Video Conferencing in RCH/102e

Transcription

1 Table of Contents Video Conferencing in RCH/102e Aaron Turner Contact Information...3 Introduction...3 Overview of Capabilities...3 Using it for other purposes...4 Getting Help...4 Setting up the System...4 Recording your Experience...13 Choosing a Video Conference Type...13 Detailed Instructions for Each Package...14 Training...22 Appendicies...22

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3 Version Date Change Author Initial version in this format Numerous revisions and updates Fixed typos, added advisories A Turner A Turner A Turner Contact Information Aaron Turner, aaron.turner@york.ac.uk, extension 5630 Introduction This document provides information about the video conferencing system in the Ron Cooke Hub, RCH102e NB: This document has yet to have various photos and screen captures added and will be revised. Overview of Capabilities The system comprises: A screen of approximately 4m diagnonal size, in a 4:1 configuration. Four flat desktop microphones (not all need be used at once). One tie clip microphone. Patch panels under the table for attachment of the microphones, room console, monitors, and laptops. Three cameras directed at seated participants. One camera arranged to show the room and a presenter. A pair of speakers (attached to the wall either side of the screen). A courtesy monitor on the tabletop. A courtesy wireless keyboard (on the tabletop). An audio visual control panel. An additional control screen in the system rack. A number of video conferencing applications installed on a PC. Access Grid Toolkit / INSoRS IOCOMM Visimeet Google Chat / Talk / Hangout Skype Yahoo! Messenger Microsoft Live Messenger Ekiga SIP and H.323 conferencing software Polycomm Telepresence m100 H.323 software client Mirial H.323 and SIP conferencing software. JVCS (Janet Video Conferencing) 3

4 EVO (formerly VRVS) WebEx Ekiga A rack containing various equipment. Using it for other purposes The room and equipment can be used for standard meeting room uses, and laptops can be connected to the projectors and audio to the speakers provided the appropriate options are selected on the setup console. In some cases (e.g. if video conferencing on an Apple Mac needed to be used) this may be a way to run a video conference, but doing it this way cannot make use of all three screens, or the higher quality microphones and echo cancellation so is not recommended. Getting Help For help contact rch102eav-group@york.ac.uk or Aaron Turner on extension 5630). If Aaron Turner is not available, contact Audio Visual. The equipment itself is owned by Computer Science. Setting up the System Overall Procedure 1. Capture all requirements. 2. Book room 3. Consider any support requirements. 4. Gain access to the room 5. Prepare the courtesy monitor and keyboard 6. Turn on PC and logon. 7. Set up the room with the room setup console. 8. Set up the microphones. 9. Start the video conferencing software in test mode. 10. Setup and test the cameras. 11. Run the video conference 12. Provide feedback Detailed setup Consider your requirements See the form at viewform?formkey=dhrxr2hzvgzwyzbzsjhwwwtowvrfwue6mq#gid=0 for assistance. (NB: the URL shuld be one line). 4

5 Gaining Access and booking the room. The room should be booked via PlanOn. Video Conferencing in RCH/102e You should also consider contacting to ensure that your video conference can be supported on the equipment, and to get any assistance you require. You should ideally book well in advance to ensure that assistance is available if required, and potentially to book a test session. Experience has shown that some types of video conference to some sites can be problematic and so a test is advised. Your kaba card should allow you access to the external (to the corridor) door of RCH102e Courtesy monitor and keyboard Figure 1. Courtesy Monitor and Console Overview These should already be on the table. Check the cabling for the monitor as sometimes this gets moved around. The cable should be the one other than the ones marked laptop 1 or laptop 2 5

6 Logging onto the PC Figure 2. PC in rack Ensure the PC (top PC in the rack) is on Logon with standard credentials. Note that the courtesy keyboard does not work with all passwords due to keymapping, but the console in the rack does support these. Ensure that the courtesy keyboard is on by hitting the Fn key. If it does not then go to the rack and there is a grey dongle hanging at eye level on the right hand side. On this there is a small grey button. Press this and try the Fn key again. If this still does not work then check the batteries in the keyboard (4xAAA). 6

7 Room setup console Figure 3. Console initial screen 7

8 Figure 4. Console setting up for Video Conferencing after hitting Access Grid Figure 5. Console for Video Conferencing (aka Access Grid) 8 A small touch screen allows this to be set up. Select Access Grid

