Media stream monitoring

A stream monitor comprising:

• a processor;
• memory coupled to the processor;
• a program of instructions stored in the memory, wherein during execution the program of instructions configures the processor to:
• initiate a media-stream-monitoring-application that monitors a plurality of media streams including packetized media content;
• obtain a plurality of media stream records associated with the plurality of media streams, wherein the media stream records include addresses used to connect to the plurality of media streams;
• attempt to connect to a first media stream associated with a first media stream record, wherein connecting to the first media stream includes requesting a sample packet from the address associated with the first media stream;
• identify an error associated with the sample packet;
• at least in part based on identifying the error associated with the sample packet:
• disconnect from first media stream;
• generate an error report;
• and
• discard the first media stream record.

A stream monitoring system comprising:

• a streaming server serving a plurality of media streams including packetized media content;
• a stream monitor including a processor and associated memory, the stream monitor coupled to the streaming server and configured to:
• initiate a media-stream-monitoring-application that monitors the plurality of media streams;
• obtain a plurality of media stream records associated with the plurality of media streams, wherein the media stream records include addresses used to connect to the plurality of media streams;
• attempt to connect to a first media stream associated with a first media stream record, wherein connecting to the first media stream includes requesting a sample packet from the address associated with the first media stream;
• identify an error associated with the sample packet;
• at least in part based on identifying the error associated with the sample packet:
• disconnect from first media stream;
• generate an error report;
• and
• discard the first media stream record.