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Frequently asked questions about LiquidTalk

General Questions
BlackBerry Solution Questions
iPod/iPhone Questions

General Questions

What type of media content do you support?

We currently support audio and video media.

Can I control what media my employees get?

Yes. Web application administrators have the ability to assign media to certain users and not to others.

Can I remove media from a user’s device?

Yes. The web application administrator can set file expiration date(s) or remove a file assignment from users at any time. The next time the device is synched, the media file is removed from the device. For details on how files are removed from specific devices, please refer to the iPod/iPhone or BlackBerry device FAQ sections.

Can my employees contribute to the media in the web application?

Absolutely. The web application allows users to upload media to an administrator for approval. They can create on-the-fly audio recordings using our Phone-in feature, or upload existing audio or video files they may already have. Once the administrator approves submitted media, it can be synched to the contributing user’s device. The administrator can also choose to assign this newly created media to other users so it can be shared.

What’s your maximum file size?

Our application can accommodate files of any size and is only constrained by the storage capacity of the user’s device. Like any business content, rich digital media should be tailored to the intended audience and business objective. As general rule, 20 minutes or less for audio and 3-5 minutes of video per media file are best for employee consumption.

How secure is your web application?

The LiquidTalk web application is secured using VeriSign 128bit SSL certificates. All content is served exclusively over SSL.

How can I get more information?

Please contact us directly at 1.877.854.7843 or email us. We would be happy to talk to you about the LiquidTalk Solution.

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BlackBerry Solution Questions

What BlackBerry models do you support?

The LiquidTalk Solution supports the media-enabled BlackBerry® 8800 Series, BlackBerry® Pearl™ and BlackBerry® Curve™ smartphones.

Are there any specific BlackBerry requirements?

A microSD card is required, as the LiquidTalk Solution delivers rich digital media directly to your device’s storage card.

What is the LiquidTalk BlackBerry Media Player?

The LiquidTalk BlackBerry Media Player is a propriety player installed on a customer’s BlackBerry. It provides custom functionality including, but not limited to, media player capability, playlist support, metrics gathering, remote file deletion and content expiration.

How does the BlackBerry sync work?

Our web application provides wireless content synchronization via the Research in Motion (RIM) Mobile Data System (MDS) services platform. Our solution can use either content push or pull.

When a media file is added to a user’s personal library or to an assigned playlist, the web application automatically schedules that media file for push synchronization. Depending upon the settings used, that media could be pushed immediately to the BlackBerry or could be queued for a later delivery. The push approach requires no interaction by the BlackBerry user.

When a media file is synchronized to the BlackBerry device, a notification is sent to the web application indicating successful delivery. If the delivery fails for any reason, the media is re-queued.

How are files downloaded to the device?

The interactive download occurs over HTTP/HTTPS via the BlackBerry Mobile Data System (MDS) as a proxy or directly through the subscribers internet service provider.

For very large files that are needed in the near term, we recommend using the wired synchronization method.

What happens if you lose signal in the middle of a sync?

In the wired sync model, for a temporal connection issue (e.g. high network latency) the application will attempt to reconnect and continue the sync process. For network disruptions, the application will restart the sync either automatically or triggered by the user and pick up after the last successfully synched media file.

In the wireless sync model, the synchronization will resume. A loss of signal is often not even noticed by the user, since synching occurs automatically and proactively.

Does the LiquidTalk Solution go through BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES)?

The BlackBerry Enterprise Server has as part of its installation the MDS (Mobile Data System) component. The LiquidTalk web application integrates with the MDS component.

What is the maximum storage capacity on a BlackBerry device for multimedia?

The microSD cards used for media storage on BlackBerry devices have varying capacities from 512 MB to 2 GB. Other options may be available.

Audio and video recording quality and encoding will result in different file sizes, but a 1GB microSD card can hold approximately 5.5 hours of video content1 or approximately 55 hours of audio2 content. Note that the usable space on a 1GB microSD card is slightly less than the stated capacity.

1Assumes a 320 x 240 MPEG 4 (mp4) video file, a data rate of 256 kbs and a frame rate of 30 fps.
2Assumes an mp3, stereo audio file and a data rate of 48 kbs.

Will you go through BES?

The BlackBerry Enterprise Server has as part of its installation the MDS (Mobile Data System) component. The LiquidTalk web application integrates with the MDS component./p>

What happens if there is not enough memory on the BlackBerry microSD card to receive a file?

