logo.gif MCU 4510
�� 0 MCU

Configuring content settings

The content settings affect the behavior of the MCU with regard to H.239 and BFCP (Binary Floor Control Protocol).

H.239 is the protocol that allows for an additional video channel (known as the content channel) alongside the main video channel in a video-conferencing call that uses H.323; BFCP is a protocol that allows for an additional video channel (known as the content channel) alongside the main video channel in a video-conferencing call that uses SIP.

For example, a conference participant may want to contribute a slide presentation from a laptop within a video conference.

For more information about content support in conferences, refer to Content channel video support.

To access these settings, choose Settings > Content.

Refer to this table for assistance configuring the content settings. After making any configuration changes, click Apply changes.

 

Field Field description Usage tips
Content status

Controls whether the MCU as a whole is permitted to use content.

If this setting is Enabled, you can still enable or disable the use of content on a per-conference basis. For more information about configuring individual conferences, refer to Adding and updating conferences.

If this setting is Disabled, no conference will be able to use content.

If this setting is H.239 only, no conference will be able to use BFCP content.

Certain video conferencing endpoints and infrastructure such as gatekeepers may not operate correctly when communicating with equipment (such as the MCU) which declares H.239 capability. It may therefore be necessary to set this to Disabled in order to work with legacy devices (this will, of course, also prevent content video streams being used with any H.239- or BFCP-aware equipment).

Display content in normal video channel

Sets whether the MCU will render content channel data in endpoints' main video channels.

If there is an active content channel for a conference, it may be that the MCU is unable to open a content channel to a particular endpoint. For instance, that endpoint may have no content capability, or might not support the video format specified by the Outgoing content video codec setting (see above).

In these cases, if this option is set to Enabled, the MCU will display the content channel video within a pane of the currently selected conference layout. In these cases, you might also want to enable the Automatically make content channel important option in the Settings > Conferences page which will make the content channel important at the same time.

Note that SIP endpoints receive content from the MCU in the normal video channel (rather than in a separate channel). For this reason, this option must be enabled to allow SIP participants to see content.

Video fast update request filtering

If this option is Enabled, the MCU will ignore fast update requests for a conference's content video channel received from endpoints whose connections are experiencing problems.

When this mode is active, it can prevent a large number of keyframes being sent in the shared content video encoding in response to fast update requests from a single endpoint. A high number of keyframes may reduce the video quality of the content channel for all conference participants, including those with good connections to the MCU.

Web viewing applet bandwidth

Sets the bandwidth of the content channel video stream sent to streaming viewers.


This option is only available if the MCU web conferencing (WCO) feature key is present.

Just as there is a single content video stream sent to all content-capable video conferencing endpoints in a conference, there is a single content channel video stream sent to all streaming viewers.

This option allows the bandwidth of the streamed content channel video to be set. While in general a higher value means a greater frame rate (and thus better video quality), it is important to not set this value too high (i.e. higher than the available TCP network bandwidth between the MCU and viewers' machines) to avoid degradation resulting from lost data.

Markup of content channel video

If Enabled, people viewing the content channel stream via a web browser will be able to add markup to that video stream such as graphics and text. This markup will then be visible to all content channel viewers, both those viewing via streaming and those connected via videoconferencing endpoints.


This option is only available if the MCU web conferencing (WCO) feature key is present.

Changing this setting has an immediate effect:

  • if changed to Disabled, it will not be possible for existing viewers to complete markup currently in progress
  • if changed to Enabled, existing streaming viewers will gain the ability to add markup

Automatic content handover

Allows for rapid swapping between content from different participants in a video conference. In a conference where a participant is sending content, this feature allows another endpoint to start sending content without having to wait for the current content provider to stop sending content from his computer.

The MCU applies this feature unit-wide/blade-wide. Therefore when it is enabled, all conferences on the MCU will allow automatic content handover.

This option is disabled by default.

Related topics