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System and a method for capture and dissemination of digital media

1. If you do not wish to store edited settings you can close the web browser or click on another link in the navigation bar to ignore all changes Restore Settings 0079 This allows you to restore the Webcast in a Box settings to the default settings when the machine was shipped If you misconfigure the appliance and cannot remember the original settings you can always recover by clicking this button All customized settings will be lost Server Restart 0080 Administrators may also reboot or shutdown the system from the Administration page Simply unplugging the system is safe but shutting down the system through the administration page may prolong the life of the appliance and may reduce the time required to initialize the system Update 0081 You can update the software on the appliance by clicking on the update button You should not do this while the appliance is live and be aware that this process may take a short while as new software is downloaded and installed You should reboot the appliance after this process is com pleted If you ever see a feature listed in this Administrator Guide which is not available on your Webcast in a Box appliance you probably need to update your box to the latest version by clicking on the Update button US 2007 0078768 Al Update Components 0082 Certain components are not installed by default on the Webcast in a Box appliance You can choose which components you would like to e
2. begins from which you create a custom wiab_settings xml file and place it on the SmartKey When the event is to begin you plug in the SmartKey to switch the network and begin broadcasting US 2007 0078768 Al Logging The entire sequence of events during a SmartKey generated webcast is logged in the log files under the name hotplug Please check the log files if you experience any errors or unexpected behavior Program Guide 0121 Webcast In A Box provides a list of all archived and scheduled webcasts in a single interface called the Program Guide Each webcast entry dislays a status title and date You may find more detailed information by clicking the title of the webcast Status values include archived not archived pending and now showing Events with a not archived status are previous webcasts where the operator elected to not archive the video The template settings and other information are saved 0122 Ifyou click Status Title or Date once at the top of the Program Guide it will sort that column in descending order Click it again and it will be sorted in ascending order Actions 0123 Each webcast has a drop down menu of actions that change depending upon its status Depending on the status of the webcast and certain administrator choices the options presented in the drop down menu will differ For example if the webcast was archived the operate option
3. would not be presented 0124 View will launch the RealPlayer and play the webcast 0125 Edit will navigate to the prepare page with the form values preset 0126 Duplicate will navigate to the prepare page with the option of creating a new webcast based on settings from an existing webcast 0127 Clone will create an indentical webcast which can be edited independently of the original This is useful if you need to create two separate webcasts from one original you clone the webcast and then clip both of the webcasts to use different in and out points 0128 0129 Announce will open the announce window to send email announcing this webcast 0130 Operate will open the operate window so that the webcast can be started This Delete will delete the webcast 0131 option is only available if the webcast status is listed as pending 0132 0133 Export will open the export window for down load of files 0134 Publish will publish the webcast to a Webcast in a Box mothership server 0135 Upload will schedule this webcast for upload This is useful if the archive settings were turned off when the webcast was originally created or if the settings are changed and you wish to push the files to a different Statistics will open the statistics window Apr 5 2007 server The Upload choice is available only when you have remote archivi
4. Osprey 210 video capture cards from ViewCast Included with the system is a scan converter from AverMedia as well as A V cables and adapters that allow desktop capture A power cable is provided Apr 5 2007 Software 0147 Webcast In A Box runs on SuSE Linux 8 2 with a 2 4 22 kernel Apache 1 3 28 with mod_perl and mod ssl is used to generate HTML using HTML Mason Proftpd server 1 2 8 mySQL 3 23 58 with Helix TM Producer Plus 9 0 1 from RealNetworks R Build number 9 0 1 250 and Helix DNA Server 10 1 10 1 0 748 are also installed Troubleshooting Problem Video is black or no picture 0148 Resolution 1 Is the correct video input plugged in Click on the Channel Status link from the Operator Console to bring up the live encoder state settings page If the Video Input is Composite do you have a yellow cable from the camera or scan converter plugged into the dongle going into the capture card If the input is set to S Video do you have an S Video cable plugged into the dongle 0149 Resolution 2 Is the bandwidth in your RealPlayer set correctly If you are streaming at 200 Kbps and your player preferences are set to 56 K modem the RealPlayer will drop frames and packets in order to try to keep band width beneath your threshold 0150 Resolution 3 Is the video dongle plugged into the correct capture card For presenter channel 1 capture the dongle should be plugged into the c
5. bar Into the text field enter connection information about the webcast such as user name and password hostname and the path of the web cast on the FTP server For example if your files are hosted on the host named mediasrv which requires username and password of media and server within the media 32 directory then you would enter the loca tion of ftp media server mediasrv media 32 Notice that this location is slightly different than a typical FTP URL for use in a web browser in that you must specify a colon after the hostname and before the directory This is so that the Webcast in a Box can distinguish between directories such as media 32 and media 32 If the files are all located on your local FTP server you can click the Schedule Local Imports button to automati cally import those webcasts 0117 3 If you wish to enter multiple webcasts separate them with a newline When you are finished click the Schedule Import button Apr 5 2007 0118 4 If the locations you provided were correct they will be listed underneath the text area If there were input errors they will be displayed above the text area Required Files To import files into the Webcast in a Box appliance you must have a file called archive smil in the location specified for import This file should reference files called either speak er rm or desktop rm or both When the archive s
6. command for Windows 95 and older versions A com mand window should appear Type ping 10 10 10 1 fol lowed by return If you see something like this ping 10 10 10 1 PING 10 10 10 1 10 10 10 2 56 84 bytes of data 64 bytes from 10 10 10 1 icmp_seq 1 ttl 64 time 0 368 ms If you see this your machine is properly configured to talk to the Webcast in a Box appliance and you can skip to the section below marked Using the Web Interface If you do not see this your network is not properly configured between the two machines Contact your network adminis trator or Webcast in a Box at support webcastinabox com Linux Configuration 0136 To configure the computer under Linux you must have superuser root access Open a terminal window such as xterm or konsole Type this command bash 2 05b ifconfig ethO 10 10 10 2 Then type bash 2 05b ping 10 10 10 1 PING 10 10 10 1 10 10 10 2 56 84 bytes of data 64 bytes from 10 10 10 1 icmp_seq 1 ttl 64 time 0 356 ms 0137 If you see something similar to the above mes sages your network is properly configured and you can continue ahead to the next section Using the Web Interface If there is no output or response from this command your Apr 5 2007 network is not yet configured properly Contact your net work administrator or Webcast in a Box at support webcastinabox com Web Interface Usage 0138 Once you have the network
7. either be a remote HTTP or FTP URL to the key file or you can upload the key file to your mothership server perhaps via SSH or by tempo rarily turning on the FTP server on the mothership and provide a file type URL 0114 Now verify that the installed key works on both sides From your SSH connection on the satellite appli ance run the command opt wiab customy bin install_sat ellite wiab key If you see the message SUCCESS you have completed installation of the WIAB key on both sides If not please review any error messages Usage Import Webcasts If a webcast was created on another machine but you would like to host the file on the Webcast in a Box appliance you can import the webcast using the Import Webcasts feature Import Sequence 0115 1 To import a webcast you must first host all the files on a FTP server so that the Webcast in a Box appliance can retrieve the files If you don t have a FTP server available you can use the one on the Webcast in a Box appliance Please see the section marked Internal FTP Server later in this section for more information You do not need to leave the FTP server running once the files have been uploaded it can be turned off and the Webcast in a Box unit can still resolve files stored locally on the box 0116 2 Once all the files are available over FTP you can schedule the files for import Click on the Import Web casts link in the navigation
8. in a Box appliance Channel Status Links The Channel Status display in the operator console shown at right provides links to all the possible URLs available to a viewing client Each channel has a direct unicast and multicast link which can be used to view the video from that channel only either over a unicast connec tion or on multicast The Presentation link is the Standard Webcast URL mentioned above for example http 192 168 1 2 4 ram The Live link points to the Live Webcast URL mentioned above http 192 168 1 2 liv e ram for example The Unicast URL points to a RAM file which directly accesses the unicast stream full presentation both channels within SMIL at http 192 168 1 2 archive 4 unicast ram while the Multicast link If you are using the appliance either as an encoder for a remote server or as a satellite appliance the links provide will be slightly different Remote Server If you choose to host your streams from a remote server and use the Webcast in a Box appliance as encoders only there will not be test links provided in the channel status since the Webcast in a Box appliance will be unaware of the final URL format Configuration Remote Streaming Server To use the remote server settings go to the Network Settings in the navigation bar and deselect the checkbox which says Use Local Streaming Server Then fill in the proper encoder connection strin
9. incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein for all purposes BACKGROUND 0002 The inventive subject matter disclosed herein gen erally relates to digital media creation and storage computer systems operating on a network 0003 Media creation systems have existed for several years Typically these systems are a manual and arbitrary combination of different components from different software and hardware vendors Digital media creation appliances exist which create media by manual interaction using a keyboard monitor and mouse Operation of a digital media creation system is generally too complicated for anyone but highly trained and technically savvy digital media content creators Publishing systems also exist which can move digital media files around across different networks How ever there is no integrated system which combines these features into one complete system and is aware of all connected components Thus there is a need for an improved system which anticipates creation and publishing of digital media files with a simpler interface than a monitor mouse and keyboard and can manage the entire workflow from the beginning of the creation process all the way to the point of publishing and notification SUMMARY 0004 The inventive subject matter generally relates to a system which combines many different previously indepen dent technologies These components are somewhat inter twined when establishing the d
