actual bitrate that is being encoded. If a Maximum bitrate has been configured (this is represented by the Configured bitrate value), this value will not exceed it.

Details:

• Name: EncoderBitrate

• Units: Bits per second.

• Meaning of zero: The encoder is not running.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not connected to AWS.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: P90.

Configured bitrate available

On an AWS Elemental Link device, the portion of Configured bitrate that the device can satisfy based on network conditions.

The bitrate that is actively encoded is a result of the configured bitrate and the network conditions at the time the metric is measured.

If a Maximum bitrate is configured, the input device will evaluate the network connection and deliver at a bitrate below the maximum, as long as the network supports it. If no Maximum bitrate value is set, the input device will determine the best bitrate for the network connection between the device and the MediaLive service. The Encoder bitrate metric represents the actual encoding bitrate, whether a Maximum bitrate value is set, or isn't set.

Details:

• Units: Percentage.

• Meaning of zero: Not applicable. While the encoder is running, a non-zero bitrate will be encoded.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not streaming.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: P90.

Total packets

On an AWS Elemental Link device, the total number of packets that were successfully delivered to the AWS streaming endpoint.

Details:

• Units: Count.

• Meaning of zero: No packets are being delivered from the Link device to the streaming endpoint.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not streaming.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Sum.

Recovered packets

On an AWS Elemental Link device, the number of packets that were lost during transit, but recovered by error correction.

Details:

• Name: RecoveredPackets

• Units: Count.

• Meaning of zero: The stream is healthy. Successfully delivered packets did not require error correction.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not streaming.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Sum.

Not recovered packets

On an AWS Elemental Link device, the number of packets that were lost during transit and were not recovered by error correction.

Details:

• Name: NotRecoveredPackets

• Units: Count.

• Meaning of zero: The stream is healthy. No packets have been lost in transit from the Link device to the streaming endpoint.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not streaming.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Sum.

Error seconds

On an AWS Elemental Link device, the number of seconds in which one or more packets were dropped and not recovered.

Details:

• Name: ErrorSeconds

• Units: Count.

• Meaning of zero: The stream is healthy. No packets have been lost in transit from the Link device to the streaming endpoint.

• Meaning of no datapoints: The device is not streaming.

• Supported dimension sets: InputDeviceId and DeviceType.

• Recommended statistic: Sum.

Use cases

Scenario: My device is not streaming.

If you have started a channel, but find that the stream is not functioning correctly, you can use metrics to isolate the source of the issue. The following metrics represent different points from the input source to the final stream. An issue at any point could indicate why your stream is not working.

To find a malfunctioning stream, look at the following metrics (in order). Start at input source and end at final stream.

• Using SDI/Using HDMI

  • Verify the Link device is configured to use the input type that matches the connected source.

• Input locked

  • If this is 0, the encoder cannot identify a signal from the connected source. Verify that you have a connected source that matches the selected input type.

• Encoder running

  • If this is 0, the Link device cannot encode the signal. If the input is locked, this could indicate a problem with the Link device.

• Linked to stream endpoint

  • If this is 0, the Link device cannot connect to its streaming endpoint in the AWS service. Verify the encoder is running by checking the Encoder running metric. If the encoder is running, verify that port 2088 is not blocked on your network. For a list of ports that must be open, consult the HD datasheet or UHD datasheet.

• Streaming

  • If this is 0, verify that the channel has been started. If the value is still 0, investigate the previous metrics to isolate the source of the problem.

Scenario: My video quality is substandard.

Substandard video quality can be the result of a network performance issue. To determine if network performance is the cause, look at Configured bitrate, Encoder bitrate, and Configured bitrate available. If Configured bitrate available is consistently less than 100%, that indicates that the Link device's network connection is unable to satisfy the configured bandwidth. When that happens, the Encoder bitrate is reduced to adjust to the inferior network connection.

When the Encoder bitrate is reduced due to a network connection issue, the encoder attempts to maintain video quality by preventing packet loss. However, the resolution, frame rate, and scene complexity can affect the encoder’s ability to produce a high quality stream. We recommend that HD devices running at 60 frames per second (FPS) maintain an Encoder bitrate of at least five Megabits per second (Mbps). UHD devices running at 60 FPS should maintain an Encoder bitrate of 10 to 15 Mbps.

You can use the following metrics to troubleshoot the frequency and severity of network interruptions:

• Recovered packets

  • If this is greater than 0, packets were dropped in transit and were recovered by error correction. Although recovered packets will not impact video quality, consistent packet drops can indicate that the stream might experience issues in the future.

• Not recovered packets

  • If this is greater than 0, packets were dropped in transit and were not recovered by error correction. A loss of packets can result in poor video quality. You can compare this with the value of Total packets to determine what percentage of incoming packets were lost.

• Error seconds

  • If this is greater than 0, it indicates that the stream experienced one or more seconds in which packets were dropped and not recovered. This metric quantifies video quality issues as a total period of impacted time, rather than a packet count.