RFQ 02-0200-05-15 Office of Administrative Hearings Audio Recording System Questions and Answers This is being posted to provide answers to questions received for RFQ 02-0200-05-15. Questions are marked with a Q in normal font. Answers are marked with an A in bold font. Q: The make, model, and version of the existing software product you have been using to record? A: SoniClear Gov Recorder 9.3. Q: Is the current system (software plus Apple imic and an AcousticMagic Voice Tracker Array Microphone) used in all locations? Please specify the number of mics used per location? A: Currently, OAH has one AccousticMagic Voice Tracker in Anchorage and three Apple imics in Anchorage (the voice tracker is used in the hearing room, and the imics are used in individual offices). In the other individual offices in Anchorage, the conference room in Anchorage, off-site venues, and all venues in our Juneau office, recordings are generally occurring with button mics linked to desktop computers or Olympus DM-620 handheld recorders. Q: For the purpose-built hearing rooms in Anchorage and Juneau, please define the participants and the set-up of the rooms. The RFQ state s participation occurs from four locations within the room. Are these locations tables, witness type stands, dais, conference tables, hearing officer bench? Please define. A: In general, an administrative law judge presides from a location in the front of the room; two parties or attorneys participate from their respective counsel tables facing the judge about 15 feet away, and one witness at a time participates from a witness table about eight feet to one side of the judge. In addition, there is frequently a telephone participant. Q: In the Background section, setting (3) off-site locations, the portable system requirement calls for a multi-track recording setup similar to setting (1). However, in the Scope of Work section, it states, In settings (3) and (4), single-track recording may be sufficient. Please clarify and/or specify. A: OAH needs the ability to set up multi-track recording for large off-site hearings. For example, OAH sometimes conduct hearings in hotel meeting spaces in Fairbanks. OAH only needs one portable system because they only conduct one major off-site hearing at a time.
Q: Please describe the general set up (participants, their physical location within the room, and the size of the room) where the portable system will be used. Do the rooms have a network connection? A: The general setup for an off-site hearing will typically be similar to that of one of our purpose-built hearing rooms: a judge s desk at the front of the room, two counsel tables facing the desk, and a witness location off to the side. Q: Please provide the model numbers of the existing State of Alaska Cisco VoIP telephones? A: In the Anchorage hearing room and conference room, OAH uses Cisco IP Conference Stations 7937. In all other locations (offices and Juneau hearing room) they have a Cisco IP Phone 7941/7942/7961. Q: Please provide the make, model and specifications of the standard State of Alaska desktop computer or laptop that will be available in all hearing locations. Also please provide the make and model of the standard state hardware and sound cards? A: Dell Optiplex 9020/9010 and 990 desktop computers. Laptop is currently a Dell Latitude # 6540. Onboard Realtech high definition audio. Q: In reviewing the above referenced RFQ I cannot determine what your specific requirements are. Page 2, Scope of Work, paragraph 2 refers to (2) dedicated hearing rooms, (1) conference room, (1) portable format and 13 private offices, does this mean you will have 17 recording venues? A: That is correct. Q: Where will the recordings be stored? Do you plan on centralizing these recordings? A: Recordings are stored on a state server. OAH does maintain a centralized database of recordings. Q: What hardware do you want the vendor to supply? A: The vendor needs to propose a complete system, but may incorporate existing hardware. If new hardware is needed, the vendor must include it in the quote. Q: Please describe what you mean by the ability to store the recording files within ProLaw? A: So long as the recording files are created in a suitable media format, OAH will be able to drag and drop them into the events tab directory within each ProLaw matter (individual case), and that is sufficient for OAH s needs. Currently, we drag and drop a wide variety of file types into this directory, including Word, Adobe, cf3, and mp3 formats. Q: Are there APIs for Prolaw and if so who do you propose will write the code to do this? A: ProLaw does not have APIs. However, OAH does not believe coding will be necessary to accommodate most file formats.
Q: Is this for retrieval purposes only or do you want real time entry of notes? What dbms does ProLaw utilize? A: OAH wants real time entry of log notes during the recording. This is not a ProLaw function, however. Currently, it occurs within the SoniClear program as OAH makes the recording. Q: What is a standard State of Alaska desktop computer or laptop and soundcard? Does this mean that you will supply all hardware or what hardware will you supply to ask it a different way? A: Question about current hardware answered above. If additional hardware, such as a sound card, is needed, OAH is looking to the vendor to include that in the quote. Q: You are only looking for software support is that correct? A: Yes. Q: What is the retention period for each hearing? What is the duration of each hearing? How many total hours of recoding do you anticipate per month per system? A: Retention is typically 7-10 years. Duration ranges from a few minutes to 120 hours, but most proceedings last no more than 3 hours. We will conduct about 150 hours per month of hearings in the hearing room or off-site (multitrack) format, and about 400 hours per month in the office (single track) format. Q: Is Alaska also going to provide VOIP tele-hybrids for direct connection into the encoders? A: No, if needed, please include in your quote. Q: Does the state have an IT staff on board for installation purposes? A: Yes Q: Is it correct the state needs 15 total individual recording units? A: See above. Q: Do you only need media files or do they want the log notes too. If so, what format for the log notes? A: OAH also want the log notes, which ideally should be in Word format. Q: Are they importing any schedules (what format)? A: No. Q: Do we need to have automated export function to a certain destination path? A: SoniClear, the program OAH currently uses, provides an automated backup path to be configured in the program s preferences. OAH considers this a desirable feature.
Q: What types of audio files will ProLaw accept? A: OAH has been able to drag and drop both SoniClear (cf3) and mp3 recording files into ProLaw, which uses Windows Media Player to replay them. It is quite likely that other formats can also be accommodated. Q: What is the current vendor? A: There is no current vendor. OAH has licenses with SoniClear for use of their software, and an assortment of hardware that OAH has acquired over the years, but they have never had a planned, integrated system. Q: What version of software are you running? A: SoniClear Gov Recorder 9.3. Q: Are you considering video? A: No. We have no current plans to move in that direction. Q: How are you recording phones now? A: They broadcast on speaker into the room, and then the sound is captured in the single regular mic in the room. Q: Have you had ANY success with recording the phones? A: Recording the phone participants is the biggest problem for OAH at the moment. By the time the sound comes out of the speaker, bounces around the room, and goes back into a single mic that may be located some distance away, there can be considerable distortion. This is not to say that our recordings are always unusable, but OAH feels they are substandard. Q: What is the procedure the end users use now to assure in record? A: They keep the SoniClear dashboard displayed on their computer screen. This dashboard changes in moderately obvious ways when it is actively recording (certain buttons are no longer greyed out; audio level monitor moves; hearing time in a small display box changes every second). However, it does happen with some frequency that people pause or stop a recording at a break and then fail to re-start it when they go back on the record. Q: What are the indicators now the system is in record? Light? Confidence monitoring? A: See previous answer. Q: Does the software always work if properly started; just issues with sound quality? A: That seems to be essentially correct. Q: Do you need all 13 installed on site? Would you consider a do it yourself kit? A: OAH would consider self-installation. The vendor would need to make us confident that this would work.
Q: Can you prioritize the needs? Good audio quality; notes during the hearing; local service; use your own computers; vendor supplied computers; visual indicators in record? A: Good audio quality and foolproof operation are OAH s top priorities. The ability to make log notes during the hearing, although not important to all end users, is sufficiently important to some users that OAH made it a required element. It doesn t matter if the proposed system uses existing computers and other equipment or not; it just needs to work.