10. indicates a help tip If you click on this link you will popup a window with more information about this feature Logging 0066 All processes on the Webcast in a Box appliance are logged If you ever feel that something is in error check the log files by logging into the web interface and clicking on the Access Logs link Modules are a way of breaking different process logging into smaller files so choose the appropriate module select the date and then choose whether you want to see regular events or errors The global module provides all events for the entire day If you cannot determine how to resolve a problem on your own you should send the global log file to support webcastinabox com for assistance Administrative Configuration Security System Settings and Network Settings both appear as choices on the Main Navigational Menu only when you have logged in as an administrator If you do not see this link please click Logout and log back in as an administrator Network Settings 0067 The Network Settings part of the administrator section allows you to establish network related settings Generally you will access only the most common settings but if you need to access advanced settings click on the link Advanced Settings underneath the Network Settings heading To go back to the common settings click on the Simple Settings link DHCP IP Address The Webcast in a Box system wi
11. on remote archiving by deselect ing the Use Local Archive and saving the settings and then go to the Program Guide and select Upload from the choices and click the Go link This will schedule the Webcast for archiving US 2007 0078768 Al Files All files in the archive directory will be uploaded The archive smil file has relative paths to the media files while other SMIL files have absolute paths which may be invalid when moved off the Webcast in a Box appliance When referencing a file which has been uploaded to another server using the remote archive feature provide URLs to archive smil and playback will work properly Precautions Take note that the remote path information may be handled differently on the remote server depending on the protocol used to upload the media For example with an FTP server the paths media and media would likely be treated as the same location in the remote filesystem home jsmith media for example With SCP however media would likely resolve to media on a remote server while the path media would probably resolve to home jsmith media Editing Media If a webcast is edited the system will attempt to upload again media files which have changed In this way the Webcast in a Box appliance attempts to keep remote files in syne with your local media USB SmartKey Prerequisites To use the USB SmartKey feature the appliance sho
12. outgoing email messages when webcasts are started using the USB SmartKey feature or when an operator manually sends announcements If the SMTP host requires a username and password you can enter this information here as well Once entered you can test the values by clicking the Test button to the right of the input field Database Connection 0072 The Webcast in a Box appliance ships with the MySQL database If you wish to manage the database on a remote server the Database Connection field can be used to configure an external database You will need to populate the remote database with the proper table structure in order for the Webcast in a Box appliance to properly use your remote database Please contact Webcast in a Box for more information at support webcastinabox com The Webcast in a Box system ships with database drivers for MySQL installed if you need drivers for Oracle Postgres or any other database please contact Webcast in a Box Streaming Server 0073 The Webcast in a Box appliance has a fully licensed unlimited unicast and multicast stream Helix DNA streaming server on board You can serve almost an unlim ited number of clients from your server within a corporate or educational LAN network directly from the Webcast in a Box appliance If you would prefer to use a remote stream US 2007 0078768 Al ing server and have the appliance operate as an encoder only you can enable this functionality under th
13. rear of the appliance marked with a 1 G for Gigabit Network Settings On A Static IP Network If you plan to use the appliance with a static IP address you must configure the appliance for the proper network settings with a laptop or desktop machine first Software License Agreement 0060 When you use the system and you have entered the IP Address appearing on the appliance s LCD display into your networked computer s browser address line you are presented with a screen which allows you to easily generate a webcast The first use of the appliance however requires activation Click on the button which says Producer Con sole and then accept the secure certificate You are then prompted for agreement of the Software Licensing Agree ment After reading the license agreement click I agree in order to navigate to the System Settings page for the system This license message will only appear until the agreement is accepted USB License Acceptance 0061 You can indicate acceptance of your software license by placing a file named license txt alongside your wiab_settings xml file with the text yes as the only con tents If the Webcast in a Box appliance sees this file it enables broadcasting without visiting the web interface acceptance page Initial Log in 0062 After accepting the License Agreement you arrive at the Log in page Choose the username administrator username and enter
14. the webcast or an incorrect URL they will always receive a presentation informing them that the webcast requested is unavailable To customize this message you can upload a missing smil into the missing folder This file may not reference other files within the missing folder but it can US 2007 0078768 Al reference other media hosted on other sites The miss ing smil file can also contain inlined media media which is stored as Base64 data directly within the SMIL file The default missing smil has inlined media To create this you can use a tool built with the Perl programming language module Smil pm from http webiphany com perlysmil or contact Webcast in a Box for more information Style Folder You can customize the layout and design of the Webcast in a Box web admin interface Upload a new logo jpg or a modified version of the main css file to modify the default logo or styles Templates Folder 0103 You can create profiles for use when creating webcasts by uploading a template set into the profiles folder You must place the set of files into a new directory within this folder and you must provide at a minimum the follow ing set of files archive smil unicast smil multicast smil and preview html These files should reference media streams called speaker rm and desktop rm for channel one and two respectively The SMIL files can reference other media like background images within the same directory or files from r
15. 035 The digital media access software 113 media server software can be a web server which provides access to digital media files to different software running on a viewers computer 114 through a network An example of this software is the Apache webserver which runs on both the Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems Spe cialized software called streaming media servers can also be used to optimize the experience for different accessing software Examples of this streaming media software include RealNetworks RealServer or Microsoft s Win dows Media Server 0036 Software Process 0037 The system process begins with the insertion of a removable media device 107 into the encoder machine 101 After the user of the system inserts a key 107 such as a thumbdrive the system recognizes this insertion The operating system software then starts the hotplug software process which mounts the thumbdrive and executes the hotplug activation software providing it with information about where the thumbdrive is available within the oper ating system interface and that this action is an insertion The system then reads information provided on the thumbdrive and optionally writes some of that information to the encoder computer system This can include authentication information which could be used to verify that the user of the system has permission to utilize the system It can also p
16. Box Inc of Portland Oreg www webcastinabox com The material elaborates on the inventive subject matter disclosed above and disclose addi tional inventive features Introduction 0049 Webcast In A Box is video broadcast appliance for computer networks It allows you to encode and stream two synchronized digital video channels simultaneously video from a video camera and video from a computer desktop display You can lay out these two channels as a live presentation and personalize or brand presentations with a background color background image logo and or a banner The complete presentation is viewed in the standard Real Player from RealNetworks Inc which is available on Microsoft Windows tm Apple Macintosh tm Sun Solaris tm Linux and other operating systems Hardware 0050 Webcast In A Box includes a power cord audio video input jacks and ports for network connection You supply power audio video devices and cables a video scan converter if your computer doesn t contain one and a network connection cable The built in audio video inputs are standard composite or s video jacks for both physical channels as labeled on the back of the unit Network connectivity can be achieved by plugging into the 1 GB jack as labeled on the back of the unit Network connectivity will match your capabilities be they 1 GB 100 MB or 10 MB speeds Webcast In A Box does not require a monitor mouse or keyboard O
17. Perl Python C Java so it should be possible to implement this program in any of these languages 0044 The media server will be used by both clients of the media users and producers of the media which means that an administrator will optionally desire to implement a secu rity protocol Typically security should be implemented to the highest standards using SSL public private key authen tication or one of many other encryption schemes to transfer and transmit data between components in the system It may also be worthy to build a custom authentication scheme on top of these tried and tested authentication schemes so that by merely breaking into the first layer of security does not allow compromise of the total system It is important to note that a layered authentication scheme is the best solution the more standard an encryption scheme the more likely it is that it has been tried and tested to survive attacks but at the same time a custom encryption scheme will be harder to break in that public information about break ins are less likely to exist A combination of these two approaches will lead to the best security for the overall system For example one implementation could be as follows a media encoder and media server could communicate over industry standard SSL encryption to send files back and forth In order to communicate with the media server the media encoder could be initially configured to use a random and unique str
18. US 20070078768A1 a2 Patent Application Publication co Pub No US 2007 0078768 A1 as United States Dawson 43 Pub Date Apr 5 2007 54 SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR CAPTURE AND DISSEMINATION OF DIGITAL MEDIA ACROSS A COMPUTER NETWORK 76 Inventor Chris Dawson Portland OR US Correspondence Address GANZ LAW P C P O BOX 2200 HILLSBORO OR 97123 US 21 Appl No 11 534 594 22 Filed Sep 22 2006 Q 112 113 E Se ei 101 104 105 10 Related U S Application Data 60 Provisional application No 60 719 338 filed on Sep 22 2005 Publication Classification 51 Int Cl G060 99 00 2006 01 92 UEa SA 705 50 57 ABSTRACT A system and a method for creation of digital media and broadcast or publishing of that media across a computer network by connection of a removable storage device 114 114 114 enlarged view 210 Media source camera or audio 208 209 Patent Application Publication Apr 5 2007 US 2007 0078768 A1 a ba bura enlarged view 210 Media source camera or audio 208 209 US 2007 0078768 Al SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR CAPTURE AND DISSEMINATION OF DIGITAL MEDIA ACROSS A COMPUTER NETWORK RELATED APPLICATIONS 0001 This application claims the benefit of and priority to U S Provisional Application Ser No 60 719 338 filed Sep 22 2005 the contents of which are hereby
