--- Forwarded Message from Bob Majors <[log in to unmask]> --- >User-Agent: Microsoft-Entourage/10.1.0.2006 >Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2002 13:36:49 -0700 >Subject: Re: #6911 SONY Virtuoso >From: Bob Majors <[log in to unmask]> >To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]> >In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]> ------------------ > We're thinking about upgrading our labs. While our technicians seem to > be leaning toward SONY Virtuoso, I can see many reasons for teachers to > shy away from it, particularly when it comes to recording pair and group > work I'm told we were the first to run Virtuoso outside of Sony testing. Our experience was that recording pairs worked at times but not consistently. We're doing a test of new software in early November and may have different results. > and sending video in real time. I would appreciate any comments from anyone > who might be using this software. > > Barbara I think Sony is incorporating NetOps School, replacing some other screen-sharing capability. Our results, with new Dell ~1.2GHz. Dimensions with Gb NICs, and Gb switches, has been that screen-sharing video suffers or plain doesn't work. It could be that this is due to limiting physics of even this fast of hardware, and/or not well enough developed or implemented codecs and/or other software. The only way I'm aware of broadcasting decent size, decent fps video/audio, in the Sony world, is through a separate hardware network (video), which of course is what many would like to avoid, both due to cost and limited flexibility (i.e., you can't add any computer to the 'classroom' -- it has to have the special hardware connected to everyone else in the 'classroom'). Bob Majors Language Learning Center University of Washington