[linux-audio-user] Streaming meetings, podcasting, and telephones

Greetings,

I might be putting together a prototype audio-oriented webcasting server
for small town meetings and the like.

The general idea is to allow community groups and really local
governments to find an extremely low-cost way to live stream and archive
slightly "enhanced" events. I need your help to put together a laundry
list of linux tools that help make the case that this is a quick and
cost-effective platform.

Option one - Use a laptop/desktop, connect the microphone system into
the line-in and use a browser-based production console applet tied to a
remote webcasting server to input information about the meeting, agenda
items and time stamps along with links to meeting documents elsewhere on
the web. A bonus feature would include the ability to grab static images
from a number of basic webcams hooked to the in-room computer. I'd love
it if images from two or three appropriately positioned webcams facing
the same general direction could be stitched into a more panoramic view
of the room. We'd refresh the image of course.

Option two - In a room without a direct Internet connection, a high
quality speaker phone (for really small meetings where most people are
gathered around a table) or various equipment (any recommendations?)
could connect the sound system to the phone line. The meeting host
would have an account on the server, call-in, punch in a pin number and
have their meeting streamed live and/or recorded.

Additional ideas:

1. Podcasting - Allow folks to call into the site and leave shorter
voice messages like you see with some commercial services that would
apply podcasting methods. You could also offer any meeting as a podcast
assuming that you really scrunched down the file because it is just
voice. Most people won't be interested in listening to last night's
city council meeting on their mp3 player, but maybe one in 500 would!

2. Player - I am interested applet-based Ogg Vorbis and MP3 player
options that would connect to the basic content entered via the
production console applet. The big buck services integrate video, power
point, chat, etc. but I am just looking for something basic that could
be added to later.

3. Site Content - Whether it is console or telephone submitted content,
I am interested in which linux webcasting servers are easiest to work
with in this regard.

If you have any comments or know someone who has already done parts of
this, please drop me a note: clift@email-addr-hidden

Cheers,
Steven Clift

Steven Clift - http://publicus.net - Reply to: clift@email-addr-hidden
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Received on Thu Jan 20 00:15:17 2005