OPTV IPTV

Evidence Standards

Troubleshooting advice is only useful if you can tell how it was arrived at. These are the six labels we use to describe how we know something, and what each one requires before we are allowed to use it.

The rule behind all of them is the same: a claim may never be stated more confidently than its evidence supports, and we may not show a label without the evidence that label requires.

What we have verified so far

No claim on this site currently carries the Tested label. Our testing methodology is written but no test has been run yet, so every technical position we publish is currently Documented or Provisional. We would rather say that plainly than imply a level of verification we have not done.

Accurate as of 2026-07-19. Claims at the Tested tier: 0.

The six labels

  • Tested

    What it means
    We performed the test ourselves and recorded the result.
    What we must show
    A published method, the date it was run, the specific devices and software versions used, and the measured result — including any runs that were discarded and why.
    What it does not claim
    That the result generalises beyond the environment it was measured in. A result from one property is a fact about that property until it is replicated elsewhere.

  • Observed

    What it means
    We have seen this repeatedly in real support cases, but have not measured it under controlled conditions.
    What we must show
    A stated basis — roughly how often and how recently it has been seen.
    What it does not claim
    A measured effect size, or that the pattern holds for every setup.

  • Documented

    What it means
    This comes from vendor, platform or standards documentation rather than from our own testing.
    What we must show
    A citation to the source it came from.
    What it does not claim
    That we have independently verified it, or that it holds on the specific hardware you are using.

  • Reported

    What it means
    This has been reported by users or the wider community and we have not independently confirmed it.
    What we must show
    The context the report came from.
    What it does not claim
    Accuracy. This is the weakest tier we will publish a positive claim at.

  • Limitation

    What it means
    A confirmed boundary that no fix changes — something that simply cannot be done on this hardware, platform or connection.
    What we must show
    The scope of what it affects.
    What it does not claim
    That a workaround exists.

  • Provisional

    What it means
    Plausible and worth trying, but we have not verified it. The label is the disclosure.
    What we must show
    Nothing beyond the label itself.
    What it does not claim
    Anything. If a claim is marked provisional, treat it as a suggestion rather than a finding.

How labels change

A label can move in either direction. A claim moves up when we test it and record the result. It moves down when the evidence behind it stops holding — if a source we relied on is withdrawn, or a test result is invalidated or expires, the label drops rather than quietly staying where it was.

Tested results carry a revalidation date. Firmware, apps and networks change, so a measurement taken two years ago should visibly age rather than persist as a current fact.

Where we have no evidence at all, we show no label. An absent label means we have nothing to show, not that the claim is unimportant.

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