En bref : Witbe est un acteur historique de l’assurance qualité et du monitoring proactif, spécialisé dans les services vidéo. Sa plateforme couvre le monitoring des services et des publicités, la vérification des contenus VoD et le contrôle à distance des appareils, via le Witbox et sa suite logicielle. Ce guide analyse la technologie Witbe, ses fonctionnalités clés et les formes sous lesquelles ses solutions se déclinent.
For more than twenty years, Witbe has established itself as a leader in quality assurance thanks to its automated testing and proactive monitoring solutions.
Today, Witbe has more than 300 customers worldwide, including telecom operators, broadcasters, and content providers.
Although the company has always offered general web monitoring solutions, it has decided to discontinue these offeringsto refocus exclusively on testing video players.
In this article, we explore the value Witbe brings today and in the future, as well as the testing alternatives available to help you monitor your website with confidence if your company is no longer part of Witbe’s evolving target audience.
The New Era of Witbe – An All-in-One Platform for Video Service Providers
A pioneer in the field of automated monitoring and testing of video services, Witbe has carved out a niche for itself in the world of video streaming, a rapidly growing sector with increasingly demanding requirements.
Today, Witbe offers a unified testing approach to monitor the quality of the user experience provided by video streaming services.
This approach is particularly relevant at a time when the complexity of distribution methods and the wide variety of streaming devices make it harder than ever to assess service quality.
Ultimately, the only way to gauge the true user experience of these services is to test them on actual devices.
As a result, Witbe has developed technology capable of testing and monitoring any video service running on any device anywhere in the world.
Whether for live, catch-up, or on-demand services, Witbe guarantees optimal performance on all types of devices (PCs, smartphones, set-top boxes, Smart TVs, etc.) and over any network (fiber, 5G, OTT, etc.).
Witbe's key features, developed specifically for video testing requirements
Video Service Monitoring
Witbe's video service monitoring technology helps operations teams respond quickly and effectively to service outages.
With real-time alerts and video logs, teams can quickly identify and resolve service quality issues.
Advertisement Monitoring and Verification
Witbe's ad monitoring and verification capabilities enable video service providers to identify and resolve issues caused by dynamic ad insertion.
This feature allows you to accurately measure ad performance on real devices and access video recordings to verify ad impressions, which can be shared with third-party advertisers.
Verification of VoD Content
Witbe's VoD (video on demand) content verification ensures that video libraries are functioning as expected.
It verifies that each piece of content is available and displays correctly by using the same metrics as a real user to evaluate performance.
Remote Control of Devices
This feature eliminates the constraints associated with service interruptions at specific locations.
With remotely accessible test equipment, you can control a device located anywhere in the world from anywhere.
What forms do Witbe solutions take?
Witbe's technology combines the Witbox hardware lineup with the Witbe Software Suite.
The Witbox
These compact devices make it possible to test real devices from anywhere in the world.
WitboxOne: a leading device for testing and monitoring streaming video, ideal for testing set-top boxes, OTT devices, game consoles, and smart TVs.
Witbox Plus: a powerful, compact model capable of testing up to four 4K or mobile devices simultaneously.
Witbox Net: designed for web video testing, with features specifically tailored for web monitoring.
The Witbe Software Suite
An ecosystem of interconnected programs designed to simplify the video delivery process:
Remote Eye Controller (REC): Allows you to access and control any device connected to a Witbox.
Workbench: a tool for programming automated test scenarios on real devices.
Smartgate: a solution that sends alerts and video recordings as soon as a quality issue is detected, along with detailed reports highlighting key KPIs.
Witbe's Strategic Shift—Implications and Alternatives
Witbe recently announced a major strategic shift: the company is moving away from web monitoring to focus exclusively on testing video players.
While this decision is understandable from a strategic standpoint, it leaves a gap for companies that need a comprehensive solution combining web and video monitoring.
The Limitations of Witbe in the Current Context
Lack of versatility: Witbe will no longer meet web monitoring needs.
Limited adaptability: Some industries require a solution capable of handling both web and video, which Witbe no longer offers.
Impacts on Businesses
Companies using Witbe for web monitoring will face a major challenge:
Identify a reliable and high-performance alternative to ensure a flawless web user experience.
Viable Automated Testing Alternatives—How to Choose?
Before choosing an automated testing solution, ask yourself the following questions:
- What features are you looking for?
- Who will use the tool (developers or QA teams)?
- What are the users' technical skills?
- Can the tool be integrated into CI/CD pipelines?
- Is it easy to manage scripts and reuse test resources?
- What is your team's budget?
- Where can I get help with technical issues?
Depending on the answers, you can choose an open-source tool (Selenium, Cypress) or a more intuitive SaaS solution (Mr Suricate, Tricentis).
Among these solutions, Mr Suricate stands out thanks to several key features:
- Test scripts can be easily created and run using a user-friendly interface.
- Its approach, which is based on predefined templates, saves you time when creating tests.
- An alert system that immediately notifies testers when a test fails, exceeds a predefined threshold, or when undesirable behavior is detected.
- An all-in-one solution (Web, mobile app, API, accessibility, SEO, performance, load, and data layer)
- Personalized guidance and comprehensive support in using the platform.
On that note, here are a few articles that might be helpful:
- Mr Suricate Serenity BDD vs. Pingdom
- Mr Suricate Alfred Monitoring vs. Tosca
- Top 8 Cross-Platform Testing Tools
- Top 5 Best Automated Testing Tools for 2024
- Mr Suricate Datadog vs. Contentsquare: Differences and Complementarity
- Mr Suricate Agilitest vs. Cerberus Testing
- Software Selection and Reviews – Katalon vs. Leapwork vs. Tricentis
Mr Suricate the no-code tool for detecting all bugs across all platforms
Mr Suricate a French no-code solution that ensures user flows operate optimally by detecting bugs before and after deployment.
It makes it easy to test applications and websites across various browsers, operating systems, and platforms, simulating user journeys at regular intervals.
Its ease of use allows non-technical users to create automated test scripts, run them on different browsers, and analyze the results using clear and detailed reports.
FAQ
Que fait Witbe ?
Witbe propose des solutions de test automatisé et de monitoring proactif spécialisées dans les services vidéo : surveillance des flux, vérification des publicités et des contenus VoD, contrôle à distance des appareils.
À qui s’adressent les solutions Witbe ?
Principalement aux fournisseurs de services vidéo et aux opérateurs télécoms qui doivent garantir la qualité de diffusion sur de nombreux appareils et réseaux.
Sous quelles formes se déclinent les solutions Witbe ?
Notamment via le Witbox, un boîtier de test sur appareils réels, et la Witbe Software Suite, plateforme logicielle de monitoring et de vérification.