North Carolina State Expands Streaming Video Deployment

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 01/20/10

North Carolina State University is deploying technology from HaiVision Network Video to stream its video. The university has been rolling out Video Furnace as a replacement for its CATV system and to deliver video to the university's academic and administrative buildings. The new system has also been used to support livecasting of campus events into overflow areas and to save video for on-demand viewing or broadcasting through the North Carolina State television channel.

The institution awarded the latest project to HaiVision in July 2009 shortly after wrapping a pilot to implement IPTV in academic buildings. In the latest push, the university will expand the pilot to residence halls. According to university reports, that project is expected to begin in Spring 2010 after enhancements are made to the network infrastructure.

"This [project] will eventually lead to all cable television on campus being delivered over the IP network instead of relying on a separate overlay network," said Greg Sparks, director of communication technologies, in a report to the campus community. "This project is also important as our current system is at capacity in terms of channels and doesn't have bandwidth available for services such as HDTV or video on demand. Both of these are increasingly being requested by our residential students."

North Carolina State used the Video Furnace technology on short notice to support the visit from Barack Obama at Reynolds Coliseum during the North Carolina primary. With an hour's notice the communication technologies team set up a large screen display and six displays scattered around the floor with no coax cable. By configuring the network accordingly and using set-top boxes and mini switches, they were able to livestream the event online.

Video Furnace provides several capabilities: the means for encoding and distributing live video to computers and set-top boxes; for creating scheduled playback channels for enterprise TV and signage; for accessing course reserve material; and for recording content and delivering video on demand. A Furnace Portal Server controls the distribution of video to both a proprietary player and set-top box. A Furnace Playback Manager allows administrators to manage scheduled channels for IP video broadcast and signage and to control viewing activities and privileges. When a user requests a video, the Manager sends the player to the user's computer or device as a video viewing environment.

Future projects for HaiVision at the university include its use for video delivery to public displays, IPTV delivery of the student media department's "Wolf TV" channel, video on demand to bring specific content to classrooms, and interactive video and capture for the university's College of Veterinary Medicine.