9 Ensure the cameras are all on. Video Conferencing in RCH/102e Adjust the volume of output as required (the default is generally too quiet). Microphones Two should be already present on the tables. A third is available in the top drawer in the equipment rack, and requires cabling to the relevant floor port. They are sensitive to paper shuffling noise. A tie clip microphone and wireless unit is available in the top drawer of the rack. Often the battery is left flat. Spare batteries should be in the drawer, or can be obtained from Computer Science stores if not. Two microphones should cover up to four people, and generally there are two on the table. If you need to use additional microphones these and their associated cables can be found in the drawer in the rack. These must be connected to the patch panel which is under the table. The smaller end of the cable (male) goes into the microphone and the larger end (female) into the floor panel. You may need to adjust the mixer levels for the microphones in Windows. Cameras Figure 6. Front cameras 9

10 Figure 7. Rear Camera 10

11 Figure 8. Camera Detail There are three at the front, and one at the rear, but many video conferencing programs only support a single one at a time, but this can be selected: 1. Find the video control application by searching the application set (via the standard Windows 7 application search system) for Videum Video Control Panel and run this appliation

12 Figure 9. Camera Selection Tool 3. Ensure that board one, channel 1 is mapped to the required source. Figure 10. Camera Selection Tool with Skype 12

13 Figure 11. Camera Selection Tool with Skype, Camera Feed Not Working In your program ensure that the driver/camera seleced is Videum 1.1 cap For the control panel the cameras are labelled: 1 (right front), 2 (centre front), 3 (left front), (rear) For the video control panel the cameras are labelled: 1 (rear), 2 (left front), 3 (centre front), 4 (right front) NB: There is an ongoing action to make the above consistent. The rear camera can be used to show a presenter. The room setup console can be used to control the cameras (on and off, pan, tilt, zoom). It is possible to replace a camera feed to a remote site with a feed from a laptop by using the laptop cables and the setup console, provided the laptop uses the correct broadcast resolution, which may vary depending on the type of connection being made. This can be useful when a presentation or application demonstration needs to be shown and the video conferencing tool does not otherwise support this. However some video conferencing tools allows simultaneous display of desktop visuals and this is generally a better option when it is supported, but has to be done from the PC running the video conferencing via the courtesy keyboard. Screens These should be on if the correct setup is used on the setup console. Recording your Experience Please consider using the feeback form (URL here) to record your experience of using the system and to allow tracking of the deferred travel from using the system. Choosing a Video Conference Type There are several types of video conferencing protocols, and there is variable interoperability between them or even support for clients ostensibly using the same protocols, and so unless your details match a known good combination (see Appendicies) then it is wise to book a test session if at all possible. 13

14 The broad categories are: Multiple end point video chat Google Chat and Hangouts Much like Skype, but supports multiple participants and uses central servers so quality of experience is more consistent. Access Grid / INSoRS Has the best multi-site capability, and with INSoRS a fairly usable interface. Used extensively in the Mathematics MAGIC network. EVO / VRVS Simple interface based on java. Underlying capabilities similar to Access Grid but easier to use. Mirial Softphone aka LifeSize Softphone Currently trial only. Works with SIP and H.323 and allows initiation of multi site connections too. Allows document and applications sharing simultaneously via share icon similar to those seen on other applications (like a less than symbol), provided the remote end is H.239 compatible and the relevant client-side options are selected. Single end point video chat IOCOMM Visimeet Uses own network. Some H.323 connectivity. Skype Well known system. Offers only point-to-point video (only one participant at each end) on feee version and uses a peer-to-peer networking model so whilst the quality is generally good it can vary suddenly. Microsoft Live Messenger Requires Microsoft ID. Central servers for good quality. Yahoo! Messenger Requires Yahoo! ID. Central servers for good quality. Ekiga (H.323) Covers a number of H.323 systems, such as Tandberg, Cisco, and Polycom hardware systems. Polycomm Telepresence m100 (H.323) Commercial but easy to use JVCS (H.323 via JVCS) Requires booking via the JANET video conferencing website, but is easy to use and workable. Detailed Instructions for Each Package 14 Access Grid This currently requires that the machine be booted into Access Grid mode (boot: pc069) but this requirement may be removed soon. If you cannot see the Access Grid application installed then you must reboot the PC and select the correct option at boot. Access Grid supports all four cameras, and which ones are used can be selected as required, but ensure that they are on.

15 Access Grid supports multiple end points with video, i.e. you can have video going between multiple participants. To set up a meeting you must know the name of the virtual room (venue) that the meeting is being held in. York does not have the ability to create meetings, but there are venues that can be booked via JANET for this purpose, and some drop in venues for informal meetings. See (URL) for more details. For further help on the software refer to (URL). INSoRS (AKA IOCOMM) This requires that the machine be booted into INSoRs mode (boot: pc069) for all four cameras, or standard for one at a time. (It will soon be modified to remove this restriction). If you cannot see the INSoRs/IOCOMM application installed then you must reboot the PC and select the Access Grid option at boot. INSoRs supports all four cameras, and which ones are used can be selected as required, but ensure that they are on. INSoRS supports multiple end points with video, i.e. you can have video going between multiple participants. To set up a meeting you must know the name of the virtual room (venue) that the meeting is being held in. York does not have the ability to create meetings, but there are venues that can be booked via JANET for this purpose, and some drop in venues for informal meetings. See (URL) for more details. For further help on the software refer to (URL). Microsoft Live Messenger This is available only on the Skype etc boot. This only supports a single camera, the one nearest the door. For further help refer to the Microsoft Live Messenger documentation at microsoft.com 15

