The pilot project - called "R@Dius" (Research at Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Investing and Understanding Science)  - will give more than 400 Colorado middle school students in different locations the opportunity to work live with a paleontologist from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The live digital datacast - to be held on Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 8:15 a.m. to 10:05 a.m. - will allow students to receive near-television quality video on computers in the classroom.  Science students located at several schools throughout the Denver area - including Cherry Creek, Huron, Thunderidge and Morey Middle Schools - will interact with paleontologist Dr. Kirk Johnson as he explores some of the mysteries of Denver's ancient fossil beds from the U.S. Geological Survey CORE lab in Lakewood, CO[1].   

With a telephone conference bridge, students will be able to ask questions directly and participate in student-scientist discussions with Dr. Johnson.The live datacast is made possible through the partnership between Rocky Mountain PBS and SpectraRep®.  SpectraRep® supplied all four schools with the proper equipment for the datacast, including B2C2 DTV data receivers.  SpectraRep® also assisted Rocky Mountain PBS with the overall plan for the R@Dius project, including systems design and integration, vendor selection and management, management of equipment installation and testing, and staff training on the system.

The R@Dius pilot project will include a live feed from a camera team and news gathering vehicle.  The video feed will be relayed by microwave from Lakewood back to Rocky Mountain PBS (KRMA-DT, Ch. 18), which is located near downtown Denver, where the video transmission will be re-encoded using Windows Media 9 Series.  This IP video will then be encapsulated into Rocky Mountain PBS's digital television signal using a Logic Innovations IP encapsulator.  The re-encoding was done on a server supplied by NDS Americas.

The resulting datacast will be receivable anywhere within the Rocky Mountain PBS digital coverage area.  Each participating school will be equipped with special DTV data receivers and a small indoor directional UHF antenna that can decode the data and present it as near-television quality Windows Media 9 video on computers in each classroom. 
The system set up by SpectraRep^® for Rocky Mountain PBS's KRMA-DT, the station's digital television channel in Denver, will broadcast this pilot using less than 3% (500 Kbps) of KRMA-DT's digital capacity.  The resulting video will provide a high quality television-like experience for student right on their computers.  Rocky Mountain PBS will simultaneously broadcast its normal array of digital television programs to viewers during the R@Dius datacast pilot.

"SpectraRep^® is excited to collaborate with Rocky Mountain PBS to create a groundbreaking demonstration of how DTV datacasting and live streaming video technology can be integrated to distribute wireless last mile broadband IP multicast audio and video to the end user's PC," notes Mark O'Brien, SpectraRep's Chief Technologist.  "We are committed to delivering real world successes to Colorado's public television stations by maximizing their datacasting opportunities for services including distance education and teacher training."According to Jim Schoedler, Director of Engineering for Rocky Mountain PBS, "Through this innovative demonstration, we are showing how digital television can offer learning institutions and content providers cost effective, high quality distribution for data and video.  We hope to use this pilot as a springboard into additional services that will benefit the public of Colorado."

About SpectraRep^®... SpectraRep® offers a full range of technology and management consulting services for business and government, including:

• Wireless content delivery for distance education, public safety, training and other applications

• DTV datacasting systems planning and implementation.

• Technology strategy consulting and enabling.

• Outsourced project and program management.

SpectraRep® designs datacasting solutions based on particular customer needs for communication, education, homeland security and information distribution. SpectraRep®’s DTV datacasting services combine data transmission with digital television broadcasting to provide effective, flexible and rapidly deployable wireless broadband transmission systems. For additional information, visit www.spectrarep.com. SpectraRep® is a wholly owned subsidiary of BIA Financial Network (www.bia.com), a premier financial and management consulting firm serving the broadcasting, entertainment and telecommunications industries for over 20 years.

About Rocky Mountain PBS … Rocky Mountain PBS is committed to serving Colorado with high quality national, regional and local programming and with lifelong learning services. Rocky Mountain PBS is renowned for its award-winning local, regional and national public affairs, documentary and performance productions. Flagship station KRMA in Denver is a leader in digital TV conversion with its introduction of KRMA-DT. KRMA-DT, with the strongest signal in Metro Denver, is the only station with 24 hours of high caliber, innovative local programming in education, science, the arts and local issues. Sister stations KRMJ in Grand Junction, and KTSC in Pueblo/Colorado Springs provide the full PBS schedule, educational services and more to residents from Southern Colorado and the Western Slope. To learn more, visit Rocky Mountain PBS online at www.rmpbs.org.

About the Denver Museum of Nature & Science … The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain Region’s leading resource for informal science education. A variety of engaging exhibits, discussions and activities help Museum visitors celebrate and understand the natural wonders of Colorado, Earth and the universe.

About the Janus Foundation … The Janus Foundation was formed in 1994 to support and enhance the communities where Janus investors and employees live and work. The Janus Foundation strives to make a substantive difference that goes beyond the simple act of making a financial contribution through partnerships with non-profit organizations that are innovative, visionary, and forward thinking in their approaches.

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