Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 09:41:38 -0400
From: Judy Hallman <hallman@gibbs.oit.unc.edu>
To: Web-Walkers <web-walkers@unc.edu>
Cc: Tyler Johnson <trjohns1@email.unc.edu>,
Mark McCarthy <maggot@sunsite.unc.edu>
Subject: Summary of Aug 13 Web-Walkers meeting
To Web-Walkers:
Summary of August 13 Web-Walkers meeting:
Streaming Media
Tyler Johnson, Academic Technology and Networks
Mark McCarthy, SunSITE
Mark said that part of SunSITE's mission is to try new things. They started working with streaming media a year ago. There were no viewers then and it took too long to download files.
Bandwidth is like a funnel. When bandwidth is exceeded, the funnel backs up. Video and audio are bandwidth intensive.
Mark concentrates on Progressive Networks RealAudio and RealVideo (http://www.realaudio.com/). They are working with Microsoft (Microsoft owns 10% of Progressive Networks). They have a free server for up to 50 streams.
Mark encoded the Kuralt memorial service (http://alumni.unc.edu/~alumni/audio.html) for the Alumni Association. He encoded it for 28.8 modems. He got a clean sound capture, without side noise, that compressed well. Compression also compresses noise. A shotgun mike in a classroom captures the sound but usually has a lot of noise and doesn't produce good sound. Also, VHS tapes don't provide good quality.
You can link html pages with sound, but sometimes pictures don't download fast enough. Mark is looking at Java to download pictures first.
For 56KB encoded video, encode with the RealVideo high quality option. This slows the load, but you don't start the load right away -- fill the funnel (buffer) before you start playing.
You can tell the encoder what to focus on -- video or audio. Encoding can take a lot of time -- like a couple of hours.
Netscape has MediaPlayer, which currently is audio only; video later.
Mark likes RealAudio and RealVideo.
There is another product called Vivo (http://www.vivo.com/). RealAudio launches into a separate window; Vivo doesn't.
With video on demand, a file exists and can be served out on demand. It's personalized. You can see it when you want to. There can be a lot of streams.
One project the Alumni Association is interested in is streaming the Franklin Street Halloween celebration -- neat stuff, especially for alumni.
Mark showed, at congo.oit.unc.edu, a camera that is located in the SunSITE office that can be controlled manually there and also by remote video controls. See http://www.graham.com/.
Another feature of RealVideo -- you can move ahead to a different spot on the video by moving a button.
Tyler said that there is a pilot project called SprintNet using software from Starlite. It uses mpeg video; the project is primarily for instructional video. You can have multiple windows and browse other areas while video is playing. He demonstrated on demand video, with a dual bandwidth provision -- the web page has two clickables. Internet 2 bandwidth is coming.
It is possible to CamCord presentations for playback, but the quality is not good and the presentations are not compelling.
What kind of services are needed on campus to encode from tape?
Tyler demonstrated an NASA Multicast. Multicasting has one stream. It goes to EVERY COMPUTER ON CAMPUS. It goes places you don't want it to go. Newer switches that are coming will provide more control.
Tyler said they have been testing, a few hours at a time, for the last two months or so.
There are three parts of multimedia service: the server, the network, and the client.
A video server has I/O management to split time up; regular web servers (like Ra, also known as www.unc.edu) don't do that. The same thing is true on the client side. If you're teaching a class, I/O management is important.
Can you install video on a regular server? Yes, and No. You probably can and it will probably play OK. The network is probably OK now, but if there is competition, the streaming will breakup; quality will be bad.
There are a couple of pilot projects trying out video now -- Chancellor's Awards. The School of Pharmacy is using some video. Distance learning projects are trying to synch with Web pages; they are aiming at a 28.8 audience. A 20-second avi format file took 45 minutes to download. They are thinking about CD ROM instead. Trying to do video over a modem is hard.
We're pushing mpeg instead of avi; avi doesn't compress as well; transmits each frame; mpeg transmits changes; mov is a quicktime extension.
Where do you go for help? Central technical support is needed. There was interest in looking for a grant to support a technology person for the campus -- perhaps with special funding from the Chancellor's Awards program.
Initial support will probably just be for pilot programs.
Cable TV may be available in the highrise dorms in January.
There are a few studios on campus that contribute video, like Public Health, Cox, and Sitterson.
With regard to multicasting, Tyler can give out some copies of Starlite to evaluators.
There are many issues to address:
We have to support 28.8 for distance learning. We need a video server. One option is to put support into SunSITE.
To start with, we need to limit the number of users to those in pilot programs.
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Attendees:
I didn't get back the list of attendees.
Judy Hallman (judy_hallman@unc.edu, http://www.unc.edu/~hallman/)
Campus Webmaster, UNC-Chapel Hill