Canopus MediaEdge LAN based digital video distribution system The conversion from VHS to digital video The experience at Penola Catholic College Leanne Averill - Head of ERCDavid Boyes - ICT Manager

- shelves burgeoning with videos - in reality about 20% being used - constantly chasing media in order to share limited resources - increasingly unable to purchase VHS material - difficult and costly to repair or replace VHS players - the digital age was beckoning

- simply exchanging VCR players to DVD players had problems - needed to use existing infrastructure as much as possible - longevity of solution in time of rapid technological change - money… realistic initial costs & manageable ongoing costs - expertise of staff - investigation of what was on the market

- reasonably cost-effective - is a hardware solution - distribute to multiple classrooms simultaneously - used existing televisions and computer network - also had a PC client - user-friendly for library staff - very easy to use in the classroom - a complete solution - scalable…started small & have extended over time - great support from the vendor

- Principal gave a grant to get started - discussions with tech staff - began with the server, 3 set-top boxes & 1 software license - converted ‘top 50’ titles - decided on menu structure - launched product at a staff meeting & provided ‘training’ ….and we were up and running!!!!

Demonstrate 2 key aspects of the Canopus MediaEdge LAN based digital video distribution system - creating menus - adding content

- The system consists of Canopus MediaEdge-SVS server software running on a Pentium4 at 2.8 GHz, with 1 GB of RAM, and a 250 GB RAID array - Uses existing Cat 5e & some Cat 5 network cabling although older cabling will struggle. - Penola uses optic fibre as its backbone and then cat 5e & cat 6 UTP

- Partnered an ISP cable hookup to enable Foxtel onto the site - All cable broadcasts can now be captured and encoded ie. History Channel, Discovery etc - File sizes are an issue. MPEG compression can have different sizes so pick your format carefully and stick with it

- MPEG 1 produces VHS/VCD quality. A 90 min. film compressed using MPEG 1 will typically take 1.4gb hard drive storage - MPEG2 produces a DVD quality product. A 90 min. film compressed using MPEG 2 will typically take 2.6gb hard drive storage - MPEG 4 is the newest version of compression. It produces high quality images faster & can be used to for varying types of technology such as mobile phones, HDTV, divx, etc. A 90 min. MPEG 4 film could take about 0.5gb hard drive storage - Bit rates are variable also so the storage size can also vary

- Your whole library of digital videos does not have to sit on the server all the time - Consider archiving titles on to DVD - Backup strategies are important, use RAID where possible. Backup daily

Senior Campus Library (ERC) Mediaedge server Main server Office Microwave To Junior Campus Fibre optic Fibre Optic Fibre optic STB Building D 100Mb Switch /Cat 5e STB Building E 100Mb Switch /Cat 5e Main Admin 100Mb Switch /Cat 5e Building G 100Mb Switch /Cat 5e STB = set top box Computer labs

- constraints of copyright law - created a copyright statement to add to each file - need for comprehensive library database - ‘made-up’ new procedures & protocols - GMD - barcodes and DDC - titles and series - edit all content so that there are no ads - included ratings at end of title - cable TV

- it is a PARTNERSHIP… - things will go WRONG… - must consider COPYRIGHT implications - you need to BACK-UP your system - you are radically changing THINKING and PRACTICES

- no storage issues - very easy to use - no videos or DVDs - classroom teachers have video on demand - any digital file can be played at any time - no subscription costs

- senior campus - junior campus - specialist areas are purchasing set-top boxes - only commercially produced videos on the shelves - no new videos - DVDs only when essential - MediaEdge upgrade

Leanne Averill David Boyes Joe D’Onghia