News Coverage:
Veriana launches IPTV
IWU hosted spring trial of new system
Published: Monday, June 29, 2009 2:07 AM EDT
Following a spring trial period, Veriana Networks plans to move ahead with a full-scale push of its IPTV network on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University this fall.
Given success, the company hopes to eventually launch the service across college campuses everywhere.
Dan Wright, president of Veriana's Impression Mobile division, said Veriana's UniversityTV is an example of Internet Protocol Television. The technology allows registered users on the campus to watch live TV streaming directly to their computers.
Campuses the size of IWU usually don't have their own campuswide cable network, and IWU is no exception. Students who want television currently must buy their service from Bright House Networks.
Now, students will have the option to buy television service through Veriana and watch live TV on their computers.
"One of the trends is students are bringing fewer TVs to campus, but everyone brings a laptop," Wright said.
In addition to live TV, the university-controlled IPTV network also will host video from various campus events, including speakers, conference, chapel and more.
IWU has the ability to add content to that system, which will then be available to subscribers around the clock.
"You can use it for broader communications purposes," Wright said.
John Jones, IWU's vice president for information technology, said implementing IPTV at the university will open new doors for the delivery of content to the university's constituencies.
"We can originate content and plug that into the structure," he said. "We can now deliver various kinds of content in new ways."
Specifically, Jones means the ability to deliver information without the end users being required to have a TV.
Working with Veriana has been a positive partnership for the university, Jones said.
"They bring lots of creative ideas to the table and help us think about things we haven't even thought of," he said.
The network is available to students through a campus Ethernet connection - in the dorm rooms, in a classroom, in the commons areas or anywhere else on campus.
Contractual licensing and piracy issues prevent Veriana from being able to broadcast the signal wirelessly, Wright said.
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