Overview………………….2

Streaming vs Downloading………………….2

Client Supported Software ………………….4

Logging In………………….5

Uploading Content………………….5

Metadata………………….7

Publishing Content………………….8

Link Types………………….9

Interface Types………………….10

RSS (Podcasting)………………….11

Proxy Access………………….12

Terms of Use………………….14

Copyright Tips………………….19

MediaMatrix at Texas A&M

MediaMatrix (MM) is an application to allow content creators at TexasA&MUniversityto have more control over the distribution of their streaming or downloadable media content. The system is also designed to protect against copyright infringements and theft of intellectual property.

MediaMatrix is an interface enabling you to deliver your encoded audio or video to the Internet Media Services application servers. Now you can upload content to your personal library on our servers and publish these assets directly to individuals, groups, course sections and other audiences. Once your content is published, audiences can access your content in a variety of different ways including RSS subscription (Podcasting). Your account can be accessed at

…by using your Texas A&M University NetID. The interface options that are visible to you in MediaMatrix will changedepending on whether or not you are a Content Manager or simply someone who needs to see content that has been published directly to you or your course. If the content is publicly available, no authentication is required for viewing, but may still be desired if the content is specific to a course. Publishing content to a specific user or course will allow quick access to the specific content you desire them to see upon logging in. This will be described in more detail later.

Streaming or Downloading… Can I use both?

MediaMatrix (MM) has a large degree of flexibility when it comes to delivering content to your audience. MM does not limit you to a few basic formats for delivery. We understand that different formats have different advantages in regards to meeting your delivery needs. The most popular formats used by MM are: MP4,Camtasia packages, Windows Media, Flash, RealMedia,Quicktime, MP3, XviD, DivX and others. We have the ability to add additional formats as they become available or are requested. You can make your content streaming capable, downloadable, or both.

Streaming has certain advantages:

  1. You can better protect content from copyright violation.
  2. Playback of content can begin instead of waiting to download the entire file.
  3. You do not need to store the content locally.

Downloading has advantages too:

  1. You do not have to be online to play your content.
  2. You can transfer your content to other devices.
  3. You can convert the content to other formats in many cases.
  4. You can possibly choose different players to view the same content.

Not all formats are streaming capable with MM. Please note that if you have Third Party Copyright content, or want your clients to view content that is maintained by someone else who lists them as Third Party Copyright, you can ONLY STREAM the content. This is for your protection.

Below is a chart of the most popular formats on MM and the delivery capabilities of each:

MP4 / Windows Media / Quicktime / MP3 / Flash / RealMedia / DivX / XviD
Stream Capable / x / x / x / x / x / x
Downloadable / x / x / x / x / x / x / x

Camtasia Flash Export: Camtasia Flash Exports are supported but can not be listed as 3rd party copyright and protected with a streaming protocol due to the nature of the export. If the content needs to be streamed for protection, you must choose a different export option when creating the video in Camtasia.

What is the best way to deliver content to my audience?

When encoding files for your audience, you have several things to consider when using MM.

Questions to ask:

  1. Is my content Third Party Copyright?
  2. Is my content Owner Copyright? (this means are you personally placing a copyright on the material)
  3. Do I want my content to be used on portable devices and if so, what devices and am I worried about where my content may end up?
  4. What type of machines or operating systems does my audience use?

Options to consider:

  1. Third Party Copyright material (ex: BBC, Discovery, ABC News) MUST BE STREAMED.
  2. If you are invoking a personal copyright restriction, you can choose to stream the files, make them downloadable, or both. You must be the creator of the content or have rights to say you are the creator or owner of the content. Streaming offers the most protection but it is up to you to decide as you are the assumed owner.
  3. If you want your content to be used on a portable device the content will need to be downloaded by your audience. Some devices support multiple formats; others only support one or two formats. With MM you can host duplicated content in multiple formats so that different devices can be used.
  4. Your audience will need the appropriate player to view the content you provide. Duplication of the content in various formats can account for all your audiences.

Below is a list of common client software and the support for each.

