Last month, I participated in a phone interview with the education team at Adobe to talk about how the University of Denver is using Flash Media Server to stream both live and on-demand content across campus and out into the world. The resulting article was recently published on the Adobe Developer Connection website.
Topics covered include our CourseMedia™ system, live events, and various video uses across departments. It’s a fairly quick read and a comprehensive look at what DU is doing with media streaming using the Flash Platform.
Check it out: Q & A with Joseph Labrecque
I’d encourage anyone going to Educause in Denver to stop by the Adobe Booth (#909) for a theater presentation by myself and John Schuman.
Streaming Video for Education
Wednesday, November 4
12:45pm–1:15pm
In this session, you will learn the inner workings of a real-world video solution for higher education based on Adobe Flash technology. Join John Schuman, Adobe education solutions architect, and Joseph Labrecque, senior multimedia application developer at the University of Denver and an Adobe Education Leader, as they take you through the underlying technologies that went into the creation of the amazing video applications of the University of Denver.
When searching for audio within CourseMedia™, users now have the option to verify the record at three separate points of failure. The tool is integrated within the metadata panel of the audio clip editor and will let the user know if the record fails on the following three points:
- Metadata Record Retrieval
- Flash Media Server Connection Via Directory
- File Streamability
If any of these points fail, a message is shown to the user at that point. Most of the records which fail in these ways are caused by bad filenames or misnamed files and directories.
Check out the video below for a walkthrough:
Get the Flash Player to see this content.
We’ve updated both the CourseMedia™ MediaViewer and VPS Projection System to take advantage of Google’s new YouTube API for ActionScript 3. All external YouTube videos are now treated just as native ALORA videos using the same display mechanisms and controls in both applications. Previously, YouTube videos required a user to native out of the current environment and into a separate web browser window to access the video.
Here is a short video demonstrating the new functionality:
Get the Flash Player to see this content.
To take advantage of the changes in the VPS Projection System, users must upgrade to version 1.3.2
Version 1.2.6 of the MediaViewer should load up automatically the next time you access CourseMedia™ but you may need to either refresh your browser viewport or clear the cache depending upon your configuration.
During the opening day of Adobe MAX 2009 in Los Angeles, two separate sessions featured DU video systems.
Firstly, Joseph Labrecque, Senior Multimedia Application Developer for the University of Denver and Adobe Higher Education Leader included mention of the ALORA Embed Generator video player and its ability to tap into Google Analytics during his session for the FITC Unconference:
Custom Event Reporting from Flash to Google Analytics
With the ability to define and report custom events from within your Flash application, you retain control over how specific events are reported and the information contained in these reports. This presentation will cover the implementation of the Google Analytics Tracking For Adobe Flash ActionScript 3 API for generating custom events and the generation of unorthodox event logging from within Flash.
This presentation was streamed live by FITC and Influxis.
Another strong mention was made by John Schuman, Education Solutions Architect for Adobe Systems during his session on video delivery systems in education during which he focused on the CourseMedia™ application:
Customizing the University Experience with a Rich Media Delivery System
Explore the potential of developing a customized, security-focused, RSS-driven delivery solution. This session shows how you can use Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server, Flash Media Server 3, and Adobe Media Player
While there were some inaccuracies presented during the session, the spirit of our system was well-represented and we thank John for his coverage of CourseMedia™ and other DU video delivery mechanisms.
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