Educating Yourself Before Buying Equipment

Chapter 8: Educating Yourself Before Buying Equipment

"Bulletin Board Systems"

by James R. Harvey Back

There is a lot to learn when educating yourself about the type of equipment needed for a government access channel. The following is an overview of the main pieces of equipment to consider when purchasing an electronic bulletin board system. The decision requires research and an evaluation of the channel's particular situation.

Overview

A bulletin board system produces a continuous stream of video programming without user interaction. In short, it automates the video program. Video output can range from simple "character generator" displays to complex multimedia presentations that include playback of digital video or video tape.

As defined, a bulletin board system is computer software that automates video programming, making the selection of a computer and software the most important part of the decision. Decisions made at this level will affect the on-air "look and feel" of the channel. The technical and staffing decisions are the most important aspects to consider. A poor choice will translate into high costs later on.

The basic components you will need for a bulletin board system are:

A computer as the primary computing resource for the system. The computer can be as simple as a stand-alone character generator to a sophisticated multi-computer client-server system.
Software to create, schedule, and display the programming. For simple systems, graphics design software is usually embedded within the bulletin board system. For more sophisticated design, the software can be multi-user, multi-tasking, and in operation across the enterprise on multiple computers.
Scan converter to convert computer video into NTSC or PAL video. For low cost systems, this device is often incorporated within the computer.
Modulator to convert the NTSC or PAL video into an RF signal that can be sent over a broadband cable network. This device may be located at your facility or at the headend. The location depends on how the video signal is sent to the headend.

The above items are required, but additional components can be added to enhance system performance or provide additional capabilities. Additional components include:

Software for automated machine control, program scheduling, data acquisition from the Internet or intranet sources, remote control via touch-tone dial-up or emergency alert system (EAS) equipment, weather logging, graphics, digital video encoding (MPEG), E-mail, word processors, spreadsheets, databases, animation programs, etc.
VCR Controller for one or more video tape recorders, players, or other video sources.
Scanner for scanning photos.
Weather instrumentation for displaying real-time local weather data on your channel.
Digital camera for capturing digital images.
Color printer for review and archive documents.

As you can see, there are many options are available for bulletin board systems. The decision you make will have a long-term impact. Successful implementation of bulletin board systems also requires the consideration of technical design, staffing, training, and other issues. The following are some examples:

Outsource or Not?
Build or Buy?
Architecture

Outsource or Not?

An outsourcing service bureau provides services and capital equipment through a monthly payment plan that fits within the budget. Over time, this can prove to be the most cost-effective alternative to buying capital equipment and hiring staff.

Your first choice is whether or not to outsource the production of your bulletin board channel. If management is outsourced to a service bureau, then all decisions related to computer hardware and software is the responsibility of the service bureau. Otherwise, you have a number of system design decisions to make.

The opportunity of outsourcing is new within the industry. FrameRate Corporation offers an outsourcing program that provides the creation of all content and channel management services via the Internet.

If you decide to not to outsource, all decisions are yours. Make sure you choose vendors and staff with proven records of accomplishment. Evaluate carefully, with an eye toward building long-term relationships.

Build or Buy?

Building your bulletin board system using components selected by your staff can be a rewarding and cost-effective solution if you understand all of the technology issues involved.

Morre's Law states that, for a given cost, the capabilities of technology doubles every eighteen months. This means that anything you buy will be obsolete not long afterward. That doesn't mean that it becomes useless, just outdated. The proper choice of both hardware and software components is very important.

Your first choice is the basic platform, for example, Windows 98 or 2000, Windows NT etc. Once this decision is made, you can decide on hardware and software components.

The second decision is hardware. If you build your system from a number of hardware components, make sure that this knowledge is shared. If one person is the "guru," you will run into trouble if the "guru" leaves.

Remember, you are not in the business of designing video messaging systems. Your business is communication, and the system is only a tool to achieve that goal. While some of the key technology decisions are yours, a vendor can advise you on your choices.

The third decision is software. With so much available, you have a great deal to choose and decide between. The least advantageous option is writing your own software. This requires at least 250,000 lines of code (approximately 250,000 hours to write and debug), and it is code that already exists. Trust proven suppliers.

Architecture

In general, you have a choice between a single computer and client-server design. In most cases, a single computer solution requires you to take the system off-air to update the media programming. This is not always a serious drawback as you can cover-up the bulletin board output by playing a video tape.

The client-server solution is a two-computer system (or more) that allows you to create or update programming without taking the system off-air. This design is the most convenient. While more expensive than a single-computer system, the time savings can be significant. Content can be created by a number of people on various computers, and then accessed by the system for playback. Updates can be sent to the system from your local area network or from home using a dial-up connection. In addition, since content design and scheduling are done on one or more computers, the display engine never needs to be interrupted, allowing for continuous playback.

