Berkeley Internet Broadcasting System

1
Berkeley Internet Broadcasting System
CENIC Meeting (May 6, 1999)

• Lawrence A. Rowe
• Computer Science Division - EECS
• University of California at Berkeley
• Rowe_at_BMRC.Berkeley.EDU

2
Background

• Weekly Internet broadcast of Berkeley MIG Seminar
  since January 1995
• Learned about studio classrooms and software,
  hardware, and procedures needed to produce
  live/on-demand lectures and events
• Landays CSCW Using CSCW graduate class
  broadcast in Fall 1997
• Limited experiment using co-lab and local/remote
  students
• Broadcast regularly scheduled classes
• Fall 98 seven classes and two live video feeds
• Spring 99 three classes and two live video
  feeds

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Berkeley Internet Broadcasting System (BIBS)

• Broadcast seven classes Fall 98
• Six EECS classes broadcast only on Berkeley
  campus
• MIG Seminar broadcast world-wide
• Broadcast one class Spring 98 and on-demand
  replay of two additional classes
• Using Real Networks for lower division classes
• Two live feeds (e.g., ESPN and CNN)
• Limited to Berkeley campus

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Studio Classrooms

• General features
• Projector, PC, Elmo, VCR, etc.
• Speaker/audience camera/mics
• Hardware/software to route sources,
  capture/broadcast, and control
• Goals
• High quality audio/video interaction with remote
  participants
• Multiple video streams from the room (e.g.,
  speaker, audience, PC, etc.)
• Minimize setup and labor required to produce
  broadcast

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Multimedia Presentation
mic
Video Gateway
wireless control
computer
Elmo
PC
audience mic
Video Gateway
video projector
speaker camera
computer
matrix switcher
VCR
control switcher
audience camera
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Broadcast Technology

• Simulcast Multiple Programs
• Internet Mbone high-/low-bitrate (sdr, vat, vic,
  mars, mega, etc.)
• Real Networks/G2 (SureStream multiple
  bit-rates/adaptive playout)
• Program Structure
• Speaker audio/video and presentation material
  (e.g., PC, VCR, Elmo, etc.)
• Broadcast management tools
• Broadcast manager for launching/controlling
  broadcasts
• Directors console for remote control and video
  effects
• Question board for floor control

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Discussion

• How much does it cost?
• 50K - 400K per room including installation
• Higher room maintenance
• What remains to be done?
• Off-line processing to improve lecture capture
  title
• More sophisticated room control (e.g., reduce
  manual operations)
• Improve audio handling (e.g., audience thresholds
  and remote participation)
• Add high-bit rate streams (e.g., MPEG2 at 6 Mbs,
  DV at 25 Mbs)
• Improve speaker presentation lectern

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Infrastructure
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A Typical Broadcast
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Research Problems

• Automation and control of broadcasts
• Bandwidth adaptation based on heuristics on use
• Can heuristics be developed to automatically
  control the broadcast?
• Compilation and planning of video effects
• Given high-level effect description and machine
  resource description, produce plan to execute
  effect within required performance constraints
• Develop high-level language for visual effects -
  also for local customization
• Dynamic optimization of effects processing across
  many users
• User-interface for broadcast engineer
• Incorporate both broadcast manager and directors
  console interfaces
• Need support for monitoring multiple broadcasts

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Pointers

• Slides for BIBS Talk - longer version of this
  talk
• http//bmrc.berkeley.edu/people/larry/talks/bibs99
  /
• Berkeley MIG Seminar
• http//bmrc.berkeley.edu/mig
• Berkeley Internet Broadcasting System
• http//bmrc.berkeley.edu/bibs
• Research Papers
• http//bmrc.berkeley.edu/research/publications

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Questions

• Many thanks to the students and colleagues who
  made this possible including
• Steve McCanne, Martin Vetterli, James Landay,
  Oliver Crow, Ketan Mayer-Patel, Andrew Swan, Dave
  Simpson, David Wu, Carlos Romero,Tim Fitz, Paul
  Huang, Peter Pletcher, Steve Chang,Tina Wong,
  Vince Casalaina, Michael Juarez, Jennifer Paige,
  Kalle Cook, and the others...
• And, to the many speakers in the MIG Seminar!