TERENA Webcam Koningsplein, Amsterdam
TERENA (Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association) coordinates and carries out technical activities and provides a platform for discussion to encourage the development of a high-quality computer networking infrastructure for the European research and education community.
The TERENA Webcam was set up in 2002 and currently attracts thousands of viewers per year. TERENA has had dedicated Windows Media servers which are configured to provide high quality streams to a large number of concurrent viewers.
The system is configured to create a multi-bitrate (MBR) stream to support a wide variety of client connections. Currently the stream consists of 7 different bandwidths:
| Stream | Video Bitrate | Resolution | Fps | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 916 Kbps | 870 Kbps | 384x288 | 25 fps | 48 Kbps 44 KHz stereo |
| 648 Kbps | 600 Kbps | 384x288 | 25 fps | 48 Kbps 44 KHz stereo |
| 408 Kbps | 360 Kbps | 384x288 | 25 fps | 48 Kbps 44 KHz stereo |
| 208 Kbps | 160 Kbps | 384x288 | 25 fps | 48 Kbps 44 KHz stereo |
| 90 Kbps | 70 Kbps | 384x288 | 25 fps | 20 Kbps 44 KHz mono |
| 35 Kbps | 25 Kbps | 192x144 | 25 fps | 10 Kbps 16 KHz mono |
| 20 Kbps | 12 Kbps | 192x144 | 25 fps | 8 Kbps 11 KHz mono |
Note that TERENA's System & Network Administrator had to work around what appeared to be some obscure bug in Windows Media Encoder to achieve the high performance. When using the software the intended way, the encoder could barely do 3 bitrates at one time.
When not used for TERENA meetings and workshops, the camera is pointing out of the window of the Secretariat office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. There are also two high-quality microphones fixed outside different windows, to help viewers experience real stereo sound.
Hardware & Software set-up
The encoding box:
- Dell poweredge 1850
- Dual Xeon 3.0 GHz
- 1024 Mb RAM
- Osprey 230 video capture card
- A Sony EVI-D31 Pan/Tilt/Zoom camera impression pic
- Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1
- Windows Media Encoder 9 Series
The streaming box:
- Supermicro 6014P-T
- Dual Xeon 3,06 GHz
- 2048 Mb RAM
- Areca ARC-1110 SATA Raid controller
- 4 x 250 Gb in RAID5
- Gigabit ethernet directly connected to the SURFnet backbone
- Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1
- Windows Media Services 9 Series
The person responsible for setting the TERENA Webcam up is Dick Visser, TERENA's System & Network Administrator. Here you can visit Dick's homepage.