Category: United States Zone

• July 26, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180727 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 65+ new features and improvements including:

  1. Media Channel Select All Capability for Easy “Course Copy” – Added a capability to perform a wholesale “Select All” channel copy from one channel to one-or-more channels. The primary use-case is to essentially roll forward a pre-existing channel to an upcoming semester’s channel.
     
  2. Multi-Channel Publish Capabilities – Introduced the ability to multi-select channels to publish one-or-more media objects simultaneously to multiple channels. This capability, along with the new Media Channel “Course Copy”, enables the ability to create pre-defined channels that can be copied from semester-to-semester or to multiple sections simultaneously.
     
  3. Ability to Add Pre-Defined Responses During Live Streams – Building on the existing capabilities of pre-defined commenting capabilities, we added the ability to insert comments from a pre-defined Comment Bank within a live stream session (previously it was just available for recorded media).
     
  4. Migrated Insert Slide Capability to HTML5 Video Editor – The Insert Slide capability, which enables users to upload a PowerPoint slide to override a particular video stream, has been migrated to the HTML5 Video Editor.
     
  5. Improve Keyboard Shortcuts to HTML5 Video Editor – Added eight keyboard hotkey (shortcuts) for video editing sequences. For more information on this, please review the related help documentation.
  6. Improved Media Player Compatibility with Safari – To improve compatibility with Safari 11.1.2 and 11.0.3 versions, we now take advantage of the built-in HLS auto-streaming.
  7. Added New Live Streaming Audience Engagement Capabilities – In addition to integrated live chat capabilities, we have now added the ability to send emojis (visual icons) as part of the integrated live stream chat. This capability mirrors the chat capabilities of popular social media platforms.
     
  8. HTML5 Video Conferencing Supports Larger Files – Increased the maximum per-document file size to 50MB to support larger slide decks and documents.

  We also resolved a number of issues. A few notable issues include:

  • Resolved an issue where, in some cases, an embedded video’s Loading event could trigger a view count increment instead of the Play event.
  • Improved Media Player rendering on small device screens including both portrait and landscape mode on iOS.
  • Resolved issue on iOS devices which could result in the Media Player failing to playback an MP3 file.
  • Improved error notification in instances where an invalid Adobe Presenter file is selected for ingestion.

  In the next release, we’ll be rolling out new capabilities including migration of the Insert Video capability to the HTML5 Video Editor, improved Media Player Sidebar “pinning”, new admin report showing infrequently used content, and much more.

• July 20, 2018

  United States Zone – Update to YuJa Software Station for PC RC20180713 Released

  United States Zone

  We have successfully pushed a new YuJa Software Station for PC to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian zones next week. This release is a maintenance release with one key new feature: Auto-Updating Device Preview.

  1. Auto-Updating Device Preview – The Software Capture for PC now offers the ability to setup full and auto-updating Device Preview capabilities (video, audio and status) within the Devices tab of the Admin Panel. This enhanced room monitoring of active recordings. While the product documentation is being updated with this new capabilities, we provided a stop-gap guide on how to enable this capabilities (see below):
     
  2. Improved Error Handling When Source Unavailable – If a pre-selected source is unavailable, the software will now attempt to initiate a recording with the remaining available sources.

  3. Resolved issue on Windows Machines with Brazilian Localization – Resolved an issue where a PC running a Brazilian instance of Windows could fail to upload a software capture.

     We also resolved some minor and rare issues which could occur when initiating the Screen and A/V encoders and auto-recovery if a XML configuration file is corrupted.

• June 30, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180629 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 90+ new features and improvements including:

  1. Administrative Act-as-User Capabilities – Administrators can now better assist non-Admin users via the ability to “switch” into a particular user’s persona dynamically.
     
  2. Ability to Schedule the Email Delivery of Analytics Reports – We introduced the ability to auto-schedule the email delivery of four of our standard “raw” reports. More reports to follow in future releases.
     
  3. Improvements to Zoom Connector Integration – Ability to “Select All” Zoom recordings, features to perform bulk operations more easily and small usability improvements.
  4. Administrative Lock User Role – The ability to override an LMS or SSO role value within the YuJa Platform for specific users. This locked role type is used irrespective of the role value sync-ed from an LMS or Single-Sign-On Connector.
     
  5. Ability to Customize Human Captioning Options Available – For those Human Captioning vendors that have various SLA options, we now support the ability to customize the options available to users. For example, this provides Administrators with the ability to disable “Same Day (8 hour)” turnaround options for users within their organization.
  6. Added HTML5-Based Screen Sharing to Video Conferencing Suite – We’ve added new functionality to perform desktop screensharing during a live video conference. Please note that for Google Chrome users we are still in the process of finalizing our submission to the Chrome Extension Store so please use this new capability in Firefox until the middle of next week.
     

