TEACH / LEARN
Leverage school district’s fiber network to promote distance learning.

BROADCAST / SHARE
Deliver school announcements to monitors in every building in the district.

VBrick Products
> MPEG-2 Encoder Appliances
> MPEG-2 Decoder Appliances
> EtherneTV VOD Server
> EtherneTV Portal Server
> EtherneTV Digital IP Receiver

VBrick Partner
Digital Networks Group, Irvine, CA

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Challenge
Connect the classrooms of the district’s two dozen schools with live video and video on-demand capabilities to facilitate distance learning and collaboration between buildings.

In order for the Desert Sands Unified School District to achieve the goals set forth in its charter whereby students and faculty could take advantage of the latest technological innovations, it was necessary for them to acquire a standards-based video streaming system that would grow their needs. With 9 schools already built and 15 more slated for construction, planners wanted to leverage its IP network with Gigabit Ethernet to stream MPEG-2 video between schools. Their goal was to increase literacy and teaching effectiveness while saving money by making it possible for every classroom to broadcast lectures and labs to other classrooms equipped with a television or projector. Additionally, they needed an easy way to manage a growing video library of digital assets and schedule programs for replay or live distribution.

Solution
Use VBrick video appliances and the campus’ existing IP network to stream video and manage the content for live or on-demand playback at any time.

Each classroom sends analog video to a central location in the school where a VBrick video appliance encodes it in real time and sends it out over the network. As it is encoded, the content is automatically recorded and stored locally on the encoder’s internal hard drive for playback at a later date. Any classroom with a set top box and monitor can tune into the streaming feed to watch DVD quality video or alternatively students and staff can log onto the server to view the video on their desktops. The district uses EtherneTV as its content management system, which provides the same user experience whether the video is accessed on a television or a computer.

Benefit
The Desert Sands Unified School District saves money on staff by teaching multiple classes from one central location and managing its video assets easily using EtherneTV.

Since VBrick encoders stream video in the professional MPEG-2 video standard, the school district now had the ability to record, stream, and archive video in the same way professional television and broadcasters do today. With such a robust system in place, planners knew the technology would be able to grow and scale with their needs. Additionally, the installation of the encoders and servers took only one day and the district’s IT managers were able to assign static IP addresses to the components and they were able to start streaming soon after. The system now allows disparate locations to carry on a point to point or a multi-point collaboration using streaming video. The school district can now hire the best teachers available since one instructor can teach the same course to hundreds of students across the district using VBrick technology. As the system was deployed successfully, administrators looked for other ways to use the technology including using streaming video for training new hires and running orientations for new students.