Broadcast Network
 WEEE!This piece of equipment has been disposed of. |
YSTV no longer broadcasts across campus, instead occasionally makes use of the YUSU screens. This page is left here for historical purposes
YSTV broadcasts across campus by using compserv's network, with streams terminating at individual 'drain' computers, which display the stream full screen.
Drains
Basically, they're PC's running either a custom flash player, or full screen google chrome with a few settings tweaked. Stick internet in one side, and composite or VGA out the other.
Rediffusion
As of 28/10/2011, the analog broadcast network is no more. No patches make full runs, and no access points are accessable. The final peice of the network to be destroyed was the bidirectional patch to ystv's previous studio, PX/002 (physics chair store near PX/001). The cable still exists, but in this case, has been chopped at the stretch between PX/001 and YUSU's student centre.
Rediffuison is the antiquated closed circuit broadcast network that was installed in the university in the 60s. YSTV and URY used this network from the early 90s until around 2008 when it was "replaced" by an IP-Based system.
There aren't many ways of sending video via cable accessible to YSTV anymore. Although we still technically own the broadcast network. The university estates dept have done a pretty good job of hiding what is left of the Reddiff / ystv system, although there are still a few points where you can still witness the sh**ness of the mammoth network. As reddiffusion's signal quality is "rubbish" and the system was too much to manage, it has been mainly abandoned. Should you actually want too use it in future, be warned:
really small bandwidth,
really covered in asbestos,
really painful to get to,
really not able to handle decent pictures,
really only in mono,
really physically cut up.
Basically, if you want point to point video, work a brand new solution on a "per use" basis, and use the Dark Techie Magic
- Walkway style: Can you throw cables over things?
- Telepathic style: No wires? What Do you mean No wires?
- Long Range Telepathic: As Above, but with dish based methods.
- Time Machine Laptop: Transport streams with a 2 - 10 second delay.
- Warning beacons of Gondor: (the only option to use light) Fibre senders (like we have that money!).
- Baluns - put baseband through transformers, so it becomes differential, can go a bit further.
- Guerilla campus. find something long, low, and untouched to put cables in - anything big enough spanning the length of campus will do.
- Guerilla satellite. look up, find appropriate frequency. - very good coverage, technique reportedly widely used in brazil!
- Rations style: Cantenna.
Live Link Laptop
An idea by Sam Nicholson. Camera into laptop, transport stream to player in YSTV. Use eduroam for portability and reduced set up times.
