The Haivision Furnace IP Video System distributes, records, and provides on-demand IP video content to users across corporate networks. As an augmentation to a telepresence system, the Furnace can take multiple streams of encoded content and give users access to the live content from any PC. Additionally, the Furnace can record multiple IP video streams and give access to those streams on-demand to any user. Recording and streaming systems enhance distance learning and company meeting environments to overcome the barriers of time, distance and bandwidth.
Haivision’s Furnace combined with their Makito performance encoders, Stingray set top boxes, and the freely available InStream player delivers a coordinated enterprise-wide end-to-end architecture. Haivision’s Furnace offers complete security and powerful administrative control for an organization’s live and recorded assets. Furthermore, the Furnace incorporates simple operational processes to record and stream any number of assets in multicast/broadcast sessions for large audiences or in a unicast configuration for the any-time on-demand sessions.
The Haivision Makito encoders capture the video session(s) to be recorded and distributed at the source. The Furnace coordinates video storage, security settings and playback administration services from a central position in the enterprise network.
InStream player
Viewers simply point their browsers to the Furnace portal (directly or through any link on their intranet). The click on a link engages the InStream player to be downloaded directly to the computer and the playback or live streaming session begins. With support for AES encryption of individual streaming sessions and asset-by-asset authentication, the Furnace architecture assures effective levels of privacy and user-by-user access controls in compliance with the highest levels of government security and regulator-assured privacy standards. Also, the InStream player prohibits local content recording and storage providing a higher degree of compliance with intellectual property rights commitments than found with other desktop players – such as those associated with / embedded in web browsers.
The InStream player is a client server player technology that requires no installation on any computer and works across all common platforms. As part of the Furnace deployment, customers gain unlimited licenses of the InStream player. Once downloaded and authenticated, users use the well-understood TV channel metaphor to switch between scheduled shows and on-demand sessions. If desirable, system administrators can control all aspects of the viewing experience centrally. For example, administrators can change all viewers (computer or set top box) to a common channel for corporate broadcasts. They can adjust the volume, change the window to full screen, even dictate that the video window remains on top of other windows. The Furnace as well supports multi-stream display for live monitoring or multiple stream playback. For any channel, centrally controlled watermarking can be applied to further twart unauthorized analog recordings. The Furnace also supports an Emergency Broadcast message feature that can interrupt all playbacks in service for enhanced physical security of a campus, for example.
For particular applications, such as in office lobbies, cafeterias, break rooms and other employee gathering places, it may be economical and more appropriate to configure Stingray set-top boxes in conjunction with the Furnace deployment. These special-built appliances are designed to house the InStream player only, accepting and playing streaming channels under administrator or user direction, just as a cable TV set-top box might perform the same function in one’s home.
The power of the Furnace is that the implementation is optimized for IP. No unusual wiring requirement, only Ethernet. No special client software – only urls representing the location and properties of each asset. Playback service can be automatically and efficiently deployed on any computer that can support a browser. Administrators have access to fine controls for access, privacy and the playback without overly aggressive concerns for digital rights management.
