Application of CU-SeeMe Internet-based Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics
Paper: 424
Session: D (talk)
Speaker: Izen, Joseph M., University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson
Keywords: communication, free software, video conferencing, world-wide collaboration
Application of CU-SeeMe Internet-based Videoconferencing for High Energy Physics
Joseph M. Izen
University of Texas at Dallas
BaBar and Beijing Spectrometer (BES) Collaborations
Internet-based video conferencing is becoming an important tool for world-wide collaboration in high energy physics. The CU-SeeMe(tm) program offered the first personal computer-based desktop package for Macintosh and Windows machines, and some UNIX nv/vat compatibility is available through the use of reflectors. CU-SeeMe is being used by the BaBar and Beijing Spectrometer collaborations to netcast plenary talks, small group meetings between multiple sites, and for point to point communications. Networking is a crucial element in the use of this technology. Experiences with an experimental network of CU-SeeMe reflectors at ES.Net and CERN will be discussed. Slide presentation options, including a hybrid solution using the World Wide Web will be described. Hardware costs, audio visual issues, start-up experiences, and tips for perspective netcasters will be presented.
Current status: Plenary sessions of three quarterly BaBar Collaboration meetings have been netcast from SLAC and Europe. BaBar is beginning to explore use of CU-SeeMe for small group meetings, especially when participants on different continents are involved. SLAC and BaBar are developing a patches between CU-SeeMe, MBone, ISDN/H.320, and telephones. The first CU-SeeMe netcast of a high energy physics conference was coverage of the Lepton-Photon'95 conference in Beijing. Since then, point to point BES contacts have occured between Beijing and the United States, and the bandwidth from the Institute of High Energy Physics in Beijing to KEK in Japan is expected to be increased to 128 kbps. Within the U.S. BES collaborators use CU-SeeMe for analysis meetings involving several sites, and for point to point conversations.
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