Case Study: For DSM Chemical, VOD Spells Satisfaction

What Engelke loves about this variable bit rate system is that he can mix and match quality levels with needed number of streams. For example, if he knows he needs to deliver training to only 20 people, he can choose to deliver the video to them at high quality. If he needs to deliver video to 200 people, he'll just have to settle for a lower quality level.

SuperView sits on an embedded XP Pro Platform that is transparent to the user. The system can encode from just about any analog video source using browser-based pull-down menus. It imports AVI, QuickTime, MPEG-2, and RealVideo for transcoding to any bandwidth as Windows Media for final delivery to the desktop. You can also attach a camera to a SuperView and use it for live Webcasting. Retail prices start at $3195.

Besides training, DSM Chemical is also using VOD for performance support—employees have instant access at their desktops to a large number of technical reference videos—and for knowledge management. "We had 3 people retiring who together held 120 years of work experience," says Engelke. "That's a lot of knowledge base to walk out the door." In an attempt to preserve that knowledge, Engelke has been trying to capture it on video.

This is usually done as a sort of dialog, he explains. For example, an instructional video about the operation of a certain machine will start out with a technician explaining how it is supposed to work theoretically. Then, the actual experienced machine operators will chime in with the truth of the matter—how it really works under actual factory conditions.

DSM headquarters has also used their VOD system for community outreach projects, such as the reading contest they sponsored as part of an "adopt a school" program, and to store and deliver a video about the company's United Way drive. And so VOD has become not just a training tool but also an internal/external corporate communications tool.