Recent Upgrades to Videoconferencing Services

NUIT’s Academic Technologies has recently completed upgrades to several videoconferencing services.

Wieboldt Hall Upgrades

After several months of extensive renovations, Wieboldt Hall 421 is now actively accepting videoconference bookings. Those who participate in events in this newly upgraded room will appreciate that Wieboldt Hall 421 is now the most advanced videoconferencing space at Northwestern.

As part of renovating the fourth and fifth floors of Wieboldt, room 421 was closed to facilitate the construction. During this time, the videoconferencing space received a new coat of paint, new carpeting, and and over-all facelift on the look of the room in addition to an upgrade in videoconferencing equipment.

New Scheduling System

An upgraded videoconferencing scheduling system has been implemented within the updated videoconferencing pages.

Upgraded Infrastructure

A new Codian Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) is now available to videoconferencing users. The unit acts as a video bridge allowing several videoconferencing sites to hold a videoconferencing session.

The new Codian MCU provides additional features as compared to the older Radvision unit that it is replacing. It is able to handle a wider range of video and audio protocols at a wider range of speeds thus increasing the level of interoperability and quality of videoconferences.

Wieboldt Hall Upgrades

Users who enter Wieboldt room 421 will appreciate the newly installed, upgraded equipment, adding more capabilities than any Northwestern videoconferencing room has had before. In an effort to upgrade Wieboldt 421, the room was almost completely stripped of equipment, making way for the following upgrades:

• New plasma screens
• High definition videoconferencing equipment
• Improved instructor podium
• Crestron touch screen controls
• High resolution document camera
• New DVD player
• High definition video cameras for the instructor view and the audience view
• Wireless Microphones (one hand-held and one lapel)

As a result of these hardware and software updates, videoconferencing using Wieboldt 421 allows users to send data live, eliminating software and hardware incompatibilities with remote videoconferencing sites. This means that any presentation can be sent to any remote site in real time with minimal complications.

New Scheduling System

The updated scheduling system and interface allows users to better access videoconferencing information including:

• Videoconferencing services
  
• Technical Information
  
• Scheduling capabilities
• Getting started information
• Recommendations for videoconferencing hardware/software
• Capabilities for data sharing (e.g. sharing PowerPoint in a videoconference)
• Recording and archiving a videoconference

Infrastructure Upgrades

The new Codian MCU also allows videoconferences to be streamed in real time so that the can be watched by users that only have a computer with a browser available to them.

Streams will be available at two speeds: the lower speed will allow users with browsers and low speed Internet connections to view the video from the videoconference while those users that have higher speed bandwidth available to them can view not only the video from the videoconference, but, if the conference is showing content (H.239 data such as PowerPoint slides), the content will also be able to be seen side by side with the video.

Videoconferencing Services

Videoconferencing
VidConference@listserv.it.northwestern.edu