IVDL Technical Information

Equipment Used

• We currently employ TANDBERG Educator systems. The Educator is based on the TANDBERG 6000 MXP CODEC.
• The MXP 6000 CODEC is standards based. (H.323)
• The MXP 6000 supports all major video and audio standards (H.xxx and G.xxx, AAC-LD, Siren 14)
• It features a simple touch screen to control all conference and system functions. The system also has PTT (push to talk) student microphones along with automatic camera switching/zoom to student mics. Also integrated into the system are a Document camera, Win XP PC and DVD/VHS deck.
• Our rooms feature large video screens (via LCD projectors) with separate Instructor, Student and Document cameras. In addition, a Smart Technologies Sympodium is integrated with the system to display PC (VGA) content as well as standard video. There is also a system input for Laptop PCs and several smaller preview monitors.
• Our system supports H.239 for content sharing. However, we also employ a simple desktop sharing application called See & Share (also made by TANDBERG). 

Interoperability

• In terms of baseline interoperability, the remote site MUST have a standardsbased (H.323/H.320) CODEC from a major vendor (TANDBERG, Polycom, Sony, etc)
• Skype, MSN, Yahoo, AOL video chat type applications are not compatible with CSU Video Conferencing equipment nor are they supported by CSU Distance learning technical support staff.

See & Share 

CSU hosts a publicly accessible (although, obviously conferences can be made secure) See & Share server. Participants wishing to share their PC desktops simply need to first access the server and download a small piece of client software. Once the client is downloaded it can be launched and the participant is connected to the See & Share server and joins a conference. Once a participant joins a conference they can either view the currently shared desktop or request to share their own desktop. To really use See & Share to your advantage in a Distance Learning Classroom room you'll need an Internet connected PC/Laptop and a large separate VGA display. You could use a LCD projector or a large VGA capable Plasma/LCD. The video side of the conference occurs per usual using your normal displays. The content presentation happens using See & Share and PC and the separate VGA display.

Why do we use it?

• In the past, during an IVDL class when an instructor wanted to show PPT or PC content, they had to switch the system to the PC input.
• While that worked for displaying the content, the remote students could only see the content until the instructor switched back to the instructor camera. (disembodied voice)
• The simple idea is that students at remote sites see both the instructor and the instructor's PC-based presentation simultaneously.
• The video side of the conference occurs per usual using the normal displays. The content presentation happens using See&Share and the PC and the separate VGA display

Testing

• To schedule a formal test please contact the CSU Distance Learning Headend at 216-687-5270.
• The Headend is operational Monday through Thursday 9:00AM EST--9:00PM EST and Fridays from 8:30AM EST--4:00PM EST.
• You can also place an ad-hoc test call to our test CODEC or MCU 24/7. When connecting to the CODEC you will see our Distance Learning Headend.
• Headend IP address - 204.89.239.13 System -- Polycom F/X -- Call Speeds -- Up to 1.4 Mbps
• You can also place a test call to our MCU. When you connect to the TEST conference you will see your site reflected back from the MCU.
• MCU IP address - 204.89.239.10 MCU -- Codian 4210 -- Call Speeds -- Up to 768 Kbps (To join the test conference, use far end camera controls (FECC)
• The MCU can host up to 20 video participants in a single call. The MCU features transcoding on a per-participant basis. The MCU also features adding VNC participants as well as streaming conferences.