-
November 10, 2018
United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20181109 Released
General Platform HTML5 Player HTML5 Video Conferencing Improved Media Management United States ZonesWe 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. - 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. - 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.
- An Even Easier-to-Use and More Modern Media Experience
-
June 2, 2018
United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20180601 Released
General Platform HTML5 Video Conferencing Improved Media Management United States ZonesWe 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
-
December 23, 2017
Semi-Monthly Scheduled Release Successfully Deployed
Added Analytics General Platform HTML5 Player Improved Live Streaming Media Management Video EditorWe have successfully pushed an update to all zones. This release includes:
- Updated Content Analytics – The new Contents tab replaces the previous Insights tab with a host of new video analytics data including session-level data, user-level data, viewer technology (browser, device), segment viewership, session dates, and raw download capabilities. As new views trigger, you’ll see this new data be collected and aggregated. We also resolved a few bugs with the content analytics at the same time.
- Additional Admin Overview Panel Data – A newly introduced Views Summary Card provides an at-a-glance indicator of the number of video views in the last 30 days in your zone. We also refined the styling of the panel itself to gear up for new data from other sub-systems. Our next release (scheduled for mid-January 2018) will add some additional Summary Cards for active & upcoming Live Streams and Video Classroom usage.
- Refinements to Media Library Action Menu UI – The Action menu now appears as a hover event with the most frequently accessed items displayed as top-level menu items. Previously a Gear icon had to be clicked on to access this Action menu.
- Early Preview of HTML5 Video Editing – We’ve added a very early user preview of our upcoming HTML5 Video Editor. We caution that this should not be used for significant production workflows, however with the foundational (backend) work laid, we wanted users to be able to get a feel for what this new workflow will eventually look like. Keep in mind that the UI is not finalized and the functionality is very limited. Much more will be rolling out in a series of off-cycle and on-cycle Editor-only updates through 2017 and Q1 of 2018.
- New Group Management APIs – We added some new Courses and Group administration APIs to improve course management for those organizations connecting the Platform directly to an Student Information System (SIS) data feed.
- Improvement to Live Streaming – Improved user notification of live stream pause event and end-of-stream event. Also refined player branding, and browser-level compatibility improvements (mostly with legacy Microsoft IE and some versions of Microsoft Edge).
Additionally, we will be releasing an update to the Software Capture for Apple in the next 1-2 week that mirrors the popular look-and-feel of the PC Capture application’s confidence monitor UI, introduces the slider-style source toggling, and eliminates the requirement to create an initial profile to commence a capture. Through Q1 of 2018, the Apple Capture application will continue to introduce a number of features found on the PC Capture in a series of successive updates.
A total of 62 features, improvements, and fixes were released within this update. If you have questions on anything with this release, please do not hesitate to email support@yuja.com.
-
December 9, 2017
Semi-Monthly Scheduled Release Successfully Deployed
Added Fixed General Platform HTML5 Player Improved Live Streaming Media ManagementWe have successfully pushed an update to all zones. This release includes:
- Workflow Update to the Capture & Live Stream – This workflow simplifies how to initiate a capture and live-stream, including reducing the number of clicks required.
- New Admin Panel Overview tab – This tab provides Administrators with a cursory overview of the activity that’s happening within their enterprise’s zone. We are in the process of updating all the Platform’s sub-systems to send all their normal and abnormal alerts (e.g. low audio signals, auto-schedule failures, etc.) to this centralized console over the coming releases. The overall product vision for this Admin Panel -> Overview tab is alerts filtering in real-time from various sub-systems and remote device nodes (capture devices) that are placed in your physical environment.
- Refined Media Player Controls – We made some tweaks to the Scrubber Bar positioning that makes it easier for users to utilize the player controls, as well as, better uses the on-screen space. This update also paves the way to an upcoming feature for customizing the player controls (“player skins”).
- Hub Preview Confidence Migrated to HTML5 – Admins will notice that we shifted the Device Preview control from an embedded Flash applet to an HTML5 one.
