ETSI TR 101 290 Error Reference

ETSI TR 101 290 defines a standard set of quality indicators for MPEG transport streams, organized into three priority levels. TS Analyzer monitors all of them continuously.

Error priority levels

Level	Name	Meaning
Level 1	Critical	Service delivery is impaired or impossible while any Level 1 error is active. Always investigate immediately.
Level 2	Quality indicators	Deviations from standard that may or may not affect service quality but always warrant investigation.
Level 3	Informational	Usually benign, but can affect EPG display, channel switching speed, or CAS behavior on specific subscriber devices.

Deprecated errors

Several entries in the ETSI TR 101 290 standard have been superseded by updated variants. TS Analyzer implements the current versions:

Deprecated	Use instead
1.3 PAT_error	1.3a PAT_error_2
1.5 PMT_error	1.5a PMT_error_2
2.3 PCR_error	2.3a PCR_repetition_error + 2.3b PCR_discontinuity_indicator_error
3.1 NIT_error	3.1a NIT_actual_error + 3.1b NIT_other_error
3.5 SDT_error	3.5a SDT_actual_error + 3.5b SDT_other_error
3.6 EIT_error	3.6a EIT_actual_error + 3.6b EIT_other_error + 3.6c EIT_PF_error

Error contexts

Understanding the context in which an error appears is the most important step in locating its source. The same error — most commonly CCE — can appear in four distinct contexts, each pointing to a different part of the signal chain.

Entire stream errors

Errors that affect every PID in the transport stream simultaneously.

Indicates: A problem in a device that processes the stream as a whole — the receiving device, the transmission medium, or the multiplexer output stage.

Common causes: Insufficient channel bandwidth, RF interference, physical connection problems (bad connectors, damaged cable), network device failure causing packet loss, or buffer overflow in a device in the chain.

Example: TS_sync_loss affects the entire stream. If it appears, no individual service can be decoded.

Service errors

Errors that affect only the PIDs belonging to a specific service, while other services are unaffected.

Indicates: A problem in the component that generates or delivers that particular service — for example, the encoder generating the service, the satellite receiver feeding that service to the multiplexer, or the communication link between the source and the multiplexer.

Example: CCE errors appearing only on the video and audio PIDs of one channel, while all other channels are clean.

PSI/SI errors

Errors in the service information tables (PAT, PMT, SDT, NIT, EIT, CAT, TDT).

Indicates: A problem in the PSI/SI generator (which is usually part of the multiplexer software) or the network device responsible for generating specific tables (such as an EPG server generating EIT, or a CAS server generating CAT/EMM).

Important note: PSI/SI errors can also be caused by errors in other contexts. For example, CCE errors on PID 0 (entire stream or individual PID problem) can corrupt PAT sections, triggering a PAT error as a secondary effect. Always check whether CCE errors are present on the relevant PID before attributing an error to the PSI/SI generator.

Individual PID errors

Errors that appear on a single PID while all other PIDs are clean.

Indicates: A problem in the specific device or system that generates that PID — for example, an EPG server for an EIT PID, a CAS server for an EMM PID, or a specific encoder for its video or audio PID.

Example: CCE errors appearing only on an EMM PID suggest a problem with the CAS server or its connection to the multiplexer.

Error cascade

Errors in one context can trigger errors in others. The most important cascade to understand:

CCE on a PSI/SI PID → table sections lost → table appears absent → structural error activated

For instance: CCE on PID 0 → PAT sections lost → PAT_error_2 triggered. The root cause is the CCE, not the PAT generator. Eliminate CCE before investigating structural table errors.

This is why CCE should always be investigated first and cleared before pursuing other errors.