The following is a summary of the current and planned video-conferencing equipment at the UC Academic Health Center.
Video Conferencing
Video conferencing is the transmission of image and speech back and forth between two or more physically separate locations. This is accomplished through the use of:
Cameras and microphones to capture video and audio from each location
Video displays (monitors or projectors) and loudspeakers to present others' video and audio at each location, and
Transmission equipment to send the audio and video to and from each location.
Types of Units/Facilities
The units can be categorized into desktop, conference room and distance learning.
Desktop Units
A number of desktop video conferencing units are in place at the Academic Health Center. These are typically for use by a single person. They are usually based on a desktop PC and monitor with added software, camera and microphone.
Conference Room Units
Several conference room video conferencing units are in place at the Academic Health Center. These are typically for use by up to 25 people. They can be based on a desktop PC or on dedicated hardware, and usually use a single camera and display and one or more microphones to provide a conference among two or more small groups in similar facilities.
Distance Learning Units
One distance learning facility is in place at the Academic Health Center. This site can accommodate a local audience of up to seventy-five, and can provide lecture/conference services for one or more large or small audiences at appropriately-equipped remote sites. Distance learning facilities are based on dedicated hardware, and use multiple cameras, displays and microphones to provide multiple audio and video channels of communication among a presenter and local and remote audiences.
East Campus Available Facilities
Desktop Units
A number of desktop video conferencing units are in place in offices at the Academic Health Center. These are typically for use by a single person. One such unit available to users is in the Instructional Technology Center at AIT&L, Room E650C MSB. The room is available for use without charge, subject to scheduling. The room, and equipment and technical support can be scheduled by contacting Karen Marsh at AIT&L, 80451.
Conference Room Units
Three conference room units have been deployed:
1. COM Conference Room, G056 MSB A dedicated-hardware videoconference unit (Polycom ViewStation H.323) is located in the College of Medicine Conerence Room G056, located on G-Level MSB. This is a conference room with movable tables and chairs, seating about 35. It is also equipped with a networked PC, which accepts 3.5" diskettes, 250MB Zip Disks, CD's, DVD's, CD-RW's, and USB-drives, and computer/video projector, a chalk board, a sink, a microwave and a telephone. Other presentation equipment is available within the library. The room is available for use without charge, subject to departmental scheduling. The room, and equipment and technical support can be scheduled by contacting AIT&L, either Sharon Booker at 80286 or Susan Poulos at 80756.
2. HPB 250 Large Conference Room A PC-based VC unit is located in the Senior Vice-President's Suite. This is a large conference room with a fixed center table and movable chairs, seating about 40. There is an installed networked PC with wireless keyborad and mouse, which accepts 3.5" diskettes, 250MB Zip disk, CD's DVD's, CD-RW's, and USB-drives. A single network jack is used alternately for the Polycom and the PC; both items cannot be online at once. The room is equipped with display and network connections and cables for portable PC's, wireless networking for equipped computers, a VHS VCR and a projector displaying PC, VHS and videoconference sources. There is also a rear projection screen, a slide projector, white boards, telephones and an adjacent kitchen. The room is available for use without charge, subject to scheduling. The room and equipment and technical support can be scheduled by contacting the SVP office at 86052.
3. Clinical Skills Laboratory/CCDA Conference Room, E057B MSB A Polycom videoconferencing system is located in the conference room at the Clinical Skills Laboratory/Center for Competency Development and Assessment (CSL/CCDA). This is a small conference room with a fixed center table and movable chairs, seating about 14. It is equipped with an installed networked PC, which accepts 3.5" diskettes, 250MB Zip disks, CD's, DVD's, Cd-RW's, and USB-drives. There are also display and network connections for portable PC's, a VHS VCR and a projector displaying PC, VHS and videoconference sources. There is also a projection screen, a plasma video monitor for videoconferencing, a document camera, white board, and telephone. The room is available for use without charge, subject to departmental scheduling. The room, equipment and technical support can be scheduled by contacting Maureen Asebrook at CCDA, 87727, or Gail Heimburger at 87724 or Debi Wehrung at 87725.
Academic Health Center Distance Learning Facility
The East Campus distance learning facility is located in Room 101 Proctor Hall, University of Cincinnati, Martin Luther King and Vine, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0038. This is a lecture room with an audience seating capacity of about 75.
The customary charge for groups outside of the university is $125 per hour and inside the university $75 per hour. This fee includes use of the equipment and room and a Technical Assistant in the room during the session. For each day of conferencing there should be about one hour of extra time projected for set-up and closeout of the equipment/conference.
