Mercedes-Benz Shifts into Streaming Gear (Part II)

Click here for Part I.

Used Cars, New Technology

Video streaming is also being integrated into more comprehensive, structured e-learning courses. The first such course covers the Starmark pre-owned vehicle program, which is represented at every Mercedes dealership in the United States. Key to the Starmark program are detailed vehicle inspection procedures, which typically take two to three hours to complete. "We used to bring people in for half a day, just to become certified to inspect Starmark vehicles," says Thomas. "That involved taking a productive employee out of the work environment for a full day, including travel."

In addition to the employee’s lost time, the physical courses tied up other valuable resources. Thomas notes, "Some of these classes might have only had three or four students that we’d have to devote an instructor and classroom facility to. So, economically, streaming has been extremely effective for us."

With technicians able to access the system from home via the public Internet, the MBUSA e-learning program also offers the "what you want, when you want it" convenience of on-demand streaming media. "Once they’re in the dealership, it’s a very busy environment. They don’t always have time to sit down and take a course," says Thomas.

In-House Production: Buy, Don’t Lease

Most of MBUSA’s streaming video production takes place in its training workshop in Montvale, N.J., on production and post-production equipment previously purchased for other video applications. "We were fortunate in that our management made a commitment some years ago to bring as much of the content creation process as possible in-house," says Thomas. "This meant that we invested in cameras, equipment and some of the first PC-based non-linear editing systems when almost everyone else was farming out the process to agencies or production companies."

MBUSA’s standard video recording format is now Sony’s DVCAM; the company recently switched over from BetaSP. A Sony DXC 327 (with a DVCAM recorder) is the primary production camera, and lower-end DV-format cameras are used for video storyboards and other production development. Content is edited on a Discreet Edit 6 NLE system, which also spits out encoded Windows Media files.

In addition, some files are encoded on dedicated Windows NT-based encoding stations. Streaming responsibilities are divided between content creation (Thomas’ group) and content delivery, which is handled by MBUSA’s IT department. While some streaming media files are hosted on servers located behind the firewall, others – typically those streamed over the dealer extranet – live on servers maintained by an outside hosting company.

Thomas’ five-member team is responsible for all steps in the content creation process – from curriculum design to course delivery. MBUSA maintains its own production equipment, but Thomas keeps expenses in check by hiring freelance production personnel on an "as needed" basis. "We’ve found that if we maintain state-of-the-art equipment in-house, and act as the general contractor [for personnel], we see significant cost-saving advantages," says Thomas.