 |
|
| MSHOW.com
- Interative Internet Broadcasting
by Steve Broadhead Table of Contents Introduction:� Making The Case for
Interactive Internet-based Conferencing INTRODUCTION: Making The Case For interactive, Internet-based conferencing Videoconferencing: - the killer application. How many times did we hear that phrase used during the last decade? Whether the associated technology was ISDN, ATM - or whatever the flavour of the month happened to be at the time - videoconferencing was always the application wheeled out to show the merits of high-speed networking, both across the LAN and WAN. And, yes, there have been significant numbers of videoconference users, notably in the kind of boardroom to boardroom conference environment, between geographically dispersed offices of a company – often either side of the Atlantic, for example.� In this group to group conference scenario, videoconferencing has made sense. Failings that restrict individual uptake of this kind of service, such as the need for high bandwidth and high-associated costs, are less relevant when dealing with multi-user to multi-user links. A low-bandwidth, Internet-based alternative arose in the form of the WebCam, but anyone who has tried to use this technology will know that quality is poor and reliability is very low with lots of picture “freezes” and even transmission loss being common. Perhaps for these reasons, teleconferencing, plain and simple, is still significantly more popular than any form of “videoconferencing”. A recent survey undertaken by Collaborative Strategies LLC in the US showed that 92% of respondents used teleconferencing at least once a month, 74% of respondents used data/web conferencing at least once a month and only 51% of respondents used videoconferencing at least once a month. This means that there are almost twice as many regular users of teleconferencing than videoconferencing. And sat between the two are the data/web conference users. But hold on a minute; what exactly is web conferencing? Put simply, this is Internet-based conferencing. It might include a combination of data and voice; for example, a sales conference might wish to discuss the last quarters’ sales figures using a PowerPoint presentation as the base for the conference. Or it might be just a video, replayed across the ‘net. Or any other variation on the theme of data content being sent and received, via the web. Regardless of the content type, the key point about web conferencing is that it makes use of the Internet as its transport medium. In this way it differs significantly from videoconferencing, which was designed to use high-bandwidth technologies from day one and doesn’t – in its’ raw form – cope well with low-bandwidth connections and the kind of inherent latencies the Internet suffers from today and will do for a considerable period of time yet. It is clear, then, that web conferencing requires a different kind of approach to videoconferencing; one which takes low-bandwidth connections and unpredictable network performance into account, yet still produces a realistic, workable format for conferencing. Most users do now have direct access from their PCs to the Internet, so it makes sense to use the Internet as the transport medium for conferencing. In an ideal world, this would include both data and voice content. However, there is another fundamental issue with the latter content. While there is scarcely a PC nowadays sat in someone’s home which isn’t configured with soundcard and speakers or headphones, there are significant numbers of company PCs which are effectively sound-free, with either no soundcard or the sound option disabled. After all, imagine the cacophony resulting from hundreds or thousands of PCs with sound spilling out from their speaker sets simultaneously. Or the problems in trying to attract the attention of a member of staff wearing headphones and innocently listening to an MP3 recording.� In the real world, therefore, true multimedia conferencing�– a mix of data and voice, for example – requires a great deal of flexibility to be in-built in order to appeal to a mass audience. One such option is to support a combination of Internet-based “data” conferencing with standard, PSTN-based teleconferencing running in tandem. This in itself is not a trivial operation however.� The ability to synchronise voice and data in this scenario is not available as an off-the-shelf application or general service. It is, however, one of the options available from MSHOW, whose service we are evaluating in this report. There is also another issue to contend with when using web-based communications and that is existing firewall barriers. MSHOW claims to boast the highest firewall penetration in the industry, however. The MSHOW client software uses standard HTTP to communicate with the MSHOW server, therefore, if you can "surf the net" from behind your firewall or proxy server, you can lead or participate in a show. Another key point to consider, is that of supporting many different levels of bandwidth concurrently, during a single conference. It may be that one user, or set of users, at head office has a 2Mbps “pipe” to the Internet, while a home-worker may be connecting to the same conference via a 56K modem link. Yet each user must be able to play a full part in the conference and receive the same content at the same time.� Again, this is not a trivial matter. Synchronising content delivery is not something, which comes as part of a modem package or as a standard feature of a web browser, or even Windows in its various flavours. But, again, it is a key feature of the MSHOW service we are evaluating here.