Students watch a mix of campus information and ad content via the on-campus narrowcasting network.
In the lobby of the John Wooden Center, a student recreation and athletic facility at the University of California-Los Angeles, a 40in flat panel display narrowcasts a scheduled mix of content generated by UCLA staff and students along with public service announcements and advertising messages.
The display system, provided and supported by The University Network, was installed in January 2003 to give UCLA recreation administrators a better way to communicate with students. The InFocus TD40 LCD display has proven to be an effective venue for students to learn about campus and recreational events and programs. Consequently, UCLA plans to devote greater resources to managing its content creation.
Currently, a five-person staff of coordinators and students uses InDesign and Photoshop to design still images. The images and accompanying text then are sent to The University Network, where they are combined with stock footage to create UCLA's custom content.
Within the next several months, the university plans to produce at least one third of the video content on-site using Adobe Premiere. Additionally, student groups create videos promoting events such as a recent campus blood drive.
InFocus provides custom proprietary scheduling software used to program the blend of UCLA content and advertising, which is delivered to the networked display through a wired, high-speed Internet connection.
For more information, visit www.theuniversitynetwork.net.
