Something is always playing on CornellCast, the university's multimedia site, which offers lectures by Cornell professors and visiting scholars, panel discussions on current events or critical issues, and interviews with Cornell personalities. And now CornellCast is easier to navigate, easier to share and easier on the eyes.

The site has become an online TV station, offering regularly scheduled features interspersed with special events. A drop-down schedule tells you what will be on when, but any of the scheduled programs can be viewed on demand.

Regular programs include "Faculty in Focus," highlighting research, hobbies or anything else faculty members might be up to; "Staff Notes," a series of interviews by Gary Stewart, deputy director for community relations, with people who make things happen at Cornell; and "Sidelines," where Blaine Friedlander, assistant director of press relations, interviews Cornell sports figures. In between are contributions from colleges and units, Slope TV and individuals.

"Our goal is to build a video collection that reflects the breadth of the university's academic offerings and activities, so that anyone, anywhere can learn from and be inspired by the amazing people here at Cornell," said Carrie Sanzone, user experience specialist in the Office of Web Communications, who is managing the development of the revamped site. "Colleges might post their own videos, clubs or units might have YouTube channels, but we're here to pull it all together."

Thanks to an updated video format and new player, the old video windows about the size of commemorative postage stamps have been replaced by a much larger display -- the equivalent of standard-definition widescreen television. Videos can now be played full screen with acceptable quality. Support has been added for closed captions.

Videos can be browsed by category, college or unit, popular topics, ongoing series or special playlists. You can also create your own playlist.

The site now offers more information about the videos, including a detailed description and links to related information. Videos download quickly, and viewers can jump to any part of a video immediately. Many videos now have "bookmarks" that enable viewers to jump directly to a significant section. And if you'd like to use or e-mail a clip from any video, a "share" feature allows you to select any portion and e-mail or copy a link that will lead directly to the selected clip.

"All the older videos in the CornellCast archive have been converted to the new format, and nothing has been removed," Sanzone noted. "We're planning to build a mobile version of the site this summer for Apple, Android and other devices," she added.

To submit content for CornellCast, e-mail trw43@cornell.edu.

Along with Sanzone, the development team includes lead developer Ken Stuart, lead designer Zac Doob and developer Sean O'Leary in Web Technologies, with help from Irina Zhankov, a web designer in the Academic Technology Support division of CIT.