19. apture card toward the middle of the appliance for desktop channel 2 capture plug the dongle into the capture card on the outside edge of the appliance Problem After clicking Start in the Operator Console the webcast dies almost immediately after starting 0151 Resolution 1 Are you using a custom audience RPAD file for this webcast If so the RPAD file may be invalid Or you may have misnamed the RPAD file such that it was recognized as RealVideo 8 when in fact it is RealVideo 9 You cannot mix RealVideo 8 and 9 RPAD files when doing a SureStream webcast Review the log files for the producer in the Access Logs section Resolution 2 If you are using the appliance as a satellite or encoder appliance your network may be inaccesible causing the encoders to fail when they attempt connection the server Problem USB SmartKey cannot start webcasts 0152 Resolution Is the wiab_settings xml or key txt file on the USB drive Is the file saved as text If the file was saved as a format other than text DOC or RTF then the SmartKey file cannot be read by the Webcast in a Box appliance Is the key txt in the root of the drive or in a directory either named wiab or webcast 0153 Persons skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations are possible in the details materials and arrangements of the parts and actions which have been described and illustrated in order to explain t
20. art broadcasting with a single click on the Welcome page of the Web interface You can also schedule an event and create choose a custom layout template for your webcast using the web interface Your viewers can access the webcast from a Web link that can be emailed as an invitation to join the webcast All webcasts are archived and viewed on demand using the same link 0054 You may export a webcast including the video files the graphics and the SMIL files that provide the synchro nization and layout for the webcast Exported files can be moved to an external Helix server or to a local file server or burned to a CDROM for portable playback Positioning 0055 For conference room or classroom broadcasts Webcast In A Box recommends that the appliance be placed near the computer of the webcast presenter This enables a simple connection between the presenter s machine and the video input on the back of the unit Scan Converter 0056 A scan converter should be used to convert and improve the VGA signal from the computer into a composite video signal that is plugged into the back panel of the appliance However many new portable computers now have built in video out capabilities Video directly from a camera a video conferencing end point or signal mixing board can also be plugged in the back panel of the unit for the purpose of broadcasting video of the presenter Video Inputs 0057 Webcast In A Box accepts composite or S v
21. ast check live links and then stop until the proper time for the actual webcast The archived webcast uses the last generated files but the system does not delete any files created unless you explicitly ask it to If you accidentally click start again after creating a webcast you can always retrieve and restore the original webcast later by replacing the correct files Contact Webcast in a Box at support webcastinabox com for assistance if this is the case Automatic Refresh 0095 Ifyou stop a webcast and do not close the operator console you might notice that when another webcast is started from another machine or with a USB SmartKey that the operator console automatically refreshes and displays the status information for any webcast You cannot stop how ever this new webcast with the same operator console This is to prevent someone from accidentally stopping a webcast they don t realize has been started by another operator If you really need to stop this webcast click on the live links underneath the navigation bar and then click Stop from there Logging All requests for webcasts are logged so please check the log files under Access Logs in the navigation bar Most information related to webcasts are logged under the web admin section Editing Webcasts 0096 After you have prepared a webcast you can edit it to change settings Click on the Program Guide in the navigation bar on the lef
22. ate Special Considerations When using the box as a remote encoder for example when you are in a hotel conference room or in a location where you are renting a connection to the internet you may need to first accept a license agreement before using the internet connection In order to do this it may be necessary to connect to the appliance and use VNC Logging All logging for the remote server connections is placed in the producer section in the log files so check there if you experience errors or strange behaviors Usage Scenarios Remote Archive Usage The remote archive feature is useful when your network has a CDN content distribution network which is used to mirror content out to edge servers This feature can also be used as an emergency backup facility in case of hardware failure The Webcast in a Box appliance is also extremely portable and mobile and there may be times when the archive is unavailable because the appliance is en route to a webcasting event so placing a remote archive on another server is useful in this situation Archiving Policy If the Use Local Archive checkbox is checked when a webcast is halted the presentation will not be uploaded afterwards regardless of the whether the Use Local Archive setting is changed later This way you can choose to archive certain webcasts and not archive others If you want to archive a webcast which was created when remote archiving is disabled turn
23. ate of the audience file and flow is either cbr or vbr for constant or variable bitrate For example a file name My_new_High rv8 10000 cbr r pad would be displayed in the RealVideo 8 section as My new High If you don t follow this format you cannot use your RPAD file as a SureStream source Please note that the Webcast in a Box system does not verify your settings inside the RPAD file match your filename so you can cause encoding failures if you were to mix RealVideo 8 and RealVideo 9 audience files and select them for a webcast profile CDROM Folder 0100 The folder marked cdrom contains files which are copied into each webcast directory The sample files which are provided in this directory can be burned directly to aCDROM and will provide autorun functionality when the CDROM is inserted into a Microsoft Windows tm operating system If you want to customize the behavior of the CDROM please edit the file autorun inf with this folder or upload an entirely different set of files Import Folder 0101 To import webcasts created on another machine into the Webcast in a Box appliance requires a FTP server If you don t have an FTP readily available you can use the Webcast in a Box appliance as a substitute The import folder can be used to store webcasts for import Missing Folder 0102 Ifa user accesses a webcast which is not available on the Webcast in a Box appliance due to deletion of
24. ck the Update Offset Times button followed by Edit Webcast or your settings will not be saved properly Apr 5 2007 Usage The FTP server is used to upload files for customization or for download and mirroring of webcasts stored on the server Customization Access 0098 The FTP server permits an administrator to upload files to the system with a username and password You can specify this username and password when you choose to enable FTP in the System Settings The customization folder is used to simply modify and augment parts of the Webcast in a Box system Audience Folder 0099 The folder marked audience contains RealPro ducer Audience Description RPAD files which are used by the RealNetworks Producer Encoder software These are XML files which specify bitrate framerate and codec set tings among other things The Webcast in a Box appliance ships with many different encoder profiles but if you have a special need for different settings you can upload new audience files via the FTP server Refer to documentation on the RealNetworks website for more information on RPAD files If you choose to upload files they will be sorted and displayed in the Audience chooser based on the filename Please name your files using the format name version bitrate flow rpad where name is a mnemonic for display version is either rv8 or rv9 indicating RealVideo 8 or RealVideo 9 bitrate is the bitr
25. configured properly you can use the Web Interface to configure a static IP address Start a web browser on the computer plugged into the Webcast in a Box appliance Type 10 10 10 1 into the location bar You should see the entry page to Webcast in a Box Click on the Producer Console link Enter your login information for the administrator If you have never used the Webcast in a Box appliance the administrator password will be changeme Once you have logged in choose Network Settings from the navigation bar on the left Uncheck Use DHCP and enter in your network settings for IP address netmask and gateway Then click Save Settings at the bottom of the page You should then look at the LCD display on the face of the appliance When you see the IP Address displayed it should show the IP address you have configured Pay attention also to the gateway information Verifying Gateway 0139 At this point the gateway you configured should not be routable since the appliance is not plugged into the real network Therefore you should see a rr in front of the IP address you configured Plug the appliance into the real network with a network cable connected to the network plugged into the 1G port on the back of the appliance Once the computer is properly on the network you should see that the gateway is accessible to the appliance and the E should disappear from in front of the gateway IP address If not please
26. d support multiple simultaneous pro cess execution true multitasking It provides a founda tion of support for the network protocols for whichever network the system is deployed Operating systems on which this system could be deployed include any of the different variants of the Linux operating systems which include either the 2 4 or 2 6 kernel versions of Microsoft Windows above Windows 2000 and Mac OSX and above 0033 The digital media creation encoder software 105 will generally pull frames of video and or audio data from the hardware capture devices indirectly through oper ating system software drivers These drivers will translate analog images into digital frames which the encoder soft ware can convert into a compressed form of video if the system requires compressed video like RealVideo by Real Networks Windows Media by Microsoft or MPEG4 by the MPEG Consortium or audio like MP3 or it can translate the video frames into an uncompressed video or audio format like uncompressed AV1 or WAV The encoder software will write this video data to the storage media whether this is a hard drive or removable media like a flash card The operating system will often provide drivers to access this media and may also provide buffering and other assistance in managing the storage of the media file A typical example of this software is RealNetworks RealProducer software which pulls video frames from video4linux drivers on t
27. e Streaming Server section Deselect the box Use Local Streaming Server to display the settings for the remote streaming server Enter connection information in this format username password host port filename A sample there fore might be webcast test 199 199 199 199 4040 remo te rm For protocol select G2 if you are using an older G2 streaming server or select one of the newer protocols if you have a supported Helix Server 9 or above If you wish to use one encoder locally and one remotely use the string wiab localhost 30010 speaker rm for the speaker channel 1 or wiab localhost 30010 desktop rm for the desktop channel 2 with the protocol set to G2 You can also enable the Webcast in a Box appliance to act as a satellite encoder working in tandem with a mothership server Remote Archive 0074 The Webcast in a Box appliance has a 200 GB hard drive which is large enough to store 1000 hours of video at default bitrates However if you wish to move content produced by the appliance to a remote server after a webcast has completed or once the appliance is placed on a network you can use the Remote Archive feature To enable this feature uncheck the box Use Local Archive Then enter host username and password remote path information and protocol as either FTP or SCP Save Settings Button 0075 You must click the Save Settings button when you have changed settings or your settings wi
