School computers too slow for online films

By Suman Bhattacharyya

The National Film Board’s plan to put films online may be too advanced for Centretown schools.

The NFB wants to put its entire collection on the Internet. Colleges and universities were able to view films online starting Dec. 9, and the NFB will hook up primary and secondary schools next.

“The idea is to make the films accessible,” says Albert Ohayon, at the NFB’s Montreal office.
But watching films online requires state-of-the-art technology — technology most Centretown schools don’t have.

Currently NFB films are only available on CA*net II, a high-speed, exclusive academic network that transmits information at the rapid rate of 1.6 megabits per second using the full computer screen. Only computers connected to this network will be able to view 30 frames per second, a speed unreachable by either telephone, cable or satellite connections.

Universities and colleges are connected to the network, but most schools, including those in Centretown, are not. The NFB is looking to make the films accessible to schools that are connected to the Internet through a satellite.

The reception would not be nearly as good as CA*net II. The image would appear slower, jerkier and use only a quarter of the screen.

But it will be difficult for Centretown schools to connect to the Internet through a satellite. John Hindle, a consultant at Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, says there are no plans to install a satellite Internet connection for another three years.

“It’s a technology that’s in its infancy,” he says.

Schools of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board are currently connected to a network that is too slow for viewing films online.

But Hindle says the biggest challenge lies in connecting a school’s many computers to a central network. The network could crash if too many computers are viewing films at the same time.
“The more demand you use, the slower your network gets,” Hindle says.

Kerry Chalmers, manager at the media centre serving all Ottawa schools, says setting up a network and acquiring the equipment needed to support this initiative will be an enormous expense for school boards.

“We can’t really deliver it at a cost that’s economical for the education system.”

Teachers like Ruth Crabtree at Lisgar Collegiate, say the project is a good idea in theory but is not viable in practice.

“We don’t have the money for textbooks.”