project casl @ tedxbaltimore 2014
DESCRIPTION
Project CASL specifications and setup at TEDxBaltimore conference, Friday Jan 31 2014. By Todd DouglasTRANSCRIPT
TEDx BaltimoreJanuary 31, 2014
Project CASLSpecifications and Setup
Todd DouglasBold Yellow
735 N. Eutaw St.Suite 2Baltimore, MD 21201
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Project CASLTEDx BaltimoreJanuary 31, 2014
OverviewProject CASL (Conference American Sign Language) is an effort to provide sign language for remote deaf viewers of a conference. It was implemented at the TEDx Baltimore conference in January 2014. The web page at www.projectcasl.com displayed two video streams: ◾ the live conference video stream from livestream.com ◾ the video stream of ASL interpreters via a Google Hangout On Air
The web page was a simple HTML document and each video stream is an embedded iframe with code provided by the respective video providers.
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Project CASLTEDx BaltimoreJanuary 31, 2014
LivestreamThe official conference video stream was hosted by livestream.com. To get the embed code, go to the event page and click “Embed.” The embed type was “Player” and the screen size was 480 x 270. The embed code was pasted into the HTML file.
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Project CASLTEDx BaltimoreJanuary 31, 2014
Google HangoutThe ASL interpreters were streamed by setting up a Google Hangout “On Air” video chat. This is a video stream that is publicly broadcast on YouTube and can be viewed by anyone. Note that a Hangout On Air can last up to eight hours. It’s important that the microphone is muted on the chat. The embed code from the Google Hangout was pasted into the HTML document.
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Project CASLTEDx BaltimoreJanuary 31, 2014
HTML DocumentThe HTML document is on the Project CASL hosting server and has commented areas where the embed code should be pasted.
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Project CASLTEDx BaltimoreJanuary 31, 2014
Project CASL StudioThe studio set up was under the stage of the auditorium. We used two laptop computers: one for the Hangout On Air and one for the web coding and monitoring of the web page. We had a live audio monitor so the interpreters could clearly hear the speakers on stage. And we had a live video monitor to see the stage. The interpreters stood in front of a black backdrop and were lit by two simple incandescent bulbs. A webcam was mounted to the Hangout On Air computer. The laptop was placed in front of the interpreters so they could see themselves.
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Project CASLTEDx BaltimoreJanuary 31, 2014
Project CASL Studio
Black Backdrop
Interpreter
AudioMonitor
Laptop for Google
Hangout On Air
Laptop for Web Dev and
Monitoring
Webcam
Video Monitorof the Stage
Internet Line 1Internet Line 2
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Project CASLTEDx BaltimoreJanuary 31, 2014
IssuesDuring the event, we experienced a lag time of 25-45 seconds from the live event. In addition, the Livestream video and the Hangout On Air video were not in sync. Generally the Hangout lagged 20-30 seconds behind the Livestream.