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June 24, 2022
Enterprise Video Platform – Update RC20220624 Released to CAN and EU Zones
Analytics Browser Capture Canadian Zones Enterprise Video Platform European Union Zones General Platform Live StreamingWe have successfully pushed our update to all instances residing in Canada and European Union. This update provides in-depth Live Stream statistics, new customizations for the Canvas LTI 1.3 integration, a new Sub-Admin Captioner role, consent forms workflows, our new Facial Analysis tool, and much more. This will be released to the United States zones next Friday.
- View Real-Time Live Stream Statistics (Beta)
We have introduced a new Live Stream tab within Usage & Analytics that provides real-time live stream statistics across Hardware Hub, Software Capture, and RTMP-initiated live streams. Content Owners and Administrators are now provided with in-depth knowledge of their live streams, including real-time stream quality, downstream bandwidth, geo-location maps, and viewer statistics. The Live Stream Analytics tab also offers a space to view statistics for past and current live streams, as well as view upcoming events.
- Ability to “Favorite” Documents and Images, as well as, Filter Based On Favorited Items
Content Owners can now “star” documents and images as a favorite item and then use the Visual Search capabilities to search across all Favorited items. We have also provided a Favorite tab within My Media as a single space to view all your Favorite items. We will be extending this capabilities to video content in a subsequent release.
- New Shared with Others Tab within My Media
To complement our Shared With Me feature and improve the ability to collaborate on content with others, we have added a Shared with Others capability. This provides you with a single pane view of content that you have shared with other individuals using the Share capability. To learn more about our sharing feature, please click here.
- New Version History Tab for Documents and Images
Content Owners can now view past metadata history, including file renaming, metadata tags, ownership changes, publishing events, thumbnail changes and dozens more.
- Commenting Now Available for all Media Types
To further increase media engagement, we have expanded our commenting capabilities from video-related media to now include many document types such as DOCX, PDF, and PPT. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Course Copy Now Also Supports Moodle “Importing Courses” Workflow
In addition to the Moodle Course Copy workflow, we now support the Moodle Import Course workflow to effectively perform course copy of Media Channels, Video Quizzes, and Embedded Videos. To learn more about this feature, please click here. - Institutions can now Send an Electronic Consent Form that Will Record the Recipients Response
Institutions that use photos for marketing purposes often have to receive consent from the model within the picture. The new Consent Form tab allows Content Creators to send, review and manage consent forms within a single space. This feature can integrate with the newly introduced Facial Recognition tool that is part of this release. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Added Facial Recognition Analysis to Manage Consent Forms
To ensure all recognized faces within a photo have consent forms tied to them, the Automated Facial Recognition tool can scan an existing library of images owned by the institution to see if a consent form exists. To utilize this capability, please contact your Admin to turn this capability on within your Video Platform instance.
- Ability to Generate Reports to Identify Duplicate Content
As institutions expand their media libraries, we now provide a report that identifies duplicate content. Content Owners can choose to manually generate a report or schedule reports on a daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. To learn more about this feature, please click here. - Imported Caption Files to the Media Player now Support Bold, Italics and Underline Formatting
We have expanded our caption capabilities by adding formatting tags within VTT, XML and SRT-based caption files to be rendered within our Media Player.
- Improved End-to-End Course Copy Now Supported with LTI 1.3 Integration
Mirroring the Course Copy workflow introduced in the last release for LTI 1.1, the same end-to-end Course Copy that seamlessly transfers content items such as Media Channels, Video Quizzes, and Embedded Videos is supported in LTI 1.3. - YuJa LTI Link now Available in the Canvas Global Navigation Menu with LTI 1.3 (Optional)
Institutions using Canvas with LTI 1.3 integration can now enable YuJa along the Canvas Global Navigation Menu if they wish to do so.
- Support for Canvas ‘Hidden Tool’ Integration with LTI 1.3
YuJa links can now be hidden through JSON integration, allowing Instructors to only enable links for the courses they desire. To learn how to enable this feature, please click here. - Browser Capture is Now Able to Recover Interrupted Recordings
If a recording is interrupted or abruptly terminated, the user will be able to recover the recording automatically when re-entering the Browser Capture Studio.
- New Specialized Sub-Admin Role—Caption Editor
To provide Content Creators with more options when creating a sub-admin, we are introducing new roles targeting specific actions for sub-admins. The Caption Editor role is the first to be released, allowing sub-admins to use the Video Editor and Accessibility Tab tools to edit captions for shared videos while preventing this role from making additional changes. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- View Real-Time Live Stream Statistics (Beta)
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June 10, 2022
YuJa Panorama for Digital Accessibility – Update RC20220610 Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
Canadian Zones European Union Zones Panorama for Digital Accessibility United States ZonesWe have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This Panorama update has broadened the scope of website accessibility, added language translation and increased performance for accessibility report generation.
