Latest news from Loughborough University
| 30 April 2008 | PR 08/54 |
Loughborough University to broadcast Real Varsity clash
Loughborough University will be streaming a live broadcast of its renowned Real Varsity rugby clash today (Wednesday 30 April), when Loughborough’s top two rugby sides take on the University of Bath.
Loughborough Students women’s 1st XV provide the curtain raiser for the men’s fixture from 5.15pm. And in the first ever demo on the University campus, Loughborough’s skydiving team will drop in to deliver the main event match ball for the 7.30pm start.
Loughborough Students’ Union TV (LSUTV) and the University’s IT and Media Services departments are collaborating to broadcast both matches with live commentary, interviews and analysis.
Gary Parker, IT Services Specialist in the University’s Network and Security Team said: “I’ve been working with LSUTV for the last few months to put this event together; we have lots of exciting things happening before and during the event. Everyone involved has worked hard to make this happen and I’m confident it’s going to be a huge success.”
The live matches will be streamed over JANET – the UK’s education and research network – through two unicast Quicktime MPEG4 streams (768kb/s and 1.5Mb/s) and a single 3Mb/s Quicktime MPEG4 multicast stream, for those who are multicast enabled.
The multicast stream will be available to view in the free VLC media player and is also being carried on Inuk’s Freewire IPTV service, channel 106, available within Hall Networks at universities across the UK.”
Roger Bolam, Content Delivery Group Manager at JANET (UK), said: “It is great to see this type of activity demonstrating the capability of JANET. The network provides an ideal delivery infrastructure for JANET-connected sites to push real-time content to a wider audience.
IPTV and student TV are rapidly developing application areas that JANET (UK) is keen to support and we hope to see more inspiring activities like this in the future.”
To view the event live online visit: http://lsutv.co.uk/varsity
Tickets for the Real Varsity clash are available on the gate at the University’s 1st XV pitch for £10 (£5 for under-16s) and include a free hot meal and drinks. The first event starts at 4pm.
ENDS
For all media enquiries contact:
- Judy Smyth, Loughborough University’s Public Relations
Office,
T: 01509 228697, E: J.L.Smyth@lboro.ac.uk
Notes for editors:
Loughborough is one of the country’s
leading universities, with an international reputation for excellence
in teaching and research, strong links with industry and unrivalled sporting
achievement.
It is a member of the esteemed 1994 Group – a set of internationally
recognised, research intensive universities – and has a reputation
for the relevance of its work. Its degree programmes are highly regarded
by professional institutions and businesses, and its graduates are consistently
targeted by the UK’s top recruiters.
Loughborough is also the UK’s premier university for sport. It has
perhaps the best integrated sports development environment in the world
and is home to some of the country’s leading coaches, sports scientists
and support staff. It also has the country’s largest concentration
of world-class training facilities across a wide range of sports.
In the 2007 National Student Survey, the University was voted fourth in
the UK, with 23 out of 29 of Loughborough’s subject areas being
ranked in the top ten for overall satisfaction. Loughborough is also ranked
in the top fifteen of UK universities in national league tables. It was
named winner of the 2006 and 2007 Times Higher award for the UK’s
Best Student Experience and winner of the 2007 award for Outstanding Support
for Overseas Students. In recognition of its contribution to the sector,
the University has been awarded six Queen's Anniversary Prizes –
an achievement bettered by no other university.