Behind the Scenes: SURFnet Video Portal The next generation of streaming video services for research and higher education in The Netherlands Egon Verharen.

Behind the Scenes:SURFnet Video Portal

The next generation of streaming video services for research and higher education in The Netherlands

Egon VerharenInnovation managerAdvanced Services<[email protected]>

©2004 SURFnet, SURA/ViDe Digital Video workshop 2004 2

SURFnet

• The national computer network for higher education and research in the Netherlands

– 150 member institutions (universities, colleges, research centres, academic hospitals and scientific libraries)

– approx. 750.000 users (students, employees)

– SURFnet is a subsidiary company of the SURF Foundation


SURFnet 5: advanced wide area network

• Backbone: 2x 10 Gbit/s• Client connections:up to 1 Gbit/s• Multicast enabled• Native IPv4/IPv6


Not only sufficient bandwidth towards the institutions

• 20.000 students 10-100 Mbit/s at home in fiber-to-the-dormitory initiatives

• Growing amount of wide open ADSL users at home (SurfSnel ADSL): 2-8 Mbit/s

GEthsw-eth


• low-end streaming service for member institutions

• RealMedia, Windows Media and MPEG-1 through Xing Streamworks and Bitcast plugin for Real, Xing mp3

• URL clickable streams (can be added to webpages)

• 500 MB free storage

• live ‘broadcasting’ (on request)

Where it started: SURFnet Audio- and Videohosting service ’99- ’03


Conclusions Av@lon pilot

• Streaming makes available educational content easier and more efficiently

• Streaming technology and internet network infrastructures are ready for educational usage of streaming

• ‘Order and delivery’ process needs improvement• Multi-disciplinary approach is essential • Teachers and students need new skills and support

• Follow up (2003): DAVIDEON project (1000 hr) development of educational scenario’s


SURFnet Video Portal: since 2003

• Combining the results of projects and other initiatives in a ‘next generation streaming video environment’

– Production– Distribution– Information retrieval– Online video editing and conversion tools– Manuals and instructional content, workshop– Community (forum)


SURFnet guide/manual for producing streaming video

• Manual in PDF format– UvA, VU and UVT– Production aspects

(storyboards, recording and editing audio and video)

– Publishing and distribution (on the internet)

– Copyright issues– Examples

• Workshops


Workshop


SVP distribution: Storage of streaming files

• Windows Media

• Real media

• Quicktime

• MPEG streaming server: Kasenna Mediabase XMP

– MPEG-1– MPEG-2– (ISMA) MPEG-4

• 1 GB storage for free/institute

SURFnet streaming servers with file management environment


Information retrieval: Search and browse facilities

• Not easy to find streaming files

• Solution:attach metadata tag with descriptive information to streaming file

based on Qualified Dublin Core standard


SVP Metadata model

TitleTitle.AlternativeCreatorSubjectDescriptionDescription.AbstractPublisher Contributor Language Relation Coverage.SpatialCoverage.Temporal Rights

Date.CreatedDate.Valid Date.Available Date.IssuedTypeFormat.ExtentFormat.MediumIdentifierSource

Element printed in green are required fields


Information retrieval: Search engine

organization Y

organization X

SURFnet

Search engine

streaming server

streaming server

streaming server

streaming server

streaming server

streaming server

Metadatainput


Information retrieval: end user web interface


File protection

• Authentication layer to make streaming files only available to selective user group:Hostname based authentication(no need to distribute username – password to end-users)

1. File is only available to one or more organizations that are part of the SURFnet community.

2. File is available to all SURFnet member organizations

3. File is publicly available (no file protection)


File protection: Admin interface


Example of file protectionend user screen


SURFnet media conversie service

AVI

MPEG-2

MPEG-1

MPEG-1

MPEG-4

Real

WMV /ASF

Quicktime

input formats output formats

Convert source file to streaming media file types through web application


Transcoding tool: interface


Editing tool: selectionVirtual Cutting Machine

• Developed by Andre Rosendaal (Groningen University)

• Select part of file

• Reference to the selection in the original file

Fragment


Editing tool: playlists

• Combine several streaming fragments into one stream

File Y

selection 2

playlist A

File X

selection 1

File Z

selection 3


Editing tool: interface

/s/surfnet/real/tnc2003.rm


Editing tool: interface


SVP asset management


SURFnet Video Portal website http://video.surfnet.nl/ http://videosearch.surfnet.nl/


Enhancements: SVP2• Person and Realm based access control

– Through institutes authentication services• Presentation tools• More mediatypes• Improvements in batch upload, batch asset

mgt


Person-based access control• Using RADIUS infrastructure or A-Select

(authentication selection infrastructure)


Person based access control


SVP2 mediafile protection


SVP2 asset management


Batch mgt


Conclusion/success factors

• Technology and networks are ready• knowledge dissemination inside and between

institutions essential• Stimulate small scale pilots (technology education)• Multi-disciplinary approach essential

Building the chain between:StudentsTeachersLearning technologistsLibrariansAV specialistsNetwork technologistsContent providersNREN

Behind the Scenes: SURFnet Video Portal The next generation of streaming video services for research and higher education in The Netherlands Egon Verharen.

Documents

surfnet video portal

surfnet audio

video publishing

surfnet guidemanual

employees surfnet

hr streaming video

streaming video manual

surfnet early adopters