MPEG-TS Analysis in C#: VisioForge vs ffprobe¶

Media Blocks SDK .Net

Why this matters¶

ffprobe is a superb command-line tool for a quick look at a media file. But the moment you need transport-stream analysis inside a .NET application — a live monitoring dashboard, an ingest validator, an automated QC gate — the CLI model starts working against you: you have to spawn a separate process, capture its text or JSON output, parse it, and you still only get a one-shot snapshot with no compliance framework.

The Media Blocks SDK .NET TSAnalyzerBlock is built for exactly that job. It is an in-process, live, broadcast-grade MPEG-TS monitor that reports strongly-typed results continuously, with full ETSI TR 101 290 Priority 1/2/3 compliance — something ffprobe simply does not provide.

What sets the TS Analyzer apart¶

1. In-process, strongly-typed — no CLI, no text parsing¶

You connect a source block to the analyzer and read a TSAnalyzerReport object. No Process.Start, no stdout capture, no brittle string/JSON parsing, no version-dependent output format to track. Every metric is a typed property you can bind, log, or assert on directly.

2. Live and event-driven¶

ffprobe is one-shot: it runs, prints, exits. The TSAnalyzerBlock raises OnAnalysisUpdated on a configurable cadence (every second by default) for the entire life of the stream — perfect for real-time dashboards, drift detection, and alerting. A final report is delivered at end-of-stream.

3. Broadcast-grade TR 101 290 — built in¶

The analyzer evaluates the full TR 101 290 Priority 1/2/3 check list (sync loss, PAT/PMT/PID errors, continuity-count errors, transport errors, CRC errors, PCR/PTS errors, SDT/EIT/TDT/NIT errors) and returns each check with its priority, error count, and pass/fail status. ffprobe has no equivalent compliance framework — you would have to build one yourself on top of its output.

4. Passthrough mode — analyze while you record or relay¶

In InputOutput mode the original transport stream is forwarded unchanged to the next block, so you can validate a feed at the same time as you record or restream it — zero re-mux, one pipeline. ffprobe sits outside your media path entirely.

5. One API, any source, every platform¶

File, UDP (unicast and multicast), and SRT all feed the same analyzer through the same API, on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Feature comparison¶

The matrix below reflects the current capabilities of the TSAnalyzerBlock. ✅ = supported, ⚠️ = partial/indirect, ❌ = not available.

A few honest notes so the table stays trustworthy. Codec coverage is per-attribute, not uniform: resolution is parsed for H.264, HEVC, and MPEG-2; profile, level, and chroma for H.264/HEVC only; aspect ratio and frame rate from the MPEG-1/2 sequence header (not yet from the H.264/HEVC VUI). The PCR clock drift in ppm field is reserved and not yet computed (jitter and repetition are). ffprobe also remains excellent at exhaustive per-codec metadata and supports a far wider range of container/codec formats beyond MPEG-TS.

When to use which¶

• Reach for ffprobe when you want a quick terminal check of an arbitrary media file, or you are scripting a one-off in a shell and the format may not be MPEG-TS.
• Reach for the TSAnalyzerBlock when transport-stream analysis needs to live inside your .NET app — continuous monitoring, TR 101 290 compliance gating, live dashboards/alerts, or analyzing a feed while you simultaneously record or relay it.

They are not mutually exclusive: many teams use ffprobe at the desk and ship VisioForge in the product.

Next steps¶

• MPEG-TS Stream Analyzer Block — the full block reference: modes, settings, and the complete report model.
• Analyze and validate an MPEG-TS stream in C# — a step-by-step task guide.