Category: United States Zone

• February 23, 2019

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20190222 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian and European Union zones next week. This release includes over 80+ new features and improvements.

  1. Media Chooser for D2L Brightspace Extension Now Supports Video Quiz Insertion and Multi-Column Gradebook Integration
     Similar to the Canvas and Blackboard implementations introduced in the last few releases, we have rolled out D2L Brightspace support for Video Quiz insertion within the Media Chooser. This includes deeper native LMS-specific integration for Video Quizzes that expand upon the more limited LTI-based Gradebook integration (which we still support). The result is that users can create video quizzes, insert them virtually anywhere in the LMS and better track the results with multi-column gradebook integration. We’ve implemented it for all LMS’s, however we are releasing it in stages. Now that Canvas, Blackboard, and D2L Brightspace are released, Moodle is next.
     

     

  2. Improved Viewability of Embedded Quizzes
     Our new LMS-specific quiz integration released this past quarter with multi-column gradebook integration has created new use-cases around embedding quizzes. To improve the viewability in “tight spaces”, we’ve created a special overlay mode in instances where the side-by-side layout isn’t possible. Note: To take advantage of this new style, the quiz will need to be re-embedded within the LMS.

     

  3. Improved Performance of Visual Analytics’ Bandwidth Summary and Top Videos
     Improved the query performance for loading the Top Video and Bandwidth Summary analytics data.

  4. New Fast “Initial Thumbnailing” Algorithm Implemented
     We’ve improved the algorithm used to generate thumbnails to generate it very quickly after the video file has uploaded to the Platform. This is part of a new smarter heuristic project we are working on during the month of March to improve job queueing behavior and sub-task execution.

     

  5. Multi-Caption Account Support for Organizations
     To provide support for organizations using multiple caption accounts – across various departments and hierarchies – organizations can setup integrations with multiple, simultaneous caption vendors and/or accounts.

     

  6. New In-Progress Recording Indicators within Media Library
     As a precursor to end user-facing audit logging project for non-admin users (also a project this quarter), we are introducing a Processing icon indicator that appears for in-progress (and un-uploaded) captures. Once our end user-facing audit trails are finished, a user will be able to accurately and fully trace the current status of any uploaded or recorded media item. These capabilities will be released in phases through the month of March and April.

     

  7. Video Editor Now Has Ability to Set the Primary Stream
     For multi-stream recordings, Content Owners can now select which source is the primary source (the one that initially appears as the larger source).

     

  8. Audio-Only Files Now Generate Audio Waveforms
     The Video Editor has extended support for the audio waveforms to include audio-only media.

     

• February 10, 2019

  Update for YuJa Software Station for Apple Available to US, CAN and EU Zones

  Canada Zone European Union Zone United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an updated YuJa Software Station for PC to all physical zones residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union.

  1. General Stability Fixes and Minor Improvements
     We also added about a dozen fixes to various stability improvements and edge cases. Highlights of the fixes are noted below:

     
     #162584536 – Apple Capture – Resolved edge-case in media recoverability where shutting down ungracefully could leave a permanently processing live stream and a completed one.
     #162665441 – Apple Capture – Resolved rare issue where a scheduled live stream could crash the application.
     #163203646 – Apple Capture – Resolved issue where a video stream could freeze and become offset of the other when the YuJa app icon is clicked on.
     #163099066 – Apple Capture – Resolved rare issue where the software capture application could crash when an error alert dialog was intended to indicate an abnormal issue.
     #163525685 – Apple Capture – Improved client-side media recoverability when an abnormal issue causes a media fragment.
     #163598316 – Apple Capture – Improved partial screen recording error handling by preventing the capture area from being too small to practically record. Previously this could result in a crash of the screen capture module.
     #163638006 – Apple Capture – Improved error logging in situations which result in a crash state.
     

• February 9, 2019

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20190208 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian and European Union zones next week. This release includes over 60+ new features and improvements.

  1. Media Chooser for Blackboard Extension Now Supports Video Quiz Insertion and Multi-Column Gradebook Integration
     Similar to the Canvas implementation introduced in the last release, we have rolled out Blackboard support for Video Quiz insertion within the Media Chooser. This includes deeper native LMS-specific integration for Video Quizzes that expand upon the more limited LTI-based Gradebook integration (which we still support). The result is that users can create video quizzes, insert them virtually anywhere in the LMS and better track the results with multi-column gradebook integration. We’ve implemented it for all LMS’s, however we are releasing it in stages. Now that Canvas and Blackboard have been released, D2L Brightspace and Moodle are next.
     
