Streaming' soon to a computer near you

Tune into channel 43 on your television and the static login prompt of Tufts University Television's (TUTV) computer will fill your screen. The station has delayed its programming debut while it rebuilds with new programming and technological advances, including transmitting the station over the Internet.

By using the Tufts intranet to distribute its programming, viewers would not need a television set with cable access. "Even if you don't have cable you can watch it whenever and wherever you want," TUTV President Adrian Pellereau said.

Limited student involvement, technological problems, and broadcasting limitations have restricted TUTV in past years. But donations and new innovations are revolutionizing the group, according to Faculty Advisor of TUTV Howard Woolf.

Formally a "video club" when it was founded 25 years ago, TUTV was reborn in the mid 1990s with the ability to broadcast.

Distributing TUTV online _ on campus and eventually elsewhere _ would be advantageous in many respects. It would be "good to show potential employers... you could just send them a link so they can see your work," sophomore reporter Maureen Wiley said. It would also allow students to show their work to people at home.

The station is currently putting some old episodes online for computer viewing, while it works with Tufts Computing and Communications Services (TCCS) to look at ways of multicasting _ sending a signal from one computer to several users _ over the Internet. Tufts has enough bandwidth, according to Rausch, to support transmission of full-screen, DVD-quality picture and sound.

TCCS is trying to set up this new system for the Boston and Grafton campuses as well as the Medford/Somerville campus, but Woolf believes that those plans are "too ambitious." Streaming will probably be running on the main campus only next semester, he said.

TCCS has successfully tested multicasting in Anderson Hall so far. Anderson, however, has only 35 computers in its computer lab. Whether or not TUTV can be distributed to the entire Tufts campus _ where there are thousands of computers and 15,000 network jacks _ remains to be seen.

The Internet hookup is also advantageous for producers, Woolfe said, because streaming will allow the group to broadcast live from the football field or the gym. "It's not much to an audience to watch a delayed game," he said.

For this reason, TUTV Sports will be a "definite growth area" this semester, according to Woolf. TUTV will be teaming up with JumboCast _ an audio broadcast of Tufts' sports over the web _ to distribute audio and video of sporting events over the Tufts network.

Growth should also increase through student involvement as over 40 new people signed up for training at TUTV's first meeting this year.

"TUTV [broadcasting] started out seven years ago with a small group of students and has grown dramatically since," Woolf said. The group has roughly 24 core members.

Director of technology on the TUTV staff George Rausch said that his biggest aspiration for TUTV this year is "a rise in student production and advertising."

Commercials will become more prominent in TUTV's programming, according to Nina Yadava, the station's director of public relations. She said the station has "already established some great contracts," including Picante Mexican Grill in Davis Square.

The number of on-campus advertisers should also increase, Yadava said. Campus organizations should want to advertise with TUTV as "a relatively inexpensive way to communicate to everyone who lives on campus," she said.

Advertising revenue would supplement the $9,000 of funding the station receives each year from the Tufts Community Union Senate.

It current endeavors, however, are being financed by much larger grants from the University. Vice President of the Administration Wayne Bouchard last year gave TUTV a $30,000 for new digital equipment _ the first step towards broadcasting TUTV to a much larger audience, according to Woolfe.

The President and Provost's Offices have also given TUTV close to $50,000 for the renovation of the Curtis Hall studio and editing space, Woolfe said.

The station's ten-year-old editing equipment could also be updated.

More than just the technology is changing this semester, though _ programming changes are being planned as well. "The fall lineup looks very promising," said TUTV's production director, Hannah Suh.

There are a few old shows that will be making a comeback this year, including the popular Jumbo Love Match, which will return with two new hosts. TUTV is "getting the love matching all fired up again," Suh said. The show was delayed for auditions for the female role.

The parody known as Tufts Today, featuring junior Allan Rice of Cheap Sox, is also expected to return.

TUTV News is trying to rebuild as well. The staff of the News would like for it to be a bi-weekly production, Wiley said, but that is a "lofty task" now.

"Tufts is such an active campus, so there are always events to cover," she said. But because the News is managed by students, there is not always enough time to do everything.

"The ultimate goal of the News is to rival the Daily as a news source" on campus, Wiley said.

There are also a number of new shows that waiting to be approved.

TUTV Cribs is based on MTV Cribs and will take cameras into dorms and houses on the Tufts campus. Jumbo Jam is another program which will showcase Tufts' musicians. The show was inspired by last year's CD compilation of Jumbo Audio Project, Suh said.

On Campus Live _ a political debate show _ a sketch comedy The Ian Tunbridge Hour and possibly a Tufts soap Opera called T could air later this fall.