  In the next release we have some exciting new capabilities being introduced including some Video Editor updates (audio waveform preview, insert slide, and more), Live Stream Chat capabilities with emojis, Media Player Play Bar button customization capabilities, and much more.

• June 16, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180615 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 80+ new features and improvements including:

  1. Improved Compliance with SCORM 1.2 Standard – Using video content as a SCORM object is now significantly easier with the ability to download a self-contained SCORM archive with pre-generated manifest. The SCORM object automatically updates a “video view completion” score based on the percentage of the video that was viewed. This can be directly integrated with SCORM-compliant LMS Gradebooks.
     
  2. Dynamic UI Update Improvements – We improved our in-browser cache optimization to enable faster updates of on-screen UI element updates within narrow bandwidth and processing constraints. The end result will be snappier and more dynamic on-screen UI updates.
  3. Full Role-Based Start Page Customization – Organizations can now customize the Start Page for each of the roles within the system. This is a pre-cursor to a unification we have planned between Media Channels and Media Library that will improve the viewing experience within the Media Library.
  4. Additional Performance Improvements to Media Library for Large Entity Sets – We rolled out the second set of improvements to the front-end performance when loading ultra-large sets of User Collections and Folder objects.
  5. Minor Accessibility Improvements to HTML5 Video Editor – In addition to some minor UI improvements, we improved the tooltip accessibility, resolved some issues related to captioning long videos, and resolved some “z-order” issues with certain front-end elements.
  6. UI, Stability, and Functionality Improvements to HTML5 Video Conferencing – We implemented a more versatile front-end model that enables us to create better user experiences. We eliminates some sources of premature disconnections, improved whiteboard usability, added mute/suppress buttons for video and audio sources, and improved mic and webcam detection. In the next release we expect to add WebRTC-based screensharing (which didn’t make this release’s cut-off) and more!
     
  7. Maintenance Fixes – We resolved a number of issues including:

  • Media Extension Mac Download Issue – Resolved issue which prevented the Mac Software Capture from being downloaded from the Media Extension in certain cases.
  • Browser Detection for Analytics Reporting Issue – Resolved an issue where the browser type was not properly being detected for the Analytics reporting.
  • Embedded Live Stream Player Branding Issue – In a number of cases, the organization’s branding was not properly used within the embedded Live Stream Player.
  • Downloading of Hub-Recorded Podcasts – Resolved an issue where, in some cases, captures recorded with the Hardware Hub could not be downloaded as a single-stream podcast.
  • Channel View Auto-Update Issue – Resolved an issue where our in-browser caching resulted in a failure to dynamically update the page seamlessly, particularly within content published to a given Media Channel.

  The next release we expect to add some new functionality and UI improvements to the Zoom Connector, the ability to lock specific user account roles (a heavily requested capability), ability to pre-schedule email-based delivery of analytics reports, new HTML Video Conferencing capabilities, admin-only Act as User capabilities, and more.

• June 2, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180601 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 70+ new features and improvements including:

  1. General Availability of the Zoom Connector – We’ve moved over the Zoom Connector to General Availability. Though this will be an optional add-on depending on your licensing agreement, initially we’ve opened it up for general use. Please contact your Account Manager for pricing details.
     
  2. Automatic LMS Transition Module – To assist organizations who are transitioning LMS platforms, we have provided tools to transition YuJa LTI-linked users automatically between the two LMS products.
  3. Improved Accessibility of Media Sub-Channel – We improved the accessibility of the Media Channels, as well as resolved some issues with the new Sub-Channel style that affected certain courses in production.
  4. Improved End-User, Administrator and YuJa Staff Notifications on Transcode Failures – While rare occurrences in the first place, we have added appropriate tools for all user types – including YuJa Operations Staff – to be alerted about most types of media transcoding and transmuxing failures. Admins will see the filter-able in the Admin Panel alerts.
     
  5. Large Entity Performance Improvements – We improved both our front-end and back-end systems to better handle large volumes of media objects within a single folder, as well as, large number of folders within a parent folder.
  6. New HTML5 Video Conferencing Capabilities – We introduced a new HTML5 whiteboard foundational interface (still lots more work to do!), improved browser compatibility, better automatic audio/video detection, disconnection detection, as well as general bug fixes.
  7. Improved Tab-Level Accessibility of Admin Panel – As part of our initiative to improve the keyboard-only accessibility of our Platform, we have reviewed and improved the capabilities of the Admin Panel.

