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A discussion from last year and this year on DCTV lead to a request that video streams piped to hotel rooms should always focus on slides.
As a poll, to see what everyone's opinions are on this, I've tried to describe all of the options and put them into a multi-selction poll - choose all of the boxes that you agree with.
If *new* resources are needed to support something, there is often a need to pay for those resources. If people are needed to do something new, those people receive benefits through the purchase of badges, whether they get a T-Shirt, or a Free Human badge, or something else. New features, more space, more demands from hotel, increases to insurance, all drive increases in costs.
Cheapest options:
1) Leave things as they are. Focus only on the speaker:
* It makes recognizing someone speaking at a talk easier if/when you run into them in-person
* It makes it easier to find them if you know what they look like
* It is what we are doing right now, so would be no added cost
2) Do not focus on speaker, instead focus on the slide-projector, or a duplicate feed of video from the data projector
* It may be possible for the same resources we have now, to be adjusted to point to JUST the projection screens, so no need for more people or parts.
* When a speaker has no slides, the video feed is of static content, or blank screen
* If the speaker uses "tiny" font, it may not be readable over the TV-quality displays in hotels (suggestion from Snapshot: give suggestions for font style/size to speakers for slides before they submit talk.)
* When there is a panel discussion, or a game in a speaker track, you do not see the players, only the content on the projection screen
3) Bump prices to pay for people (with resources for volunteers, or professional outsiders) to sit in every track, and switch video as needed based on content
* New services need funding. That happens by stoping services elsewhere, or increasing prices.
* Since talks start at nearly the same time, we would need a person for each track, not one person running to all tracks at start of every talk
* If even more equipment was purchased, multiple cameras per track could always feed through hotel-provided conduits (for fees from hotel) to a single room, and then one person could select video source for each track, but this would probably cost a lot more, up-front and on-going compared to one camera per room, and people to switch sources manually.
4) Do not bump prices of badges, bump prices of people staying in hotel that can use this feed if they used the "DEF CON" rate.
* Similar to above, but cost to be paid by people staying in hotel
* May not be "possible" -- depends on the equipment the hotel has, and their willingness to provide it, and how much money they can make by offering it
5) Make feed part of hotel "pay-per-view" so people staying at the hotel only pay if they use it.
* Might have an undesirable effect of clogging up speaker tracks with more physical bodies, because of extra costs beyond a badge to attend.
* May not be "possible" -- depends on the equipment the hotel has, and their willingness to provide it, and how much money they can make by offering it
6) Buy more channels from the hotel (assuming available, this would have a cost from the hotel, too.)
* Hotel would likely charge us, and increase costs, which increases costs for attendees.
* Occupy 2 channels per track, one with speaker, one with slides, never change camera angles
* People can choose which they want to watch from their room.
* May not be "possible" -- depends on the equipment the hotel has, and their willingness to provide it, and how much money they can make by offering it
I have no visibility into the economics of DEF CON beyond the basic understanding:
* If you want a new service, feature, property, costs must be passed on to consumers.
Sometimes, it is possible to re-purpose existing HR (Human Resources) and property to do something different, and not increase costs, but most of the time, people want new features.
As a poll, to see what everyone's opinions are on this, I've tried to describe all of the options and put them into a multi-selction poll - choose all of the boxes that you agree with.
If *new* resources are needed to support something, there is often a need to pay for those resources. If people are needed to do something new, those people receive benefits through the purchase of badges, whether they get a T-Shirt, or a Free Human badge, or something else. New features, more space, more demands from hotel, increases to insurance, all drive increases in costs.
Cheapest options:
1) Leave things as they are. Focus only on the speaker:
* It makes recognizing someone speaking at a talk easier if/when you run into them in-person
* It makes it easier to find them if you know what they look like
* It is what we are doing right now, so would be no added cost
2) Do not focus on speaker, instead focus on the slide-projector, or a duplicate feed of video from the data projector
* It may be possible for the same resources we have now, to be adjusted to point to JUST the projection screens, so no need for more people or parts.
* When a speaker has no slides, the video feed is of static content, or blank screen
* If the speaker uses "tiny" font, it may not be readable over the TV-quality displays in hotels (suggestion from Snapshot: give suggestions for font style/size to speakers for slides before they submit talk.)
* When there is a panel discussion, or a game in a speaker track, you do not see the players, only the content on the projection screen
3) Bump prices to pay for people (with resources for volunteers, or professional outsiders) to sit in every track, and switch video as needed based on content
* New services need funding. That happens by stoping services elsewhere, or increasing prices.
* Since talks start at nearly the same time, we would need a person for each track, not one person running to all tracks at start of every talk
* If even more equipment was purchased, multiple cameras per track could always feed through hotel-provided conduits (for fees from hotel) to a single room, and then one person could select video source for each track, but this would probably cost a lot more, up-front and on-going compared to one camera per room, and people to switch sources manually.
4) Do not bump prices of badges, bump prices of people staying in hotel that can use this feed if they used the "DEF CON" rate.
* Similar to above, but cost to be paid by people staying in hotel
* May not be "possible" -- depends on the equipment the hotel has, and their willingness to provide it, and how much money they can make by offering it
5) Make feed part of hotel "pay-per-view" so people staying at the hotel only pay if they use it.
* Might have an undesirable effect of clogging up speaker tracks with more physical bodies, because of extra costs beyond a badge to attend.
* May not be "possible" -- depends on the equipment the hotel has, and their willingness to provide it, and how much money they can make by offering it
6) Buy more channels from the hotel (assuming available, this would have a cost from the hotel, too.)
* Hotel would likely charge us, and increase costs, which increases costs for attendees.
* Occupy 2 channels per track, one with speaker, one with slides, never change camera angles
* People can choose which they want to watch from their room.
* May not be "possible" -- depends on the equipment the hotel has, and their willingness to provide it, and how much money they can make by offering it
I have no visibility into the economics of DEF CON beyond the basic understanding:
* If you want a new service, feature, property, costs must be passed on to consumers.
Sometimes, it is possible to re-purpose existing HR (Human Resources) and property to do something different, and not increase costs, but most of the time, people want new features.
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