- Website Accessibility Add-On Now Offers More Accessible Page Viewing
To offer a more accessible viewing experience for those interacting with your institution’s public website, we added a new Content Adjustments tab within the Website Accessibility Add-On. From here, any website viewer can instantly adjust their personal viewing experience of your institution’s website including: Content Spacing, Font Sizing, Line Height, Letter Spacing, Font Readability, Text Alignment, Title Highlighting, and Link Highlighting. This is in addition to the existing Accessible Formats generated for all PDFs, PowerPoints, Word documents that are linked off your website. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
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Documents Can Now Be Translated Into Multiple Languages
Panorama has broadened its definition of an alternative format to now include the document’s language. Students may not always be the most familiar with the language a document is uploaded in. Panorama now offers the ability for a student to translate a document instantly to over 100 languages. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
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Accessibility Reports Can Now Be Generated Automatically
In Panorama’s most recent release, we shifted the way we generate alternative formats, to be on-demand. However, after listening closely and working with our clients we now understand that many institutions would like the Accessibility Report for all files uploaded to be automatically generated. We now provide a setting in the LTI app that enables automatic report generation. When this setting is enabled, all files uploaded will have their Accessibility Report automatically generated. This setting can be set at the institution level and overridden at the course level. To learn how to enable this feature, please click here.
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Colored Icons for Instructors to Easily View Accessibility Scores
Instructors can now quickly and easily determine the Accessibility Score of a file they’ve uploaded through the color of the Alternative Format icon.
Green is for Accessibility Scores greater than 70%
Yellow is for Accessibility Scores between 30% and 70%
Red is for Accessibility Scores less than or equal to 30%Note: This functionality is only available for instructors. Students will always see the standard blue icon.
Instructors can also hover over any Accessibility icon to view a tooltip displaying the report score:
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Icons Hidden for Non-Supported File Formats
Icons for files that are not supported by Panorama will now have their icon hidden.
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Enhanced HTML Accessibility Reports for Better Visual Representation on All Screen Sizes
We have increased the LMS locations where HTML Accessibility Reports will be generated, has improved the quality of the reports, as well as enhancing the visual compatibility of viewing these reports with devices of all sizes.
- Optimization Upgrades
Users will notice faster processing speeds for Accessibility Reports and Alternative Formats during large spikes of requests with minimal impact on processing time.
- Website Accessibility Add-On Now Offers More Accessible Page Viewing
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June 10, 2022
Video Conference Platform – Update RC20220524 Released to all Zones
Canadian Zones European Union Zones Uncategorized United States Zones Video Conferencing PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the United States, Canada and the European Union. This release focuses on implementing the ability to add a virtual background, enhancing sharing capabilities and providing Meeting Owners with the option to manage the Waiting Room.
- Ability to Use Virtual Backgrounds during Video Conference Sessions
Virtual Backgrounds can be used to create a sense organization when participating in a Video Conference. With real time technology, Meeting Owners and all participants can utilize Visual Effects, choosing between various virtual backgrounds to utilize. In future releases, we look to optimize the Visual Effects so they can efficiently run on all hardware setups. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Improved Waiting Room Experience
Previously, the Waiting Room was only active until the moment the Meeting Owner joined a meeting. In an effort to make the Waiting Room more dynamic and provide Meeting Owners with the power to manage the Waiting Room. They now have the option to let in users on an individual basis or all at once. They also have the ability to delegate this responsibility to an admitted user.
- Enhanced Compatibility with Microsoft Edge
Continuing our efforts to deliver a seamless user experience in all browsers, Microsoft Edge users will now be able to utilize screen sharing capabilities.
- New “Dark Mode” Notification Theme Available
Notifications are now easier to view with dark and light themes on contrasting panels. - Enhanced Document and Whiteboard Sharing and Downloading Experience
To optimize the document and Whiteboard sharing experience, all uploaded documents and Whiteboard creations are no longer infinitely scrollable, making it easier to track where users are currently viewing. The document and Whiteboard download experience has been enhanced to seamlessly allow users the ability download the document and Whiteboard to their device.
- Improved Video Conference Stability
In an effort to significantly improve user experience, we have adjusted our front-end support for document uploads. For future releases, we intend to increase file sharing size while continuing to provide stability on our video conference platform. - New “Line” Tool Available in Whiteboard
Adding to the tools available in the Whiteboard, Meeting Owners and Presenters will be able to utilize the Line Tool to facilitate discussions. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Mobile Compatibility Release
Updated versions of the Video Conference app for iOS and Android are now available.