     Note: Depending on your Blackboard Building Block plugin version, you may need to request an update from your assigned Customer Success Manager.

     

  2. Video Editor Supports Auto-Save to Prevent Accidental Loss Due to Refreshing the Page or Navigating Away
     As users are performing video edits, the Platform now tracks draft edits in situations of user or web-browser error such as accidentally navigating away from the editor. This feature stemmed from user feedback interviews which indicated that, though rare, losing an edit is a very frustrating and time-consuming experience. Now – we hope! – it should be a thing of the past.

  3. Video Editor Now Offers Advanced Capabilities to Increase Audio Levels
     Content where, perhaps, the audio track is too soft can now be improved with advanced support for audio amplification and re-encoding. Users can choose to amplify audio by 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, 2x and 4x for any recording or uploaded media.

     

  4. Video Editor Supports Additional Video Insertion Options
     Content owners now have more flexible options to perform video insertions, video overrides, as well as bumper and trailer video insertions. This extends upon the, more limited, Current Time (Override) mode.

     

  5. More Modern Chat Capabilities within Video Conferencing Application
     Mirroring the modern look-and-feel of our Live Stream chat capabilities, we’ve introduced a better chat that includes Platform avatars, a more responsive look-and-feel, as well as support for sending URLs.

     

  6. Improved Ability to Customize Thumbnail Displayed for Audio Files
     Custom thumbnails for audio-only files are now used within the in-player experience while listening to the audio file. Previously, the thumbnail only showed up in the Media Library view.

     

  7. Visual Analytics and Courses & Groups Sections Now Show Sub-Channel Relationships and Hierarchies Within Drop-Downs
     Drop-downs and filter fields within the Visual Analytics and Courses & Groups now provide a better visual indication of Sub-Channels contained within parent Media Channels.

     

• December 20, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20181221 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian zones next week. This release includes over 50+ new features and improvements.

  1. Video Editor Caption Edits Can Now Automatically Update Indices and Transcripts – We added selection toggles to the Video Editor’s Save dialog that enable users to select if they would like their caption edits to also update the index and transcript (both PDF and text transcripts). In the next release, we will be adding some further improvements to provide both a Replace Existing option to complement the Save as New Video option.

     

  2. Improved Robustness of Video Analytics Percentage Watched Detection – We resolved an internal tracking issue that could prevent the Percentage Watched value from being computed properly.
  3. Improved Moodle Media Chooser Integration with Some Moodle LMS Versions – Implemented a new YuJa Media Chooser for Moodle plugin which invokes an account creation only in the specific case when the YuJa button is pressed. Please email your Customer Success Manager to receive the latest plugin.

  4. Left Navigation Bar Expansion Behavior Makes It Easier to Perform Drag-and-Drop Operations – To make it easier to navigate while performing drag-and-drop operations, opening a folder via the tree-like structure does not trigger a navigation action.

     

  5. Improved Left Navigation Bar Keyboard Accessibility and Visual Cues – Improved both keyboard-only navigation of the Left Navigation Bar and added a visual key to indicate the highlighted folder. Also added folder expansion with the Spacebar key.

     

  6. Improved Capabilities to Establish a System-Wide Publishing Delay within the Admin Panel – Previously establishing a system-wide publishing delay required Professional Services to deploy an on-demand module. Now organizations can use self-service options within the Admin panel to establish a System-Wide Publishing Delay and Content Owners can override this with Publish Now and Skip Publish options.

     

  7. Video Editor Timeline Now Shows Blur Regions and Image Insertion Visual Indicators – We improved the timeline to show visual indicators for elements added as video overlays.

     

  8. Faster Analytics Visualization for Media Objects with 250,000+ Data Points – We completely re-tooled the visualization generation algorithm used within the Visual Analytics’ Contents tab to more quickly process the analytics visualizations. This will improve the overall speed and ensure that analytics load properly for heavily used media.
  9. Blackboard Media Chooser Extension Now Compatible with Blackboard Build Contents section – The latest Media Chooser extension can be used to insert media into Blackboard’s Build Contents section. We encourage our Blackboard customers to request the newest Media Chooser for Blackboard from their Customer Success Manager.
  10. New Blackboard Integration Supports Blackboard Web Link Module Including Ability to Add Homepage Web Link – To provide improved support to our Blackboard customers, we have released a new integration capability that allows organizations to add a My Media link directly onto non-course level pages via the Blackboard Web Link Module.

