In part 1 of this series I talked about what Mythbuntu was and why I thought it would be a viable option for centrally managing video content in the school system. For those of you that didn’t get a chance to read it here’s the run down on the project. Mythbuntu is one of the many implementations of the software package called MythTV. In short it’s one of many open source alternatives to Tivo. So think free Tivo as you think about this project. Some time ago I wondered to myself if it would be possible to bring the flexibility that Tivo offers without all of the cost and hassle of the boxes for each TV. You may be wondering why this would be something I’m interested in and the answer is simple. There is currently no easy way to record and play back video content off of cable or broadcast TV. I know that people still use VCRs and VHS tapes but those modes of recording video are quickly becoming outdated. This leaves us with dvd recording or some form of video recording on a computer which can be just a little too technical for instructors. The wonderful thing about educational institutions is that we are afforded more rights to video content from cable and broadcast television than the average person. This means that if we can come up with a simple way of recording and playing video content then we can take advantage of the fair use guidelines afforded educators. The Mythbuntu project has progressed to the next step for us. We have purchased the hardware and have put together our first server. I am happy to report that I am very pleased with the outcome thus far. The hardware involved is as follows:
- Reclaimed Dell Optiplex from Lab 3.2 Gigahertz P4
- 1.5 Gig of Ram
- 500 Gig hard drive
- Hauppauge 150 TV Tuner (the only item actually purchased)
So far it has performed wonderfully. At the university we have G/bit switches and fiber to each building so the real bottle neck is in the 100 M/bit Network cards on the computer. Suffice it to say the bandwidth needed to stream video from the server to the computers in the classrooms has not been a problem at all. Thanks to the guys over at http://sudu.dk/mythtvplayer/ the player for Microsoft Windows works beautifully. The player is clean and simple and allows for the instructor to choose the video content they want to play and even choose to delete the content when they are finished. I’ve included some pics below one of the video being played in the Windows player and another of the online web scheduling tool. The nice thing is that instructors can log on to the website hosted on the server and schedule their shows directly over the web. Then all they need do is sit back, relax, and play the content in their classes when the time comes.
Some issues are still being worked out. First, we are working out the details of copyright and fairuse. Cable in the Classroom has been a great guide in this endeavor and has provided a lot of information related to content recorded off of cable. Secondly, the security involved in managing this system is already fairly robust but there is already some concerns for making sure that it is managed appropriately. Third, continuing to look at the implications on the network as more and more video on demand content floods the network. While these main concerns plus others continue to push us further into experimentation, the excitement of having an easily managed video recording system for the University is pretty exciting. Just think no more VCRs or DVD players in the classroom just a simple little player on the computer.
