R415--HD Audio and Video Transport Service (VA-20-00035907) Amendment to post questions and answers

How many training/meetings/simulcasts do you anticipate per day?

On average, 5 to 6 per day, but no limit should be applied.

How many meetings/simulcast you anticipate per day?

Answered above

What are the file sizes or content that will be transmitted via internet and satellite delivery platforms? These services will be for live video streams from our managed video encoders, HD 1920x1080, 4Mbps to 8Mbps per stream

Are we replacing existing streaming/coding equipment or is it already in place at the VACO studios office. The VA will provide and remotely manage the physical Haivision video encoder hardware only, the fiber connectivity, and all hardware/resources, from the VA Central Office to the vendor s facility is responsibility of the vendor.

Will an in-house technician from our company be required at the VACO studios office? Only during any commissioning and testing of the fiber integration.

We understand that "the contractor shall host no less than 2 VA-provided video encoders connected to HD video distribution". What is the maximum number of network VA provided video encoders anticipated for HD video distribution? Two physical 1RU encoder chassis with up to 4 discreet video inputs.

Will we be required to lay fiber inside of the VACO facility? TBD. The VA currently works with an existing vendor who utilizes the VA funded point-to-point Verizon fiber circuits between VACO at 810 Vermont and vendor location on M street in Washington DC.

Is there an estimate of the distance of cable required? No estimate is available- depends upon the location of vendor s point of presence in Wash DC.

Is a mobile (Satellite Truck) HD Video and Audio distribution required? If so, will the VA provide a parking permit for the VA facility (Va parking, loading dock, etc)? No mobile trucks will be necessary- all data paths must be terrestrial.

How often will the satellite truck be required? Will it be required for multiple VA locations? None

How many fiber circuits are required? Sufficient fiber to carry four concurrent HD video streams of 8Mbps each

Define transport services- Simply defined as video data transport services

What distribution platforms are currently being used. And which distribution platforms are required (i.e. Blackboard, etc.). Viewer platforms include Brightcove, YouTube and Facebook live, Roku, to mention a few.

We have reviewed Section 14.2 of the PWS but still need clarification. What specific security clearances are required for this project? No vendor security clearances will be necessary as no access to VA IT systems will be needed. Temporary facility access can be provided on an ad-hoc basis

Is the information being transmitted on behalf of EES considered "sensitive information"? No sensitive information will be transmitted

Are we expected to backup and archive every meeting administered through our network? Will we know prior to meeting/training if recording/archiving is required? No archiving or backup will be necessary- live stream distribution only

Is there a cloud based network currently available for archiving or will we be required to build a cloud based network? Access to the Internet from the VA-managed encoders located at vendor s facility. The VA will push RTMP and SRT streams from those encoders out to our cloud-based streaming partners like Brightcove, FB, YT, etc. 1. Due the number of clarifications and additional information needed in order to provide an

appropriate technical approach and cost estimate for the requirement, can the VA please

extend the due date for the proposal response to Monday, April 20th?

2. Can the VA please provide an operational diagram including origination of the signals, rack

configuration, equipment configuration, circuit configuration, and signal

destinations? Please include a depiction of the separation of webcasting from the VA

business network. No vendor facility infrastructure drawings are available. However, the VA-owned encoding hardware would include of two Haivision 1RU rack mounted chassis containing multiple Makito encoders. Power and cooling would need to support this gear as well as the vendor s existing fiber and network hardware and infrastructure. The terrestrial fiber connectivity from VACO to the vendor s facility and then to the cloud should be sufficient to support up to four concurrent HD video streams with up to 6Mbps, 1920x1080.

3. Can the VA please confirm that the full quantity of equipment provided is limited to: four (4)

video fiber circuits and four (4) audio fiber circuits, for a total of eight (8) circuits? Please see response to Q2

4. Can the VA please provide the required capacity of each fiber circuit for carrying video and

audio signals? Please see Q2

5. Can the VA please provide the make and model of the VA provided video-encoders?

Haivision Makito X encoders.

6. Can the VA please confirm that the VA will install VA-provided video routers/encoders in

the contractor provided rack as needed and this is not a requirement expected to be handled

by the contractor? The vendor shall install and cable to the VA-owned encoders.

The AV router, network and fiber devices, and all other necessary equipment are to be provided by the vendor. The VA will provide and manage the Haivision encoders remotely via the vendor-provided Internet connection.

7. Can the VA please confirm the identify destinations of audio and video signals?

The AV signals will originate from VA Central Office (VACO) and feed the Haivision encoder video inputs. The Haivision encoders will stream out to our cloud-based webcasting partners using RTMP and SRT streaming IP protocols.

8. Can the VA please provide the minimal resolution/quality expected for the video signal (for

example: 4K, 1080, etc.)? Our video signals originate at 1920x1080i29. We typically stream 4-6Mbps from the Haivision encoders out to our web platforms.

9. Can the VA please provide maximum latency which can be tolerated? Latency in the low millisecond range is acceptable

10. Can the VA please provide and define number of endpoints? On any given day, we ll stream out to between 4 and 8 web portal endpoints.

11. Can the VA please provide the sensitivity of the content/information? For example:

confidentiality, availability, and integrity

Our video content does not contain sensitive information. Our target audiences are either VA staff or public-facing veteran viewers. If security is needed for an event, we ll manage that at the viewer portals.,

12. What are the expected hours of operation of webcasting? We send two channels 24x7. The majority of the other webcasts fall between 7am and 6pm ET.

13. What is the target for signal availability of the webcasting? Expected uptime?

We expect the operability be available 24x7.

14. Is emergency power backup expected as part of the equipment configuration? Yes. Power loss at the vendor s facility would be catastrophic and unacceptable for the VA,

15. Can the VA please provide clarity on the role and specific responsibilities the contractor is

expected to provide for engineering support? Also, can the VA please provide the

recommended level of effort in man-hours per year based on VA experience? Vendor will be responsible for, and should be able to trouble shoot all their teleport network, fiber, AV routing, and managed Internet data delivery vehicles at any time during normal working hours and on-call after working hours.

16. Can the VA please confirm pricing should be provided in a separate response volume from

our technical response? yes