Mediasite Administrator Update, January 2015

As part of an ongoing effort to keep Mediasite administrators on campus informed, we created this DELTAwire article specifically for you!  For help with any Mediasite questions, please contact us at mediasite-help@ncsu.edu.

This article includes information on the following topics:

• NC State User Group Meeting

• Mediasite Monthly Server Maintenance

• My Mediasite 7 Upgrade

• Removing WMV Templates from the Management Portal

• UNLEASH 2015, Mediasite User Conference

• More Information

NC State Mediasite User Group Meeting

Please plan to attend our NC State Mediasite User Group (MUG) meeting on February 6, 2015 from 2-4pm in 130 Park Shops.

Mediasite Monthly Server Maintenance

Server Maintenance

The monthly Windows Updates for the Mediasite servers will be installed between 5:00-8:00 am, on January 17th, 2015. The servers will be rebooted one at a time. There will be a brief outage when the database and file servers are rebooted, but no other interruptions are expected.  For further information, please see https://wolfware.ncsu.edu/updates-maintenance/.

Server Upgrade

The Mediasite servers will be upgraded to version 7.0.21 during the maintenance window on January 31. This is a minor update with some bug fixes. These updates will cause some outages during this time. The work is expected to take an hour or so, but we are reserving the 4 hour block in case of unforeseen contingencies.

If you have any Mediasite issues, please contact mediasite-help@ncsu.edu.

For all regular scheduled server maintenance windows, please see the Updates & Maintenance schedule.

My Mediasite 7 Upgrade

As a reminder to the users of My Mediasite, an upgrade from version 6 to version 7 occurred on December 17-18.

How does this affect you and what’s required?

ALL USERS of My Mediasite will be REQUIRED to:

1. Uninstall version 6 and then download and install version 7 of the desktop recorder

2. Re-establish your connection to the server

Get Help

DELTA’s support staff are ready to answer questions that may arise as you transition to the upgraded version of My Mediasite. Once you have logged into the My Mediasite Management portal you should see all previously recorded content.

Take advantage of the following resources if you have questions or experience any issues:

• Visit DELTA’s My Mediasite Quickstart Guide for informative FAQs on downloading the new software and re-establishing your connection to the server.

• Contact the LearnTech help desk at learntech@ncsu.edu or (919) 513-7094.

New Features

The new release offers several features to look forward to, including:

• screencast plus video capture with the Mediasite Desktop Recorder

• additional flexibility for My Mediasite users to enable closed captioning and create their own downloadable files and audio podcasts

• better screen real estate with the new players

• VodCast, a single file download that can be published to other sites like YouTube and iTunes U

• recordings can now be organized in one catalog or channel instead of having to share individual links

If you would like to learn more about desktop recording with My Mediasite, DELTA will be offering our “My Mediasite Basics: Desktop Recording and Media Management” workshop in the spring along with some new and exciting workshops including best practices with My Mediasite and more.  Look for details on the workshops page of the DELTA website.

Removing WMV (Windows Media Video) Templates from the Management Portal

Beginning in January 2015, we will begin removing templates and content servers from the management portal which use WMV.  The removal of WMV is necessary to convert the Mediasite enterprise service to SSL (secure socket layer) which provides us improved security and the ability for users to embed videos within Moodle (or any other secure environment).  In addition, Windows Server 2012 software does not support Windows Media and in the future we will be upgrading our servers to this version.

As you begin to prepare for the Spring semester, please make sure you are using the new templates pushed to your instance for version 7 which use MP4 instead of WMV.

UNLEASH 2015, Mediasite User Conference

The global Mediasite User Conference is the best networking venue for Mediasite enthusiasts. Whether you attend in Madison or choose to participate online, this can’t miss event is packed with knowledge sharing, best practices and Mediasite Community networking.

It’s that time of year to start thinking about Unleash 2015. Registration is open, so save the date for your global Mediasite User Conference, April 27-29 in Madison, Wisconsin.

• Register today for the lowest rates available – Early Bird is available through Jan 31
• Check out the new (optional) Pre-Conference Workshops
• Submit a speaking proposal – accepted sessions and posters earn a FREE pass
• Nominate your organization for an Enterprise Video Award – all finalists attend Unleash FREE

More Information

To learn more about Mediasite at NC State, or to see other topics covered in our next update, please contact Laura Stephenson at laura_stephenson@ncsu.edu. Your suggestions are always welcome.

Please send Mediasite help requests to mediasite-help@ncsu.edu.

Subscribe to Mediasite updates by sending the message “subscribe mediasite” to mj2@lists.ncsu.edu.