  In the next release, look forward to improved SCORM 1.2 object compatibility and exportability, screensharing capabilities on the HTML5-based video conferencing, and more.

• May 18, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180518 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 is mostly a maintenance update that includes over 40+ new features and improvements including:

  1. Crisp Sub-Channel Visualization and Improved LMS Integration – For those users using sub-channels within their course Media Channels, we’ve changed to a tab-style interface that is easier to navigate.
     
  2. Keyboard-Only Tab Navigation Improvements – We have an ongoing project to review our keyboard-only navigation and ensure that all screens are a smooth navigation experience. We’ve reviewed many of the screens and this effort continues.
  3. Better Media Channel Layout – To better use the top-region of the Media Channel, we’ve move away from a 3-video layout and introduced a 7-video layout (where space allows). This is a better use of the available screen (see screenshot above).
  4. New Visualization of Word Clouds, Transcripts, and Tags – Along the same theme of better use of space, rather than a linear down-the-page style, we’ve moved each of the AI-powered video cognition attributes to individual tabs. See screenshot below.
     
  5. Bulk Download Now Integrated With Date Search – We’ve integrated the existing date-based media searching with the ability to use the Bulk Download capabilities. This enables users to refine their search to identify which media to bulk download.
     
  6. General Platform Improvements – In addition, we also made some general Platform improvements:
     • Changed Blackboard Media Chooser Extension to use the actual zone-specific embed code rather than the generic Platform URL. This ensures that use of an embedded video with a Single-Sign-On is directed to the organization’s SSO.
     • Identified rare issues within the Media Player that could cause the geographic restrictions to fail for specific network types. Also resolved rare issues related to Blackboard media embedding within self-hosted instances.
     • Improvements to the HTML5 Video Editor in handling very large caption files
     • Improved overall Platform compatibility with older versions of Internet Explorer (the predecessor to Edge)
     • Improved HTML5-based Editor’s multi-stream sync when editing large media files.
  7. Limited Release of Zoom Connector – We’ve finished deploying all the backend infrastructure for the Zoom Connector and those organizations that had expressed interest in using it should be able to. In a few weeks, we’ll open this up to all organizations to try out.

  In the next release, we anticipate rolling out some updates to the HTML5 Video Conferencing, Platform performance improvements, new notifications for any media transcoding errors and more.

• April 28, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180427 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 including:

  1. Improvements to HTML5 Video Editor – We ported and added some additional functionality including thumbnail visualization for video streams, simple visualization for separate audio streams, undo button with new “Changelist” pane (and the ability to view and revert current changes), new save options namely the ability to save captions & indexes to the current video object, UI improvements, and general bug fixes & tweaks. If you run into issues with the HTML5 Video Editor, we encourage you to provide us with specific reproduction steps and we will actively aim to get this reviewed and resolved in a near-term release.
  2. Optimizations to Bulk Download – We have further optimized the self-service Bulk Download feature to work even more efficiently across nested folders and both video and non-video digital assets.
  3. Student-Oriented My Gradebook Tab – For organizations using Video and Text Quizzes, in addition to the LTI Gradebook integration, we now provide a specific tab where students can view grades of post quizzes.
  4. Mobile Live Streaming Player Improvements – We bolstered our mobile live streaming capabilities with broader mobile device support.
  5. Improved Live Stream to Capture Transition – We now provide the option of the Live Stream URL being used to auto-forward to the subsequent recording of the Live Stream event. We also added some general bug fixes and small improvements to the HTML5 Live Stream Player.
  6. General HTML5 Video Conferencing Improvements – We integrated recorded conference recordings into the Storage analytics, improved participant box sizing, and improved overall stability. Upcoming releases will focus on continuing to port over functionality present in the Flash-based Video Classrooms tool.
  7. Improved Usability of Accessibility Tab within Media Details – We’ve made managing and uploading accessibility related metadata including caption files, Audio Description files, and transcripts – easier to do with a more intuitive user interface.

  In the next release, we will be introducing to General Availability a new add-on called the Zoom Connector to connect to enterprise Zoom instances and import Zoom recordings into the Media Library (please contact your Account Manager regarding pricing, availability and feature set), new media search options, new video editor capabilities and more.