28. e described in more detail in the following detailed descriptions and the figures 0007 The foregoing is not intended to be an exhaustive list of embodiments and features of the present inventive concept Persons skilled in the art are capable of appreciat ing other embodiments and features from the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0008 FIG 1 shows a system and a method for capture and dissemination of digital media across a computer net work according to the embodiments of the present inventive concept DETAILED DESCRIPTION 0009 Representative embodiments of the present inven tive concept are shown in FIG 1 0010 The following is a list of the components that correspond to the reference numbers as indicated in FIG 1 The illustrated system is an example embodiment and per sons skilled in the art will appreciate from the teachings herein that variations are possible For example hardware and software components need not be under a single housing but could be distributed Examples of ports interfaces and network features could be selected from known alternatives Encoder Computer 0011 10 Media source is a hardware device that can be connected to a media encoder 101 for transfer of media represented as analog or digital data the media source is typically a video camera or audio recorder which stands alone for live capture and transfer to
29. e on the SmartKey The file should have the same string as has been set as the SmartKey Secret Phrase string in the Apr 5 2007 System Settings It should be in standard text file format so be careful not to save the file as RTF Rich Text Format or DOC Microsoft document format Newlines after the phrase are ignored the passphrase should be on the first line of the file Email Recipient File You may also optionally create a file called email txt in any of the three places listed above This file should contain a list of email addresses The format is somewhat freeform You can specify email addresses separated by commas or each address on its own line Invalid email addresses will be ignored LCD System Messages When you start a webcast with the USB SmartKey feature you will notice status messages output to the LCD display If the webcast is properly created and started you will see this succession of status messages Key inserted Secret key match Priming webcast and after a few seconds Started webcast There is a delay between the time you see Priming webcast and the Started webcast as the encod ers are primed If you see other messages in the LCD display other than the standard IP address and channel status messages you may have experienced an error Please review the log files if this is the case Read only Access Nothing is written to the the USB SmartKey during ope
30. emote servers All files from the template set you upload are copied into each new webcast Archive Folder 0104 The Archive Folder is accessible over anonymous FTP when the FTP server is turned on It contains subdi rectories for each archived presentation that contain video files SMIL files and images if any were included in the presentation template Overview Satellite and Mothership Operation 0105 Webcast in a Box appliances can be tethered together so that one machine can act as a central repository for content created by other remote appliances The central repository appliances are referred to as mothership appli ances and the remote appliances are referred to as satellite appliances Multiple satellite appliances can all operate with a single mothership appliance simultaneously without interfering with each other and different viewers can watch different live and archived content simultaneously without interfering with each other Usage Scenarios 0106 Low bandwidth broadcasting environment The mothership satellite combination is useful when you are in a location where your outbound bandwidth is not great enough to support the number of viewers you expect but you have enough bandwidth to provide a single outbound presentation stream meaning both video channels for a single presenta tion A mothership server should be co located in a facility which can provide bandwidth for all viewers such as a datac
31. enter on a high capacity network The satellite then broadcasts a single stream into that mothership appliance When the broadcast is live all viewers connect directly to the mothership appliance and are not aware that the content is created by the satellite appliance Once the broadcast has completed the Webcast in a Box appliance will upload and update all media files created for the presentation to the mothership appliance After this process has completed the satellite appliance can be unplugged and viewers can still Apr 5 2007 watch the archive off the mothership appliance without any reliance on the satellite appliance 0107 Offline content creation Satellite appliances can also be used for offline content creation where an operator can use the satellite appliance without a network and gen erate a presentation such as might be the case with a professor using the appliance at a vacation home without a network connection Upon returning to campus the satellite appliance is reconnected to the network When the satellite appliance senses establishment of a network connection it will automatically publish the presentation onto the moth ership appliance Technical Details Mothership and satellite appliances communicate via SSH to transfer media metafiles and establish communication chan nels Media encoders send their data to the Helix DNA Server using the RealNetworks proprietary communication standard Satellite and Mot
32. escribed system but can be logically separated into several distinct software and hard ware components The hardware components include a computer system for creation of digital media encoder a removable hardware component which provides digital information storage key a computer system media server which stores or streams digital media published to it by the encoder and provides it for presentation to users viewers and a generic computer network which connects computer systems network The software components include at a high level one or more operating systems OS which run on the encoder and media server computer systems digital media creation software encoder soft ware which runs on the encoder machine automatically activated software for access of removable media upon insertion hotplug software network transfer software file transfer software which runs on either the encoder machine or the media server machine and software which can provide access to digital media files media server software once stored on the media server machine 0005 Additionally many of these software components can be implemented directly in silicon as hardware such as the encoder software so the logical breakdowns can be translated to different hardware and software combination implementations Apr 5 2007 0006 These and other embodiments ar
33. essage telling them to check back later Secondary URLs When a viewer accesses a URL with their web browser Internet Explorer or Firefox for example they receive a RAM file from the Webcast in a Box appliance This is a text file which tells the web browser to launch the RealPlayer and provide the RealPlayer with this RAM file The RAM file provides a secondary link to content which is used by the RealPlayer Each live webcast will generally have a unicast presentation link a multicast presentation link and an archived presentation link The Webcast in a Box appliance dynamically determines which link to send to the viewer based on the multicast exclusion list and whether the status of the webcast is live or in archives The direct links to these presentations will be the IP address an archive mount point followed by the webcast numeric ID the type of presenta tion and the SMIL file extension For example if the IP address is 192 168 1 100 and the webcast ID is 4 the unicast presentation URL would be http 192 168 1 100 archive 4 unicast smil the multicast URL would be http 192 168 1 100 archive 4 multicast smil and the archived URL would be http 192 168 1 100 archive 4 archive smil You can place these links inside of your own RAM files for hosting on external servers However once you do this you lose the ability to automatically generate the proper URL for your viewing clients based on the settings stored on the Webcast
34. f it has not done so already At this point the encoder system can also perform post processing on the file if necessary such as generating a searchable index within the media file The deactivation program then can optionally notify the user that this process has completed via audible or visual signals on the encoder computer Optionally the deactivation program can store metadata information about the event This information can be incidental to the event like data and time or specific to the removable media and contain information that would distinguish it from different thumbdrives or generic and associated with the encoder machine itself 0042 After the digital media file has successfully written the digital media file to the encoder computer s storage the deactivation program can optionally start the file transfer software and begin to publish the digital media files in whole or part to the remote media server com US 2007 0078768 Al puter It is desirable however that this process occur in an asynchronous manner due to the fact that the media server computer may be temporarily unavailable related to network conditions or otherwise Therefore it is preferred that when the digital media creation process is completed that the deactivation program complete it s processing while pro viding stateful notification to the file transfer program such that it ca
35. gs and select the protocol If you use a edge streaming network like Speedera they will provide you with connection information for connecting to Apr 5 2007 their server Generally you will want to take this information and compose a string like username password hostname port streamname Please contact Webcast in a Box if you need assistance with your edge server connection settings Usage Possible usage scenarios for using the remote server settings are when you have the Webcast in a Box appliance in a location where you have ample bandwidth out for a single connection but cannot provide bandwidth for more than one connection In this scenario it may be useful to use the Webcast in a Box appliance as an encoder and use a broadcast infrastructure provider like Speeder Networks or Akamai This is typically useful when using the appliance on a home DSL or cable modem where there is bandwidth outbound for only a single connection The Webcast in a Box appliance will provide only a single stream up to the infrastructure provider and the infrastructure provider will handle and distribute the stream automatically to thousands of clients If you use the Webcast in a Box appliance in this way make sure you test the appliance fully beforehand to verify that the outbound connection can support a constant connection at the bitrate you have chosen You may need to experiment with the connection until you determine the actual possible bitr
36. he Linux operating system and converts those digital frames into the RealVideo video codec format 0034 The operating system should provide software 104 which is activated automatically a hotplug when the US 2007 0078768 Al removable media hardware key 107 is inserted or removed The hotplug software 106 should provide access to this process so that external software processes can be actuated upon initiation of this process It may provide information for example about the type of event received whether this be insertion removal and potentially availability of the removable hardware It may also provide facility so that identification of the media inserted can be ascertained in the case of a system which supports multiple types of digital media The operating system should provide software driv ers so that the inserted media can be accessed and digital information can be processed and potentially copied The Linux operating system provides this facility in the form of their hotplug software which automatically enables the capability to execute an external process upon insertion of a key 107 such as a USB thumbdrive notifies the executed software process of the type of action and the location of the media through environment variables The software process which runs upon insertion of the media device is the hotplug activation program while the removal of the media executes hotplug deactivation program 0