- Refinements to the Metadata Schema Workflow – Recognizing that metadata data-entry can be cumbersome for users, we have added some explanatory animation and alerts in situations where Required Fields need to be filled out. Some additional metadata schema improvements and bug fixes are also part of this.
- Gradual Transition to Self-Service RESTFul API Use – We will be transitioning use of our RESTFul APIs from an On-Prior Approval Model to a Self-Service Model in Q1 of 2018. As part of this, the API Key generation is now available within the Admin Panel.
- Alert Toasts Now Match Look-and-Feel of Platform – You’ll notice that the Toast Messages that appear now match the Platform’s look-and-feel better.
- Refined Main Menu Panel – To improve the overall usability of the Platform, we added additional short explanations for each of the Main Menu tiles.
- Media Pipeline Improvement to Handle Resolution Fragments Better – In instances where a screen resolution change occurs during an active Software Capture, our media pipeline now performs a post-capture re-stitch of the various resolution fragments to create a cohesive media object. The pipeline also will perform media processing retries of captures that have not uploaded within a week to the YuJa Cloud. The pipeline will also now send a warning alert email to users whose media has not uploaded within a week.
Additionally, we will be releasing an update to the Software Capture for PC next week and making available an optional Hardware Hub Firmware the following week. We will provide more details on each of these updates when we make available these off-cycle releases.
A total of 168 features, improvements, and fixes were released within this update. If you have questions on anything with this release, please do not hesitate to email support@yuja.com.
-
November 18, 2017
Semi-Monthly Scheduled Release Successfully Deployed
General Platform HTML5 Player Improved iOS App Media Management Software Station for AppleWe have successfully pushed an update to all zones. This release includes:
- Introduction of “One-Click Drag-and-Drop” which enables users to drag content right onto the Media Library window pane for uploading and inclusion within their Personal Library.
- Migration to general availability in all physical zones of Custom Metadata Schema which enables institutions to define customized – and optionally mandatory – metadata fields for media. This offers improved metadata-based organization and metadata search. To ensure a successful incorporation of these capabilities, we will not be enforcing the Required Flag for metadata schema rules while institutions learn about these capabilities. Enforcement of the Required Flag will happen in a subsequent release.
- Improved integration with Rev, AST CaptionSync and 3Play Media for submitting human captions. We have had conversations with all our human captioning vendors to improve their error reporting in instances where captioning isn’t possible (low audio levels, zero audio levels, etc.) and, based on this, will be deepening the integration further in an upcoming, near-term release.
- Updates to the iOS mobile apps to match the Android app’s ability to upload pictures and videos already present on the device.
We also added about 50+ minor improvements and fixes including: a minor update to the Apple Capture application related to improvements in device compatibility, media library permission and usability fixes, HTML5 Media Player browser compatibility fixes, and more.
Looking ahead, we are putting the final touches on some improvements to our YuJa Cloud’s media processing pipeline (to be even faster, have more capacity, and fault tolerant), an improved YuJa Software Station for PC with more capabilities, and much more.
-
October 21, 2017
Semi-Monthly Scheduled Release Successfully Deployed
General Platform HTML5 Player Improved Media ManagementWe have successfully pushed an update to all zones. This release includes:
- New YuJa Software Station for PC binaries which includes:
- Improved MPEG restoration capabilities in instances where capture-only sessions are terminated abruptly (forgetting to press Stop, premature machine termination, abrupt logout)
- “Robustification” of PC-based software capture automation
- New capabilities within Watch Point ingestion, namely ability to select a Publish location and Owner
- A dozen or so smaller bug fixes and UI improvements
Note: We will be performing one additional PC Software Capture application update within the next month as we roll-out fully HTML5-based live-streaming capabilities across all capture platforms, including the ability to “pause and resume” Live Streams. We have already rolled out HTML5-based live streaming to some zones and are pleased with the response. We will continue to broaden this in the next release. RTMP-based Adobe Flash streaming will continue to be officially supported by YuJa Product Support for approximately 60 days after our HTML5-based Live Streaming enters general availability.
- We also did a very minor binary improvement to the YuJa Software Station for Apple binary in all zones that resolves a few relatively rare issues.
