New video conferencing service at Penn State

Ron Strouse and TNS are hoping to offer a new service to Penn State in the video conferencing arena. The Polycom Video Media Center VMC 1000 is a system that will record video conferences on both ends of the connection as well as any content such as PowerPoint that may be shown during the conference. Polycom has been working closely with us to develop this service. We tested another system a couple of years ago, the IPVCR, but it was nowhere near what the Polycom product offers. Just by dialing in, the video conference presenter can use a remote control to select the Record button on the screen to begin recording the session. It can also be paused at any time then resumed. So, if during a long conference there is a scheduled break, the recording can be temporarily stopped. Once the conference is recorded, the presenter may use the Web-based interface to edit the video (cutting off any dead time prior to or after the content is delivered, for example), permissions can be set so that access can be limited to individuals, groups, or classes. Statistical reports can be generated to monitor usage. We tested the videos on both Mac and Windows and it seems to work well. It may take a plugin download, however, but it's very minor. Tests so far have been very encouraging and feedback has been excellent from viewers, especially for the fact that the presentations were made available to begin with. This is a self-contained system and will not require us to interface with our QT streaming server at all. It can easily expand, so demand should be able to be met by adding boxes to the system. It works well with PSU's LDAP system as well. This system may be run by the CLC and admin'd by either TNS or another person with minimal effort at least at first. Then demand will determine how it will be supported in the future. For more info, here is a link to the Polycom site.