The file will not be delivered and an e-mail will be sent to the user explaining the delivery failure.

How secure is your wireless sync versus wireless email on BlackBerry devices?

The wireless sync takes advantage of the security framework including encryption within the BlackBerry MDS platform. The wired sync uses standard methods to securely authenticate and sync content.

How secure is your synched media on the BlackBerry device versus the other data on the device?

With the LiquidTalk BlackBerry Media Player installed, files sent to or downloaded by the LMP will be encrypted using native BlackBerry encryption services.

Files transferred using Media Bridge (Wired BlackBerry) are not currently encrypted. Encryption support for the wired BlackBerry approach is coming soon.

Can you track usage of the media sent to the BlackBerry device?

Using the LiquidTalk BlackBerry Media Player, we can gather metrics such as what media has been viewed and how often, media download time and remaining storage capacity, to name a few. These metrics are sent seamlessly to the web application and are available for reporting.

Can content be automatically deleted from the device?

The web application administrator can set file expiration date(s) or can send a “message” to all devices requesting the deletion of one or more files. This is similar to queuing files for delivery.

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iPod/iPhone Questions

What iPhone/iPod models do you support?

The LiquidTalk Solution supports iPhone and all video-enabled iPods which include the NEW iPod nano, iPod classic, and iPod touch.

What is Media Bridge and how does it sync files to iPod/iPhone?

Our synching application, Media Bridge, is installed on the user’s desktop. It automatically downloads a user’s specific media files and playlists from the web application using an internet connection. It then transfers those files into iTunes. Users can then move enterprise media to their iPod/iPhone from iTunes just like they would if they were synching personal music, movies or podcasts.

What is the maximum storage capacity on the iPod/iPhone for multimedia?

Storage capacity for iPod devices change fairly regularly, but as of February 2008, iPod nanos come in 4 and 8GB versions, iPod classic has 80 and 160GB versions, the iPod Touch has 8, 16 and 32GB versions and the iPhone has 16GB of memory. This means there is plenty of space for multimedia on any of these devices.

Audio and video recording quality and encoding will result in different file sizes, but 1GB of memory is roughly equal to 5.5 hours of video content1 or approximately 55 hours of audio2 content.

1Assumes a 320 x 240 MPEG 4 (mp4) video file, a data rate of 256 kbs and a frame rate of 30 fps.
2Assumes an mp3, stereo audio file and a data rate of 48 kbs.

How does Media Bridge download files?

Media Bridge uses https transport to download files.

Can you track usage of the media?

Yes. We can gather iTunes metrics such as last played date and media play counts. iTunes updates this information every time a user syncs the iPod with iTunes. These metrics are sent seamlessly to the web application through Media Bridge and are available for reporting.

Can content be automatically deleted from the iPod/iPhone?

Yes. The web application administrator can set file expiration date(s) or remove a file assignment from users at any time. Media Bridge automatically removes these files from iTunes. When the user syncs the iPod, those files are also removed from the device.

Does iTunes have to be installed on my employee’s computer?

Yes. iTunes is required to get any media – enterprise or personal – onto an iPod. LiquidTalk Media Bridge downloads media from the web-application and transfers it to iTunes, and then iTunes syncs the media to the iPod/iPhone.

What happens if I already have personal content in iTunes and on my iPod?

Enterprise media and personal media can happily coexist in iTunes and on an iPod. When Media Bridge transfers files to iTunes, new files and playlists are added, but existing personal content is not disturbed.

How do I keep my work related content separate from my personal content on the device?

Playlists transferred from the web-application are prefixed so work playlists can be found easily. In addition, all enterprise media transferred to iTunes is also organized in one complete Media playlist, which also helps to keep business content separate from personal content.

What happens if I delete one of my business media files in iTunes by mistake?

No need to worry. Media Bridge checks to make sure that all the files assigned to a user also reside in iTunes. So if a file goes missing in iTunes, Media Bridge will automatically download it again.

Can companies have employees use their own personal device?

LiquidTalk does not at present support a “bring your own personal iPod” model. To do so creates customer support issues in that Apple now has dozens of different models and LiquidTalk needs to know that a particular client is standardized on just one or two models. Because the price point of iPods have fallen drastically (to as low as $135 a unit for a video Nano), this has rarely been an issue. Companies often will ask LiquidTalk to purchase iPods, pre-load them, and hand them out at a sales conference to get users started. Later on, new content is added via LiquidTalk’s Media Bridge application.

 

 

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