Allow Access to Videos?

[Fruity]

Hi all.

For a little while now we've been recording tv programmes to a digital format. Everything seems to be going OK, and we've followed the ERA guidelines, including video Titles, disclaimers etc. But now I'm a bit stuck on the best way to allow access to these files.

The easiest way would to simply dump them all into some sort of a resource folder and allow access to the files via a URL. Ideally I'd like some sort of on demand streaming facility would be a what I after, and a quick google shows a fairly nice system (Video Library Server - Video Library). I'll look into that, but are there alternatives available?

Does anyone one have any experience of a using a Streaming Video server for thier recorded content (in particular TV programmes)? If so, any pointers, examples or advice would be most appreciated.

___________
Fruity

[Optics]

We use a clickview server for our digital video. Can't fault it really.

ClickView - the digital video solution for schools

[steve]

Saw this at BETT and it could be just what you need:

Planet eStream

[Brpilot99]

Hiyah .... What digital format are you saving the programs to? If you can save them to mpeg or avi then all you need to do is save each file to an accessable folder and the users can simply click on the appropriate file and play it in Media Player. Ive got a number of DVD's mastered down to mpeg files and it works a treat ... Best of all its free!!

[CyberNerd]

We have been doing exactly this since the beginning of the year.

We used MythWeb MythWeb - MythTV for mythtv MythTV, Open Source DVR
process is this: teachers email the librarian who schedules the recording.
Once the recording is done, the librarian emails the teacher with a link to the video stream. Teachers play the stream through VLC. All the large files are stored on the video server (mythtv)

[Fruity]

Blimey... so many responses at such a late hour. Must be half term

Right, I've asked for a demo of both Planet estream and Clickview, so I'll give them a bash over the next few days. Thanks for the tips.

As for the file format, the edited files are saved in .TS format for burning to DVD and I've been converting these to Xvid using autoGK. This gives us a hard copy in the form of the DVD and a decent sized video file in the XVID. The TS file can then be deleted.

Eventually we want to do away with the DVD version and just put everything on the network. The only downside with putting all our files into a folder on the server is there will always be people who will like to copy the files off the network, or you'll find multiple copies of the same files spread around the network. Also, keeping one eye on the future, it would be good to have a streaming system as at least one teacher has expressed an interest in having students access videos from home for homework etc.

[stephenperry]

how about using tversity? in my experience it works very well with transcoding video to xbox and playstation consoles, presumably it would work streaming to pc as well

more information on streaming to pc here...

http://forums.tversity.com/viewtopic...st=0&sk=t&sd=a

[australiana]

Clickview offers something called Clickview Home. It allows you to stream anything that is on the schools Clickview server (including stuff recorded from TV) into the student's home using Silverlight. Clickview Lite is something similar (but different!) and integrates with our VLE.

In my humble whatever the Clickview Exchange is the 'killer app'. It gives you thousands of educational programs recorded from the telly shows for free.

[7andY]

Blimey... so many responses at such a late hour. Must be half term

Right, I've asked for a demo of both Planet estream and Clickview, so I'll give them a bash over the next few days. Thanks for the tips.

As for the file format, the edited files are saved in .TS format for burning to DVD and I've been converting these to Xvid using autoGK. This gives us a hard copy in the form of the DVD and a decent sized video file in the XVID. The TS file can then be deleted.

Eventually we want to do away with the DVD version and just put everything on the network. The only downside with putting all our files into a folder on the server is there will always be people who will like to copy the files off the network, or you'll find multiple copies of the same files spread around the network. Also, keeping one eye on the future, it would be good to have a streaming system as at least one teacher has expressed an interest in having students access videos from home for homework etc.

You need to be aware that the ERA license doesn't allow access to TV recordings from outside the school...

Andy E.

[Hightower]

We use Media Streaming Service on a 2003 box. No complaints.

Only problem is the format has to be WMV (which doesn't really bother us).

Link goes on VLE directly to video, students click play, video plays.

[Fruity]

You need to be aware that the ERA license doesn't allow access to TV recordings from outside the school...

Andy E.

Isn't the Use of Videos out of the school allowed under the ERA+ scheme?

"From 1 August 2007 ERA will offer its licensees the opportunity to take out an additional licence which will enable licensed ERA Recordings to be accessed by students and teachers on line whether they are on the premises of their school, college or university, or at home or working elsewhere within the UK"

[buck]

Isn't the Use of Videos out of the school allowed under the ERA+ scheme?

"From 1 August 2007 ERA will offer its licensees the opportunity to take out an additional licence which will enable licensed ERA Recordings to be accessed by students and teachers on line whether they are on the premises of their school, college or university, or at home or working elsewhere within the UK"

ERA and ERA+ are different licenses. Schools have always been licensed to access recorded content within the school under the standard ERA license. But in order to access content outwith the school you will require the ERA+ license.

[DarrenM]

Do any of you have a system to limit the number of users watching a video at once? As in you rip a DVD to the system but only allow one user to watch it to keep things legal.

[australiana]

Do any of you have a system to limit the number of users watching a video at once? As in you rip a DVD to the system but only allow one user to watch it to keep things legal.

My understanding is that any ripping of copy-protected DVDs is not legal regardless of the number of simultaneous viewers. If, however, a movie is copied from TV then any number of viewers over the network is permissible and as indicated above can also be viewed outside the school over the internet by students and staff, for an educational purpose, if an ERA+ license is held.

[localzuk]

My understanding is that any ripping of copy-protected DVDs is not legal regardless of the number of simultaneous viewers.

That's correct, yes. Unless you have gained written permission from the copyright holder of course.