- Ability to Use Virtual Backgrounds during Video Conference Sessions
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May 27, 2022
YuJa Himalayas for Data Archiving and Compliance and YuJa Enterprise Video Platform – Update RC20220527 Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
Canadian Zones Enterprise Video Platform European Union Zones Himalayas United States ZonesWe have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This Himalayas release focuses on real-time Job progress updates, refining workflows for individual users using third-party video conferencing connectors, improving query times, and dozens of smaller improvements to the archiving experience.
- Job Management Dashboard Now has Dynamic Progress Updates
The Job Management Dashboard now tracks progress in real-time which provides Admins an accurate view of when a Job will be completed.
- Refreshed UI for Third Party Connectors in My Account Tab
To provide users with a better experience in managing their third-party integrations – including Zoom, WebEx, Blackboard Collaborate, and Microsoft Teams – the updated user interface implements a tab structure to organize the different connectors.
- Enhanced the Robustness of Restoring Content from Himalayas
With the enhancements made to our backend infrastructure, Himalayas Jobs to restore content – that is, bringing it out from Archive Storage – are now more efficient and robust. While not a common occurrence, anytime an Archive Job fails to be restored, Admins will have the ability to to remove failed Jobs.
- Improved Query Performance in Data Management
We have improved the query performance in the Data Management tool. Admins will experience a quicker turnaround time after running a policy to identify content.
- Job Management Dashboard Now has Dynamic Progress Updates
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May 14, 2022
Enterprise Video Platform – Update RC20220518 Released to US Zone
Enterprise Video Platform United States ZonesWe have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the United States. For a summary of the release, please refer to the corresponding tag for the most recent Canadian and EU zones release.
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May 13, 2022
Video Conference Platform – Update RC20220513 to all Zones
Canadian Zones European Union Zones United States Zones Video Conferencing PlatformWe have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the United States, Canada and the European Union. This release focuses on adding additional participants on video, improving connection stability and improving speaker detection.
- Expansion of Gallery View to Allow 25 Users with the use of Pagination
Continuing our efforts to facilitate large user Video Conference sessions, the Gallery View has been updated to show up to 25 users to a page. Working in conjunction with our enhanced speaker detection.
- Improved Speaker Detection
A new speaker logic was implemented to more accurately recognize the direct speaker, as opposed to catching background noise, bringing the speaker to the main view. In addition, this improvement will lower CPU usage, allowing your device to perform at a more optimal level.
- Updated UI to Mirror Performance Optimization and Enhanced Speaker Detection Logic
Adding the use of pagination to make better use of the space and colored indicators to indicate who is speaking. - Support Video Conference Access via Microsoft Edge
We are pleased to announce our compatibility with Microsoft Edge. In addition to Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari, users will now be able to launch and access Video Conference sessions with Microsoft Edge. - Enhance Responsiveness of Media Sources
To improve the user experience, the audio and video source can be toggled on/off in a seamless manner, allowing users to quickly and easily participate in the discussion.
- Improve Stability of Video Conference Sessions
Through a bundle of changes, including the use of a dedicated server and a centralized connection state store, users will now experience fewer connection-related issues and faster response times when utilizing source selection toggles.
- Expansion of Gallery View to Allow 25 Users with the use of Pagination
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May 5, 2022
Enterprise Video Platform – Update 20220506 to CAN and EU Zones
Canadian Zones Enterprise Video Platform European Union Zones HTML5 PlayerWe have successfully pushed our monthly update to all instances residing in Canada and European Union. This release includes a myriad of 150+ new features and smaller improvements including an enhanced Visual Search experience, new Video and Image Cognition analysis, ASR-based language translation, new 360 image capabilities, more digital asset management tools, and much more! This will be released to the United States zones next Friday.
Additionally, we are actively working on an enhanced Deployment and Versioning Architecture (code-named Quicksilver) to provide rolling updates, zero scheduled down-time (even during monthly updates!), and selective updates that can span successive versions. While we are proud that our customers were not adversely impacted by any unscheduled down-time during the COVID-19 pandemic, our Architecture Team continues to push the envelope for our partner institutions.- New Interactive Transcript that Allows Viewers to Follow Along
The Media Player has been updated to offer an additional video playback experience. Viewers are able to view the transcript and follow along closely as the transcript highlights the section while the video progresses.
