A novel approach to testing seamless audio & video playback in CTA WAVE

CTA's Web Application Video Ecosystem (WAVE) project aims to improve how internet-delivered video and audio is handled on consumer electronics devices. This paper presents in further detail the mechanisms that are proposed to automatically verify requirements in the Device Playback Capabilities Specification [1]. Specifically, those requirements include observations that audio and video playback is seamless. A test approach using artefacts applied onto the source video and audio will be described, which has proved successful. For video, QR codes are used; for audio, white noise is added, and a cross-correlation algorithm applied. The test media with these artefacts applied, and the novel processing applied in a software "observation framework" component, form part of the test environment provided by WAVE to the ecosystem. These open-source tools together with off the shelf hardware afford the tester a means to compare the original content with a recorded capture from the device under test, which may include mobile, smart TVs and other media playback devices, and automatically assert whether the WAVE requirements are met.