Fast, cheap, and in control: managing metadata for streaming media

Poster presented at ASIST "Information Architecture Summit 2003"
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Grete Pasch [Director, New Media. Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala;  gpasch@ufm.edu.gt - www.newmedia.ufm.edu.gt]  and Rodrigo Arias  [General Manager, nTropic, Inc.;  rodrigo@glifos.com - www.glifos.com]

Streaming video is starting to prove its usefulness in higher education (Flower, 2001; Wilson & Weiser, 2001).  However, the use of indexed streaming video is still relatively rare (Pasch & Stewart, 2002; Moses et.al, 2002; Vedro, 2001).  We see three main causes for this.  First, manually indexing visual content is extremely time consuming and requires subject experts; the alternative is to use automatic indexing algorithms but these are still in their infancy.  In addition, the available indexing tools, such as Virage, Convera, or MediaSite, have high price tags that place them out of the buying range of smaller academic institutions.  And finally, as technology improves, implementation choices become harder to make: metadata schemes take time to stabilize, video formats may become obsolete (Moulding, 2002), and new IT platforms pop up unexpectedly.

At the Universidad Francisco Marroquín (Guatemala) we were eager to record and make widely available classes and conferences taught by invited speakers, such as Nobel prize economists who may never again visit our region.  We were unable to invest in expensive applications, but we also knew we could not afford to wait for the standards dust to settle before we started taking advantage of streaming media on our campus.  Therefore, we teamed up with nTropic, Inc. to develop an XML-based suite of modules and a simple workflow that allows us to prepare and deploy indexed streaming media in three steps:

1. Index and synchronize: a subject specialist uses the gmCreator to review the media and design the presentation layouts, incorporating an unlimited number of images (slides and photographs) and texts (tables of contents, transcripts in any number of languages) organized in as many levels as needed. Dublin Core metadata is easily added.

2. Metadata + Skins: gmCreator outputs an XML-based description of the materials, plus one or more "skins" which generate the final look of the resource for various platforms and modes of presentation.  The gmLibrary is fully searchable.

3. Deploy and enjoy: the presentations are deployed on our streaming servers (see www.newmedia.ufm.edu.gt) and played by their target platforms using the XML-based gmPlayer series.

Even though initial indexing of a simple one-hour video may take two hours or longer, the process is FAST because it is efficient. First, the gmCreator provides a friendly interface that saves the indexer's time.  Second, the gmPlayers do not rely on physical marks within the video in order to find a specific spot.  Thus, if a video is re-encoded, we do not need to spend any time inserting marks into it.  Third, if we wish to add an image or a transcript or a level to a table of contents, we can do so easily, and gmCreator automatically updates the metadata + skins library.  Thanks to our vendor and to the elegant design of all modules, our software costs have been relatively INEXPENSIVE.  And most importantly, we remain IN CONTROL of our data: our investment in indexing, transcribing, and adding images to our videos is not tied to a particular platform or software tool, not even to the gmSuite.  We will be able to migrate our data when needed, and therefore, we are insuring the preservation of our materials - and our investment- in the long run.

References

Flower, Eric. "Streaming Media: Hard Lessons Learned."  TCC Online 2001.  Available at: leahi.kcc.hawaii.edu/org/tcon01/papers/flower.html

Moses, Gregory, et.al.  "eTEACH--a Proven Learning Technology for Education Reform," 32nd ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (2002): 6-9. Available at: eteach.engr.wisc.edu/newEteach/PUBS/frontiers.pdf

Moulding, John.  "Microsoft gets serious in broadcast market: battle begins with MPEG-4," Cable & Satellite International (November-December 2002): 32-35.

Pasch, Grete and Quinn Stewart.  "Using the Internet to Teach the Internet: An opportunistic Approach," The Electronic Library, v.20, no.5 (2002): 401-412.  Available at: www.gslis.utexas.edu/~gpasch/tel/pasch_stewart.html

Vedro, Steven.  "Why Metadata Matters," Current (Sept. 10, 2001): 1-8.

Wilson, Rick L. and Mark Weiser.  "Adoption of Asynchronous Learning Tools by Traditional Full-Time Students: A Pilot Study," Information Technology and Management 2, (2001): 363-375.


Guatemala, January 16, 2003