- Media Channels offer Sub-Channel capabilities within course-linked Media Channels with separate permission capabilities. The primary use-case is the ability to create sub-channels within a course for student submissions, and better organization with large numbers of media assets aligned to a given course.
- General improvements to the Software Capture suite’s Auto-Scheduling capabilities in edge-case scenarios including when the remote machine is switched off, turned on late, turned off early/abnormally, etc. We will continue to analyze aggregate log data to identify mechanisms to improve Auto-Scheduling capabilities even further.
- Improvements to the Accessibility Dashboard including the ability to create a downloadable report of all media that matches specific criteria such as missing copyrights, missing captions, missing audio descriptions, etc.
In addition to the above items, we also added about 62 smaller features and improvements. Looking ahead to our November releases, we will be introducing a fully HTML5 Live Stream player, customized Metadata Schema Management tools, new standardized and fully automated caption integrations with Rev and CaptionSync, configurable Transcoding Profiles, and much more.
- New YuJa Software Station for PC binaries which includes:
-
September 9, 2017
Minor Platform Update Completed Successfully
General Platform ImprovedAs many of our enterprise customers head back into the school year this past week, we made a decision to perform only a minor Platform update of about a dozen small fixes and improvements. We will be resuming our regular bi-monthly by mid-September.
-
July 29, 2017
Bi-Monthly Scheduled Release Successfully Deployed
Added Fixed General Platform HTML5 Player Improved Media Management Video Classrooms Video QuizzesWe have successfully pushed an update to all zones. This release includes:
- Toggle capabilities for offline media download capabilities within the HTML5 Media Player;
- New Video Classroom capabilities for switching presentation sources;
- Resolution of some minor accessibility gaps within the HTML5 Media Player;
- Refined Polls & Quizzes user interface (we also pushed out an incremental set of capabilities that includes the ability to add a picture to a quiz question).
In this release there were a total of 94 features, smaller improvements and fixes.
-
June 22, 2017
Preview of Important Workflow Changes in Next Bi-Monthly Release
Improved UpdateOur Product Team has been busy preparing for the next bi-monthly release currently scheduled for next Friday. We have some exciting new features planned and about 50 smaller improvements and fixes. Additionally, there will be three key workflow changes that you should expect to see.
- Refined Workflow for Capture and Live Stream suite. We have simplified the four-box layout into three boxes that focus on the three main activities that the majority of users perform on a regular basis.
- Ability to turn ON/OFF capture workflows. While we offer the industry’s most comprehensive capture suites, some institutions wish to only enable specific workflows, especially during initial deployment. A common example is whether to enable the Web Capture workflow and Configured Rooms workflow to end-users. IT Managers will have the ability to toggle these three tiles within their Platform Settings.
- Sunset of Course Syllabus and Shared Files. We have now fully completed our transition to enable file and document storage in the Media Library. This also includes the ability to link documents to Media Channels. With this, the ongoing need for a separate Shared Files and Course Syllabus suite is increasingly minimal. Our Support and Account Management team can assist any institutions in transitioning to the newer features. Please contact us if you would like assistance.
- Refined Workflow for Capture and Live Stream suite. We have simplified the four-box layout into three boxes that focus on the three main activities that the majority of users perform on a regular basis.
-
June 17, 2017
Bi-Monthly Scheduled Release Successfully Deployed
Added Android App Fixed General Platform HTML5 Player Improved Media Management Update Video Editor Video QuizzesWe have successfully pushed an update to all zones. This release includes a refreshed Main Menu, more modern Institution->Devices tab, an updated Android app that resolved a number of device playback issues on recent devices (we will commence work on refreshing our iOS app in July for the same purpose), and updates to our Video Quizzes to use our branded HTML5 Player.
We also added over 50 features and fixes included the ability for authenticated users to download their digital notes and bookmarks as a PDF, improved performance and search within the Courses & Groups tab, the ability to better manage auto-generated PDFs and Audio Description tags.
We have some exciting features rolling out in phases this summer – stay tuned!