� Combine this requirement to support multiple different Internet access speeds and a combination of voice across the Internet and via the standard PSTN and it quickly becomes evident that in order for Internet conferencing to be practical and usable, a great deal of effort and skill is required up front. If a company take a DIY approach to Internet-based conferencing this translates into significant up front investment in hardware, software, training and development. Outsourcing also avoids the problem of being left with value-less, obsolete equipment on your hands and the need for major re-investment, usually at the least convenient of times. On this basis it is easy to see why the option to outsource the conference delivery mechanism to a third-party service provider is an attractive one.� Applications and Benefits OF Interactive, Internet-based conferencing Looking at the Collaborative Strategies’ survey example, it is clear that not only are applications key, but so is the type of user and the environment they work in. Within the survey those industries that had the highest representation for adopting Internet-based conferencing technologies were hi-tech, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and professional services. Within the companies representing these areas of industry, the top five departments, by use, were training, IT, HR, operations, and sales and marketing. When compared by job function, a similar pattern emerged. Trainers and training managers represent one in two data/web conferencing users in the Fortune 1000 – the basis of the survey - today.� These findings in themselves provide many pointers to the range of applications in use today. Within the corporate environment, examples include for investor relations, executive briefings, HR policies, analyst briefings, strategy rollouts, quarterly earnings announcements and bond issues. Marketing departments find Internet-based conferencing useful for initiating channel programs, hosting web-marketing seminars, providing lead generation and lead tracking, for example. Within commerce, popular examples of web conferencing include the live, online auctions, product sales, securities brokerage and selling network services. In the training sphere, web conferencing is proving ideal for distance learning as well as compliance testing, channel & sales force training, employee training, customer training and more vertical, niche applications such as medical treatment/drug updates, for example.� Put simply, interactive broadcasting across the Internet allows the presenter to convey complex technical or financial information quickly and easily to a diverse group of people using a PC and telephone and a minimum of free time. It is also scalable, unlike videoconferencing. The relatively simple and low-cost requirements of Internet-based conferencing mean that a large number of participants can genuinely contribute to an online conference. MSHOW.com, for example, has designed its service to support audiences in excess of 5,000 people, though – equally importantly – with safeguards to ensure that those 5,000+ cannot all attempt to “speak” simultaneously, even if it is technically possible.� Although nothing still replaces the occasional face to face meeting, a service such as the MSHOW service can be used in advance of a physical meeting. In this way it can better prepare both parties and reduce the incredible frustration of travelling perhaps thousands of miles for what turns out to be an unproductive, ill-prepared meeting. Another very clear cost benefit is therefore that it cuts travel expenses incurred when attending a meeting or a presentation being hosted at a remote venue. And in the case where you were acting as the host, venue costs are also eliminated. And of course there is an overall reduction in productivity time lost through travelling and setting up a meeting or seminar. MSHOW.com argues that with as few as 20 delegates “attending” a presentation, it is already significantly more cost effective than any traditional alternative, including most videoconferencing options, not simply the face to face alternative.� This leads onto another key benefit and that is convenience. Not only can a meeting or presentation be set up at short notice, with no location or travel arrangements to worry about, but it can also – in the case of MSHOW.com at least – be arranged through just a single telephone call and little else. Another benefit of providing conference facilities at a users’ desktop, rather than at a remote physical location, is that – quite simply – it makes it easier and more likely for them to attend. For many people now, with so many different things competing for what is often so little time, the ability to provide conferencing facilities at their fingertips – literally – is an obvious boon. It hugely reduces both the amount of free time required to take part in a conference and the effort involved in partaking.�
The MSHOW: An Overview of the MSHOW Service Package As we’ve already highlighted in this report, web conferencing in general can be approached from two specific directions. You can either take the DIY approach or opt for a packaged solution instead.