Online Streaming Movie Resource Page
Quick Links:
Fairfield University offers online streaming so faculty and students can have 24/7 access to digital academic content. Fairfield University currently uses QuickTime Streaming as the streaming service.
How does the streaming process work?
Computing and Network Services, DiMenna-Nyselius Library, and the Media Center have partnered up to help faculty put their digital content onto the streaming server.
Movies are digitized from VHS video tapes and DVDs by the Media Center. The Media Center then uploads the movie to an online database managed by C&NS. The movies are restricted for course-related use only and must be password protected, with the username and password given only to the students enrolled in the specific class.
At the end of each semester, the username and password for each class will be removed so that access to the movies becomes disabled. In order to comply with copyright restrictions, faculty must request the activation of all movies prior to each and every semester.
How do I get my movies digitized?
Please follow these steps to have your movies digitized for use on the QuickTime Streaming Server:
- Check and see if the movie you want to show has already been digitized.
You will need a Fairfield University network username and password (not the Stagweb username/password you use to enter your grades) to check the hundreds of movies that are already digitized and ready to be used in classes. If you do not have a network account, please send an email to cns@fairfield.edu, from your Stagweb mail account, requesting an Active Directory account for use on University websites. - If the movie has not yet been digitized, check and see if the DiMenna-Nyselius Library owns the movie you want digitized.
If the Library owns a DVD or VHS copy of the movie you need digitized, the Circulation Department will deliver the movie to the Media Center and retrieve it when the digitizing process is complete. Just fill in the Delivery Request Form (network username/password login is required), including a password that you will give to your students to use when they access the video. - If the library does not own the video you want to use in your class, alert the Media Center to the fact that you will be bringing your own DVD or VHS copy of a movie to them to be digitized.
You can provide your own copy of a movie to the Media Center, where it will be digitized at no cost to you or your department. Simply click the link above (network username/password login is required) and fill in the information, including a password that you will give to your students to use when they access the video.
- Note: Due to copyright restrictions, only movies that are required viewing as part of a scheduled University class can be digitized and placed on the Streaming Server.
How do I request a movie for a class?
Once the movie has been digitized it will be listed in the online movie database setup by C&NS. Only faculty will be able to access this database. When you access the database, you will be prompted to enter your Campus Network account username and password. If you are a faculty member who does not have a Network account, please contact the C&NS helpdesk at ext. 4069 or e-mail them at cns@fairfield.edu.
The online movie database can be accessed by the following link: Online Movie Database
Once a movie is posted in the movie database, faculty can simply click the link next to a movie title that reads, "Request access to this film for a class" and fill in the required information (class, password, and semester). C&NS will then contact the faculty member shortly thereafter to confirm that the video is available for viewing.
If you have requested that the Library deliver a video to the Media Center for digitization, or you have filled in the form alerting the Media Center to the fact that you will be bringing them your own copy for digitization, you DO NOT need to fill in the Online Movies Request form. Filling in either of these online forms will also alert the Computing & Network Services to the specifics of your request.
How do my students access these movies?
Students can access the movies that reside on the QuickTime Streaming Server in two different ways:
- Faculty can copy the "rtsp://" address below each movie title and distribute it to their students. Students then can then copy and paste that address into the QuickTime program to view the movie. Instructions on how to do this and that can be distributed to students, in PDF format, can be found at the following link:
Accessing Quicktime Media Streams (for students)
- A QTL (QuickTime Link) file can be e-mailed to students, or it can be placed within a WebCT course, ANGEL course, or in a faculty web space. Clicking on the link or opening the file automatically opens the user's QuickTime Player application and immediately begins playing the film (after the appropriate username and password is entered). To create a QTL file for a film:
- Click the "Automatically generate a QTL file" link that appears below each movie title.
- Select and copy the entire block of text in the box below the instructions, paste it into a blank Microsoft Word document, and save it as a plain text file with the extension .qtl.
- Distribute this file to your students.
Troubleshooting Common Quicktime Problems (for students)
If you have any questions about the digitization process, please e-mail Jean-Henry Mathurin (jymathurin@fairfield.edu) at the Media Center. If you have any questions about the online movie database, please contact the C&NS helpdesk at cns@fairfield.edu or ext. 4069.