STRATEGIES TO OPTIMIZE PRODUCTIVITY FOR BALDWIN LIGHTSTREAM S COMMUNITY AND EDUCATIONAL CHANNELS

Transcription

1 STRATEGIES TO OPTIMIZE PRODUCTIVITY FOR BALDWIN LIGHTSTREAM S COMMUNITY AND EDUCATIONAL CHANNELS

2 ABSTACT Baldwin LightStream offers two very popular channels on their cable line-up as a free service. One is a community channel and the other is an educational channel managed by the local high school. As one of the top appreciated community services, these channels are known for running quality information and keeping the public informed. In addition, the community channel broadcasts six different church services throughout the week. The high school channel displays important school information, the athletic games, school productions and programs. About four years ago Baldwin LightStream upgraded their access broadcasting equipment to a digital format and since then, the high school has not been able to broadcast their material because of production time and complexity of the software. Area churches also had to upgrade their video recording devices in order to comply with Baldwin LightStream s new format. Digital recorders record in multiple files, which has led to church administration to pre-convert the videos in order to stitch them together so there will only be one file to upload. By doing this pre-converting, the software will sometimes add codecs that create an incompatible product. If the production is incompatible, the channel manager has to buffer the video prior to server conversion, causing increased production time. Because of the system s complexity, only the channel manager knows how to develop and maintain the broadcasting equipment, which leads to additional issues. I am recommending TelVue Turbo Accelerator server with Connect and CloudCast software which works with the current server. TelVue Connect is a cloud conversion software that will allow each content administrator the ability to convert their videos during upload directly and securely to the server. The Turbo Accelerator server takes the content from the broadcasting server and pushes out multiple file formats for output on several types of devices to the CloudCast software where content can be prescheduled, auto scheduled, available for On- Demand viewing and much more. With the way Baldwin LightStream s broadcast channels are used at this time, these added production items will automate the process of getting videos to the community without admin interaction after setup, but also allows admin interaction with the CloudCast software for advanced viewing production. To keep these channels active and beneficial to the community, it is time for Baldwin LightStream to consider its commitment to providing the latest technology and efficiently serving the community. 1

3 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION Problem Statement Baldwin LightStream has consistently maintained a commitment to its local areas and has an established working relationship with the local churches and schools. The free community and educational channels have always been a big part of their commitment; however, with the current system, a great deal of time is taken up to obtain and produce the church services and because of its complexity and time consumption, the educational channel is no longer plays content. History of the Problem About four years ago, Baldwin LightStream needed to upgrade their access broadcasting equipment due to the FCC digital broadcast regulation. In response the Cable TV Manager, Matt Knegendorf told me in an interview that he purchased a TelVue Princeton Broadcasting Server with Pro Coder 3 conversion software and because of the complexity he tasked one employee to learn it and help others at a later time. Each of the churches that had services playing on the community channel needed to also upgrade their equipment to comply to the digital regulation, but at the time no one knew enough about the new software to recommend compatible video software to those churches. Each church community was then tasked to come up with their own video solution. The Baldwin-Woodville High School students used to run most of the content on the educational channel through a Tech Ed class. With the system change the high school also purchased the ProCoder 3 software and Baldwin LightStream installed a secure fiber line to the school for access to the Princeton server to upload and play the school s content on the channel designated to them. Current Situation With only one Baldwin LightStream employee whom understands the methods and process it takes to produce the community channel, the content and customer satisfaction suffers when that employee is busy doing the other things in their job description and when that employee is out of the office. Matt, TV Manager told me that due to an unexpected employee overturn, time and job priority were contributing factors to other employees not being trained on the broadcasting system. In order for a church service to be broadcasted, the churches must upload each of their services to an FTP box, where the channel manager than has to download them and run them through a converter that prepares the videos for the server. Once the conversion is complete, the channel manager has to upload each service to the server, when the upload is completed the 2

