Transition to Panopto

This website explains what Panopto is, why we are adopting it, what it will replace, timeline for these changes, and direction for upcoming and on-demand training, support, and Kaltura migration FAQs.

West Chester University Information Services & Technology continuously evaluates instructional technologies to effectively meet the emerging and continuing needs of students, faculty, and staff. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and shift to alternate modes of instruction emphasized the need for a comprehensive video content management strategy promoting student engagement and making the learning experience more accessible to a wider audience.

IS&T will begin the transition from Kaltura to Panopto as the primary video streaming and storage solution this winter, which includes a content migration occurring during the Spring 2022 semester.

What is Panopto?

Panopto is a video streaming platform developed by Carnegie Mellon University and is the leading streaming media platform in higher education. Panopto offers desired features such as a user-friendly interface, advanced search options, security, enhanced accessibility, options for video interactivity and engagement, and integrations with other instructional technologies such as Zoom and D2L. 

The switch to Panopto simplifies video creation and management, as all media will be comprehensively managed in one single platform enabling students, faculty, and staff to easily integrate and share media with other tools.

Panopto became available campus-wide on December 17, 2021.

Features include:Panopto Logo

  • Video Content Management and hosting for pre-recorded and streaming media (searching, sharing, permissions, and editing).
  • Screencasting/Recording for a variety of use cases and share videos from anywhere, using any laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
  • Zoom Cloud Recording storage and management of recordings in one place
  • Lecture Capture for in-classroom and on-demand recording.
  • Virtual Classroom for easy delivery of any video or recording via D2L.
  • Student Recordings for presentations, assessments, assignments and more.
  • Video Accessibility with flexible AI captioning options, screen reader support, and more.

 

Panopto will replace two video tools (Kaltura and MediaSite), and will house content created by Zoom:

Kaltura

We have used Kaltura for many years to deliver streaming media content. Kaltura’s drawback is that it is very complex, and trying to use it for additional use cases is costly and cumbersome.

MediaSite

This is the classroom capture solution currently installed in a number of WCU classrooms. MediaSite has a limited amount of video storage space and classroom hardware is very expensive, making it difficult to scale up rapidly to more rooms. 

Zoom

We have no intention to replace Zoom! However, we are using Panopto for long-term storage of Zoom cloud recordings. This reduces cost (Panopto offers unlimited storage; Zoom charges), and all of WCU's video content will be housed in one single system.

Transition Timeline

Phase I Start Date End Date Status
Panopto configuration November 2020 January 2021 Complete
Panopto trial January 2021 May 2021 Complete
Phase II Start Date End Date Status
Kaltura recordings (viewed in the last 2 years) migrated to Panopto November 2021 January 18, 2022 Complete
Panopto integration with D2L and Zoom November 2020 December 17, 2021 Complete
Panopto can be used by anyone, to record, edit, deliver and manage media December 17, 2021 December 17, 2021 Complete
Email to Kaltura content owners: Outlines content to be moved to Panopto January 18, 2022 January 21, 2022 Complete
Faculty to update courses: Kaltura video links and embed code Began January 18, 2022 June 30, 2022 Complete
New Zoom Cloud recordings stored in Panopto December 17, 2021 December 17, 2021 Complete
Kaltura recordings (created since November 1, 2021) migrated to Panopto March 14, 2022 July 20, 2022 Complete
Kaltura no longer available for creation of new content March 4, 2022 March 4, 2022 Complete
Kaltura decommissioned   June 30, 2022 Complete
Phase III Start Date End Date Status
MediaSite no longer available for creation of new content May 26, 2022 May 26, 2022 Complete
MediaSite recordings (viewed in the last 2 years) migrated to Panopto June 1, 2022 December 6, 2022 Complete
Email to MediaSite content owners (viewed in the last 2 years ONLY): Outlines content to be moved to Panopto December 7, 2022 December 7, 2022 Complete
Faculty to update courses: MediaSite video links and embed code December 7, 2022 June 30, 2023 Complete
MediaSite content goes offline December 20, 2022 December 21, 2022 Complete
MediaSite decommissioned   June 30, 2023 Complete

Training

Panopto Training is available beginning December 2021. Please register for upcoming Panopto trainings. In addition to the scheduled events below, training for departments or programs can be requested via ServiceNow or by emailing d2l@wcupa.edu. Distance education faculty are encouraged to contact their instructional designer to discuss Panopto's impact on their course videos.

