Project CASL specifications and setup at TEDxBaltimore conference, Friday Jan 31 2014. By Todd Douglas, Sarge Salman

1. TEDx Baltimore
January 31, 2014
Project CASL
Specifications and Setup
Todd Douglas
Bold Yellow
www.boldyellow.com
hello@boldyellow.com
735 N. Eutaw St.
Suite 2
Baltimore, MD 21201
Sarge Salman, PhD

2. Page 1
Project CASL
TEDx Baltimore
January 31, 2014
Overview
Project CASL (Conference American Sign Language) is an effort to provide sign language for
remote deaf viewers of a conference. It was implemented at the TEDx Baltimore conference in
January 2014. The web page at www.projectcasl.com displayed two video streams:
◾ the live conference video stream from livestream.com
◾ the video stream of ASL interpreters via a Google Hangout On Air
The web page was a simple HTML document and each video stream is an embedded iframe
with code provided by the respective video providers.

3. Page 2
Project CASL
TEDx Baltimore
January 31, 2014
Livestream
The official conference video stream was hosted by livestream.com. To get the embed code,
go to the event page and click “Embed.” The embed type was “Player” and the screen size was
480 x 270. The embed code was pasted into the HTML file.

4. Page 3
Project CASL
TEDx Baltimore
January 31, 2014
Google Hangout
The ASL interpreters were streamed by setting up a Google Hangout “On Air” video chat. This
is a video stream that is publicly broadcast on YouTube and can be viewed by anyone. Note
that a Hangout On Air can last up to eight hours. It’s important that the microphone is muted
on the chat. The embed code from the Google Hangout was pasted into the HTML document.

5. Page 4
Project CASL
TEDx Baltimore
January 31, 2014
HTML Document
The HTML document is on the Project CASL hosting server and has commented areas where
the embed code should be pasted.

6. Page 5
Project CASL
TEDx Baltimore
January 31, 2014
Project CASL Studio
The studio set up was under the stage of the auditorium. We used two laptop computers: one
for the Hangout On Air and one for the web coding and monitoring of the web page. We had
a live audio monitor so the interpreters could clearly hear the speakers on stage. And we had
a live video monitor to see the stage. The interpreters stood in front of a black backdrop and
were lit by two simple incandescent bulbs. A webcam was mounted to the Hangout On Air
computer. The laptop was placed in front of the interpreters so they could see themselves.

7. Page 6
Project CASL
TEDx Baltimore
January 31, 2014
Project CASL Studio
Black Backdrop
Interpreter
Audio
Monitor
Laptop for
Google
Hangout
On Air
Laptop for
Web Dev and
Monitoring
Webcam
Video Monitor
of the Stage
Internet Line 1Internet Line 2

8. Page 7
Project CASL
TEDx Baltimore
January 31, 2014
Issues
During the event, we experienced a lag time of 25-45 seconds from the live event. In addition,
the Livestream video and the Hangout On Air video were not in sync. Generally the Hangout
lagged 20-30 seconds behind the Livestream.