4 channel manager needs to log into the server s GUI and pull each service in individually then schedule them appropriately. This is a tedious task, and is rarely ever this simple. Since each church records in different methods, some of them end up with multiple files. So they aren t stuck with uploading multiple video segments to the FTP box, those churches each use varied conversion software to stitch the files together in order to have only one mp4 file to upload to the FTP box. The problem is that not all mp4s are the same; each conversion software adds its own codecs for video and audio and not all codecs are compatible with Baldwin LightStream s outdated and no longer supported ProCoder 3 conversion software. The incompatible formats end up having to be preprocessed or buffered before they are accepted by the converting software and ready to play on the channel broadcast server. When this happens the time to produce the service is doubled. In an interview with Bryan Jones the high school network administrator and Keith Stuedeman the high school Technical Education teacher, told me they had decided that the conversion software took too much time and even with training the complexity was not manageable for the students who produced the channel in their 45-minute Tech Ed class. As a result, the educational channel does not currently broadcast any content. Future Situation If the current situation is not attended to, the outcome for the community channel may be looking at the same desistance as the educational channel. Churches will no longer want to broadcast their services with a company that fails to meet their ambitions and costs them money by requiring them to change their recording systems continually. Technology is constantly changing, cable TV used to be analog and is now digital. Televisions used to be the only way to watch cable access, now we can watch just about any type of content online, over our phones, tablets, computers, Roku devices and whatever technology may come next. Cable television will need to expand to include all viewing formats and according to Matt Knegendorf, Baldwin LightStream is looking to do just that. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS Telestream Vantage Media Processing Platform According to Telestream s website, Vantage supports multiple camera ingest formats and creates a unified workflow to achieve complete automation and visibility outputting multiple formats for viewing on several device types. Multiple user accounts are supported with Vantage Cloud, allowing each user to stream their videos not only on Baldwin LightStream s cable TV lineup, but also on any domain owned through the user. A designated computer runs this platform dedicated to server administration. See figure 1 for system configuration. The Vantage server can be upgraded to include cloud software integration, where each church and high school tech class could stream directly to the Vantage server while converting during 3

5 the upload. Vantage workflows can include decision-making rules which automatically respond to incoming metadata for scheduling advantages (Telestream LLC). Figure 1: TeleStream s Vantage Solution Configuration Source: TeleStream LLC, 2011 (Revision 2.0.2): Wowza Media Systems Wowza technology offers software for on-premises and cloud streaming infrastructures. The Wowza Streaming Engine software includes cloud software for re-streaming live streams called MediaCaster. The MediaCaster system pulls a stream from a stream source and makes it available for streaming to all player technologies supported by the Wowza Streaming Engine software. See figure 3 for system configuration. Wowza Streaming Engine Manager enables you to manage, monitor and schedule streams using a computer running on a Windows operating system with a browser. Google Chrome is recommended. Figure 3: How Wowza Powers Streaming Service Providers Source: Wowza Streaming LLC, 2016: The Wowza system streams live broadcasts and an additional storage server can be purchased to save videos for archiving and scheduled broadcasting (Wowza). 4

6 TelVue Public, Educational and Government Access TV TelVue Connect is a cloud based contribution and management software solution designed to allow multiple authorized content contributors. Uploads are browser based and transcodes most video formats to the appropriate format for the broadcasting server. Videos may than be scheduled and auto-distributed to the server. TelVue Turbo is a Princeton Series add-on where you can take the same videos that were uploaded to the server by the TelVue connect software and push them to the TelVue CloudCast platform for playout over Internet domains, Digital Cable TV, Roku and any browser capable devices (TelVue). See Figure 2 for system configuration. Combining Connect, Turbo, and CloudCast creates an automated system for upload and distribution, users only interaction would be to schedule or disperse videos. The system admin can set specific time slots for specific users to maintain channel control. Figure 2: TelVue Connect with TelVue Turbo and TelVue CloudCast Configuration Logo Source: TelVue, 2016: COMPARISON OF SOLUTIONS Table 1: Solution Issue Potential Cost for Baldwin LightStream TeleStream Wowza TelVue Learning Complexity Production Time Cost for Users Good Fit Has Positive Potential Problems Could Arise 5