• April 14, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180413 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 90+ new features and improvements including:

  1. Improved HTML5 Video Editor – Migrated the caption editing and index editing into the HTML5 video editor tool. We also implemented a synchronized scrubber bar with zoom capabilities. In this release, we also added the ability to edit captions inline underneath the video feeds to provide an easier caption editing experience.
  2. General Availability of External RTMP Ingestion – We now offer organizations the ability to use their existing tri-caster or RTMP-based streaming software to live stream at scale. This allows organizations to use their existing hardware and software encoders with our cloud-hosted live streaming infrastructure to create embedded live stream players for events and graduations. This capability was originally available to a limited set of zones, however it is now offered to all organizations.
  3. Aesthetic Improvements to Media Player – We improved some of the graphics and play-pause transition changes to the Media Player.
  4. HTML5 Video Conferencing (alpha) – We implemented and migrated the group chat capabilities, UI improvements, and smaller improvements to meeting recording capabilities. We expect to exit alpha in the next month-or-so with a limited set of functionality.

  In the next release, we anticipate migrating over more of the Flash-based video editor’s capability to the newer HTML5 editor, improved Media Details panel, and more.

• March 31, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180330 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 70+ new features and improvements including:

  1. Improved In-Video Commenting with Timeline Commenting and Pop-up Comment Bubbles – We improved in-video commenting by enabling the ability to comment directly on the video timeline, see comments on the timeline, and see “pop-up” comments as the video plays. As you’re using the new capabilities, we encourage you to provide feedback on ways you’d like to use this capability so that our Product Team can extend and expand it.
  2. In-Video Quiz Suite Now Part of Media – We’ve extended the video quizzing to be integrated more deeply with the Video Platform as a whole. While this will change how users create and access quizzes, we are confident that the improvements will make it even easier to create video-based assessments. Here are some of the details:
     • Top-Bar Take-Quiz Workflow – Quizzes that are available for users to “take” are now linked directly within the top-bar of the Platform (look for a new “Bell” icon). This makes it easier for students to find available quizzes without having to “dig into” the Polls & Quizzes suite.
     • Quizzes Stored in My Account tab – Created text-based and video quizzes are now stored in your My Accounts under a sub-tab called My Assessments.
     • UI Refinements – We also tidied up some naming inconsistencies with the use of the term “poll”, resolved a Unicode oversight that prevented non-English languages from being used for quiz questions, as well as a few other smaller improvements.
     • Supports In-Video Commenting – In-video quizzes can be used in conjunction with in-video commenting.
  3. New Tab Orientation for Media Details – To accommodate the new Comments tab within Media Details, our design folks switched the tabs to stack vertically. We will be further refining the user experience within the Media Details sub-tabs in upcoming releases.
  4. HTML5 Video Conferencing (alpha) – Our plan to migrate capabilities from the Flash-based Video Classrooms tool to the HTML5-based Video Conferencing continues. In this release, we moved over record-and-replay capabilities. We’re getting there!

  Looking ahead, in the next release we’ll be providing some feature updates to the HTML5 Video Editor, providing better self-service Bulk Downloading capabilities, new Live Streaming capabilities, and much more.

• March 17, 2018

  United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180316 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 80+ new features and improvements including:

  1. General Availability of new Media Chooser for Canvas with Analytics Capabilities – We are now offering all customers with more powerful LMS media embedded with the Canvas Media Chooser to track analytics. To take advantage of this, please uninstall the old Canvas Media Chooser and follow the installation documents to install the new one with the revised Paste XML. If you have questions on how to install this, please email us at support@yuja.com.
  2. Emebeddable Live Stream Media Player – Administrators can now pre-schedule an embeddable HTML5-based HLS-compliant Live Stream Player. This expands the available use-cases to include guest speakers, events and graduation ceremonies. Through March and April we will be rolling out a number of exciting Live Streaming capabilities that will also move to General Availability.
  3. New Live Stream “Waiting Room” Experience – For pre-scheduled Live Stream events, if users try to enter a scheduled Live Stream ahead of time, they will now receive an waiting room UI with a countdown timer. Once the event starts, they will be automatically placed in the live stream.
  4. New Media Details Pop-up for Faster Media Organization – When users access the More… option within the Media Library for a particular media object, we now offer a fast-loading inline pop-up rather than having to click to navigate to a new page.
  5. Additional Player Branding Options – Administrators can now customize which options they would like to have within their Media Player’s secondary menu. We also did some further refinements to the Media Player playback experience.
  6. Minor Aesthenic Improvements for Processing Media – We improves some of the visuals for the ingestion process as well as improved the main menu button. This is part of a longer-term initiative to bring visual and user experience consistency to all suites.