Register through FAST for WCU hosted live trainings:

Panopto hosted trainings:

On-demand basic training
Panopto's collection of tutorial videos
Register for basic and advanced training webinars

Support Articles

Kaltura Migration

General Panopto Tutorials and Resources

Panopto Content & Management

Panopto Video Retention

Panopto Video Organization

Add Panopto Content into D2L

Panopto Video Quizzes

Panopto Apps

For additional support, please submit a ticket via ServiceNow or call the IS&T Helpdesk at 610-436-3350.

Migration FAQs

Panopto: Migration from Kaltura FAQs (KB0011217)

Kaltura Content Will it be migrated to Panopto?
Analytics No
Captions Yes, including edited captions
Chapters/Table of Contents Yes
Images No
Playlists Yes
PowerPoint and Keynote Files Yes, but chapters will not be created automatically in Panopto for PowerPoints and Keynote files migrated this way
Quizzes No, videos played in the last two years will be migrated, but associated quiz content will not be

Why are we switching from Kaltura to Panopto?

WCU IS&T continuously evaluates its instructional technologies to effectively meet the emerging and continuing needs of students, faculty, and staff. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden shift to alternate modes of instruction, the University saw a significant rise in videos being created and stored. As a result, IS&T conducted an analysis of the existing video management platform, Kaltura, and this analysis found that Kaltura failed to scale on the level needed by the University and lacked many of the features necessary to effectively create and manage videos in an online environment. As such, the campus sought a new platform which would offer desired features such as a user-friendly interface, advanced searchability, security, enhanced accessibility, options for video interactivity and engagement, and integrations with other instructional technologies such as Zoom and D2L.

Panopto, a comprehensive video streaming and storage platform, addresses many of the challenges discovered in Kaltura and that came about due to the pandemic. Panopto represents the consolidation of several tools which will simplify video creation and management. Videos created in other platforms will be systematically migrated to Panopto. All media will be comprehensively managed in one single platform enabling students, faculty, and staff to easily integrate and share media with other tools.

When will Panopto be rolled out? When are we losing access to Kaltura?

The Panopto migration timeline is broken out into three phases. We are currently in Phase II as outlined on our website. Kaltura will become view only on March 4 (no longer able to upload or create new content) and is scheduled to be decommissioned on June 30, 2022.

Will there be a transition period where we will have access to both Kaltura and Panopto?

Yes. There are two important dates to keep in mind in regards to Kaltura:

  • March 4, 2022 - After this date, you will no longer be able to use Kaltura for creating new videos.
  • June 29, 2022 - After this date, Kaltura will be decommissioned, and you will no longer have access to any content stored in Kaltura.

How do I access Panopto?

On December 17, 2021, you will have access to Panopto through D2L, and you will be able to log into it with your WCU email and password using a direct URL: https://wcupa.hosted.panopto.com/. Please refer to this help article for further information: Panopto: How to Access Panopto (KB0011152).

Do Kaltura content owners have to request their videos to be migrated from Kaltura to Panopto? Or will they be automatically moved?

Kaltura videos that have been played in the last two years will be automatically migrated to Panopto. It will be the responsibility of the instructor to replace any Kaltura videos and/or embed code with the corresponding Panopto videos in their D2L courses.

What will happen to the video files that I currently have in Kaltura?

Panopto will automatically convert and migrate Kaltura videos viewed since August 1, 2019 and owned by faculty and staff. Content owners are responsible for updating links and/or embed codes within courses, websites, or materials. These will not automatically be updated.

Will videos migrated to Panopto be automatically captioned?

Yes, if the video was captioned in Kaltura, then the edited Kaltura caption file will be migrated to Panopto. Regardless, all new videos in Panopto will be automatically machine captioned. To edit your video captions in Panopto, please refer to this help article: Panopto: Edit Video Captions (KB0011207).

What about videos that haven’t been played in the last two years? Is there a final date by which old Kaltura videos will no longer be accessible?

November 8, 2021 is the pull date used for the played in the last two years (since August 1, 2019).

  • March 4, 2022 - After this date, you will no longer be able to use Kaltura for creating new videos.
  • June 29, 2022 - After this date, Kaltura will be decommissioned, and you will no longer have access to any content stored in Kaltura.

Are student videos being migrated?

No, student videos are not being migrated. Students can download their Kaltura videos and upload them to Panopto if they want to save them.

 

Can I move my videos from Kaltura to Panopto without waiting for the migration?

Yes, but some of your videos may be duplicated. Videos with a view date since August 1, 2019 will be automatically migrated to Panopto. Duplicate videos should be removed to avoid confusion.

What resources are available to support my use of Panopto (e.g., documentation, training, consultation)?

 

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