SC|05 Attendees Gather for Global Collaborative HD Video-Editing Session and Interactive Multipoint HD Videoconference

Seattle, Washington, November 14, 2005 -
ResearchChannel will take the art of the interactive HD videoconference to the next level at the SC¦05 conference in Seattle. A global, low-latency videoconference using uncompressed high-definition video will be demonstrated Nov. 15-17 at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., with participants from AARNet, SURFnet, the University of Michigan, the University of Southern California, the University of Washington, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Widely Integrated Distributed Environment (WIDE).

The highlight of the conference will be a live, interactive video-editing session produced in real time using uncompressed HD. The video-editing session takes advantage of the DigitalWell asset management system, which now uses Storage Resource Broker (SRB) to enable authenticated and authorized sharing of content.

“With SRB layered underneath DigitalWell, ResearchChannel can share content and metadata with other institutions that use SRB,” said Jim DeRoest, director of Streaming Media.

Andrew Howard, coordinating engineer of AARNet, Australia’s academic and research network, will participate in the multipoint videoconference. He will also share HD video content with a point in Seattle, where the video will be downloaded and edited in close to real time.

“It is extremely exciting to be a part of building the future of advanced networks. By demonstrating the immersive reality of high-definition video, combined with the ability to share immense amounts of digital information over global distances, we are creating the infrastructure and experience to support the evolving needs of our academic, research and scientific communities.” said Howard.

“What we are now seeing is a globally dispersed collaborative community working together in a way that is more than just ‘talking heads’,” said George McLauglin, executive director, AARNet. “People on opposite sides of continents, oceans and the globe itself are demonstrating how this technology can be used to achieve the same practical outcomes as though they were all in the same room. The additional ‘presence’ that high-definition multimedia adds cannot be underestimated.”

Attendees will be able to participate in the multipoint conference and speak to participants in Amsterdam, Australia, Michigan, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tokyo and Wisconsin, and they will watch as a global HD video program is edited and produced.
This demonstration will not simply be a breakthrough for global video collaborations. The technology that will make the videoconference and editing session possible allows all forms of large digital collections to be shared. The ability to share video and other content on a global level will open new doors forresearchers and scientists. Having immediate access to high-quality HD video, for example, will allow research to be conducted quickly and collaboratively by people working together around the globe.
Networking support for this effort is provided and coordinated by Pacific Northwest Gigapop with support from Pacific Wave, IEEAF, National LambdaRail and Internet2. Hardware was provided by Evertz, Isilon and Silicon Mechanics.

About ResearchChannel
ResearchChannel links a growing global audience to the revolutionary developments, insights and discoveries of leading research and academic institutions through online, on-air and on-demand video distribution formats. Founded as a way to share breakthrough research with the public, the ResearchChannel consortium includes world-renowned universities and research institutions. Video programming ranging from technology and science innovations to fascinating arts and humanities topics is shared in its original form and without interruption.

About DigitalWell
For this demonstration, ResearchChannel used DigitalWell, with Storage Resource Broker (SRB). Developed over the past six years with the University of Washington, DigitalWell is a suite of software subsystems that addresses the difficulties of sharing and maintaining a wide range of media assets among disparate departments, both within and between institutions. DigitalWell underlies KEXP-FM’s Webby award-winning website and ResearchChannel’s 2,100 program video library, as well as a number of other collections. ResearchChannel announced recently that DigitalWell will be available as open source in first quarter 2006.

About the Participants
ResearchChannel is a nonprofit media and technology organization that connects a global audience with the research and academic institutions whose developments, insights and discoveries affect our lives and futures. ResearchChannel was founded in 1996 by leading research and academic institutions so they could share the work of their researchers with the public while collectively participating in advanced distribution and interactive technology experiments. Programs are shared in their original form, unmediated and without interruption. Today, more than 50 institutions participate as members and affiliates, and that number continues to grow. Through cable and satellite distribution, ResearchChannel is available to more than 21 million U.S. households. The ResearchChannel website, with users in over 70 countries worldwide, provides programs on demand and through a live webstream. The online video library houses more than 2,100 full-length programs.

AARNet, Australia’s Academic and Research Network, provides high-capacity, leading-edge Internet services for the tertiary education and research sector communities and their research partners.

SURFnet is a high-grade computer network specially reserved for higher education and research in the Netherlands.

WIDE, Widely Integrated Distributed Environment, project has been working since 1988. The WIDE project is a research consortium among industry, public institutes and academia.

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Contact: Dana Martin
877-616-7265