16 IOCOM Visimeet Figure 12. Visimeet This is available only on the Skype etc boot. Uses own network, with H.323 connections possible. 16

17 Yahoo! Messenger Figure 13. Yahoo login screen This is available only on the Skype etc boot. This only supports a single camera, the one nearest the door. For further help refer to the Yahoo! Messenger documentation at yahoo.com 17

18 Skype Figure 14. Skype main screen This is available only on the Skype etc boot. This only supports a single camera, the centre one (or select another in the Videum software). For further help refer to the Skype documentation at skype.com EVO This is available only on the Skype etc boot. This only supports a single camera, the centre one (or select another in the Videum software). For further help refer to the Skype documentation at vrvs.org Google This is available only on the Skype etc boot. This only supports a single camera, the centre one (or select another in the Videum software). For further help refer to the Google documentation at google.com 18

19 Ekiga Figure 15. Ekiga main screen This is available only on the Skype etc boot. This software supports connection to H.323 sessions (e.g. Polycom, Tandberg and Cisco hardware systems). This only supports a single camera, the centre one (or select another in the Videum software). For further help refer to the Ekiga documentation aty ekiga.org. This software not always easy-to-use or reliable. 19

20 Polycom m100 Figure 16. Polycom Telepresence m This is available only on the Skype etc boot. This software supports connection to H.323 sessions (e.g. Polycom, Tandberg and Cisco hardware systems) This only supports a single camera.

21 For further help refer to the Polycom documentation at polycom.org Mirial Softphone aka LifeSize SoftPhone Figure 17. Polycom Telepresence m100 This is available only on the Skype etc boot. This software supports connection to H.323 sessions (e.g. Polycom, Tandberg and Cisco hardware systems) and is easy to use. This only supports a single camera. Via H.239, if end points support it, it offers good sharing abilities, including simultaneous video and application sharing (e.g. video plus powerpoint at the same time 21

22 It supports multiple end points and multiple end point initiation JVCS Figure 18. JVCS This is available only on the default Skype etc boot. This software supports connection to H.323 sessions (e.g. Polycom, Tandberg and Cisco hardware systems) This only supports a single camera, defaulting to the centre one unless a different one is selected in the Videum tool. For further help refer to the JVCS documentation at ja.net Note that for this to work a session must be booked via JVCS. Issues have been experienced with this software using very low camera resolutions for sending video. Training Please check POD for courses or contact the support address for bespoke training Appendicies Troubleshooting No video on courtesy monitor Check PC on

23 Check monitor connected to power Check monitor connected to video (often people disconnect this) 2. Courtesy keyboard unresponsive Press and hold Fn key for 5 seconds. Figure 19. Keyboard Dongle Reset Button Press reset button on dongle (photo) Replace batteries (4 AAA). There may be replacement batteries in the drawer in the rack. 3. No display on large screen Check that room is set to Access Grid on control console 4. Cannot log on Check credentials 5. Cannot find expected software Check booted in correct version of Windows 7 (Access Grid or Skype) Check software is in the provided list. 6. Cannot see anything from cameras Check cameras are on Other camera related issues are more complex to solve, but rare 7. Cannot connect to session Check software versions Check remote site to see if software compatible. 8. Audio too quiet from remote site. Use control console to increase volume locally 9. Remote site complains my audio is too low Ensure microphones are the right way round. 23

24 Increase number of microphones Move microphones closer 10. Audio quality poor Probably bandwidth related. No easy solution 11. Video quality poor Probably bandwidth related. No easy solution Tested Combinations Table 1. List of tested combinations Local Remote Worked? Comments Mirial Softphone aka. LifeSize Softphone, H.323/SIP Polycom/H France and Sweden Fully, apart from video feed in France (problem at originating end), including sharing a presentation, and initiating a conference to multiple sites. None. Ekiga Polycom, France Partially Ekiga would connect then lock up Perulia (H.323) Polycom, Mexico Yes Occasional drop outs (network bandwidth) about every 45 minutes. Slight annoyances as can only show desktop or presenter Skype Skype (London) Partially No video Google JVCS Google (UK and France - multiple) Polycom via JVCS (UK) Yes Yes Video send low resolution for unknown reason and required webcam as would not work with fixed camera Polycom m100 Polycom (UK) No Connection to remote port blocked by firewall? Glossary 24 End point A video conferencing location. E.g. RCH102e is an end point