Typical Solutions/Scenarios

Solution #1: Outsourcing

A channel management service bureau accepts your information and generates the on-air programming necessary to deliver your information on the channel. The service bureau provides most or all of the on-site equipment needed to generate the video programming. You send information to the bureau via E-mail, postal mail, FedEx, the Internet, fax, or other means. Turn-around time depends upon several factors and can greatly influence the service costs.

The idea of a service bureau is relatively new. Until recently, there has never been a concentrated effort to provide channel management services on a larger scale. By developing quality management procedures, it becomes possible to automate a great deal of the work, and reduces cost to individual clients.

Outsourcing solves two important problems. First, you won't need to purchase capital equipment. The computers, software, and related peripheral equipment are provided by the service bureau. The risk of technological obsolescence is born by the service bureau. Given, there is no capital equipment to buy, the decision making process is much faster.

With outsourcing, you don't need to hire new staff or divert existing staff to the channel. You won't need to train anyone. This is especially important when you consider that the creation of a professional-looking channel requires some work, and if only one person knows a job, the impact of losing that person is very high. A service bureau eliminates this risk since they are responsible for servicing multiple customers with numerous staff members.

One of the first questions posed about outsourcing is how long it takes to get changes or new information on-air? If the processes are well defined, it can be accomplished quickly. Today's operating systems and networks make connectivity rather minor-- if this is the method used to transfer updated information.

Outsourcing can be a win-win situation for both the cable company and the city government. By placing the playback computers in the cable operator's headend, the need to run a video link between the headend and city hall is eliminated. The headend environment is ideal for housing the computer that automates the bulletin board software.

Some recommendations for the outsourcing solution are:

Choose a service provider that also markets bulletin board systems. It is a sure bet they know how to operate their own systems efficiently.
Get the ground rules for updating programming up front. Choose a vendor with documented processes.
Choose a vendor using state-of-the-art "mainstream" equipment.

Solution #2: The Simple Character Generator

A Character Generator (CG) can be a cost-effective solution for your bulletin board. Yet, in some cases, a simple CG does not provide the kind of flexibility required by organizations that communicate a lot of information.

At first glance, the requirements for a bulletin board system using a CG appear to be minimal. This is not the case. Prices range from under $500 to well over $70,000. These costly systems are designed for creating on-air graphics in real-time and are used for titling over newscasts, sporting events, etc. These devices are not suited for use in an automated bulletin board system.

Some recommendations for selecting a CG are:

Choose an external stand-alone box as opposed to a PC card that can be plugged into a computer. Support for internal cards is usually limited and performance depends on many factors.
Take a close look at how the CG is updated. Can updates be made while on-air? Are they easy to update with a minimum of keystrokes or mouse clicks?
Is the CG designed for automated program output or is it a "production device" designed to create titling over video tape? You should avoid trying to use a production CG in an automated environment.

Solution #3: Microsoft Power Point

This article wouldn't be complete if we didn't mention Microsoft's PowerPoint presentation package as a solution for your bulletin board system. Power Point is a exceptionally capable presentation software package that has the advantage of being inexpensive.

If you use Microsoft Power Point, computer considerations should be reviewed carefully. Before making the final decision, consider the drawbacks of using a presentation software package as an automated bulletin board system. Some of these are:

Power Point was not designed to be an automated television channel and does not have the necessary error logging to track problems. If it quits a large, white box is displayed letting viewers know the program is not working.
The idea of using Power Point as an alternative is all right if the user has the ability to manage the deficiencies in the product for this application. This translates to a high maintenance cost. The price of a product designed for this application is less in the long run.
Native file format contains all objects embedded rather than linked. This creates huge files. If linking is used, the file structure must be identical between the target system and authoring system, which makes updating difficult if multiple users are providing content.
Embedded files do not allow sharing of content across files, which leads to duplication of data on the hard drive, and file management problems.
Requires transmission of large files for small content changes. File sizes can be several megabytes if graphics are used, taking up a lot of memory.
Lacks a media file database, making management of thousands of content files nearly impossible.
Lacks ability to automatically detect the need for file updates.
Lacks built-in file transport, making remote site management very difficult.
Lacks remote site file management, leading to inefficient use of remote file space.

Solution #4: Bulletin Board Vendors

There are a number of vendors marketing turn-key bulletin board systems and software. This section provides information on system design considerations.

A turn-key solution involves the purchase of an integrated computer and software package from the vendor. You buy the system and it arrives ready to "plug and play." Since the vendor supplies all the components, you have one supplier to talk to for service and support.

