Panopto downtime in January 2022

On Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, the UIC instance of Panopto will be upgraded to the latest cloud release. This upgrade will require downtime. Please expect up to four hours of downtime, with a target start time of 8 p.m. During the time Panopto is offline, you will not be able to access recordings on the server, and any attempts to upload from Panopto will result in a “Server unable to connect” message. Scheduled recordings will capture offline and upload after the site is back online. You can still select the record offline option and upload after the site is back online. Panopto content cannot be copied during the downtime. Any course copy requests will be completed after the downtime.

Major features to note as part of this upgrade:

• Audio Descriptions — To improve accessibility, Panopto’s viewer interfaces will now automatically pause and read audio descriptions aloud, using machine speech synthesis. Audio descriptions can be uploaded or created in the Panopto editor. Please see How to add Audio Descriptions to Panopto Videos for more information.
• Internet Explorer — As a reminder, Panopto dropped support for Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) on June 26, 2021. Once this change is applied, users who attempt to access Panopto will be prompted to upgrade to a modern browser.
• Discussion notifications — With this release, all users will receive a daily digest email of discussion comments and replies on their videos and comment threads. Users can manage their notification preferences via a convenient link in the notification email. Learn more about Managing Discussion Notifications preferences.
• Student video submissions — In Blackboard, instructors will be able to create assignments that request their students to submit a video recording. Students do not require a Panopto personal folder in order to create their recording or complete the assignment.
• Video reference copies — Users will be able to place a reference to a video within a new folder, so it can be distributed to a different audience. Reference copies allow some settings to be overridden, have a completely clean slate of student-contributed metadata, and do not consume stored hours or usage hours. Please click the link to learn more about Video Reference Copies.
• Mobile app distributed recording — Users of Panopto’s mobile application will be able to join and contribute video to an ongoing recording. This feature allows mobile devices to record a single event from multiple angles, with no special equipment required.

For any questions, please see the Panopto Support website or send email to support@panopto.com