25 H.323 Video Conferencing in RCH/102e A protocol used in video conferencing, typically by systems from Tandberg, Cisco, Polycom H.239 A protocol used in video conferencing which allows multiple video streams. H.264 A protocol for encoding video streams SIP Simple Initiation Protocol. Used to start calls/conferences. Multiple End point capability Can be used for a conference of more than two people. Single end point capability Technically incorrect, but often used to describe software that can only handle a conference of two sites Point-to-point Describes software that only allows two participating sites at any given time Codec Stringly COder DECoder (i.e. something that compresses video and audio for sending and receiving efficiently over the network), but sometimes used to describe an end point Access Grid Strictly a form of multiple end-point capability system for video conferencing, but here a euphemism for a video conferencing system in general Latency The delay in sending video and audio and the far end receiving it. High latency is bad. Bandwidth A measure of how much video and audio a network can handle. Low bandwidth is bad. Echo Canceller Reference Echo cancellation is by hardware using a Gentner AP400. Gentner is now owned by ClearOne, and the AP400 has been superseded by the ClearOne XAP400. Physically this is located in the rack and should never normally need to have its settings altered. If this does need to be done then there is a program to do this in C:\apware to do so, although it seems to run very slowly on a 64 bit machine (it is a very old program). To change the settings first start the apware application and open the CS103 site [may need to be changed here]. Then connect and tell the system to sync from the AP400 device. This will load the settings currently on the device. After making any changes sync from Document back to the AP400 after saving the changes to CS103. Do not overwrite CS103.original as this contains known working settings. The connections on the back take the four microphone feeds from the patch panel to the microphone level inputs 1 to 4 at the back of the AP400, along with a feed from a telephone if required. These are then fed to output D via a noise gate (yellow blocks in the AP400 matrix configuration screen). A and B are unused, but output C then goes into the Access Grid PC into the micophone input (pink 3.5mm socket). This is what is used to record the microphone feeds onto the Access Grid PC, and relay these to the wider world. 25

26 The feed fromâ the Access Grid PC is fed into input A of the AP400. This is then routed internally to the amp and speakers via output D (green block) which is connected to the input of the amp. Additionally output D is used as the echo cancelling reference. This means that the AP400 prevents a copy of the signal coming in (with a slight delay) from reentering the microphones and creating feedback or echo. Figure 20. AP400 Flow Chart Figure 21. AP400 Matrix 26 To access the Matrix click on the Matrix button in the Flow Diagram The matrix shows that the microphone inputs are connected (via gating) to the Teleco Out so that people may be brought into Access Grid and EVO sessions over the phone, and also to the AG PC Mic in which connects to the input of

27 the PC. The output of the PC is also connected to the Telco output (so that other people in the sessions, not just those coming in over the local microphones) can be heard by the remote telephone user. It is finally connected to the output D which connects to the amplifier and speakers. Echo cancelling is done by subtracting the output sent over output D, hence the ticked box in the lower section. Gating means that when the signal for any microphone is low (i.e. Noone is speaking) then the microphone is automatically and temporarily muted. An Alternative preset that is possible is to add gated connections for all microphones to the output, i.e. A column of yellow cells below output D for Mic inputs 1 to 4 inclusive, which allows the system to function as a public address for the room. 27

28 28 Figure 22. AP400 Channel Strip

29 Microphone (Inputs 1-4) gain structure: all strips should be the same. To access a strip click on the Inputs 1-4 button in the flow page. Sample Strip AGC (Automatic gain control) should be enabled. Ppower (Phantom power for the microphones) should be enabled. PC Set Up This is pc069, and is linked to the IT services active directory to allow anyone to log in. It runs Windows 7, which is installed twice. However, it may be that the Access Grid install (the Skype et al boot is the default) is not required as more work has been done on codecs and camera selection on the Skype install. Video is output from a Matrox card which has dual non-standard DVI outputs. This is split into four VGA feeds. Three of these feeds go to feed the projectors on the ceiling and then to the main screens. Feed 1 (as Windows sees it) is fed to both the rack monitor and the courtesy monitor. (There is a cable fault between the rack and the courtesy monitor and unfortunately its colours are wrong) Keyboard/mouse is either via the combo in the rack, or via wireless to a keyboard on the desk. Audio is via USB via a Behringer USB-to-RCA convertor which provides a cleaner audio feed than the analog in/out. Video input is into a videum capture card. Three of the inputs are straight from the cameras, but the one feed is split such that a laptop feed may be substituted for a camera. This allows injection of a laptop feed into some types of video conference which does not support H.239 dual video feeds from a site. Wiring Diagram Still awaiting a final and accurate version. 29

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