Toronto’s Seneca College, which features pioneering digital production curriculums, has built the world’s largest DVD training facility using 38 DVD authoring systems from Spruce Technologies. The new facility will train as many as 3,000 students per year beginning this fall using the full range of Spruce products. Seneca’s main DVD training lab features 35 workstations running Spruce DVDVirtuoso(TM) authoring software. All of the systems are networked to a storage server that provides students with access to more than a terabyte of storage space. Two DVDConductor(TM) systems and one DVDMaestro(TM) system each have their own dedicated suites connected via Fibre Channel to a storage area network that enables them to share storage resources.

Seneca faced a particular challenge in that it needed to simultaneously meet the needs of two distinct groups of students, those from its School of Communication Arts and those from its School of Computer Studies. “The Spruce products fit perfectly into both curriculum’s requirements,” said Adrian Klymenko, the college’s Computer and Audio/Video Systems Technologist. “For the production students, Spruce offers a drag-and-drop, intuitive interface that really lets their creativity run without hampering them with technical difficulties. At the same time, Spruce systems offer our computer game design students the openness they need to manipulate code to meet the specific needs of gaming applications. Spruce gives us the flexibility to determine the level of complexity or simplicity we need for each situation.”

Seneca College provides students with a unique, rewarding, state-of-the-art learning opportunity. Its new campus at Seneca@York is home to the Schools of Communication Arts, Computer Studies, Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry and provides students with state-of-the-art equipment. Our faculty combines real-world experience with the ability to teach and mentor. Our programs offer students a broad range of opportunities to prepare for careers in the growing field of media and communications.