Optibase MGW 2000 Media Gateway
Our testing really couldn't be fair to Optibase and put it on equal footing, because the MGW 2000 Media Gateway is an encode-only box designed to transmit video directly to desktop computers -- comparable with Minerva's VNP-40. Our test results, therefore, are more indicative of the TCP/IP stack running on our test computer than of Optibase's software or hardware.
The Optibase MGW 2000 does work well for enterprise customers that want to do desktop training sessions, corporate briefings or other video transmissions that can live without perfect quality. On the encode side, everything is simple to set up. The MGW 2000 comes with six slots on the back; each one can hold an encoder module. The encoders accept S-Video or composite inputs with a 1/8" minijack for stereo audio. On the front are two 10/100 Ethernet connections to your network, which effectively give 200 Mbps of bandwidth for video streams. A serial port is used for initial configuration of the Ethernet ports. Once each used port has an IP address, everything else can be configured from a Web browser on a networked computer. An Ultra-Wide SCSI port is also included for playing file-based video.
Configuration required hardly any effort. All the options are available via the built-in HTTP server. For video broadcasts, we were ready to stream in a matter of minutes. From the browser interface, we selected our input type; the MGW 2000 defaults to composite. Encoding modes include MPEG-1 QSIF or SIF, and MPEG-2 running at half or full D1 resolution. The video frame-sampling rate can be set along with the sampling rate and bit rate for the audio. For true videophiles, the hue, saturation, brightness, contrast and audio gain can be adjusted.
Destinations are configured as "targets" and are set up as multicast or unicast. Multiple targets can be defined for each stream. The MGW 2000 supports transport of UDP (User Datagram Protocol) and RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) streams. RTP streams have to be configured twice since Optibase doesn't support muxed video and audio over RTP. Therefore, one stream is configured for audio and the other for video. We also had to choose which of the two Ethernet interfaces to use for each configured stream. If you are streaming a lot at one time, it makes sense to pay attention to the amount of bandwidth you are using on each Ethernet interface.
The built-in SCSI port can be used to stream up to 16 pre-recorded video and audio streams. This is done without the encoders, so these streams are in addition to any live streams. Optibase recommends that the hard drive be formatted in NTFS or FAT format on a separate computer. Any folders need to be created using the DOS-shell command MD. Once the drive is set up to your liking, it can be connected to the MGW 2000 and files can be copied onto the drive. This MGW 2000 is a little more cumbersome than the Minerva VNP-201, which will format and set up the drive without the need to connect it to a separate computer.
Optibase offers two decoding options for its streams. MPEG-1 streams could be viewed directly on our VGA monitor with Optibase's ComMotion Receiver, based on Windows Media Player. This provides good output of SIF or QSIF video. For MPEG-2 video, we had to install Optibase's VideoPlex XPress card. The card decodes the MPEG-2 data stream and presents it on either the computer monitor or an external NTSC monitor.
MGW 2000 Media Gateway, $15,995 for an initial unit with one channel ($8,995 for each additional channel). Optibase, (408) 260-6760, (800) 451-5101; fax (408) 244-0545. www.optibase.com
Darrin Woods is a technology editor of Network Computing. Before joining the magazine, Darrin worked as a WAN engineer for a telecom carrier. Send your comments on this article to him at dwoods@nwc.com.
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