[Videoconferencing] Auditorium room and AV upgrades - please read and respond

[Andrew Daviel]

Per my last message to the Videoconferencing list, the auditorium was 
upgraded with new paint, chairs etc. and two new LCD monitors.

At time of writing, the right monitor can show a copy of what is on the 
projector, while the left one can also show the Polycom H323 video or the
EVO (Seevogh) console using the wireless mouse and keyboard (currently in 
the annexe for safekeeping).

We have installed but not commissioned a lecture capture system capable of 
recording laptop VGA.
Right now, since ICFA, VGA from the Mac (if present) and laptop 
is being converted to HDMI for the projector by a switch box in the 
annexe. We will be able to accommodate new laptops with only HDMI output, 
but we probably need a way to switch from the podium.



We intend further changes in April - a new projection screen, changing the 
podium again, physically removing the stage, adding some fixed power 
outlets in the floor. I would like to completely hide the wiring to the 
podium in a conduit, like the wiring to the table in the boardroom or 
ISAC2, which would probably entail fixing the podium location.

I would like to upgrade the Polycom H323 Viewstation to e.g. a Lifesize HD 
unit similar to that in the Boardroom, also to upgrade the EVO system to 
use the HD camera we have installed.

We will probably install a newer, hopefully less noisy, wireless lavalier 
microphone which can be used for sound reinforcement.
We might get a handheld wireless microphone that can be passed around, if 
there is interest.



The existing RealVideo streaming will probably be retired in favour of a 
Sliverlight-based HD system similar to that used at UBC, if not in fact 
contracting the actual system used at UBC. I am still trying to ascertain 
what clients exactly are supported by that.

RealVideo supports Windows, Mac, Linux, maybe Solaris and in the past 
Irix, with both buffered (delayed) streaming and on-demand downloads at a 
couple of different bitrates. Multicast is supported allowing hundreds of 
clients onsite. The system only supports one video stream, and 
historically we have pointed an NTSC camera at the screen and cross-faded 
to other cameras for views of the presenter or audience.

Mediasite supports Windows, Mac, and iOS for streaming using Microsoft's 
Silverlight plugin (as used for the 2010 Olympics). It may or may not work 
in Linux - Sandia's site works for me at home in Moonlight on CENTOS6, but 
UBC's does not. They won't work in my SL5 for some reason.
Mediasite uses VGA capture to send HD video of a presentation, plus video 
from one camera, giving a similar effect to Seevogh with screen capture 
but with only 2 feeds not N. As in RealVideo, the feed is buffered so that 
it is more resistant to jitter and packet loss than a realtime 2-way 
conference like Seevogh or H323.
Mediasite supports professional quality archiving/indexing, OCR on 
captured screenshots for later searching.

Mediasite is supposed to work directly on iPads.
Archived content is supposed to be available for Android tablets and 
devices, and for Linux, Solaris etc. but that may depend on some 
postprocessing, and a server configuration that supports non-Silverlight 
navigation. To date, I have not seen working examples.

Examples:
The Sandia archive worked for me at home in Moonlight 3.99. The quality 
seemed very good even on a cable modem:
http://mediasiteson.sandia.gov/mediasite/Catalog/pages/catalog.aspx?catalogId=7402e84d-48e4-467e-813c-0ecd42ca3d08

The Better Buildings archive works in a regular Web browser, but the video
would not play for me. Probably requires Silverlight 5:
http://ecw.mediasite.com/mediasite/Catalog/catalogs/betterbuildings.aspx

The UBC site won't work for me at all. The error message states that it 
requires Silverlight or HTML5.
However, Firefox supports HTML5 video (WEBM), and does not work. I have 
not yet tried Chrome (which supports both WEBM and MP4 (H264 codec)
http://mediasitemob1.mediagroup.ubc.ca/Mediasite/Play/4f02e944e6c54203a8f4817a0e2b3e111d



Comments ? Complaints ? Any other suggestions ?
Now is the time to speak up.


Misc. Links:
http://www.sonicfoundry.com/mediasite            - Mediasite homepage
http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/community.aspx  - Moonlight/Silverlight samples
http://video.triumf.ca/                          - existing RealMedia archive
http://videojs.com/                              - HTML5 video intro
http://video-js.zencoder.com/oceans-clip.webm    - WEBM video, plays directly in Firefox, Opera, Chrome
http://video-js.zencoder.com/oceans-clip.mp4     - MP4 video, plays directly in Chrome, IE9



-- 
Andrew Daviel, TRIUMF, Canada
Tel. +1 (604) 222-7376  (Pacific Time)