Encoded Media's multicast troubleshooting tool, McTest
If you are experiencing network problems relating to multicast, or simply wish to confirm that your network is handling multicast streams correctly, Encoded Media's free multicast testing tool can help shed light on them. McTest is available from the following location:
https://www.encodedmedia.com/getmctest
No installation is required. Extract the contents of the archive to your desktop or a temporary folder and run the McTestClient.exe program from there direct.
To troubleshoot multicast streams from a TV Server, take the following steps:
- Open McTest and ensure the Multicast button is selected at the top left.
- Copy and paste the multicast address of a TV Server channel stream into the IP Address In field at the top.
- Click the Start button at the bottom.
What you're hoping to see is that the green Quality bar in the centre of the screen reports 100%. Problems with the stream will be highlighted on the graph and in the Errors field.
In the event you see errors, this is an indication that your network is either dropping packets or that the TV or satellite signal reception is poor (McTest monitors the MPEG-TS continuity counter and can see when source packets are missing).