AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University Vít Rusňák rusnak@ics.muni.cz Brno, April 10, 2014 Presentation overview Introduction Videoconferencing Infrastructure Support for lecture and event recordings Research and development activities VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 2 / 29 Table of Contents Introduction Videoconferencing Infrastructure Support for lecture and event recordings Research and development activities VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 3 / 29 AV use cases at university — Regular lectures and seminars at university buildings — On-line meetings and conferencing — Ad-hoc events (e.g., guest presentations) at university buildings — Ad-hoc events (e.g., conferences) outside the university — Recording and streaming support for these events — Research in (advanced) collaborative technologies and multimedia transmissions over high-speed networks VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 4 / 29 AV infrastructure at MU — Seminar rooms — projector (+ optional audio) — no AVT — Lecture halls — multiple projectors and audio, multiple inputs (NTB, PC, camera, VCF) — Conference and meeting rooms — projector or LCD, audio, VCF or webcam (small rooms) — Videoconferencing server infrastructure — included in national infrastructure for R&D — multiple technologies for different needs VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 5 / 29 Institute of Computer Science MU roles — Strategy of AV technologies at MU — definition of AV standards — participation on design and installation of AV technologies — coordination of services and activities (2nd level support) — Videoconferencing infrastructure management — one of the key AV services — H.323/SIP infrastructure — SW platforms for collaboration — User support and consulting — Research in advanced collaborative environments VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 6 / 29 Strategy of AV technologies at MU — Common definition of standards for audio and video distributions — Cooperation during design phase — CARLA (Faculty of Arts) — Supervision of installation phase — University campus — Complete analysis and design of AV related tenders — CESEB, CEITEC (University campus) — 2nd level user support (AV specialists) for complex issues VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 7 / 29 Table of Contents Introduction Videoconferencing Infrastructure Support for lecture and event recordings Research and development activities VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 8 / 29 H.323/SIP Videoconferencing — Up to 1080p audio and video transmissions — Terminals(HW clients) — endpoints of H.323 infrastructure — user interface — enable point-to-point connection — SW clients — SW terminals for PC and mobile platforms (iOS, Android OS, Windows Phone) — MCU (Multipoint Control Units) — provide multi-point tele/videoconferencing (3+) — virtual meeting rooms — terminals communicate through MCU VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 9 / 29 H.323 infrastructure at Masaryk University Terminals — SW clients for individual users (LifeSize ClearSea) — VCF terminals integrated in meeting rooms and lecture halls (e.g., FI, ICS, UCB) — Mobile VCF units (CESEB, CARLA, CEITEC, CERIT) — single-display solution (CESEB, CARLA) — dual-displays (CEITEC) Infrastructure — Multi-Point Control Unit for group collaboration — Content-Server for video streaming and lecture recordings VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 10 / 29 H.323 infrastructure at Masaryk University VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 11 / 29 Microsoft Lync — Alternative to Skype — Integration with MS Office suite — Integration with university account in ISMU — Key features: — chat, Audio/video conferencing — multipoint groupware — desktop/document sharing — Available in MS Windows OS X and mobile platforms VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 12 / 29 Adobe Connect — Flash-based system for team collaboration and e-learning activities — Server is managed by CESNET — Key features: — chat, tele and videoconferencing — desktop, document and application sharing — virtual whiteboard — session recordings — user roles — questionares and short surveys — Requires Adobe Flash Plugin — iOS and Android clients VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 13 / 29 VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 14 / 29 Table of Contents Introduction Videoconferencing Infrastructure Support for lecture and event recordings Research and development activities VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 15 / 29 Support for lecture and event recordings — Regular lectures — distributed encoding environment — two use cases – FI and UCB — Linux-based vs. H.323/SIP — Ad-hoc events — off-line recording AV teams at faculties (FSS, FF, FI) — recording and streaming – provided by ICS with H.323/SIP or UltraGrid VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 16 / 29 Regular lectures — Distributed encoding environment — Used mainly for regular lectures — since 2001 at Faculty of Informatics — from student activity to production service — last couple of years also from the University Campus (using videoconferencing infrastructure) — infrastructure for video encoding. — available via university IS and http://www.video.muni.cz (with secured access and user roles) VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 17 / 29 Ad-Hoc events — Off-line recordings — manual post-processing — small autonomous teams — e.g., Theater Play at FI, habilitation talks, Sicence week events — On-line recording with streaming — using H.323/SIP infrastructure — automated processing with minor post-processing by user (video segmentation) — E.g., Conference on Acute Medicine, — Published at http://www.video.muni.cz or other portals (free access) VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 18 / 29 Events with special demands — When H.323/SIP solution is not enough... — UltraGrid – software for low latency and high-quality video network transmissions — FullHD, 4K, 8K (both compressed and uncompressed) — support for H.264, JPEG, JPEG2000, DXT — Use cases: — regular cooperation with cardiology department — ad-hoc transmissions (e.g., gynecology) — pilot adaptation for teaching (general surgery, cardiology) VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 19 / 29 VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 20 / 29 VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 21 / 29 Table of Contents Introduction Videoconferencing Infrastructure Support for lecture and event recordings Research and development activities VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 22 / 29 Topics — High-quality multimedia transmissions — Self-organizing collaborative environments — Advanced group collaborative platforms VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 23 / 29 High-quality multimedia transmissions UltraGrid — Up to 8K (16× HD resolution) — Focus on low-latency and high quality multimedia transmission — Research in parallel encoding and decoding of video formats — JPEG, JPEG2000, DXT — Joint project of CESNET and MU (Laboratory of Advanced Network Technologies) — http://ultragrid.cz VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 24 / 29 Self-organizing collaborative environments CoUniverse — Framework for self-organizing collaborative environments — Research in scheduling strategies for multiple data stream transmissions — Use case: Infrastructure for remote sign-language translation in seminars and lectures VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 25 / 29 VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 26 / 29 Advanced group collaborative platforms — Visualization cluster-based display walls and large tabletops — Use of SAGE and DisplayCluster middleware — MUSE Framework — Research in multi-user interaction methods and visualization VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 27 / 29 Research and development partners — Laboratory of Advanced Network Technologies (SITOLA) — CESNET z.s.p.o. — Various research partners worldwide — EVL, University of Chicago, IL — i2cat, Barcelona — commercial subjects (e.g., DAITE, movie post production studios Barrandov) — Comprimato Systems (spin-off) VR ·AV Technologies and Collaborative tools at Masaryk University ·April 10, 2014 28 / 29 Thank you for your attention! Vít Rusňák rusnak@ics.muni.cz