37. he nature of this inventive subject matter and that such modi fications and variations do not depart from the spirit and scope of the teachings and claims contained therein Currently claimed inventions 1 A system comprising a media encoder configured to i capture media from a media source device associated with the encoder and to store it as a media file and US 2007 0078768 Al ii removably receive via an interface a hardware key for activating the capture of media on the media encoder upon connection of the key to the interface and to deactivate a capture on removal of the key 2 The system of claim 1 wherein the media source from which media is captured is a video or audio device for live capture and transfer to the media encoder 3 The system of claim 2 wherein the encoder is config ured so that removal of the key initiates publication of at least a portion of the captured media 4 The system of claim 1 further comprising the key 5 The system of claim 1 wherein the encoder is config ured to process one or more data files on a key the data directing the encoder to i publish the captured media to specified network locations that are accessible by users ii set capture parameters d iii authenticate security param eters iv perform specified logging related that can assist a user or administrator in troubleshooting the operation of the system v configure networking parameters and or vi send specified
38. hership Configuration 0108 Communication between mothership and satellite appliances requires that both appliances are properly con figured with a SSH public private key Follow these steps to create and install a WIAB SSH key In this example we assume the satellite appliance is named satellite webcastin abox com and the mothership server is named mothership webcastinabox com You should not use these hostnames but instead determine your own hostname or use numeric IP addresses 0109 Your mothership server should be placed in the DMZ of your datacenter network Satellite appliances need to send data to the mothership server over the standard SSH port as well as a range of ports for Helix encoders 30000 30200 In addition clients watching the broadcast need to connect to several ports on the moth ership server so it is best if this server is not behind any kind of firewall 0110 Satellite appliances can safely be placed behind a firewall but should have ample bandwidth to go outbound with a single presentation stream So if your webcasting profile uses two channels of video each at 225 kbps the outbound connection for the satellite appliance should be minimally 450 kbps If you are broadcasting from a DSL or cable connection be sure that you are aware of the download and upload speeds since it is often the case that they are different upload speeds are often vastly lower than upload settings so be prepared to adjust your
39. ideo input Use the provided RCA plug yellow for video input Webcast in a Box does not use the audio interfaces on the Osprey capture cards for audio capture Use a y adaptor to join the signal into a RCA jack and plug it into the blue port on the sound card to the left and base of the capture cards Network Interface 0058 Webcast In A Box comes with two network inter face plugs for both 100 MB and 1 GB connectivity Use the 1 GB connection for normal use on any speed network from 1 GB to 10 MB This interface will attempt to bind to an address via DHCP upon first use and until the administrator sets a static IP address for the system The 100 MB con nection is used for system administration purposes only and should not be used to view video or generate profiles Apr 5 2007 Power 0059 Use the provided standard computer power cable for power to the unit Power surge protectors and power back up systems are recommended Webcast In A Box systems can be safely unplugged or turned off after use however it is recommended that you use the full shutdown process as detailed on page 18 when possible A complete system power up and initialization cycle normally takes about 60 seconds The system is ready when it displays its IP address in the front LCD panel Network Settings On DHCP Network If you plan to use the appliance on a DHCP dynamically assigned IP address network you can plug a network cable into the network port in the
40. ield If other users attempt to schedule a webcast at the same time or if they want to ask questions about the webcast this email can be used to contact the operator who created this webcast Submitting the Request 0092 Click Submit New Webcast when the form is complete You can subsequently edit the values of the webcast by clicking the Edit action for the webcast from the Program Guide Webcast In A Box will verify that the time slot requested is available If there is a conflict then you will be notified as such and provided an opportunity to mail the person who set up the conflicting webcast Operating the Webcast 0093 Once you have scheduled a webcast it will be displayed in the program guide To operate it click on the Program Guide link in the navigation bar Then find the row with the webcast you wish to operate and underneath the Action column pulldown and select Operate Then click Go This will expose the Operator console which allows you to start stop announce a webcast You can also adjust the audio levels for each channel using the audio link on right If you have scheduled a webcast for automatic start or stop you can also disable automation by clicking the link provided US 2007 0078768 Al Restarting a Webcast 0094 Once you have stopped a webcast you can always restart it with the start button if desired This is useful if you need to first test settings of the webc
41. ing that is generated on the media server When the encoder generates a media file and attempts to transfer it to the server the server could first respond by requesting the registered random string in order to validate the request This would mean that even if a break in occurred on the media server whereby the SSL encryption was compromised between the two hosts that it is unlikely that the break in Apr 5 2007 perpetrator would know how and where to retrieve the random strings sent back and forth and would therefore be unable to publish files that would reach a public user of the system 0045 Once the files have successfully been transferred which is considered publication to the media server users can access these files via viewers 114 A web server or a streaming media server can provide access to many different types of media player programs 0046 The system 101 may also optionally write data on the key 107 For example the system may write a copy of the captured digital media file or data about the capture or broadcast event associated with the file or it may store logging and debugging information about the process so that a user can troubleshoot if necessary 0047 User Manual For Exemplary System 0048 The following material is from a user manual for a commercially available embodiment of a system according to the inventive subject matter described herein The system is available from Webcast in a
42. laim 1 further configuring the encoder to communicate a media server to which digital media is published using at least two layers of security to help prevent unauthorized access to the media server and or the encoder
43. ll automatically attempt to bind to a DHCP address when plugged into a network for the first time The IP address can be determined by looking for the IP Address displayed in the LCD Static IP Address 0068 If you need to specify a static address click the Adjust IP Settings button deselect use DHCP and enter valid network information Be sure to click the Store Settings button to establish the new network settings Verify the IP is correctly displayed on the LCD of the machine LCD Network Information 0069 Once you have placed your Webcast in a Box appliance on a network you will see networking status information displayed in the LCD If you see a G on the top row of the status this means the device has found an IP address or has been configured properly for an IP address Apr 5 2007 and is bound to the Gigabit interface If you instead see a M this means the machine could not get a dynamic address In this case you should either use the 100 Mbit interface with a crossover cable to configure a static IP or you may need to register the MAC address of the gigabit card for use on your network if MAC filtering is used The S indicates that you have established a static IP address while a D indicates a dynamic DHCP address Pay special attention to the information presented with the Gateway status If you see a in front of the Gateway address this indicate
44. ll not be saved If you don t click Save Settings and then close the web browser or click on another link in the navigation bar you can leave existing settings as they were before modification If you click Store Settings you will see a message indi cating the settings have been stored successfully if settings were properly saved System Settings Webcast In A Box Administrators can modify system set tings by clicking System Settings on the Main Menu of the Web based User Interface Administrator and Producer Passwords Set the passwords used by the administrator and producer here Enable FTP 0076 Administrators may enable and configure the built in FTP server by filling out the username and password values in the Enable FTP section After the changes have been submitted the user can access and upload files on the system by clicking the Archive Folder or Customization Folder links and simply dragging and dropping files from and to the folder Video Input Choose from S Video or Composite input here Webcast in a Box recommends S Video for the best quality video whenever possible Announcement Text 0077 Whenever a potential viewer of a webcast is noti fied via email from the Webcast in a Box appliance the text in the Announcement Text section is used This can occur Apr 5 2007 when an administrator clicks brings up the announcement console shown on left or when a USB SmartKey
45. lt message for the body of your email invitation can be created on the System Settings page in an area called Announcement Text When you click the Send button an email is sent to your specified viewers invitees with a link to the current webcast Disabling Automatic Stop 0088 If you have scheduled a webcast to automatically stop you can disable automatic stop by clicking on the link Disable Automatic Stop underneath the start stop and announcement buttons If you do this you will need to stop the webcast manually using the operator console Prepare Webcast 0089 You may schedule an event by clicking Prepare Webcast on the Main Navigational Menu and filling out the form with the event title description time duration webcast profiles archive activation type and operator email address Review the help tips by clicking on the symbol if necessary Archiving The Archive radio button indicates whether the webcast should be archived for subsequent on demand playback or replay of the webcast Activation Type 0090 Scheduled webcasts can be automatically activated by choosing Automatic from the Operate field This enables completely unattended webcasts of regularly sched uled meetings or conferences Webcasts can be automati cally started and manually stopped or both started and stopped manually Operator Email 0091 Enter your email address into the Operator Email f