Real Media*

Client Support: Windows, OSX, Linux

Common File Extensions: rm, ra, rmvb, rv

Player: Real Media Player,

Windows Media

Client Support: Windows, OSX ( The Microsoft distributed player for Apple operating systems will stream only older Windows Media encoded content. Recent codec encoded files require you to download the content and play the content locally, therefore Windows Media, OSX, and 3rd party copyrighted content is not a workable combination. There does not seem to be continued development for a Microsoft Media player for OSX.)

Common File Extensions: asf, wmv, wma

Player: Windows Media Player

Quicktime

Client Support: Windows, OSX

Common File Extensions: mov, mp4, m4v (*.mov files MUST BE HINTED to have streaming ability)

Player: Quicktime Player (* mp4 and m4v stream via Adobe Flash Player)

Flash Video*

Client Support: Windows, OSX, Linux

Common File Extensions: flv, swf

Player: Adobe Flash Player

*commercially supported on the largest variety of operating systems

Logging into the MediaMatrix

Figure 1

Students/Staff: NetID username; NetID Password

Content Administrator:NetID username; NetID Password

Local Accounts:Local Authentication is used on a case by case basis. IMS staff will instruct you accordingly if a local account is used.

Content Administrator (CA) accounts must be requested. All requests for CA accounts are reviewed first before granting access. All user IDs and passwords are case sensitive. Again, the site address is

Content Administrators (CA)

A content administrator has the ability to upload content and publish content to the intended.

Uploading Content

Log into MM and choose the Files view. (Figure 1 and 2)

Figure 2

Here you will see a list of your files and folders you have previously uploaded along with the published status of each. Choose the Add File/Packagebutton. (Figure 3)

Figure 3

This will bring you to a screen that will allow you to browse and add a file. Select the Browse button. Locate your file, select it, then choose the Add button (Figure 4) to upload your file. If you are using a package type such as what Camtasia produces, change Single File to the appropriate package type.

Figure 4

Once your file finishes uploading (it may take several minutes depending on the size and your connection speed), you will need to complete filling in the metadata so that your file can be published.

Figure 5

Metadata

/ The File Name should already be prefilled, however you can choose to change it if you wish. Make sure that you keep the extension the same if you change the name, otherwise your file may not play correctly. The Title is a key field that you users will see and draw on for information when choosing what to view. It is also used as a key search term. The Description will assist you in managing your assets as well as describing what the content contains to your audience. It too is useful in regards to searches. Content Type is used for statistical reasons. Please select the appropriate type so that we can use that information to better serve you. If an appropriate type is not listed, please write in an appropriate category in the Other box. Fill in the correct Copyright Type in regards to your asset. Keep in mind that Third Party Copyrighted material can only be streamed. This is for your protection and the copyright holder’s protection. If the asset is controlled by a Third Party (BBC, History Channel, Discover, etc.), type that information in the Third-Party-Owner box. If you have Additional Keywords that you would like your content searched by, type those in with each term separated by a comma. You do not have to add keywords that are already part of your Description or Title fields. Width and Height only appear if you have Administrative level access and are not required by you.

Figure 6

After the file finishes uploading, you can modify the details by using the Edit function.Using this function will also take you to the section to Publish your files to your intended audience.

Publishing Content

Figure 7

At the bottom of the Edit File/Package screen (Figure 7), there is a section called Streaming Links. In the above example a link has already been created. You can create as many links as you need for the same file. For example, if you had content that was Third Party Copyright, and you had more more than one type of audience who needed to see that file, you could create a separate link for each audience. One audience might be your class section, and another audience might be a co-worker. Multiple copies of the same file are not needed, just two separate links. Your students will log into MM and see one link, and your coworker will see a separate link for them. This allows for more efficient use of disk space and allows you to manage your assets more effectively. To create a link, choose the Create Link button.

Figure 8

The Publish File screen (Figure 8) will allow you to choose the Type(Figure 9) of publishing.

Figure 9

Publicly Available

Anyone can search for and view the file. Authentication will not be required to search for or view the file. Multiple files can be published at the same time. You can email or web embed the resulting generated link and no authentication will be needed to view. The asset can be searched for using the MediaMatrix interface at Third Party Copyright material can not be made Publicly Available. Files that are not Third Party Copyrighted can also be marked for download.

