DukeCapture (Panopto)

http://oit.duke.edu/voicevideoweb/video/creating/dukecapture/index.php

http://www.panopto.com/

panopto

Product Overview

Panopto is an enterprise lecture capture system that supports scheduled recording either via Windows machines that customers spec and build themselves (Duke has a standard build using Dell PCs and Datapath video capture cards) or dedicated appliances offered via a partnership between Panopto and Seneca. Recordings are uploaded to folders on the server and go through an encoding pipeline that automatically publishes “rich media” versions of recordings  together with video and audio podcasts. The rich media version combines video and audio of the speaker with slides and slide titles if the speaker uses PowerPoint or Keynote, and screen capture if that option is selected. Additional video sources can be configured depending on what capture cards are installed on the recording machine, and capture sources from additional machines can be incorporated into a recording as well. Clickable thumbnails are created for navigating through a presentation. These elements are combined in an HTML5-based player that includes viewer notes and comments as well as captions manually imported into the session or added via 3rd party integration. Slide titles, notes, comments, and standard recording metadata are all searchable via the rich media viewer, and all this data can be searched at the folder (collection) or site (school/ department) level. Panopto’s web interface supports distributed administration–i.e., the ability to break out the web UI into separate nodes reflecting different schools and other organizational units, a requirement that is critical for Duke given our enterprise focus. The Web UI offers extensive monitoring and reporting functionality. Some of the major improvements over the past several years Panopto has made in this area include a significantly expanded WebUI for managing content at an enterprise level, and new tools for monitoring, configuring, and controlling recording devices via the Web UI. On the near horizon (v. 5.0) are much-needed tools for operating room-based appliances via mobile apps for iOS and Android, and substantial improvements to the software recorder for Mac.

Panopto competes with the largest players in the lecture capture space by offering a wide and rapidly evolving feature set (including the ability to upload user-generated video via its Product called Unison), an ambitious approach to customer service that tracks customer issues via a Zendesk ticketing system and publicly displays customer satisfaction on its website (https://helpdesk.panopto.com/home), and licensing models that have been workable for Duke.

 

Core Distinguishing Feature Set

  • Appliance-based recording
  • Software recording (Mac and PC)
  • Designed for large scale deployments
  • Rich media playback (video, content, thumbnails, metadata/ search)
  • Distributed administration (organized by school/ department/ group)
  • Comprehensive Web UI for configuration, monitoring, and reporting
  • Integration with Duke Identity Management System (Shibboleth)
  • Search (recording metadata, PPT slide titles and text, Keynote slide titles and text, notes, captions, comments)./l.;p;;-]]
  • Web-based editor
  • Video and audio podcasts versions of recordings (i.e., for Mobile viewers)
  • Live webcasting
  • Combine multiple video sources, even from separate recorders, into a single recording
  • Ability to import and publish outside video (Unison)

Recent Updates

  • Fully HTML5 video capture and delivery platform (with legacy support for Windows Media)
  • HD resolution video for both the Software Recorders (Mac and PC) and Remote Recorders (scheduled recordings), including up to 60fps video
  • Improved Remote Recorder configuration and monitoring (for scheduled recordings)
  • Ability to roll over to new NAS shares when existing shares fill up
  • Panopto Certified Remote Recorder (Seneca appliance)
  • Improved interface for sharing, including speedier group search and the ability to share recordings and folders of recordings in batches
  • Approval workflows