Some vendors provide "software-only" solutions in addition to turn-key systems. If you decide to purchase the components separately, buying the software from a bulletin board vendor, and computers from a local supplier, you might be able to save some money. You should choose this solution only if you have the internal expertise to install and configure the software on your own.

Another purchase option is the hybrid purchase. This involves buying your own computers and sending them to the vendor for integration at their facilities. The vendor returns the system and installs it as if it were a turn-key solution.

Some recommendations for the vendor solution are:

Choose a vendor that knows how to work with city governments.
Look for an integrated product based upon a proven platform that has the necessary support.
Choose a complete product that has capabilities beyond what you currently need. You'll need to know up front if the company is continuing to develop new product features and capabilities.
Find out the vendor's policy regarding software upgrades. What happens when a new version comes out?
Evaluate the service plan. Do they offer well-defined programs? Do they have a web site? A user group?
Check references!

Technology Considerations

Platforms

The platform you choose sets the stage for all other decisions. In many ways, the choice of the platform must be driven by what is dominant in the market. This is especially important when trying to staff your organization with trained people. Here are the three likely choices:

Microsoft Windows on Intel or equivalent -- the dominant platform in the market today. Microsoft products are found in over 90% of the computers worldwide, so finding people to operate computers on this platform is fairly easy. Clearly, the dominant platform is not likely to disappear anytime soon. Microsoft's NT operating system is becoming the "system of choice" in enterprise networks, and you will not go wrong by building a bulletin board in a platform that integrates so easily with your enterprise network.
Apple Macintosh -- is undergoing a revival. In 1997 and 1998, there were times when it looked as if the company would not survive. Apple's market share is improving but is under 10% as of this writing. Unlike the Microsoft platform, the operating system is closed.
Amiga -- there was a time when the Amiga computer marketed by Commodore was the system to beat when it came to computerized video. After Commodore went bankrupt, the brand-name Amiga has been bought and sold by a number of companies. It is not clear as of this writing whether or not the Amiga computer will continue to be manufactured. Support, parts and service for existing Amiga computers are increasingly difficult to find.

Computer Manufacturers

Whether you buy a turn-key system or build a component system, you will have to evaluate the computers in the package. In the early days of the PC, the IBM name dominated. Compaq came along and offered a lower cost alternative. The "open architecture" aspect of this particular platform spawned thousands of computer retail shops that sell computers.

This picture is changing with the emergence of three dominant computer suppliers. These are Dell, Gateway, and Compaq. Dell, for example, has made the purchase of a computer online easy and error-free. Dell offers a 3 year on-site next business day warranty on the system. The capabilities of computers purchased from these vendors is cutting edge. They continue to remain competitive.

If you buy a turn-key system from a bulletin board vendor, ask them if they can provide computers from one of the suppliers listed above. If they will not or cannot, make sure you are getting a quality system using "best of breed" technology that is backed by a solid warranty and service plan.

Networking

Current trends are toward the use of 100 MBit networks. Most computer cards will handle both 10 MBit and 100 MBit speeds. Remember, you cannot mix speeds on the same network cable.

Peripheral Equipment and Other Components

Future revisions of this guide will contain information on peripheral equipment including modulators, video cameras, digital cameras, scan converters, frame grabbers, VCR controllers, weather instrumentation, image scanners, monitors, and printers. Other components consist of memory, motherboards, and power supplies.

Scan Converters

This section describes a variety of scan converters used with television bulletin board systems. Computer generated video usually starts out in a VGA display format. This format must be converted into a television video signal before it can be displayed on a broadband television system. This is the purpose of the scan converter. The device takes the output of the VGA computer graphics card and converts it to an NTSC or PAL video signal.

There are several manufacturers of scan converters in a variety of architectures. Video quality ranges from very poor to very good. The old adage of "you get what you pay for" applies here. Terms such as "consumer quality," "industrial video quality," and "broadcast quality" are commonly used. There are some bargains, however, you should not blindly use price as the only gauge of product quality. You should evaluate the product's technical merits along with the "staying power" of the manufacturer.

There are two basic architectures for scan converters, internal and external. Internal devices are housed within the graphics computer, either as a separate computer board or as part of the VGA graphics board. External devices are separate from the computer.

Internal - Architecture Advantages/Disadvantages

Space efficient
Low cost if combined with VGA card
Not cost-effective for high performance
Settings made by taking system off-air
System goes down if combination converter card fails
Fewer features available on most units

External - Architecture Advantages/Disadvantages

High performance and full-featured units available
Easy change out in case of failure
Settings can be made while on-air
More space needed

High Sampling Rate

If the image sampling rate is too slow, the scan converter will not faithfully reproduce the fast-changing video. This will affect how transitions and digital video (MPEG) will be rendered. There are no specifications for this feature and critical viewing is needed to determine if the scan converter meets your requirements.