46. mil file is uploaded the references to speaker rm and desktop rm are fully qualified with the IP address of the machine and the proper directory in which they reside You may also have background images or associated files which have any name The references to these files are not modified Internal FTP Server If you do not have a FTP to host the files for import you can use the FTP server on the Webcast in a Box First turn the FTP server on and then upload the files into a new directory within the import folder You may immediately turn off the FTP server after the files have been uploaded even if the files have not been imported into the Webcast in a Box unit If the Webcast in a Box sees files coming from its own FTP server it can resolve and find the files even if the FTP server is turned off as long as the paths to the files are valid Once the files have been uploaded via FTP you can easily import them by clicking on the Schedule Local Imports button which will automatically discover webcasts loaded into the import directory via the FTP server Logging All stages in the import sequence are logged in the import section on the Access Logs page If you cannot import a webcast check the log files for more information Webcast Links The Webcast in a Box appliance supports several links to live and archive broadcasts Depending on the situation and configuration of the appliance you can use different links t
47. n operate independently of the state of the encoder system This means that the deactivation soft ware must record in persistent storage the distribution state of the file transfer This will typically be implemented as a file with state information or in a database which stores that same state information If the encoder system is used to create multiple media files upon each insertion of the thumbdrive then there will need to be state stored for each of the media files 0043 Once the deactivation program has stopped media capture an asynchronous process should begin to attempt to transfer the media files to the media server computer over the computer network This file transfer program can optionally retrieve connection information which came originally from the thumbdrive and was stored on the encoder computer and is therefore unique to each digital media set of files or the encoder computer can store connection information regarding all media created by that machine If the media server is inaccessible the file transfer program should reattempt later When the file transfer program finally completes upload of the digital media files it should indicate this by setting a status asso ciation to those files Often this file transfer program will utilize transfer protocols like FTP or SCP Bindings for these protocols exist in many programming languages like
48. n the computer and plug the other end into the Webcast in a Box appliance into the network port on the rear of the appliance marked 100M NOT 1G this is the Gigabit port If using a hub plug one network cable into the Ethernet port of the computer and the other end of the cable into one port on the hub Take the other cable and plug one end into the network port on the Webcast in a Box appliance and the other end of the cable into another port on the hub Microsoft Windows Configuration The computer must be configured so that it has a static IP address of 10 10 10 2 First go to the Start Menu select Settings and then select Network Settings Under Win dows XP it may be labeled Control Panel with Local Area Network If your cables are plugged in properly you should see at a single icon with two small computers with small green screens Click on the icon or whichever of the icons is for your network card interface and select TCP IP Settings If you do not know how to reconfigure your network settings on your own please note on paper the existing settings so you can restore them later Select Use Static Address and type in 10 10 10 2 into the IP address settings with 255 255 255 0 for the Netmask and 10 10 10 1 for the Gateway Click OK to close the dialog You may have to reboot your machine Once this is done go to the Start menu click Run and type cmd or
49. nable by clicking the Update Components button This will popup a window allowing choices over several components Clean System You can clean the machine choosing to delete archives log files or statistics Be aware that these operations are irre versible if you delete all archive files there is no way to recover these files later 0083 Webcast In A Box lets you quickly and easily start a webcast The Start Broadcasting button on the Welcome page will immediately create a new webcast with the current time and default settings and start broadcasting The broad cast will use the webcast profiles that are specified in the Default Settings item on the System Settings page You can also generate a new webcast by clicking on the Quick Start link in the navigation bar on the left If you create a webcast using the Start Broadcasting link on the initial entry page the webcast is generated and started If you create a webcast using the Quick Start link the webcast will be created but will not be started automatically Operator Console 0084 Immediately after creating a webcast using either of these two methods the Operator console will be dis played This console contains Channel Status Start Stop and Announce functions and a link to adjust the audio levels of both channels Channel Status 0085 The presenter video channel and the desktop video channel each have stat
50. ng Background Images Banner logo or background images can be uploaded from the Background Image item This image can be any format which plays in the RealPlayer such as Flash SWF GIF JPEG and many others Please visit http www realnetwork s com for more information on which datatypes the Real Player supports If you choose to use a background image it will be displayed over any background color so please use one or the other Advanced Settings By clicking Advanced Settings you are given more granu lar and manual control over the sizes and positions of each element in the webcast template Options include the height and width of each element and the top left pixel positioning from the upper left corner of the RealPlayer player window You can also select audience settings codec bitrate and other options for encoders whether you wish to enable audio capture and whether you wish to use a different format than RealNetworks media by selecting an alternative encoder Configuration Options You can either configure a static IP address using a computer with a crossover cable or use a USB SmartKey with a customized XML to switch to a static IP US 2007 0078768 Al Crossover Configuration You will need a laptop or desktop computer computer with an ethernet port and either a cross over cable or a hub and two network cables If you are using a cross over cable plug one end of the cable into the network port o
51. ng turned on Channel Status On every page in the Producer Console including the Program Guide there is a Channel Status region This region indicates whether each channel is brodcasting live or idle It displays the system time when the past was rendered and it displays the remaining disk storage space available for archive purposes Webcast Profiles Webcast profiles allow you to layout your presentation choose which channels of video you would like to provide to your viewers and assign background colors and images to a presentation Profile Generation You may create new webcast profiles by clicking Webcast Profiles from the Main Navigational Menu and filling out the provided form First give the settings a name then choose from four layout options to enable a custom layout with an area for video from a camera for video from a desktop capture and for a banner logo or background graphic Both video from the speaker or presenter camera and from the desktop scan converted capture can be large or small The template tool will calculate the proper sizes and layout automatically in the Standard Templates mode Click Preview Template to approve of the template layout and design then click Create Template to save it Background Colors You can choose a background color using the color picker popup Click on the paint palette icon and select a color by clicking on it Uploadi
52. notifications like notifying users that media files are published or notifying administrators that errors have occurred in the capture process 6 The system of claim 3 wherein the key includes one or more data files created by a user s interaction with a web form 7 The system of claim 1 wherein the media source from which media is captured is a video or audio device for live capture and transfer to the media encoder 8 The system of claim 1 wherein the system publishes the digital media files to a remote system such that the remote location can be specified in digital information stored on the key or on the system before insertion of the key 9 A method comprising enabling the configuration of a hardware key removably connectable to a media encoder the media encoder configured to i capture media from a media source device associated with the encoder and to store it as a media file and ii removably receive via an interface the hardware key and configuring the key with one or more data files on a key the data directing the encoder to i publish to of the Apr 5 2007 captured media to specified network locations that are accessible by users ii set capture parameters d iii authenticate security parameters iv perform specified logging related that can assist a user or administrator in troubleshooting the operation of the system v con figure networking parameters and or vi send speci fied notificatio
53. ns such as notifying users that media files are published or notifying administrators that errors have occurred in the capture process 10 A method comprising configuring a media encoder to i capture media from a media source device associated with the encoder and to store it as a media file and ii removably receive via an interface a hardware key for activating the capture of media on the media encoder upon connection of the key to the interface and to deactivate a capture on removal of the key 11 The method of claim 10 further comprising enabling configuration of a key with one or more data files for directing the encoder to i publish to of the captured media to specified network locations that are accessible by users ii set capture parameters d iii authenticate security parameters iv perform specified logging that can assist a user or administrator in troubleshooting the operation of the system v configure networking parameters and or vi send specified notifications such as notifying users that media files are published or notifying administrators that errors have occurred in the capture process and wherein the media source from which media is captured is a video or audio device for live capture and transfer to the media encoder 12 The method of claim 11 wherein the encoder is configured so that removal of the key initiates publication of at least a portion of the captured media 13 The system of c
54. o present webcasts to your viewers Standard Webcast URL Each webcast receives a unique numeric ID This ID can be used to generate a URL to view the webcast The URL is generated by tacking on a ram extension to the ID and prepending the host IP For example if the webcast numeric ID is 4 and the IP is 192 168 1 2 then the webcast URL will be http 192 168 1 2 4 ram This URL is valid for both the live webcast and is also valid for the on demand archive webcast as well So if you create a webcast and provide both live and archive access to it you can provide your viewers with this type of link and they will see the live event if they tune in during the live broadcast or the archive link if they watch it later Live Webcast URL The Webcast in a Box appliance always provides a live URL which can provide access to any currently live broad cast The URL is composed of the IP address plus live ram for example http 192 168 1 2 live ram This is useful if you wish to place a link to the Webcast in a Box appliance on an external server which always provides access to any currently live presentation This URL is only valid if the machine is powered on and attached to a network however US 2007 0078768 Al so this URL should not be published if the machine is often in transit or is not always left powered on If the box is powered on but no webcast is currently in progress viewers will receive a m
