“Pushing the Content Boundary” The July E2B Conference 11 th July 2002 Alex Jadavji Managing Director – Synetrix

Agenda  Isn’t the written word enough?  Historical view of Video communication for commercial use  Extending the reach of teaching and learning techniques today by “clever” use of the Internet.  Empirical Evidence !

Origin of the species Ability to share information through technology Time Communication techniques evolving Sharing of knowledge base

The 4 semi-permeable membranes(aka recall) Visual – 45-55% 1 st time retention Audio/Visual – 55-75% 1 st time retention “I see what you are saying but…………..” Audio – 35-55% 1 st time retention Text – 25-45% 1 st time retention [Audio/Visual/Practical – 85-95% 1 st time retention!!]

Human nature to be short sighted and resistant to change? “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.” “The device is inherently of no value to us.” Western Union internal memo, 1876

But of course eventually…… The Telephone System Happened “Should have done this years ago !” Western Union internal memo

infrastructure before e-learning is enabled (i before e!)

The foundation of communication is infrastructure (i) ISDN H.320 Point to Point (1 to 1 communication) ISDN (bridged) H.320 Multipoint (1 to many, or many to many) Used by the those who afford the high cost of entry: 1.Expensive end systems (£20,000-£50,000) 2.Early systems supported Basic Rate ISDN (128Kbps) 3.Unreliable (Operating system based, eg. OS/2) 4.High cost of ISDN, especially internationally 5.Low Quality

The foundation of communication is infrastructure (i) ISDN (up to 384Kbps) H.320 Quality of ISDN improves and ATM arrives ATM Private and Public networks arrive Gateways between ISDN (H320) and ATM (H321) H.321 Speeds now upto 384kbps for ISDN and ATM systems now able to use MPEG1 OR MPEG2 (>8Mbps) 25Mbps ATM 155Mbps ATM 34Mbps ATM 622Mbps ATM 25Mbps ATM

Mr Manager Doubting Thomas

The foundation of communication is infrastructure (i) ISDN (up to 384Kbps) H.320 ATM Private and Public networks arrive Gateways between ISDN (H320) and ATM (H321) H.321 Speeds now upto 384kbps for ISDN and ATM systems now able to use MPEG1 OR MPEG2 (>8Mbps) 25Mbps ATM 155Mbps ATM 34Mbps ATM 622Mbps ATM 25Mbps ATM Enter – IP and H323 video conferencing H.323 Legacy systems still in place. Needing to “transcode” between H320 and now H323 to talk to IP based devices Internet Quality/Class of service enabled and H323 aware gateways and firewalls now being produced by Cisco “Another network to manage, but this one is bigger than rest put together ! That’s no good !

We still have to contend with the Big “i” Edge The Internet (QOS/COS getting better) Your campus LAN/MAN, QOS/COS enabled LAN/MAN

H323 Everywhere (so “i” is now sorted !) Internet “Fine, but how do we manage such a distributed, abstract thing based on the Internet, as well as all the features that the old systems gave us???”

Internet Management of a converged network environment “It would really useful if this could all be done from a browser for ease of use…” Cisco AVVID partner programme

Enter -  Web Data Collaboration (sharing of applications and content)  Business quality desktop video (to suit the application)  Integrated into how you work today (web based)  Instant Messaging (Chat, whiteboards etc..)  Streaming (live and stored)  Ad-hoc and Scheduled Conferencing  Control  Simplicity  Inclusion of legacy systems  Works seamlessly with Cisco video solutions (gateways, MCU’s etc) “Now we are getting somewhere, tell me more” (the “e” enabler)

Benefits - designed for use by students, pupils & users  No User Training Required!  Ease of Use as a guiding principle Multiple ways to do things Non-essential items at a lower level Many functions automatically handled by system  User profile tailored to the individual  At a glance view of current activities and information  Presence indication  Multiple locations and user mobility  Delegates and guests  Public meetings “Sounds to easy to me, does it exist? What does it look like?”

Guide Page - Current Activities & Information  Today’s meetings  Future meetings up to 5 days  Messages from administrators  Notifications invitations, cancellations, etc.  ‘How to’ section

Meet Page - Choose Participants & Resources  Members Person Room Resource  Presence (available, busy, unknown, unavailable)  New directory paradigm based on role of group structure Personal directory Tree hierarchy “Even you-know-who could use this system!”

Meeting Editor  Appointment  Attendees  Advanced Settings  Send/Update invitation  Delete invitation

Web Conferencing in use

Full Screen Video

Conference List “List of Conferences” allows you to join any public conference or lecture that is being broadcast

Family CTM ExpressCTMCTM for Exchange Web Endpoint Conference Server MCU Scheduling Other Resource Scheduling Directory Management Policy Management Presence Conference Moderation Data Collaboration Billing Centralized Administration Exchange Integration Streaming LDAP (Coming soon date TBC) = supported = provided by Exchange The

So what does an E2B video room look like? Codec (Camera and Microphone with built in Network Connection) or desktop system Monitor (TV or Wall or Ceiling mounted Plasma screen or pc screen) Controls (remote / mouse/keyboard if req’d) User’s pc being used for data sharing (could be a personal laptop) Local Area Network Connection Video call (point to point or multipoint enabled via PC onto the CRUK Click to Meet URL. Think About your environment !! 1.White walls and bright lights degrade the quality of the image 2. Loud ties and white shirts should be kept to a minimum ! 3. Camera’s should not be pointed at direct light sources 4. Keep you microphones away from noise sources

Summary IP infrastructures can be created to provide usable converged voice, video & data networks that are accessible to all They can be managed and use the resources that often already exists (data network and internet access) The video solutions now use efficient protocols that will give you reasonable quality that is affordable The ability to provide more stimulating content direct to the end user now exists – After all it is all about content!

And Finally…. “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk ?” HM Warner, Warner Bros., 1927 “I think that there is a world market for maybe five computers.” Thomas Watson Chairman of IBM, 1943 It’s all about Strategic Vision

Introduction