[Victoria VOD]
apcmag.com
<<Via Telstra's experimental broadband network>>
Victoria trials video-on-demand
by Stephen Withers
06/03/97 -- A 2MBps video-on-demand system developed by Cinemedia (the Victorian government body formed from Film Victoria and the State Film Centre), Monash University's Centre for Telecommunications and Information Engineering (CTIE), and Silicon Graphics is cuurently being trialled in Melbourne.
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Original video material is digitised, MPEG-compressed and stored on a video server running on Silicon Graphics Challenge hardware. This server includes a management system which migrates files between online, nearline and archive storage, an essential feature given the volume of data.
The data stream is delivered for playback at 2Mbps, giving better quality than the 1.5Mbps available from MPEG CD-ROMs. MPEG hardware is necessary with current PCs, but the result is practically indistinguishable from broadcast TV when viewed on a conventional video monitor. As bandwidth increases, 3Mbps may be used for even better quality. Standard protocols are used for transport, but proprietary software decodes the data stream and displays the video without storing it, which should reduce copyright holders' piracy fears.
The video server is connected to PCs within CTIE via ATM and Switched Ethernet, and to Cinemedia's offices via 34Mbps ATM across Telstra's experimental broadband network. It is also connected to the Optus broadband network and there are plans to involve the schools participating in the Optus trial with the new service.
Cinemedia's current system of lending its collection of 20,000 16mm films and 9000 VHS videotapes means items are unavailable for around 12 days (a 7-day loan plus delivery and handling time). Given suitable broadband networks, users in homes, schools, universities and government departments could access the collection at a moment's notice. The experimental system is implemented as an extension of Cinemedia's existing online catalogue.
The library is designed to support partitioned collections, so Cinemedia may administer video-on-demand on behalf of Film Australia, the National Film and Sound Archive and commercial organisations.
Facilities for access control and copyright administration are included. For example, a film might be on commercial release for six months and then available to education users for a year before home users may view it. Copyright considerations include the automatic dispersal of royalties to the owners.
Victorian minister for multimedia Alan Stockdale said the government had funded $1.2 million of the $1.8 million trial, and was committed to using such technologies for the delivery of services by 2000.
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@ 1996 Australian Consolidated Press |