55. ontaining authentication passphrase e g an XML file optional 0020 209 File containing recipient list for messaging e g an XML file optional 0021 210 File containing network destination and or other information such as video capture parameters e g an XML file optional Network Connection 0022 111 Network hardware interface e g an Ethernet port Media Server 0023 112 Media server computer where some or all of the media captured by the media encoder 101 may be published for access by users via their viewers 114 0024 113 Media server software Viewers 0025 114 any device by which users can perceive published media in video or audio forms the viewers including for example personal computers cell phones and PDAs 0026 Hardware Components 0027 The encoder hardware 101 typically requires at the very minimum a computer system with a central processing unit a network interface analog to digital conversion hard ware if the media source does not itself provide a digital input an interface 103 for accepting removable media storage hardware key 107 and a power source The remov able media key typically provides a writable storage media and random access memory These components are often implemented in the real world as a CPU chip an Ethernet card wireless or standard digital media video and audio or audio only capture cards a USB or Firewire input jack permanent memory st
56. orage in the form of a hard drive or writable flash memory card one or more RAM chips and a power supply respectively The digital media capture card often accepts s video or composite video standard cables and standard la inch stereo input jack as inputs but it can also accept pure digital inputs like Firewire cameras in which case no analog conversion is required There is generally a software layer in between each physical hard ware component and then operating system called a driver and this is true for at least the removable media input jack and the media capture device 0028 The removable storage medium is generally imple mented as key 107 that removably is inserted into an interface on the encoder The key may be for example a USB or Firewire thumb drive which is a small piece of hardware which often is carried on a keychain or in the pocket These drives typically contain no moving parts and are able to store at least several megabytes of digital information This storage medium typically requires no internal power as power is provided to the removable device from the encoder machine once the medium is inserted into the input jack on the encoder hardware device The interface Apr 5 2007 103 is the corresponding port such as a USB or Firewire port on or associated with the encoder 0029 The media server application typically will be implemented as a high powered computer 112 with high quality and high pe
57. perating Components 0051 There are four major distinct components engaged in any webcast using a Webcast in a Box appliance a Webcast in a Box appliance with camera viewers using their own computers a presenter with an optional laptop and an optional Mothership Webcast in a Box Appliance The normal operation of the appliance is to use the WIAB appliance with a camera attached to one video input the presenter s laptop connected to the other video input with several viewers watching the broadcast using the RealPlayer directly connected to the WIAB appliance media server If US 2007 0078768 Al you decide to broadcast only the speaker presenting using a single channel of video the laptop video source can be removed If you are in a situation where the broadcasting location has low bandwidth you may opt to use the WIAB appliance as a satellite appliance and broadcast into a high bandwidth location provided by a Mothership WIAB appli ance described in more detail below Usage You can operate the Webcast in a Box simply by plugging in a USB SmartKey drive to start a webcast and then stop it by pulling out the drive 0052 Webcast In A Box displays its IP address in the LCD display on the front of the unit Type this address into any browser on any computer that is on the same network as the unit and you will be able to perform all system opera tions from a simple Web based interface 0053 Webcast In A Box allows you to st
58. pre sentation profile settings accordingly 0111 Login to your satellite appliance from the web admin by entering the hostname satellite webcastinabox com into a browser and entering the password for admin istrator Click on the Network Settings link in the navigation bar Unselect Use Local Streaming Server if it is not already and then enter wiab mothership web castinbabox com into both the speaker and desktop chan nels You must enter wiab mothership webcastinabox com into both channels even if you plan on broadcasting on only one channel It does not matter what the protocol is set to in this case If the satellite appliance is already configured for the wiab protocol you may be ready to broadcast You can test by starting a webcast and seeing US 2007 0078768 Al if the presentation link in the operator popup provides a valid link to a presentation 0112 Now create a WIAB SSH key pair You must logon to the satellite WIAB appliance with a standard SSH client and run opt wiab custom bin gener ate_wiab_key This script generates a SSH key suitable for use with a master server and uploads it to a FTP server for installation on a mothership server 0113 Once this is completed you can install the key on the mothership server by logging into the mothership via SSH and running the following command opt wiab custom bin install_master_wiab key with the URL to the file you uploaded This can
59. ra tion Therefore the SmartKey can be set to read only if this feature is available on the hardware as a switch without causing problems for the webcast Complete Appliance Control All settings which are available in the web interface from creating webcasts with specified profiles to changing net work settings to using remote archive and remote streaming media servers can be configured on the SmartKey Network Adjustment 0119 One common use the SmartKey is to adjust the network when you enter a location with the box set to DHCP but need to use a static IP You can create a wiab_setting s xml which specifies a special static IP address plug in the SmartKey and the appliance will switch to that IP address Note that when the box is rebooted it will revert to the original setting held before the SmartKey was inserted This is useful if you are going to use the box for a one time event and need to adjust the network temporarily but prefer to retain the original settings If you would like to continue to use the network settings after the box is rebooted please go to the Network Settings and adjust the IP address infor mation normally To generate a custom wiab_settings xml without access to the webcast in a box visit http webcas tinabox com smartkey 0120 One common use case is when you are doing a remote webcast from a non standard location In this case you are often provided with an IP event before the event
60. ress has been validated To determine whether this works look on the LCD to see if an IP address has been acquired via US 2007 0078768 Al DHCP if so enter this into your web browser location bar and attempt to access the web interface 0142 It is also possible that another computer on the network perhaps in a business center can be used to access the IP address of the appliance if they share a subnet Crossover Configuration If you don t have a laptop with a wireless adaptor or you cannot access the box because it is on a different subnet you will have to use a crossover cable to access the appliance Server Activation 0143 First login to the Webcast in a Box appliance web interface Then go to the System Settings section and click on the link Start VNC This will launch a new window with the VNC client embedded inside it This client requires that your browser supports Java applets If you do not have a Java enabled browser you will see a link to download and run native client instead If you don t see the Start VNC link on the System Settings page then it has not been installed Click on the button at the bottom of the System Settings page called Component Update In the textfield enter VNC and click Add to Update List Then click on the Update button and follow the steps there to upgrade the VNC components Password Modification You may change the VNC pas
61. rformance components that are not standard for a desktop computer It will typically have a redundant hard disk storage system such as RAID storage attached It will generally have a large amount of RAM and will have a high degree of processing power Of particular necessity is a network interface which provides massive data outbound throughput and possibly high inbound data throughput This currently would be supported by a 100 megabyte MB network card or even a gigabyte GB network card or above This computer will often have redundant power supplies to prevent downtime due to power failures 0030 The network required for this system can be a closed network like a LAN on a corporate or educational network or an open network like the commercial Internet Generally this network will consist of routers intermediate computers and endpoint computers The connection proto cols used between the encoder computer and the media server computer are unspecified but the most common protocol implementation will be TCP IP It will be the responsibility of the network drivers or the network card hardware to manage connections between these two machines 0031 Software Components 0032 The operating system required for use in this system will need to provide at a minimum software inter faces drivers for all required hardware including media capture devices removable media input sources and net work devices It shoul
62. rovide notification information over email or other mecha nism to indicate to an administrator that any stage of the process has completed The thumbdrive can also store metadata about the event such as title description author and other information specific the event One example of this could be to store a formatted text file on the thumb drive as XML eXtensible Markup Language or another standard format of text file The benefits of using a standard format of text file are that various software can be used to generate and validate this file The encoder system 101 could retrieve this file from the thumbdrive read the file to determine the validity of the user and then store this information on the encoder system for later use Apr 5 2007 0038 The following is one example of an XML file storable on the key 107 lt opt author foo foo com description This is some podcast title Podcast by me gt lt upload gt lt protocol gt fip lt protocol gt lt username gt joe lt username gt lt password gt 123abc lt password gt lt host gt tolstoy meedu org lt host gt lt path gt abe def lt path gt lt upload gt lt opt gt Additionally the key may store other data For example data for hardware or software controlled video capture parameter such as video dimensions video bitrate video version input source s video or composite for example remote capture source
63. s the appliance cannot reach the gate way via ping and you may need to confirm your network settings or verify your network cable is working properly Multicast Exclusion Lists 0070 The Webcast In A Box appliance is ready to broad cast on a multicast network right out of the box By default the Webcast in a Box appliance will attempt to deliver its broadcast over the multicast segment However if there are certain IP subnets which should or cannot receive a multicast broadcast then the Multicast Exclusion List can be used to exclude users on certain subnets so they receive unicast streams Enter network block values optionally using a to designate wild card values and click the Add button For example to enable a client with the IP of 10 10 10 43 to view with a unicast stream enter the value 10 10 10 which will provide unicast streams for anyone with an IP address that begins with 10 10 10 You may remove an address by selecting it and clicking Remove Settings will not be saved until you click Submit Changes on the bottom of the form If you want everyone to receive a unicast stream add rr KS KT to the list click Add and then save the settings by clicking Save Settings This is the default setting so if you want to provide multicast access you should change this setting Mail Server Host Information 0071 This value stores the SMTP server that is used to relay
