The authority was seeking a video distribution solution to complement its new virtual learning environment. A VLE is a central repository of digital learning materials that can be accessed by administrators, teachers and students. Council officials chose Video Furnace because they found it met their three most important requirements:
* Support for multiple operating systems. Doncaster required a system that would seamlessly work on a variety of computer platforms regardless of operating system.
* No Client Software Installation. With a single centralized video infrastructure serving 19 schools’ independent IT networks, the council needed to avoid maintaining software across thousands of different computers.
* Tight VLE Integration. The VLE forms the school’s central IT learning platform. Complementary technologies, such as video on demand, needed to simply become additional resources accessible through this portal.
In addition to enabling Doncaster schools to record and share video of everything from laboratory experiments to guest speaker presentations, the new Video Furnace system also streams 20 live television stations to the schools. The Video Furnace solution enables any of the Doncaster schools or learning centers to record programs that aired within the previous 48 hours, or schedule recordings up to two weeks in advance.
District officials report that school personnel are very excited about the new Video Furnace IP video distribution system, and that teachers are already coming up with new ideas about how they can leverage the technology. The system’s live TV streaming capability is already in place and full integration of video on demand into the VLE platform will be completed over the next year.
The installation is supported by a grant from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund. The ERDF invests in education and infrastructure improvements, among other initiatives, in regions in need of revitalization. The Video Furnace system is one element of a major investment by the Doncaster council to upgrade its network infrastructure and technology capabilities.
The council purchased the system with the support of Techex Limited (www.techex.co.uk)
About the Video Furnace IP Video Distribution System
The Video Furnace IP video distribution system enables organizations in every industry to improve communication, enhance collaboration and distribute content in a compelling yet secure manner over their existing high-speed IP networks. Whatever the use, from video on demand to digital signage, wherever there are networked TVs, plasma screens, set-top boxes, desktops or laptops, organizations can deliver live and recorded video, including high definition/H.264.
The Video Furnace IP video distribution system supports all operating systems, functions without non-secure players or plug-ins, requires no end-user training and can scale to support thousands or millions of simultaneous viewers. It’s the only solution that provides complete control over every aspect of managing and distributing any live and recorded video. Content is encoded in real-time. Output streams are fully MPEG 1/2/4 compliant at bit rates from 300 Kbps to 12 Mbps. All streams are FIPS-197 compliant and AES encrypted at 256 bits. It is the only U.S. Army-certified solution for providing video over IP (see http://www.videofurnace.com/
About Techex
Techex is an industry leading distributor of video transmission technology. Having specialized in graphics and video for some 37 years Techex occupies a unique position in the digital media market representing cutting-edge technology companies such as Video Furnace, Exterity, Haivision, T-VIPS, Viewcast and Winnov, among others. With sister operations that also specialize in, project management and consultancy, few if any other companies can offer both suppliers and clients the broad range of products and services that Techex has done successfully for the last 37 years. www.techex.co.uk
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The Video Furnace IP video distribution supports Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris 10 operating systems.
Video Furnace is a trademark of Video Furnace.