Published to User

In almost all cases you will choose a NetID specific user. You may choose a Local Account if you have created a Guest Account to use for audiences that do not have a NetID. Multiple files can be published at the same time. If the user authenticates by going to this file will show up under the Published to my NetID tab in the users Home page. This type of link can be emailed out and authentication will be required. You can publish Public Domain, Owner Copyright, and Third Party Copyright labeled files in this manner. Files that are not Third Party Copyrighted can also be marked for download.

Published to course (SIMS)

With this option you can select granularly which campus, courses, and sections you want to publish a file to. Multiple files can be published at the same time. If the user authenticates by going to this file will show up under the Published to my Courses tab in the users Home page. This type of link can be emailed out and authentication will be required. You can publish Public Domain, Owner Copyright, and Third Party Copyright labeled files in this manner. Files that are not Third Party Copyrighted can also be marked for download.

Note: Podcasting or RSS subscription requires you to mark the assets for download. Also, if the asset has been marked for download, selecting a published link will take you to a player interface and provide you with a secondary link to manually download the file. If the asset is not encoded in a stream supported type, only a download will be available. You also have the ability to mark the asset Download Onlywhich will turn streaming functionality completely off for an asset even if it is encoded in a proper stream type.

Interface Type

The Interface section determines how you clients see the asset. In almost all cases, the Default type (Figure 10) is what should be selected.

Figure 10

Default

When the asset is accessed, a player window (Figure 11) appears. This window contains the metadata you have entered for the asset. Also this window offers a direct access method for the asset type. This means that if the direct access link is selected, the default player for that asset type installed on the clients system will be launched. Also, if the asset is marked as downloadable, a link in the player window will display allowing the user to download the file if the choose to do so.

Promotional

There may be various types of promotional templates available to you specifically. Player windows can be modified with elements that you request. You may want a player window to incorporate elements of an existing website for promotional or marketing goals. Changes such as these must be requested.

Embedded

The embedded interface template allows your web developer to incorporate video hosted on MediaMatrix into your own web site. This will give the impression of streaming video from your site.

Figure 11

Published Link Expirations

Figure 12

You can manually select the dates in which your streams/downloads will be available (Figure 12). Leaving these fields blank will make them available to your intended audience immediately. If you publish directly to a NetID without an End Date, that person will have access to the files until they are no longer with TAMU. If you publish to a course/section, those students affiliated with that course will have access until the course ends. You can leave the link active and the next time the course is up for enrollment, the new students taking the course will automatically get access when the course becomes active during that semester as long as the section or course number does not change.

RSS publishing/subscription (Podcasting)

MediaMatrix is unique in regards to its RSS publishing capability. Your audiences can subscribe to RSS feeds using any RSS capable browser or subscription tool. Subscribing to feeds allows your users to automatically download new assets as they become available while never visiting a host website. For web administrators, RSS subscriptions can allow for more dynamic content in regards to adding “feeds” or “channels” to your web sites.

Figure 11

For assets to be allowed subscription rights, the files must be marked for download when creating the links. If the files are labeled Third Party Copyright, downloading will not be a selectable option. The example above (Figure 11) is using IE7 to subscribe to a MM feed. All individual assets in the MM system are available for RSS subscription. This is so you can have your audience subscribe to a single file where that single file changes over time. As a CA you can re-upload an asset without needing to recreate the link and your audience will automatically re-download with the new changes if their subscription tool is “intelligent” enough. The most common method though is to place your assets in a Folderand issue out the RSS link for that folder. Again, all assets beneath that folder will need to be marked for download. You can view the RSS link to issue out to your audience by selecting the RSS icon in the FilesView. It will automatically bring up an RSS feed view to subscribe to (depending on your browser installed) Select the RSS URL to email out or deliver in another manner (Figure 12). For a single asset select the RSS icon next to that asset, for an entire folder, select the RSS icon next to that folder.

Figure 12

Proxy AccountAccess

Proxy accounts are intended to allow multiple users management access to a single account, or to allow a single user to maintain multiple accounts. Common usage includes departmental accounts, or professors working with their IT department to facilitate recording, and digitization.

Uploading and managing to a proxy account works the same as in a content manager account, but you must first assume the identity of the account you desire to manage. In order to do so, click the accounts tab, then click on the desired account found within the accounts page (Figure 13).

Figure 13