Any charges incurred for dial-up access are to be covered either by remote sites dialing into the UCit system or paid by the group arranging the conference. Of course, if you wish to connect with sites not on our T-1 or other university connections already paid for the line cost would also need to be addressed at about $1.50 per minute for 3 ISDN lines.
For further information on the lecture room and equipment, or to schedule the use of the room, equipment and technical support, contact Susan Green at the College of Nursing, 85238.
West Campus Available Facilities
A number of West Campus colleges and departments have installed distance learning lecture rooms or video conference rooms for their own use, including CBA, Teachers, Physics and others. Electronic Classroom Support offers one video conference room, seating about 28, at 302 Zimmer, and also has mobile video conferencing equipment which can be set up in any suitable location having Internet service and display equipment.
UCIT's Presentation Technologies & Services Group serves the UC community as a resource for planning and producing audio and video related events requiring skilled technical support. It is their mission to enable members of the university community to professionally demonstrate their knowledge, expertise, and skills without the need to master complex technology that may have little to do with their chosen disciplines.
PTSG is the central resource for streaming media and video conferencing technologis in the UC community. They produce, engineer, and transmit audio and video of UC events (from sports to guest lecturers) over the internet as part of our web streaming duties. They also are responsible for video conferencing resources including bridging services, room design, and troubleshooting.
In addition to those duties they also are responsible for producing content intended for distribution via digital media, as well as coordinating teleconferences over satellite downlink.
For further information contact Joe Petrocy at 84262.
Planned Facilities
Plans are under development for video conferencing and distance learning facilities at CAHS.
Video Conferencing Technology
Video conferencing in the past has been done using multiple leased telephone lines (called ISDN). Specialized equipment converted audio and video from cameras and microphones into a form that could be transmitted over multiple telephone lines, but the need for special telephone installations, and the cost of those installations, together with the accumulated cost of the leased lines, limited the application of this technology.
More recently, the general installation of high-speed Ethernet service at UCMC has reduced the cost and complexity of video conferencing, eliminating the need (and cost) for leased telephone lines. This form of video conferencing (called IP) is transmitted over the Internet and does not require special installation other than the Ethernet service.
The facilities discussed above, with the exception of the distance learning facility at the College of Nursing, all communicate via IP rather than ISDN. They cannot communicate directly with ISDN sites, nor with more than one other site at a time. These restrictions can be overcome by the use of the UC "Bridge," located in and operated by UCiT's Network Operation Center. This device translates between ISDN and IP, and allows conferencing with multiple sites.
The College of Nursing distance learning facility supports H.320 and has the connectivity to send/receive at the following:
T-1 or less bandwidth (but not less than 384K)
Multiple ISDN Lines (3*128K)
The facility has been successful in communicating with VTEL, Picturetel, ABL, and Grass Valley CODECs. The CODEC is the NEC brand.
Video Conferencing Equipment
The video conferencing equipment located in each room may be either PC-based or dedicated-hardware. PC-based systems use cameras and microphones connected to special cards installed in desktop PC's, together with appropriate software. (All the PC-based facilities discussed above are based on Zydacron-brand cards and software.) This arrangement leaves the PC unavailable for other purposes, such as PowerPoint presentations, and may require some PC skills from an operator.
Dedicated-hardware systems use cameras and microphones connected to stand-alone equipment, and are typically operated with a remote control. (All the dedicated-hardware facilities discussed above are based on Polycom-brand H.323 equipment.) They do not require the use of a PC, and leave any PC present in the room available for other uses.
Either type uses the Ethernet connection to the room for video conferencing, so if a networked PC is also wanted, a second Ethernet service must be provided. Both types have some capability to transmit presentation images, such as PowerPoint slides, as part of a video conference, but the image quality in this mode is marginal at best. If this capability is needed, the preferable approaches are to send the files in advance to the distant sites by e-mail, to use a second Ethernet service and a PC to send the images live, or various other means.
Video Conferencing Technical Support
Video conferencing in the current state of the art requires substantial technical support for successful operation. Rooms, equipment and technician assistance must be scheduled in advance, and it is routine that test calls be made several days before and immediately in advance of each conference to work out any problems in the connection. If the UC bridge is involved in the conference, that too must be scheduled and tested, with time allowed for dealing with technical difficulties. Technician support, telephone connections and telephone numbers must be available for each site, both on testing days and on conference days.
AIT&L provides the technical support for the SVP, CCDA, and AIT&L facilities. The College of Pharmacy provides the technical support for the Wherry Hall room, and the College of Nursing provides the technical support for lecture hall/distance learning facility. There is no charge for AIT&L or for College of Pharmacy services scheduled during normal business hours. Charges for College of Nursing services are as noted above.
