Getting Started

Use this page for the shortest path from installation to a completed first inspection.

💽 Installation

Install the desktop application using the package provided for your environment.
You can download the application from https://impleotv.github.io/stinspector-release/.

Demo test files for first-run verification are available for download from the release assets: https://github.com/impleotv/stinspector-release/releases/download/v.0.0.0/testfiles.zip

After installation:

• start the application from its installed shortcut or executable
• confirm that the main window opens normally
• if you already have a license file, upload it from the License area before testing live features

If no license has been installed yet, the application runs in demo mode and only allows a predefined set of demo files. See Licensing.

☝ Before You Begin

Before starting your first inspection, keep these constraints in mind:

• File mode is the simplest way to verify that the application is working correctly.
• Live mode is optional and requires a license with the live_inspection capability.
• Recorded-file inspection expects a local MPEG-TS or STANAG 4609 source that the application can analyze, ingest, process, and report on.

If you want a known test input for your first run, use one of the assets listed on Test files.

🚀 First Launch

On first launch, decide which workflow you want to use:

• Open the File view to inspect a recorded file from local storage.
• Open the Live view to connect to a udp:// source when your license supports live inspection.
• Open the License area if you need to upload or review the current license.

For a first-run verification, prefer File mode. It exercises the full recorded-file workflow and produces a stable result that you can reopen later.

▶️ Quick Start: Inspect A Recorded File

Use this flow to complete your first recorded-file inspection:

1. Open the File view.
2. Enter a local file path, or select Browse and choose the recorded file you want to inspect.
3. Confirm the File path field contains the intended source.
4. Start inspection.
5. Let the application complete the Analyze, Ingest, and Process stages.
6. Review the generated report and validation findings.

If the selected file is valid for the current workflow and license state, the application moves the session forward through the pipeline automatically.

❓What Each Stage Does

The recorded-file workflow is stage-based. Understanding those stages makes the rest of the manual easier to follow.

📂 Select

Choose the local file you want to inspect.

🔍 Analyze

The application confirms that the source can be opened and gathers enough information to decide whether the file can continue through the inspection pipeline.

🛢️ Ingest

The application scans transport-stream structure, resolves program signaling such as PAT and PMT, and identifies the streams needed for later validation.

📈 Process

The application applies the configured MPEG-TS and KLV validation rules to the ingested data.

📝 Report

The application presents the final inspection outcome so you can review rule results and investigate the relevant source locations.

🎯 Understanding Results

After processing completes, use the report to answer three basic questions:

• Did the file complete the full pipeline successfully?
• Which validation rules passed, warned, or failed?
• Where in the source did the reported issues occur?

Use Validation Rules when you need rule-by-rule interpretation of a specific finding. Use the User Guide for workflow-specific detail beyond this first-run overview.

🗂️ Reopening Files And Reusing Results

When you reopen a recorded file, ST Inspector can reuse previously completed Analyze, Ingest, and Process results instead of running them again. Reuse happens only when the file content hash matches and the saved results were produced with the same effective validation rules or configuration and the same application pipeline version.

If any of those inputs changed, the application starts from the earliest stage that must be run again.

See Configuration for the default database location on each supported platform and how to override it.

Archive Page

The Archive page shows recorded files that already have cached inspection data in the application's internal database. Each archive entry is keyed by the file's content hash, not only by its path.

That matters when you open a file again:

• if the file content hash matches an existing archive entry, the application can reopen the cached results for that file hash
• if the file is moved or renamed but the bytes are unchanged, it still matches the same archived file hash
• if the file contents changed, the hash changes too, so the application treats it as a different file and rebuilds the stages that are no longer reusable

The Archive page is therefore the visible list of reusable recorded-file results already stored in the local database.

Internally, the database stores more than a simple file list. For each archived file hash, it keeps the resolved file record together with cached stage results and dependent analysis data such as test results, diagnostics, detections, ingest summaries, and transport or metadata details needed to reopen prior results.

Archive entries occupy space in that internal database for as long as you keep them. The more processed files you retain, the more database space is used by cached summaries and detailed ingest or metadata records.

If you no longer need an archived file, use the Archive page to delete its entry. Deleting an archive entry removes the cached data associated with that file hash from the internal database and frees the corresponding database space for reuse.

👉 Where To Go Next

After your first successful run, continue with these sections:

• Licensing for demo mode, feature options, and license upload
• User Guide for File mode, Live mode, and REST automation
• Validation Rules for rule-by-rule behavior and interpretation
• Test files for sample inputs tied to specific validation scenarios