  We also used this release to improve about 35+ other smaller items. In the next release, we are deepening our Device Auto-Scheduling capabilities around delegating schedule opt-out, support for audio-only editing capabilities, improved zoom-in and zoom-out within the video editor, video conferencing improvements, the ability to insert video quizzes using your respective LMS’s Media Chooser extension, and much more.

• December 15, 2018

  Update for YuJa Software Station for Apple Available to US Zones

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an updated YuJa Software Station for Apple to all physical zones residing in the United States. A corresponding release will take place in the Canadian Zone next week.

  1. New Apple Capture Application with Full Media Recoverability
     We released a new version of the Apple Capture application that includes complete Media Recoverability. Like the PC Capture application’s capability, media recoverability enables abruptly or incorrectly terminated recordings to be uploaded and restored without manual intervention.

     Additionally, we moved the media recovery algorithms to the Cloud. By moving the recovery process to the Cloud, it enables us to continue to fine-tune and strengthen the recovery algorithms without necessitating end-users’ update their software capture applications. Software Capture on PC – which already has local media recoverability – will also benefit from this new architecture in a future release.

  2. Apple Capture Now Offer Partial Screen Recording
     The newest Apple Capture version matches parity with the PC Capture’s partial screen recording. This includes the ability to dynamically select a region of the screen to record for ad-hoc and auto-scheduled scenarios.

     

• December 8, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20181207 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian zones next week. This release includes over 50+ new features and improvements.

  1. HTML5 Video Conferencing Now Offers Toll-Free Dial-In Options – We’ve added new phone dial-in options for attendees to join and participate in video conferences. The toll-free access capability is available to users of our video conferencing products. Keep in mind that this is still in beta so we will continue to be enhancing the toll-free dial-in capabilities over the coming month.

     

  2. Improvements to Storage Calculations for Transfer of Owner Scenarios – We improved the accuracy of user account quotas in situations where content is transferred via the Change Owner capability. We also enhanced the accuracy across a number of additional edge-cases.
  3. Improve Blackboard Assignment Integration – We deepened our Blackboard Assignment integration with improved capabilities to view embedded content within Blackboard Assignments and related screens within the Blackboard LMS.
  4. Faster and More Responsive External Captioning Permissions UI – To better support large organizations (35,000+ users), we optimized the External Captioning Permissions dialog. At the same time, we modernized aspects of the UI to more consistent with the Platform.
  5. Improved Mobile Live Streaming Support – We resolved a number of issues to improve live streaming on mobile devices, particular more recent iOS devices. Also improved layout of the embedded Live Stream Player.
  Cloud-Hosted Media Recoverability Infrastructure – Next week, we will be updating the Apple Capture application to include complete Media Recoverability. Media recoverability enables abruptly terminated or incorrectly terminated recordings to be uploaded and restored without manual intervention.

  By moving the recovery process to the cloud, it enables us to continue to fine-tune and strengthen the recovery algorithms without necessitating end-users’ update their software capture applications. Software Capture on PC – which already has local media recoverability – will also benefit from this new architecture in a future release that we have planned.

  In the next release, we will be: 1) improving our Visual Analytics ability to quickly process big data workloads (millions of data points) when creating visualization; 2) adding a new Blackboard LMS integrations for creating a Homepage Media Plugin; 3) providing new options within the Video Editor to automatically update indexes and transcripts based on caption edits; and more.

• November 22, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20181123 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian zones next week. This release includes over 100+ new features and improvements.

  1. “Share with Users” Capability Now Supports Ad-Hoc Folder-Level Sharing – The Share button is now also enabled for folders. Previously, a pre-created shared folder was needed to share content at the folder level. Now, simply select Share Folder within the More Actions menu.
     
  2. Ability to Grab the Direct Link and Embed Code to a Media Channel – Content aligned to a Media Channel – most often used as playlists linked to an LMS course – can now be embedded or shared via a direct link to the content. This offers Content Owners flexibility in sharing and sending content aligned to an LMS-linked playlist.
     