� MSHOW.com is in the latter camp. It offers a complete managed service based around interactive, Internet-based conferencing. There is a software element to the package but this can be simply downloaded by the user from the MSHOW.com web site. The key point here is that due to the ‘complete package’ element of an MSHOW service, there is no requirement for customers to invest in any technical equipment, short of each user having a PC and access to the Internet. MSHOW.com describes what it offers as being a complete, managed package, from ‘Preparation to Presentation and Post Presentation Review’. By this it means that in preparation terms, the company can assist the person presenting to create or develop the presentation. An MSHOW show can incorporate graphics, photographs & pictures, audio & video streaming and film. Often, for example, it might be based around a PowerPoint presentation. It can also be converted on the fly into the MSHOW show format. The author is given a URL to point to so they can check the conversion and run through the converted presentation. Another feature is that MSHOW.com offers live and text based “Q&A” sessions within a show. An MSHOW show manager is also assigned to each show. The manager will ‘hand-hold’ the customer through the process. The customer simply provides the date and time of the presentation, which is confirmed and booked by MSHOW.com which can take and convert the presentation into a format viewable with a web browser. The customer then provides a list of participants who are emailed an invitation to the presentation by MSHOW.com. This invitation contains all the information necessary for the invitee to attend and hear the presentation. For example, it explains the logon procedure, how to download the MSHOW.com client software in advance and exactly what is required in order to take part in the conference. Participants then log on to the MSHOW show 15 minutes before it is due to start. At this point the show is downloaded to each participant’s computer in the form of a temporary file which can then be accessed locally. This is the key to the speed with which an MSHOW show can be carried out and how the synchronisation between participants, regardless of the speed of their PC or their Internet connection, can be delivered accurately.� At this point the show can begin. The person presenting the show or conference, the “show leader” in MSHOW.com speak, then takes over. Throughout the presentation participants can see who else is partaking and can communicate both with each other and with the leader via a text message service, like an online chat utility. In practice, each show can have multiple leaders, who can transparently pass control to each other during the show, in the same way that a “physical” conference will have multiple speakers following each other onstage. In addition to the range of media, described earlier which can be part of an MSHOW show, the leader can also request participant responses to voting and polling questions prepared as part of the presentation. In this case, the answers are fed back to the show leader at the end of the presentation. Following the conference, MSHOW.com prepares and presents a review of the show to the client. This review includes details of all the participants, and how they voted during the presentation, if voting and polling functionality was used. In practice, the actual package contents can – and will – vary from customer to customer, but are based around the perceived needs of the majority of users or even just their basic ideas, translated into a complete, customised show. For example, the basis of an MSHOW show might be a presentation (multiple formats supported) outlining proposals for a new product launch to a geographically dispersed team of sales and marketing staff. The aim would be to educate the audience about the new product features and how it should be marketed and sold. At the same time, the conference would provoke online feedback from the conference attendants so act as a kind of brainstorming session in addition. The post-show report would then confirm this feedback as well as acting as an overall reminder of how the conference went. In summary, then, the MSHOW.com service manages the entire interactive broadcasting “experience” for the client. To this end, it provides pre-show content development, show leader training and support, show management and monitoring, a live operator help desk, post-show audience data reporting and content archiving for on-demand play back of the presentation at any time.� As part of our report, we put MSHOW.com to the test with a live, interactive show attended by NSS Group and MSHOW.com staff using content developed by the company. Both the UK and French NSS offices participated, in both cases using 64Kbps ISDN connections via a standard ISP. We also combined using Internet-based voice with the teleconference option, so we were able to check how successfully each method worked in conjunction with the data element. The first step in the test came in the form of an email received from MSHOW.com in advance of the conference. This explained how to download the necessary client software from the MSHOW.com web site – which must be done in advance - and what time the conference was taking place. It also included a login number used to access the specific conference and a telephone number to use if we wished to use teleconferencing alongside the Internet show, rather than integrated voice over IP across the Internet.�
In terms of client support, the MSHOW.com software requires any Pentium class computer, running MS Windows 95 or above, or NT 4.0 with browser support for Internet Explorer 3.x or above, Netscape Communicator 3.x or above, or AOL 3.0 or above.�� Any Internet connection of 28.8Kbps or faster is supported. Obviously an additional phone line is also required if listening via the telephone. A streaming media player (Windows Media Player or Real Player) is also required if the voice element is being taken via the Internet. Within an MSHOW show, the service is capable of supporting any media type that a browser will support including high-end graphics, table, charts, FLASH, DHTML, Streaming Media, IPIX, Lotus Screen Cam, Macromedia Director, DreamWeaver, and pre-recorded audio and video. The MSHOW.com client auto-installs on the PC and creates a shortcut on the desktop. From a users’ point of view, the only requirement then is to double click on the icon and attach to the Internet 15 minutes before the conference is due to begin.� To reiterate, this only needs to be done the first time the user joins a show however. Once the client software is downloaded they need only key in the show number and join the Mshow.� This is because the MSHOW service needs to download content in advance to each participant’s PC, so it can cache locally during the show. Again this is totally automated and just requires a mouse click from the user to begin the download from the conference screen they are automatically taken to when clicking on the MSHOW.com client icon.�
