TO:  Persons who wish to connect via Video Link to the
      MWA Project Meeting 19-23 January 

IP Address for the ANU Codian MCU is:   130.56.58.229

We have a continuous conference connection activated
from Monday 12 Jan onward, for testing in advance of the
meeting next week. It will appear in the menu as
"MWA Meeting 8#. Enter  8 #  to select and enter the 
conference. Or, scroll down (down arrow) and enter (right-arrow).
(please contact fbriggs@mso.anu.edu.au if you want to test
your connection, in order to insure that the system hasn't
timed out... as it is wont to do. So, best to try during
working hours in Canberra!)

The conference will be accessible using the H.323 protocol,
which is compatible with a number of software tools for linux,
Mac and Windows. There are also specialized hardware options, 
such as Polycom systems. It is possible to watch the video
stream and listen without having a camera yourself 
(or with your own camera disabled).

Our systems at RSAA are not capable of transmitting a second
graphics channel (wired directly to the power-point display).
Instead we will 1) set up one of our Polycom systems to stare 
directly at the display screen in the theatre and 2) make every
effort to put the ppt files on the Meeting Website in real time.
(http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/MWAMeeting/PRESENTATIONS)

To date, the following software options have connected 
reasonably successfully to the ANU MCU:

Ekiga    ... linux
Xmeeting ... Mac
Polycom PVX software (version 8.0.4) on a Laptop(?)

We have verified locally that the Ekiga option works pretty well, but
Xmeeting (on an old Mac laptop) produces slightly garbled sound. 
Apparently, Xmeeting doesn't have a very good rep in general, but 
it would be worth trying with a new machine. If someone has a better
option, please let us know.

People can test their ability to connect to the MCU in advance of the
meeting by connecting to the MWA Meeting Site or to the 'test' 
conference. Both are listed in the menua on the ANU's Codian MCU at:

h323:130.56.58.229

You should hear a woman's voice telling you to use your remote control
to dial the number of the conference you wish to join and press #.  For
the "test" conference, you should enter 1 followed by #.   (This has
worked for us. If you have trouble with this test, let us know, and we'll 
verify that the system is running ok at this end.). 
[ For example, when using Xmeeting, 
there is a little "tools window" that pops up when you
hit the little "pick axe" button. Then go to the "Remote C..." option
and use the cute keypad to enter a number (1 in the case of the test) 
followed by #.]

If you connect to the MWA Meeting conference during the daytime, you 
will probably see a small conference room with brightly illuminated
windows to the right. The audio track will be the ticking of a clock,
with occasional background noise as people pass by.

If problems, email-to fbriggs@mso.anu.edu.au