How we did it

How we tested Sonic Foundry’s MediaSite Live appliance.

The fully self-contained MediaSite Live appliance was installed on a 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet network with a DHCP server connected to a BayStack 350 T Switch and six client PCs. System administration and management tools were evaluated from the capture system and network-connected units for usability and reliability.

One of the PCs, a Windows XP 1.4 GHz system running Microsoft Office XP, was used as the image source for PowerPoint presentations and Web surfing during capture. Video source quality and compatibility testing was performed with a Panasonic miniDV camera connected via S-video mini-DIN interface, stand-alone clip-on lapel microphone and three videoconferencing group systems (Polycom ViewStation FX, Polycom iPower 960 and VCON Falcon). Presentations were recorded using default and tester-created streaming media profiles, standard templates included with the system and various video and audio input devices. Live streams and archived presentations were viewed from PCs on the network at different data rates and configurations as permitted by the streaming profiles.

In our lab, the variety of video cameras and microphones, display, and an Ethernet cable connected without a hitch in the well-labeled ports and jacks on the back of the MediaSite Live Capture Workstation. Where we had doubts about dual inputs (for example, the left and right RCA stereo audio sources go into one Line In jack), a quick glance in the MediaSite Live box located the appropriate adapters included with the workstation.

Back to the main review: “Sonic Foundry’s MediaSite Live”