Executive Summary   



INTRODUCTION

This report was prepared by the University of Florida Video Advisory Committee (VAC). The charge to the VAC was to inventory the campus video infrastructure and to make recommendations designed to establish and improve connectivity and interoperability between university academic, research, and service units. The intended result of this study is to outline a strategy that, when implemented, will provide the university with the capability for the high speed transmission of high quality video, with 24/7 reliability and security, between on-campus and off-campus units.  

This report: establishes the need for a comprehensive campus video infrastructure; provides a summary of the campus video inventory; and discusses six important video applications, the specific problems that result in the lack of connectivity and interoperability between eleven existing campus video systems, and then recommends effective technology-based solutions. 

EXISTING VIDEO INFRASTRUCTURE

A campus video survey was conducted in order to determine the number of existing video capable facilities and/or systems in the following categories: portable; auditorium; classroom; studio; conference room; or other. The survey instrument was sent to 16 university academic and service units representing the colleges and schools, either known or thought to be, engaged in video activities for teaching, research, or service. Nine responses were received to-date. The initial inventory findings indicate that there are a total of 148 video capable facilities or systems on-campus; and of these, 31 (20.9%) are capable of two-way video communication. The eleven existing video systems were developed independently and at different times, and were often equipped with technical components from different manufacturers thereby increasing the barriers to effective connectivity and interoperability.

VIDEO ACTIVITIES

Clearly, the university should plan for the development of a digital video system that will enhance the educational process and improve productivity, while accommodating existing analog systems until such time as they could be converted to a digital format. Representative examples of video applications that are currently in use at UF are included in this report. The difficulties encountered with connectivity and interoperability between these existing systems are described and recommendations providing solutions to these difficulties are provided. If implemented, the digital video solutions recommended would have a significant impact on the availability and uniformity of video related services and provide the following major benefits: high quality point-to-point or
multipoint videoconferencing capability between any campus location (including classrooms) via a transportable unit or desktop PC with network access; legacy videoconferencing sites would have seamless connectivity and interoperability with campus location through gateway services; all campus locations would have access to a virtual digital video library made up of media servers across campus; and satellite and commercial TV programming could be accessed from any university location.

Six major video applications issues are addressed, examples of specific barriers to connectivity and interoperability are discussed, and effective recommendations are presented that will remove the barriers and have an immediate and positive impact upon the transport of video between university on-and off-locations. The major campus video application issues are: Content Access and Management; Distribution; Videoconferencing; Information and Technical Training; Content Production; and Organization and Collaboration. A total of 16 recommendations are presented; please refer to the main body of this report (Pages 3-8) or to the Appendix for complete details.


FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The future direction of video development at the University of Florida will involve innovation and evolution in the capture, storage, access, transport and viewing of video. As this process moves forward, it must: maintain the reliability and interoperability of existing systems, preserve the investment in legacy infrastructure, design systems from the application to the most appropriate technology, and provide an affordable introduction or transition to the most current and appropriate video technology.

The application of these tenets will define a process by which the University of Florida continues to integrate the use of video as part of daily practice. The testing and evaluation of video technologies must not interrupt existing operations. Standards must be adopted and implemented in a manner that provides interoperability that is transparent at the client station. Portals to translate digital and analog video must be available for the near future. The digital infrastructure must be expanded and become more robust. However, support for University of Florida associates and clients in technology challenged areas must be maintained and improved.

The future will be built by leveraging existing and new hardware and software resources to build a virtual Video Network Operations Center (VNOC).  The VNOC will provide a means of interconnecting all existing resources and integrating new systems. It will provide translation between standards and algorithms. It will provide cross connects between different transport media. It will provide translations between data speeds so each node will operate in an optimized fashion. The VNOC will be the focal point of moving developing technology into an operational environment.

The VNOC will also be the organizational construct that allows an exchange of expertise and support. Units will provide and receive support for and from each other without sacrificing autonomy or control. Interpersonal exchange at the administrative and technical level will provide a means for the greatest return on individual investments. Expenditures can be coordinated to provide the greatest functionality possible by planning for integration and flexibility.

The VNOC will be dynamic. Technology will evolve and governance will be cooperative. This will assure the future of video at the University of Florida as "world class." At a minimum, our vision provides for the following capabilities:

  • A standard equipment configuration in classrooms and on mobile carts could provide high-quality videoconferencing and streaming video origination between classrooms on campus. Any PC on the Internet could participate in the videoconferences or access the video.
  • Legacy videoconferencing sites would be able to communicate with classrooms through gateway services.
  •  All locations would be able to access a virtual digital video library made up of media servers across campus.
  • Satellite and commercial TV programming could be accessed with the same classrooms and the Internet.
  • With the installation of a videoconferencing MCU, more than two participants could join the same videoconferences simultaneously. Off-campus sites could participate over the Internet using existing videoconferencing systems or a PC and camera.
     
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