  3. Shared Folders Now Offer Pre-Generated Embed and Direct Links – Folders within an organization’s Shared Folders now can be shared externally with pre-generated direct link and embed codes.
     
  4. Video Editor Top-Bar Offers More Relevant Actions – When users are in the video editor, the primary actions shown in the Top Navigation Bar are now change to Save and Close buttons.
     
  5. Video Editor’s Cut Operations Now Offers Improved Play-Head Alignment and Fine Tuning Ability – We re-tooled some the trim operations to offer the ability to establish more accurate cut operations. This is achieved with the following sub-capabilities:
     • Playhead and accompanying timestamp will move when trimming the start or end.
     • During a trim, set the trim to the playhead when performing a trim-head operation.
     • Clicking on an cut opens up a dialog to manually set the edit time.

     

  6. Improved Live Stream Synchronization on Both Software and Hardware Platforms – After months of research, we are introducing server-side, time-stamp synchronization that should improve multi-source, live stream synchronization when using either our hardware appliance or desktop-based software applications.Our research indicates that there are two key ways to ensure source synchronization. The first is to “fuse” the streams together during the encoding process and transmit them as a unified stream. Alternatively, we believe our server-side, time-stamping algorithm offers the ability to retain the benefits of true multi-source live streaming while improving the synchronization of streams. We encourage you to provide your feedback on how this algorithm dynamically adjusts – typically after a minute of streaming – to improve the live stream source synchronization during an active live stream.
  7. Additional Obfuscation of Content Embedded with LTI Deep Linking – Content that is embedded using the CIM-enabled Deep Linking protocol now will perform an additional security check based on the user PID. This helps prevent potentially skimming of content from the HTML code.
  8. Improved the Front-End Caching Layer When Moving Media Between Folders – We optimized the caching layer by performing a selective cache bypass, in some cases, to avoid getting stale data.
  9. Hardware Hub Improvements Related to Delayed Start Setting on Device Signals – We now offer the ability to have the Delay Start setting as enabled-by-default, as well as improved video playback robustness in situations where a particular video signal is never present for the entire recording session.
  10. Improved Zoom API Integration – We implemented a targeted set of changes to improve Zoom integration, status notifications, as well as minor updates to the Admin Panel’s Zoom Connector UI.
• November 10, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20181109 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian zones next week. This release includes over 125+ new features and improvements.

  1. An Even Easier-to-Use and More Modern Media Experience
     We’ve introduced a more unified and easier-to-use media experience that encompasses better media library navigation elements, clearer primary and secondary action menus, as well as a host of design-forward innovations that appeal to today’s video consumer (hover effects, modern status notifications and more).
     
  2. Media Channels Unified with the Central Media Library
     Media Channels now open directly within the Manage Media’s All Channels view. This provides a more cohesive experience and further simplifies how users navigate within the Platform. We also offer users the ability to toggle between optimized channel-style viewing and library-style editing experiences.
     
  3. New Drag-and-Drop Enabled Left Navigation Element for Faster Folder Transversal and Media Organization
     We added a new Left Navigation Bar that provides the ability to quickly navigate sub-folders, move content via drag-and-drop, and publish content to channels via drag-and-drop. We also refined Administrator-level workflows when navigating large volumes of folders and Media Collections.
     
  4. Integrated Video Analytics Directly within Video Details
     Content Owners will be able to view at-a-glance content analytics directly within the video’s Media Details popup. Users can also delve deeper into the video analytics by simply clicking the See More button.
     
  5. Refined Recording Workflow with Improved Notifications
     When launching the Software Capture desktop application using the Create Recording button, the UI is clearer and more informative when the software capture is actively launching. The inline pop-up will now automatically disappear after a few moments…one fewer user click.
     
  6. Improvements to HTML5 Video Conferencing to Scale to Higher Loads
     We added additional load monitoring and fault tolerance to the HTML5 Video Conferencing sub-system. This includes more robust video conferencing replay recording, resolution of a number of smaller issues that could cause a premature disconnection in rare situations and resolution of an issue which prevented users from inviting participants via email.
  7. Improved Audio-Only File Streaming Compatibility with Safari Web Browsers
     We improved some aspects of the encoding used to stream MP3 files on Safari web browsers while maintaining optimized audio streaming playback on other browsers. Along the same lines, we expanded our compatibility when encoding rare and older types of MOV file formats.
  8. 50+ Smaller Fixes and Improvements
     Additionally, we used this month-long update cycle to resolve over 50+ smaller issues and improvements which we will detail in the upcoming newsletter.