Viewers can also interact with the transcript in real-time by selecting a point within the transcript to jump to that part in the video. Additional accessibility options to zoom-in to the text transcript and download the content are also integrated into the Interactive Transcript experience. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- New Image Cognition Analysis and Tagging for Uploaded Images
To make image content more easily searchable, a new Image Cognition Analysis tool will automatically perform image analysis of uploaded images and add Metadata tags.
The process allows images to be analyzed and appropriate tags to be added, allowing Content Owners to easily search through content, while optimizing time spent on manually adding Metadata tags. To enable this feature, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
- New Video Cognition Analysis Tool Can Generate Searchable Tags Describing the Visual Content
Video Cognition integrated with advanced Machine Learning (ML) models now complements our existing audio-based metadata generation capabilities. Content Owners can choose to have their videos analyzed by an advanced machine learning (ML) model to automatically add Metadata tags.
Video cognition streamlines the workflow for Content Creators to easily search for content. To learn more about this feature. click here. Please reach out to your Customer Success Manager to enable this feature.
- Ability to Translate Caption Files into 25+ Languages Using Machine-Based Translation Engines
Complementing our existing capability to request auto-captions in a variety of languages, Content Creators now have the ability to request that the generated caption files be translated into dozens of languages, including French, German, Spanish, and more.
This update grants Content Creators with a greater ability to expand their reach to a more global audience of learners without any additional costs. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Upgraded Media Player Support for 360 Image Content
Complementing our existing 360 VR video support, we have now added support for 360 image content. To support the ever changing image capabilities, the Media Player has been enhanced to support viewing of 360 VR images. Content Creators will be able to upload equirectangular-panoramic images and receive a 360 viewing experience. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Ability to Customize EnterpriseTube Navigation Experience
To give Administrators a greater ability to curate the user viewing experience, Administrators now have the ability to enable/disable, rename and reorder the EnterpriseTube Navigation bar. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Enhanced Visual Search Bar Now Expands and Suggests Past Searches To enhance user experience when searching for content within the Video Platform, UI improvements have been implemented that expands the search bar to include the full view of the search criteria. Additionally, search suggestions will be made based on previous searches.
- New Digital Asset Management Capability for Non-Video Assets
To align with the analytics measured for video content, Content Owners now have access to metrics including the number of views, downloads, size, creation date, last viewed date, etc. of non-video content (such as images and documents).
- Ability to Add Fill-In-The-Blank Question Types via the Video Quiz Editor
To offer Instructors more tools to assess student engagement and understanding, a Fill-In-The-Blank question type is now available in the Video Quiz Editor. Instructors can write a statement and add options for Students to choose from. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Ability for Administrators to Receive and Approve Human Caption Requests
Based on popular request, we have implemented the ability for Content Creators to submit a Human Captioning Request to be sent to Administrators for approval. This allows Administrators to have better visibility and management of Human Captioning usage. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- Ability to Obtain the Direct Link and Embed Code of a Video Immediately After Uploading
We have improved the transcoding pipeline to provide Content Owners with the Direct Link and Embed Code of a video, prior to a video completing the initial (transmux) processing stage. Content Owners will have a near-immediate ability to embed content via the LMS Media Chooser, and by Direct Link and Embed Code. To learn more about this feature, please click here. - Ability to Duplicate a Video Using a Copy for Independent Use
Content Creators can now easily duplicate any video uploaded to the Video Platform. Utilizing a Deep Copy, Content Creators will experience a refined workflow that allows them to duplicate videos and the associated metadata, including Title and video captions. To learn more about this feature, please click here.
- New Interactive Transcript that Allows Viewers to Follow Along
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April 8, 2022
YuJa Panorama for Digital Accessibility – Update RC2022428 Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
Panorama for Digital AccessibilityWe have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release prioritizes making Panorama accessible to files available for all websites. This release also focuses on optimizations with setup auto-scaling of all of our services to reduce wait time when processing any alternative formats.
- Panorama Now Supports Accessibility on Any Website
To expand and support an organization’s effort to improve accessibility for all resources, beyond the borders of the LMS environment, Panorama now supports the generation of alternative formats on any website. Through the use of the new Website Accessibility tab, Admins can utilize a provided script to deploy Panorama features to their website. For more information on utilizing this feature, please click here. - Enhanced Menu for Alternative Format and On-Demand File Generation
Previously, Panorama strived to deliver alternative formats in a pre-processed model. Incorporating feedback from our users, Panorama is moving towards a direction of having our Accessibility Engines dynamically provide alternative formats, within seconds, on an on-demand basis. This shift reduces the processing time of new courses, provides Accessibility Alternative documents on the most recent version, and provides a responsive experience to the user. - Support for Blackboard Ultra View Courses
Continuing our efforts to make Panorama compatible with all major Learning Management Systems, Panorama now extends support for courses beyond Blackboard Classic view to also support courses using Blackboard Ultra view. Alternative formats will be generated for any uploaded content.
