Case Study: Video Empowers Local Government
A more recent outgrowth of this underlying vision is the VotingSystem module, which allows government officials to push a button to make a motion or log their vote, creating another piece of information tied into the integrated public record. This solution has the added benefit of automating more of the public meeting process, thereby making it more efficient.
About That Video...
Of course, no streaming product would be complete without the streaming video itself. This was one area where Granicus found potential advantages in the local government market not found elsewhere—namely, that many (if not most) local governments were already capturing video of their public meetings in order to deliver that video through the local cable system.
The heart of Granicus’s streaming delivery is its core MediaManager product, which serves as the central interface for managing audio and video content. The MinutesMaker and VotingSystem modules function as add-ons to MediaManager.
In terms of encoding the video, Granicus offers two solutions. One is its Outcast Encoder Acquisition Solution, which takes whatever audio or video feed a customer is using and encodes it for live or on-demand distribution. Granicus also has a MobileEncoder, which can be run off of a laptop—though this is geared towards disconnected environments where the video is captured and then uploaded later for on-demand playback.
In both cases, Granicus has chosen to stream in Windows Media. "We chose Windows Media very early on because, for one, it was a little bit easier to integrate than the Real platform and we were able to keep the costs low," says Spengler. "We also chose one format so that we could do more innovation on the workflow side versus trying to support multiple formats."
Granicus typically serves a 300Kbps stream, utilizing Windows Media auto degradation in order to serve those viewers who may not have sufficient bandwidth, but the bit rate is configurable based on the client’s request.
A Streaming Challenge Turned Opportunity
Delivering the streams presented another unique challenge for Granicus in the local government environment, where the target audience is as much internal as it is external. "Municipal employees and officials are often very interested in what happens in meetings, and with our platform they’re able to stay at their desk rather than having to sit in the back of the room. They’re using this video a lot for research purposes as well," says Spengler. "There’s also a big citizen use, of course."
In many local governments, internal networks have plenty of bandwidth but limited connectivity to the open internet. "So in addition to providing the hosted environment with the data centers, bandwidth, and storage, we had to provide an internal storage and distribution solution as well as a way to intelligently route people to the best distribution, especially in bigger cities and counties," says Spengler. "Local government needed a combination of both, but they also wanted it to be from a single provider at a single price."
To address this, Granicus developed both a MediaCenter Distribution Network for hosted streaming, as well as two solutions for internal streaming: the MediaVault On-Demand Server and the StreamReplicator Live Content Server.
In order to deliver these solutions at a single price, Granicus leveraged its experience working with local governments and its knowledge of their streaming usage habits to develop a business model that gave its customers unlimited streaming for a single price based on the size of their city.