Drains
Overview
Drains were YSTV's solution to supporting a continued broadcast to campus TVs, without relying on the near-dead distribution network. Instead of using dedicated video cabling, we'd instead install PC-based equipment in the nearby AV cupboard and broadcast the web version of the live stream over a VGA out. They were called 'drains' because they're what the stream would flow into.
Early days
They were originally proposed by Simon Harris in late 2009 during his position as the final Network Engineer, and he set about prototyping the system. The perpetual problem was getting hold of suitable equipment; the on-site AV cupboards were often too small to accommodate even a small PC tower, let alone a full-size one. Obtaining PC hardware was still somewhat difficult for YSTV at the time, so out of slim pickings, there were even slimmer pickings that'd work as drains.
Laptops were an additional trouble, as when one did turn up, it'd usually have no working hard drive or battery, which required network-booting the OS[1], which required the OS be Linux, which made configuring the graphics systems notoriously difficult. It's a shame that the Raspberry Pi was still two or three years off release, as it would've been perfect for this job.
There were two drain prototype laptops:
drain0, based on a 2000-era Compaq laptop, which ran the TV in Vanbrugh stalls;drain1, based on a Dell laptop obtained from CompRec, probably of a similar vintage (if not worse). Was set to broadcast to The Courtyard via the AV cupboard in L/N/028, but config problems stopped this one from working.
Second shot
Some months later, Iain Cooke got hold of some desktop PCs that Computer Science were getting rid of as part of a mass upgrade. By installing a fresh copy of Windows XP and auto-starting Google Chrome in kiosk mode pointing to the web stream, we had something up to the task (and more reproducible, since there were more PCs where that one came from). This one went in The Courtyard instead of drain1Unverified or incomplete information[2].
With the cessation of YSTV's live stream, there are presumably no more drains, and no need for themUnverified or incomplete information.
- ↑ The boot server was
ystvacue, the autocue server at the time, which sat in the corner of the studio by the techie room. This is absolutely not the sort of machine you want provisioning your livestream clients, but since Simon was developing FaffoCue at the time, it was the only machine to which he was allowed admin access. - ↑ according to the article on The Courtyard, anyway. That info comes from a contemporary revision and is probably correct.