We have successfully pushed a mid-cycle update to all instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release is focused on increased scalability and performance as we look to 2021 with the need to even further scale-up infrastructure.

1. Improved Cloud-Side Performance of Device Monitoring within Admin Panel and Visual Analytics Suite

   With the increased load came a more definitive need to further optimize the Devices tab within the Admin Panel, as well as the Visual Analytics suite.

2. Deployed Infrastructure to Move Static Asset Delivery to the Global Content Delivery Networks (Will Be Enabled Iteratively Within Video Platform Instances)

   To improve global performance of Video Platform static asset resource loading (images, CSS files, etc.), this has been moved off our AWS-side infrastructure and now will load via the Content Delivery Networks. This will reduce page load times, as well as reduce sever load. This functionality will be deployed iteratively through Q4 to customer instances.

3. Resolved Rare Issues Which Could Stall Loading of Notifications Panel within the Admin Panel

   Deployed improvements to the Notifications tab that resolved rare issues which could cause the Notifications data to stall when being loaded.

4. Added API for Hardware Hubs to Be Remotely Auto Started

   The original API call did not adequately address auto-starts to devices without Profile IDs. Now, an API is available to auto-start 2U and 1U Hardware Hubs.

We have successfully pushed an update to all Panorama instances residing in the United States, Canada and the European Union.

1. Added Ability to Request Accessible Formats On-Demand Ahead of Queued Processing

   The Panorama integration with Canvas and Blackboard LMS platforms now makes it possible to request accessible formats to be generated on demand. Availability on other LMS Platforms to follow.

   

2. Improved Support for Blackboard SaaS Deployments vis REST APIs

   Blackboard is now fully supported using their new REST API protocols, enabling improved support for SaaS-based Blackboard deployments.

3. Additional Improvements
   – Resolved accessibility preview for PDFs that didn’t have accessibility issues
   – Resolved issues Accessibility Checker for PDFs not utilizing full capabilities

We 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 Canadian zones.

We have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the European Union and Canada. Next week, we will perform the same update to our United States-based zones. This release was primarily focused on 250+ internal scalability improvements, performance of key functionality, as well as fixes and product improvements.

1. Improved Performance of Zoom Ingestion

   The Video Platform sub-systems responsible for performing Zoom ingestion has been bolstered to provide even more robust and scalable ingestion of Zoom recordings. Many of these capabilities will complement a soon-to-be-released product called YuJa Himalayas for Digital Archiving and eDiscovery aimed at helping organization better manage the onslaught of digital media in a more compliant, scalable and cost-effective manner.

2. Data Management Tool Provides Ability to Export Matching Results as a CSV Table

   To provide better capabilities to review and archive potential content, the Data Management tool within the Admin panel now provides the ability to export the matching results table.

   

3. Faster Generation Speed for Embed Codes and Video Links for Longer Videos

   Though link generation speed is relatively fast, we recognize that some users need the links nearly instantaneously. Now, the links are available within seconds of the video being uploaded.

4. Improved Performance of Audit Logs (Notifications Tab) Data Loads

   With even mid-sized organizations routinely seeing hundreds-of-thousands of audit log entries, the Video Platform now offer a more robust and performant Notifications tab.

5. Improved Load Time of Visual Analytics and Admin Panel with Ultra-Large Data Sets

   Refinements to the load time of summary statistical information within both the Visual Analytics and Admin Panel have been made. These improvements are most noticeable for customers processing large volumes of video data.

6. Improved Summary Cards for Institution Storage Boxes with New Third-Party Storage Type

   New Storage Type Summary Cards provides a summary of the key storage types including a new storage type: Third-Party Imports. This new type summarizes the quantity of content being stored that arrived via an automated ingestion from a third-party systems such as Zoom.

   

7. Performance and Throughput Improvements to Canvas API Module

   The Canvas API Sync module has been improved to perform higher throughput Canvas data synchronization. Additional capabilities include:

   • Improved compatibility with Canvas API’s Enforce Scopes
   • Better integration with Canvas instances which do not perform archiving of historical course and user data
   • Faster data synchronization of new Canvas entity data

8. Improved Video Quiz Gradebook Synchronization and Related Improvements

   Based on user feedback, the Video Platform now includes about 15+ fixes and improvements for better Gradebook synchronization and handling of edge-cases. We will continue to review user feedback to resolve additional concerns.

We have successfully pushed an update to all Panorama instances residing in the United States, Canada and the European Union.

1. New Feedback Feature to Provide Product Team with Improvements on Accessibility Alternate Conversions

   A new document accessibility feedback widget allows site administrators and course instructors to provide the Product Team with feedback about their experiences. The feedback widget can be found in two locations, the Institution Accessibility Report and the Course Accessibility Report. On both reports the feedback widget can be opened by clicking on the feedback icon located on the bottom right of the screen.

   We strongly encourage administrators and instructors to submit feedback as it helps guide our development to continue to deliver a product that meets your needs.

   

2. Improved Accessibility Report Layout Within LMS Viewport

   Course Accessibility reports and Institution Accessibility reports have been updated with an improved UI. This iteration is focused on improving user experience with many components having been restyled to be more responsive and decluttered.