7 Table 1 shows each solution s potential to have issues while solving the problem. The following section compares the given solutions according to each criterion. 1. Cost for Baldwin LightStream 1.1. Telestream - The Vantage system purchase for Baldwin LightStream is $26,000 (Ozer). Additionally, it requires a designated computer running Windows Server 2008 or 2013 which will also need to be purchased and setup. If this option is chosen, it will replace the entire current platform Wowza Maintenance and support contracts costing $95 per month (Wowza) are required in order to receive software upgrades and updates. The subscription based cloud software is $65 per month (Wowza) providing workflow and content deployment. This entire solution can be cloud based and would replace Baldwin LightStream s existing platform TelVue - TelVue Turbo is highly scalable and integrates tightly with existing TelVue product and services," said Paul Andrews, SVP of Sales and Marketing for TelVue Corporation in a Yahoo! News article (Marketwire). Baldwin LightStream currently runs a TelVue server and has a partnership with the TelVue company earning them a reduction in upgrade costs. 2. Learning Complexity 2.1. Telestream Acquiring a new and unfamiliar system will raise the learning complexity; however, once the setup process is complete the system is fully automated. Training for users and admin substitutes on the workflow portal application is straightforward permitting the ability to easily navigate tasks and submit videos. In a 2013 article reviewing the Telestream Vantage system, Jan Ozer wrote The biggest attraction of the Vantage system is the (ease of) workflows it enables 2.2. Wowza Everything is cloud based, this could be cumbersome for any user that struggles with computer literacy; however, Wowza s support center is 24x TelVue Initial learning of the upgraded additional software would be a timely task for the Channel Manager, though once setup is complete the system will fully automate. Training would only need to be done on the TelVue Connect software for other users. 3. Production Time 3.1. Telestream Fully automated Wowza Fully automated TelVue Fully automated. 4. Cost for Users 4.1. Telestream Problems could arise if users are unwilling to purchase and run Windows Server 2008 or 2013 on their computer system in order to be part of the automated part of this solution. Though there is still the option to upload to an FTP box, where the Channel Manager could initiate the automation. This would result in no cost for the users and would still be feasible for positive production time Wowza Wowza has a subscription based cloud software portal for workflow costing $65 per month (Wowza) per instance. An instance is considered to be a configuration stream running to the server. This cost would extend to the high school and each church. 6

8 4.3. TelVue - Multiple accounts are allowed on the cloud software for a no cost to additional users. With the Turbo Accelerator in place all videos are accessible on multiple platforms giving a cost advantage for the users to place their content where they can reach more people. RECOMMENDATION My recommendation is to stay with TelVue and add the TelVue Turbo Accelerator to our current configuration and integrate the cloud services TelVue Connect and TelVue CloudCast for a totally automated platform that works with the existing TelVue Princeton server. Doing this will reinforce a positive partnership with TelVue and shorten the implementation time because of the familiarity with the system and basic company setup functions. I did reach out to Jerry, Baldwin LightStream s regional sales representative for a quote, but was unable to connect with him before this paper was written. The only concern I have about selecting this option is future proofing, the Telestream Vantage and the Wowza Streaming Engine have compelling features for added possible uses if Baldwin LightStream decided they wanted to go with On-Demand type streaming services in the future. See the Figure A in the appendix to view Baldwin LightStream s current broadcasting setup. CONCLUSION The complexity and time consumption of production for the community channel and educational channel has overtaken much of the positivity for the content administrators of these channels, enough so, that the educational channel no longer produces content at all. Once the setup is completed on the upgraded system, the church administrators will only need to upload their services to TelVue Connect and the rest of the process is automated for them. The educational channel will be able to minimize workflow to uploading content to TelVue Connect and then be managed by TelVue CloudCast, allowing ease of usability for students to once again produce educational content. I know parents and students will be thrilled when programs, athletic games and all the silly grade school content comes back to the educational channel. 7

9 Works Cited Marketwire. TelVue Releases TelVue Turbo(TM) Workflow Accelerator. 23 November online. 1 August <yahoo.com/news/telvue-releases-telvue-iw html>. Ozer, Jan. Review: Telestream Vantage Transcode Multiscreen. 1 May Yahoo! News online. 26 July < Telestream LLC. What is Vantage? online. 2 August < TelVue. TelVue Connect online. 29 July < Wowza. Wowza Streaming online. 27 July < 8

10 APPENDIX Figure A: Current Baldwin LightStream Broadcast System Setup 9