When the download is finished the user is informed. At any point during the conference you can choose to opt for voice over IP or attach to the teleconference for the voice element of the show. To do the latter you simply ring the telephone number given in the emailed invitation. At the other end we were asked to confirm the conference we wished to attend and were put through immediately. Once connected to the conference, there are a limited number of options available to you as a user. These consist of a small toolbar with the following options:�
Clicking on the Talk icon indicates to the leader that you wish to speak to the conference. This is important in order to control who speaks when during the show. Alternatively you can hit the Msg (Message) icon to send a textual message to the entire group or a specific individual (ideal for sneaky comments!). At any time you can confirm the attendees making up the show group. A worldwide map identifies approximately where each participant is calling into the conference from, though in some cases the geography – in local terms – was very approximate! The important point is in knowing who is partaking and from which country and/or office and this information is reliably given. At all times during the conference help is available either online or via a telephone number provided. For the leader, or leaders, of the show, the user interface is slightly different to that the users see.�
It contains extra options, primarily geared towards running and controlling the show itself, such as the “Next” button to choose the next screen. The leader can also control who is able to speak to the conference. A mini-view of the show script is provided onscreen, so that the leader can see a summary of the show, screen by screen. In the case of the test show for The NSS Group, MSHOW.com ran through a presentation of its own services. As part of the test, the leader ran through a combination of different media formats including video as well as still slides and voting screens, where we had to select from a multi-choice answer screen and submit our vote onscreen.� The leader was also able to temporarily depart from the show and browse the Internet. At this point, as a user, your computer follows the leader and loads up the same web pages as the leader. If you attempt – as we did – to go off-track and start browsing different web sites, the leader can bring your PC back in line with the rest of the participants when the next URL or show screen is selected.� Another feature currently being added is that of the leader being able to launch any applications or screens on their local PC and broadcast these across the conference. MSHOW.com has tested these in-house and found that, for example, when launching a copy of Excel and editing a spreadsheet live, there is around a six second delay between the “leader” and the rest of the conference, which is more than acceptable and – in practice – all but unnoticeable. MSHOW.com is also adding a virtual whiteboard facility. With this, the leader can load up a “whiteboard” and create on the fly additions to the presentation, as you would in a seminar room scenario. Since leadership can be passed between conference attendants, it means that any kind of “collaborative brainstorming” exercise can be carried out within an MSHOW show.�� A leader can also annotate a PowerPoint presentation, for example, making changes in real time to slides, which are then broadcast to the conference audience and their “copies” change too. During our tests the show ran smoothly overall and the teleconferencing combined with the web-conferencing without any problems and synchronisation was exact. When using PC-based voice however, there is a significant delay, though you get used to this as the delay is consistent. It is important for the leader to appreciate what level of delay is occurring however, so that they can allow for it when changing screens etc.� Screen updates were always prompt and the various diversions, such as when the leader started to browse the Internet, also worked extremely well with minimal delay between leader actions and the same results occurring at the users PC.� The online message or chat option is also very useful as it enables a level of “background” chat to be carried out without impacting on the conference audience. Better than having to whisper into your colleagues ear… What MSHOW.com offers then is – while still limited to some extent by the inherent limits of the Internet itself – a definite advance on previous attempts to recreate the elements of a physical conference or meeting in a remote PC to PC environment.� The pre-caching of content works extremely well and the synchronisation between web- and teleconferencing was also successfully implemented. Costs wise, MSHOW.com charges on a per-connection basis. This includes:
Anyone wishing to look at the MSHOW.com offering in greater details should visit the web site: www.mshow.com where you can register for a live demo and experience the MSHOW service for yourselves. Contact:
MSHOW.com Ltd����
|
 |
Send mail to webmaster
with questions or�
|