Color Depth

The output of the scan converter is an analog signal. High quality units convert using 10bit, 16bit, or 24bit resolution. Anything less will produce color or gradient artifacts on the display. This performance can be checked by looking at a subtle color gradient. If the gradient is rendered with obvious steps, find another scan converter.

Refresh Rate

NTSC or PAL video has a refresh rate of 50 Hz or 60 Hz, respectively. The scan converter must be able to produce this for a variety of input refresh rates. While some scan converters can handle refresh rates higher than 50 Hz or 60 Hz, it is best to operate at these rates. Operation at different rates can cause odd flickering or image artifacts.

Resolution

Generally computers can have resolutions as high or higher than 1024 x 760. For display purposes anything over 640 x 480 is a waste and not necessary because televisions cannot display resolution over 640 x 480. Therefore, you shouldn't spend a lot of money on high resolution scan converters.

Settings Memory

Make sure that all settings are retained when the power is turned off. Some do not do this! In fact, some early converters would not power up again after a power loss. Also, it is convenient to be able to change settings without running setup software. All internal scan converters and some external converters must be taken "off-air" so that software settings can be changed.

General Quality

Take a close look at the construction of the scan converter. Are the connectors well-designed and reliable? Consumer-grade scan converters look almost like toys.

Flicker Filtering

Because NTSC or PAL video is interlaced, flicker becomes a serious problem when showing graphics that have very thin lines. This is because the scan converter will place the line in only one field of the output video. A "flicker filter" is a digital technique used to add blurring to sharp edges or lines. This helps eliminate the flicker.

Some flicker filtering is absolutely necessary! More expensive scan converters have better flicker filtering.

Video Output Settings

The ability to adjust video levels or other aspects of the video output signal can be very important. At a minimum, you must be able to adjust sizing and position. More expensive scan converters provide adjustments for genlock phase, brightness, contrast, black level, and other parameters.

Genlock

The term "genlock" refers to the ability of the scan converter to produce video that is synchronized (genlocked) to an external video source. This feature is necessary if you plan to switch between your bulletin board video and a VCR. Without genlock, you may see the picture tear or roll when the switch occurs. Genlock, combined with a vertical-interval switcher, can eliminate this problem. Another use for genlock is to synchronize video so that downstream keying can be used to insert titles over video.

Keying

Some scan converters provide the ability to title over another video source. This requires a keying capability. A "luminance key" allows graphics video to pass when it exceeds a certain luminance level (brightness). A "color key" allows you to define a specific color that will allow the source video to be visible.

Manufacturers

The following list of manufacturers is, by no means, complete. Check the vendor web sites where they exist.

AITech International http://www.aitech.com/

TVOne Multimedia Solutions http://www.tvone.com

Extron http://www.extron.com

Communications Specialties http://www.commspecial.com

Focus Enhancements (formerly PC Video Conversion) http://www.focusinfo.com/

Power Pixel Technologies http://www.powerpixel.com/

Magni Systems http://www.magnisystems.com/

RGB Spectrum http://www.rgb.com

Disk Storage Devices (Hard Drives)

This section describes disk storage devices and considerations for using them with a television bulletin board system. The performance of the hard disk is a very important element in the overall performance of the system. Anytime you consider purchasing a new or upgraded hard drive, you should review the current trade literature to learn about key features and recent technology changes.

A/V-Rated Drives

Generally, best performance is obtained using an A/V-rate hard disk. These drives are designed to deliver large quantities of data without interruptions due to thermal recalibration. This is especially important if your system will deliver AVI, Quicktime, MPEG1, or MPEG2 video streams. If thermal recalibration occurs during video playback, it can cause the video to freeze or appear jerky.

Minimum Requirements

Speed 4500 RPM
Access Time 3 mS track to track, 10.5 mS read, 18 mS full stroke
Size 4.3 GB minimum
Cache 128 KB minimum, 512 to 1024 KB preferred. This cache serves as a buffer for data being transferred to and from the drive. If the cache is too small, the video playback may appear to freeze or skip frames. Data can be lost during recording audio or video.
Transfer Speed Internal Data Rate: 41 to 95 MB/sec
Data Transfer Rate: 16.67 MB/sec
Reliability MTBF: 400,000 hours minimum
Interface FastATA-2, Ultra/33 Enhanced IDE, SCSI Ultra, SCSI Ultra-Wide. These formats support the transfer of large amounts of data with minimal interruption.

Configurations

For best results, a two drive configuration can be used. The "system" drive stores the operating system and all playback software. A "media" drive is used to store all programming content to be played back.

James R. Harvey is the CEO of FrameRate Corporation.
He is active in NATOA and the Southern California and Nevada (SCAN) Chapter of NATOA.