64. sword by entering a new password and clicking the Change VNC Password button Usage 0144 Once you have started VNC you must access it either via the Java applet or from the native client In either case you will be presented with a password entry Enter wiabvne for the password or whatever you have changed it to Once you are logged in you will see a standard computer desktop From here you can open a web browser by clicking on the Firefox link on the desktop or by going to the Start Menu If you are attempting to validate an IP address opening Firefox should take you immediately to the validation page If not you may need to enter a website address like yahoo com in order to be redirected From there you can register your IP address in whatever method is appropriate Server Deactivation 0145 Once you have finished with your session click the Logout Button within the VNC window Then click on the Stop VNC Server link to stop VNC and then close the VNC window You should always halt VNC when you are finished For security reasons VNC will automatically halt after 15 minutes If you need to restart the service click on the Restart VNC to refresh the page and restart VNC Hardware 0146 Webcast In A Box is based upon the Shuttle XPC chassis model SB52G2 It has a 3 GigaHertz CPU 1 GigaByte of RAM and a 200 GigaByte hard drive It has a LCD display from Crystal Fontz and two
65. t of the web interface Determine which webcast you want to edit and select Edit and then click Go If the webcast is still pending you can change the title and description adjust the webcast profiles change time and duration or adjust any other settings Click on the button marked Submit Changes to Existing Webcast in order to save your changes If your webcast is in archive you can edit the in and out points of the video using the video editor Video Editor 0097 If your webcast is in archive you can use a graphical editor to adjust in and out points From the Program Guide find the webcast you wish to edit Select Edit from the Action list and click Go The video will play from the beginning of the video As the video progresses you will see time in milliseconds of the video displayed in the Current Video Time field When you have found the correct in point of the video click the Set button under Video Intime When you have found the correct output click Set under Video Outtime You can set both the in and out points or one or the other If you want to review your positions move the slider underneath the video or click one of the Go buttons Once you have finished click Update Offset Times to establish your settings in the editor page Then make sure to save your settings by clicking the button labeled Edit Webcast You must be sure to cli
66. the media encoder or alternatively may be built into the media encoder 0012 101 Media encoder is hardware and software involved in the capture creation and or broadcast of digital media may also be referred to as an encoder computer Webcast In A Box broadcast video appli ance or WIAB 0013 102 Hardware interface associated with the media encoder for removable media e g a USB port 0014 103 Hardware for conversion of analog media to digital media plus software interface to component 101 audio video capture card 0015 104 Software component s which may provide digital media creation optionally provides compression of digital media files plus software program process for receiving key insertion and withdrawal hotplug Can be a single component or broken into two or more separate pieces 105 and 106 0016 105 Digital media creation and optionally com pression software encoder program 0017 106 Broadcast delivery software component media server Key Removable Hardware Device 0018 107 External hardware component key with memory which may be referred to herein as a key thumbdrive or SmartKey The key may be for US 2007 0078768 Al example any removable flash cartridge hard drive or optical disc based storage device that can be used to transfer data between computers 0019 208 File c
67. the password changeme in order to enter the administrator section You will change this pass word soon after logging in Popup Blocking Software 0063 The Webcast in a Box web interface relies heavily on the use of popup windows Please disable popup blocking software before using the web interface You will see a message notifying you of this any time you access the site with a web browser which has never been used with the Webcast in a Box appliance software System Settings 0064 Once you have entered the administrator section click on the link on the left side of the page which says System Settings On the System Settings page you should immediately change the Administrator Password by updat ing the field named Administrator Password from the initial value changeme at the top of the form and clicking US 2007 0078768 Al Save Settings at the bottom of the form You will then be returned to the System Settings page By clicking on any link you will be prompted for the new password the old password will no longer work Change the Producer Pass word as well The producer password provides limited access to the system for the purpose of scheduling and operating webcasts without the ability to access the System Settings page Help Tips 0065 In many places throughout the web interface you will notice small question marks adorning the text of different settings and controls This
68. uld be configured properly so that it is on the network has a secret key configured and optionally has a mail server properly specified in order to send out notification emails All of these settings can be verified and changed in the System Settings section of the web interface Usage To use the USB SmartKey feature just place a properly prepared USB SmartKey into either of the two USB ports on the front of the appliance The appliance will verify that the SmartKey file is correct send emails to recipients on the email list and stop the webcast automatically when the SmartKey is removed This webcast will be entered into the program guide USB SmartKey Hardware Webcast in a Box provides one USB SmartKey with every appliance If you need to replace it due to loss or breakage or want to use more than one SmartKey with an appliance you can use any standard USB key drive Standard SmartKey File Every SmartKey used with the Webcast in a Box appliance should have a file called wiab_settings xml This is an XML file comprising several elements used to control the appli ance This XML file can be in one of three places at the root of the drive directly within a folder called wiab or directly within a folder called webcast Simple Secret Passphrase File If you would prefer a simple SmartKey file you can use a SmartKey with only a simple text file on it The USB SmartKey must be named file name key txt somewher
69. us indication at the bottom of the operator window Ifa channel is idle you will see text stating idle If a channel is live you will see links to all possible permutations of the stream listed as hyperlink URLs You can test all URLs to streams from within this console If you are using the local streaming media server you will see links to each individual unicast stream each individual multicast stream the presentation URL the live link and the full presentation served over both unicast and multicast This allows you to start a webcast and verify that all links are valid before sending out an announcement email Start Webcast 0086 If your webcast is started automatically you will see status messages toward the bottom of the Operator console indicating so If you need to manually start a webcast click the Start button You will then see a sequence of messages in the bottom of the window indicat ing that the system is initializing and finally see status on the live webcast Stop Webcast Once you are finished with the webcast you can stop it with the Stop button You will then see the encoders halting and the channel status will display idle Send Announcement 0087 When you choose Announce the Announce win dow pops up allowing you to enter to whom the webcast will Apr 5 2007 be announced from whom the webcast is generated a subject for the email and an announcement message A defau
70. verify your settings or contact your network administrator Now unplug the network cable plugged into the 100M ethernet port on the appliance You can have cables in both the 100M port and the 1G port without conflict while your configure the appliance Use Cases 0140 It may be necessary for you to operate the Webcast in a Box as if you were logged into it as a normal desktop appliance When you are off site and attempting to acquire a network address from within a hotel conference room you may need to open a web browser and accept a license or pay a fee in order to acquire a network IP address This process is termed validating the IP address hereafter You could operate the Webcast in a Box appliance with a monitor mouse or keyboard but you can also access the desktop virtually using VNC In order to do this you need to access the appliance over a network either via a wireless connec tion or other computer or by using a crossover cable on the control port Wireless Connection 0141 It may be possible to access the Webcast in a Box appliance using a laptop which has acquired a network address from a wireless network The Webcast in a Box appliance will probably not be able to route out to the Internet before validating the IP address but it is possible it can access other machines on the same subnet If your wireless IP address is within this subnet you may be able to use your laptop to connect to the box before the IP add
71. video crop information watermark ing image 0039 If the hotplug activation program cannot deter mine where to find this XML file or cannot determine proper credentials for the user who inserted the thumb drive then the process is aborted If the system has a method of notification for the user the user will be notified This could include printing information to an attached LCD liquid crystal display or it could involve audible signals using the computer s system bell 0040 If the activation program does not require authentication information on the thumbdrive or it is successful in retrieving and verifying this information then it can activate the encoder software The activation program will start the encoder and begin the process of creating a digital media file or archiving a file by retrieving media from a pre existing capture session executing inde pendently This process will continue without interaction from the activation program and the activation program can therefore complete after it has started the encoder software 0041 Once the user has decided that the event is com pleted they can withdraw the thumbdrive Withdrawing the thumbdrive results in execution of the hotplug deac tivation program The deactivation program halts the encoder software and signals to the encoder software to write the digital media file to disk i
72. webcast is started and an email txt file is used to notify viewers You can customize the message with several placeholders which are replaced when the actual email is sent RELA TIVE_URL a relative URL to the webcast useful if your server is mapped in DNS and you want only the URI to the webcast 4 ram for example URL the full URL to the webcast http 192 168 1 100 4 ram for example TITLE the title of the webcast DESCRIPTION the description of the webcast DATE the date the webcast is scheduled to start HTML_TITLE a hyper link to the webcast with the title as the text lt a href http 192 168 1 100 4 ram gt Title lt a gt for example Default Settings Select the default webcast profiles here These settings are used whenever a webcast is created with the Quick Start links or from a USB SmartKey webcast Default Archive 0078 Select Yes if you want all webcasts created using the Quick Start link or USB SmartKey webcasts to be archived on disk after the presentation If you want to provide only the live stream with no archive select No SmartKey Secret Phrase Set the secret phrase which is stored in the key txt file on the USB SmartKey SmartKey Email This is the email address used in the From header when a USB SmartKey webcast is announced Save Settings To save your settings you must click on the Save Settings button

System and a method for capture and dissemination of digital media

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