   

3. Additional Improvements
   -Improved contrast of component selector buttons
   -Fixed course title getting cut off
   -Fixed long filenames breaking styling in Accessibility Reports
   -Fixed accessibility shortcuts not being invoked sometimes
   -Fixed issues not being correctly categorized in the Accessibility Reports
   -Improved loading performance of Accessibility reports

We have successfully pushed an update to all Video Conference instances residing in the United States, Canada and the European Union.

1. Cleaner More Modern Interface with Improved Action Bar Capabilities

   The HTML5-based Video Conference interface has a new look-and-feel that provides a cleaner interface, easier access to key capabilities, and a more intuitive navigation experience.

   

2. New Quick Access Buttons with Click-to-Toggle Capabilities

   The new Navigation Bar auto-hides to ensure the visual focus is on the video conference experience rather than the toolset. The buttons also provide handy click-to-toggle between various view modes and sharing tools.

   

3. Improved Video Conference Recording Synchronization

   This release includes over 25+ improvements to the video conference recording including audio synchronization.

4. Coming Soon – Native YuJa Video Conference for Android Application

   This quarter, we also anticipate introducing our beta Video Conference for Android application. This is part of a broader strategy to provide a unified, cross-device video experience for on-demand and synchronous video.

We have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in Canada and the United States. For a summary of the release, please refer to the corresponding RC20200904 tag when deployed to the EU zones.

The upgrade to our Canadian instances is now complete. We are monitoring the Video Platform’s response times. We encourage users to let us know if you are experiencing any login slow-downs or high-latency responses.

Based on reports this morning of slow Video Platform response times, the Operations Team is adding additional capacity to instances located within our Canadian zone. We expect the upgrade to be complete within the next 15 minutes.

We have successfully pushed an update to all instances residing in the European Union. Next week, we will perform the same update to our United States and Canadian-based zones.

1. Advanced Adaptive Live Streaming for Hardware Hubs
   Hardware Hub-originating live streams can now take advantage of newly deployed elastic-scaling infrastructure that provides an adaptive bitrate live streaming experience. The resolution levels offered include: 240p, 480p, 720p, and 1080p with the default option being a network-sensing Auto setting.
   
   Organizations can request a firmware update to their Hardware Hubs to take advantage of this new capability. Please note that similar capabilities on the RTMP-based stream ingestion and the Apple and PC-based Software Capture application’s live streaming facilities are on the near-term roadmap.
   
   
2. New Video Quiz Gamification Capabilities to Create Advanced Tours (Beta)
   Video Quiz Creators can create Choose-Your-Own-Adventure type video quizzes with a video asset. A new Decision Point question type has been introduced that provides the ability to customize the linear progression of a video-based quiz based on the response to a proposed Decision Point. This enables an interactive user experience where video content can be sequenced in a non-linear fashion based on interactive input. This Beta feature will be further enhanced based on its assigned roadmap, as well as user feedback on future capabilities.
   
3. Deeper Audit Logs for Video Quizzes
   To provide better insight for instructors and Administrators, the Video Platform now provides deeper audit logs of quiz events including: deleting, editing, publishing, quiz attempts, and dozens more.
   
   
4. Improvements to Gradebook Sync Integration
   Based on customer feedback, the Video Platform has incorporated a number of improvements to its LMS Gradebook synchronization including improved error handling, retry logic and more.
5. Resolution of a Number of Media Download Edge Cases
   The Video Platform has incorporated 10+ fixes for “edge cases” related to downloading both transmuxed and original video content.
6. Improvements to Canvas Native API Integration Module
   In the last release, the Video Platform added a new native Canvas API-based integration that complemented the standard IMS-based LTI integration already provided. This release, the Video Platform added improved API integration including better handling of API rate limiting during large volume synchronization, support for course copy scenarios, support for Canvas API Scoping, and better support for situations where multiple identical course codes exist for active courses.
7. New Security Pin Requirement for More Secure Phone-Based Support
   To ensure that YuJa’s total-user-support provides industry-leading product support in a secure and compliant manner, YuJa Product Support is introducing a new Security Pin requirement that users are required to provide to receive non-general (account specific) product support.
   
   
8. Improved Video Editor Experience with More Responsive Design
   The Video Editor now offers an even more flexible and responsive design which fits better within smaller laptop screens. With this update, several fixes to caption and transcription editing issues have also been included.
   
9. Added Profanity Filter Option for the Recently Released Auto-Caption Engine
   The Profanity Filter capability is now available with the recently released auto-caption engine. Now both Caption Engines offer a Profanity Filter option.
   
10. Devices Tab Now Provides Improved Schedule Management Tools
    A new Manage Schedules option within the Devices Tab provides the ability to view, filter and delete schedules on a per-device and all-devices basis.
    
11. Progress on Initiative to Provide Full Localization Support (Starting with French)
    The Video Platform is undergoing an initiative to provide full localization support across all aspects of the product. We expect to have all web-based Video Platform screens full localized by mid-Fall with our initial support for French. This release includes translations for over 60% of the common Video Platform user interfaces including the Media Library, Media Player, and more.
    
12. Support for Locked Student Video Submissions
    Instructors can now disallow the ability for student-submitted video assignments to be edited or deleted when submitted via an LMS Media Chooser.
    
13. On-Demand LMS Gradebook Sync
    Complementing our automatic LMS Gradebook Sync, the Video Platform now offers an On-Demand LMS Gradebook Sync option which will perform a full re-synchronization of the YuJa Gradebook data for a given quiz to the corresponding LMS Gradebook.