HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 10 08 Informational 102 Digital Recordings of Commission Meetings
COMMISSION AGENDA
ITEM 102
Informational X
Consent
Public Hearing
Regular
October 8.2007
Regular Meeting
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Mgr. / Dept.
Authorization
REQUEST:
Information Services wishes to inform Commission of how the digital
recording of Commission meetings work.
PURPOSE:
To inform Commission of the process of how digitally recording the
meetings work.
CONSIDERATIONS:
The Information Services (LS.) Department recently began converting the digital audio
recordings of the Commission Meetings to a media format capable of streaming from the
web. After each meeting the audio file is converted to a Windows Media Audio file and
uploaded to our web server. A link to the audio and agenda is created on the City
Commission Audio web page.
During the July 9,2007, meeting Commission requested the LS. Department to bring this
item before them in approximately 90 days. Prior to the July 9, meeting Commission
requested further information on how the streaming media format works and the
possibility of providing direct access to agenda items in the recording.
The process of converting the digital recordings to stream media format is as follows:
1. City Clerk's department records audio at City Commission meetings via For The
Record software.
I:\Admin_Docs\Agenda Items\FY 2008\2007-10 (October)\1O-8-
07_ COMM _ Informationat 1 02_ Streaming_Media _How _ It_ W arks.doc
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
CITY COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING - OCTOBER 8, 2007
INFORMATIONAL AGENDA ITEM "102"
PAGE 2 OF 2
2. The 1.S. Department then converts the audio file to a Windows Media (.wma) format,
merges multiple files into a single file, and uploads the merged file to a streaming
media server. The audio file is then linked to the City website at
http://www.winterspringsfl.org/EN/main/mayorandcommission/ccaudio.htm - This
process takes approximately one hour of IS staff time for one commission meeting.
Note that streaming media delivers audio "on demand" - meaning website visitors can
skip forward to any point in the file without waiting for it to download. The server will
deliver audio for the selected position as needed.
Indexing of Agenda Items
Currently we are not indexing agenda items to a specific point within the audio file.
However, the 1.S. Department has created a script that will allow us to do so in the future.
In order to index directly to an agenda item:
1. The City Clerk's Department would need to provide time stamp information at each
desired point within the audio file. This is a feature within the For The Record
software currently used to digitally record the meetings.
2. The 1.S. Department would convert this to the time format in the new audio file, and
confirm each timestamp for accuracy.
3. The 1.S. Department would then create an additional page on the City of Winter
Springs website for each commission meeting. It is proposed that this page would
include agenda item numbers and titles with links to each agenda item (or group, as
desired) to the exact point within the audio file. However, if a user jumps directly to
a timestamp, they will not have the ability to listen to audio before the timestamp.
The user will need to revisit the index page listing the agenda items to listen to audio.
It is estimated this would take about three hours of 1.S. staff time for one commission
meeting assuming the timestamps are correct and there are an average number of agenda
items. If the timestamps are incorrect the amount of time will dramatically increase as the
Web/Multimedia person will need to listen to the entire meeting to accurately locate the
various agenda items.
FUNDING:
Not applicable
RECOMMENDATIONS: None
ATTACHMENTS:
COMMISSION ACTION: