On-campus community can watch TV through new and improved IPTV service

Liberty University has announced that its IPTV system, which provides television through an on-campus computer connection, is available for students, faculty and staff, with many recent upgrades.

Although the system has been in place for about three years, teams from Liberty’s Construction Technology, Technical Production, Development and Engineering and Network Operations offices, along with the Illinois-based firm Video Furnace, have worked the last month to identify signal problems during high usage times and to make significant improvements.

“They have worked all the bugs out — it’s now fully functional and should be a good standard definition signal in every dorm or any place on campus where you can plug into Ethernet,” said Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr.

Students, who currently do not have cable service on campus, can now watch TV from any computer using an Ethernet connection on campus and connecting to the IPTV site, iptv.liberty.edu. (The service is also available at the nearby Lynchburg Inn and Conference Center.)

Currently 11 channels are available and there are plans to add three more this semester. The channels are: The Liberty Channel; all local ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates; and CNN, ESPN and ESPN2, Fox News, CW and Discovery. The main site includes a guide of what’s playing in real time and what programs are coming up next. There is also the capability of watching more than one channel at a time.

A video on-demand feature has also been added and videos of campus events, such as convocations, will appear on the channel list.

Currently, IPTV is not available through a wireless connection, but plans are being made to have that feature accessible by next year. Students will also have the option of buying set-top boxes to view IPTV on their own television sets, like the TVs used in the newly constructed Tilley Student Center.

The university is also exploring academic applications for using the improved service. Professors will be able to put a direct link in Blackboard to a video file that accompanies a course.

For more information, go to iptv.liberty.edu. For feedback and to make channel suggestions, email iptv@liberty.edu.