  Next release, we’ll be introducing: 1) improved multi-source live stream synchronization for both hardware and software platforms; 2) the ability for individuals to have folder-level sharing via the Share action; 3) the ability to obtain a direct link to both channels and sub-folders within the Shared Folder hierarchy; 4) refinements to the video editing experience when performing granular trims and cuts.

• September 28, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180928 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian zones next week. This release includes over 50+ new features and improvements.

  1. Ability to Setup Device Auto-Schedules Using an Organization-Wide XML Schedule – Administrators can now setup an entire organization’s schedule – or just a few capture device’s schedules – by uploading an XML schedule file.
     
  2. Improved Internal Audit Logging for Single-Sign-On Authentication – To improve our Professional Services’ ability to identify issues when performing SSO integrations, we have added more detailed audit logging.
  3. Ability to Customize Role Names – The terminology we use within the Platform to refer to the three YuJa roles can now be consistent with your organization’s role names. We now offer a new capability to rename roles to mirror your organization’s preferred terminology.
  4. Uploaded Videos Now Have Full Breadth of Editing Capabilities – We have unified editing functionality across both captures and uploaded media. Previously a few of the more advanced editing capabilities could only be performed on captures.
     
  5. Video Editor Supports Ability to Remove a Video Stream – In situations where you wish to remove an extra stream, we now offer the ability to remove a video stream using the editor.
     
  6. Video Editor Supports Ability to Create a “Blur” Region – To better support situations where a particular region of the video needs to be redacted, we now offer the ability to define a area of the video that will generate a blur region in the post-edited video.
     
  7. Improved Live Stream Player Embedding and Mobile Layout – Improved how the document viewer renders in embedded scenarios, resolved some issues with the chat box and improved layout on mobile devices.
• September 14, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180914 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian zones next week. This release includes over 60+ new features and improvements.

  1. Link Documents to Live Stream Events – Added both the ability to view documents side-by-side within the Live Stream Player, as well as implemented the ability to pre-insert documents into a scheduled live stream event (or dynamically while the event is in-progress).
     
  2. Clear Video Analytics for Particular Videos – To better support a content owner’s ability to re-use content and derive clear insights, we now offer the option to clear analytics data on a per-video basis.
     
  3. Upload Custom Thumbnails of Any Digital Asset – Extended our custom video thumbnailing support to include audio, YouTube, Vimeo, hyperlinks and documents. This enables content creators to provide thumbnails that better reflect the content of the underlying digital asset.
     
  4. Branding Capabilities of the Platform’s Main Navigation Bar – Organization administrators can now customize the Platform even further with the ability to change the colors of the top-bar and button links.
     
  5. New Moodle Roster Sync Plugin – For our customers that use the Moodle LMS, we have implemented a native LMS plugin that complements our IMS-certified LTI integration to provider course roster sync-ing. To learn more, view the help documentation.
  6. Increased Maximum Sub-Channel Support to 20 – The Sub-Channel capability within the Media Channels has been increased from up-to-6 sub-channels to up-to-20 sub-channels.
  7. Improvements to Video Ingestion of Rare Media Encodings – Added additional browser support for playback of HLS streams where the HLS chunk length is not aligned.
  8. Performance Improvements for Organizations with 1,000+ Active Courses and Groups – Optimized the speed and performance of a number of search and input fields to better handle situations with hundreds or thousands of active courses.
  9. Ported Over Text Overlay and Video Insertion Capability to Video Editor – Completed the feature migration from the legacy editor to the HTML5 editor. This release, we ported over the capability to insert text overlays and perform video insertions via the HTML5 video editor.
     
  10. New HTML5 Video Conferencing Capabilities – Addition of a “Laser Pointer” tool to the whiteboard and improvements to acoustic echo cancellation.

  Next release, we’ll be introducing the ability to: 1) upload organization-wide XML formatted device schedules; 2) customize the display-name shown for the role name; 3) add new video editor capabilities to blur regions for a specific time-period, use the full capture editing toolset on uploaded videos, remove a video stream and more.