- Additional Accessibility Reports For HTML Documents
Panorama now generates Accessibility Reports for HTML documents. This, similarly to other formats, can be found in the Alternative Formats dialog.
- More Informative Panorama Browser Extension
To provide our D2L and Blackboard Ultra users with more visibility, as well as assurance, into the data that is stored within the Browser, the Panorama Browser Extension will display more comprehensive information, including UserId, Authenticated Role, Domain, and Extension Token.
- Ability for Instructors to Reprocess Document
In the event that a document has failed to be ingested, Panorama will inform Students why an alternative format cannot be accessed and give Instructors the ability to reprocess the file.
- Improved the Error Message for Files with Unsupported Formats
In line with the goal of providing users with informative messaging, Students and Instructors will receive a notification when files that contain unsupported formats are accessed.
- Refreshed Accessibility Icon
To provide our users an enchanted Panorama experience, this update better supports responsiveness for various device sizes along with a refreshed look of the accessibility icon. This also improves the page load speed by combining a Accessibility Formats menu and Accessibility Gauge into a single icon. In a subsequent release, we will have this Accessibility Icon be different colors to show the Accessibility Score (for instructors and administrators).
- Panorama Now Supports Accessibility on Any Website
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April 1, 2022
YuJa Himalayas for Data Archiving and Compliance and YuJa Enterprise Video Platform – Update RC20220401 Released to US, CAN, and EU Zones
HimalayasWe have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release delivers new functionality to perform Active Storage Archives, the ability for non-Admins to manually import third-party video conference recordings, the ability to download large zip archives, and more.
Keep in mind that many of the capabilities provided within YuJa Himalayas are also available to customers that license only the Enterprise Video Platform.
- New “Active Storage Archive” Provides Video Platform Customers with the Ability to Archive Content to Reduce Active Storage Utilization
Mirroring the capabilities offered by Himalayas, we’ve improved the Active EVP Archive functionality by making it possible for our non-Himalayas customers to have the ability to automate data policies and reduce storage usage. The “Active Storage Archive” process will retag the video as an Active Archived entity (which then offers limited use of the video itself) and removes optional transcodes. Admins can opt to Unarchive content back to the original Content Owner, if desired. For more information on utilizing this feature, please click here.
- Ability for Non-Admins to Selectively Browse Select and Import Video Conference Recordings from Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Blackboard Collaborate, and Microsoft Teams
Previously, instructors and students did not have the ability to view and import third-party recordings; they could only opt-in or opt-out of a video conference ingestion workflow. With this update, individual users can selectively view, search and import their video conference recordings from third-party platforms, including Zoom, WebEx, Blackboard Collaborate, and Microsoft Teams. For more information on this feature, please click here.
- Improved Download Zip Support With the Ability for Zipped Content to Span Multiple Zip Archives
To refine the workflow of exporting very large amounts content to zip file, the Data Management tool will generate multiple zip files to support downloading over 20 GB of content at a time. Admins will receive a single email with links to each Zip Archive, as well as, an accompanying report containing information about the export.
- Ability to Delete Selected Transcodes with Recurring Policy Actions
To support every organization’s efforts to monitor and efficiently maintain storage usage, Admins can run data policies to remove select video transcodes. An accompanying summary report will be provided that itemizes how much storage was removed as a result of running the data policy.
- Prioritize Zoom Caption Files when Importing Recordings
For users enrolled in the Zoom integration, if Enable Auto Caption is selected, recordings will be automatically captioned using the Zoom-generated caption file (if available). This change will help customers use their Auto Caption minutes efficiently. If Zoom does not import the caption file within four days, YuJa will generate the auto-captions.
- Refined the Notification Audit Log for Zoom Metadata Imports
Continuing our efforts to provide comprehensive Audit Logs, Zoom-imported recordings now provide details about each imported metadata entity (Participant Lists, Caption files, and Polls). This will allow Admins with granular details on the import status of each Zoom metadata entity.
- Enhancements to the Job Management Dashboard
Administrators will now have access to a more comprehensive view of an archive job in Himalayas. The Job Details now include Total File Size and Number of Files in existing and upcoming archive jobs.
- New “Active Storage Archive” Provides Video Platform Customers with the Ability to Archive Content to Reduce Active Storage Utilization
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March 26, 2022
Enterprise Video Platform – Update RC20220318 Released to US Zone
Enterprise Video Platform United States ZonesWe have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the United States. For a summary of the release, please refer to the corresponding tag for the most recent Canadian and EU zones release.