skip to content

IT Help and Support

University Information Services
 

Recordings in Panopto can be live-streamed (also known as webcasting) using the Webcast feature. This will allow students to watch a live lecture or a demonstration remotely. Students will be able to comment on the live session and these can be seen in the Panopto personal recorder by you as the presenter. 

There is approximately a 30 to 45 second delay between your live stream and what the students will see, so questions and comments if enabled may seem a little behind.  

For MLC, you can set up a live stream recording:

  1. using the desktop recorder at the time of recording (this is the simplest and quickest way to set up a live stream using Panopto webcast). 
  2. in advance using the Panopto cloud dashboard.  

The advantage of setting up a live stream in advance is that the Viewer URL link to the recording is pre-generated and can be shared with your students in Moodle along with the date and time of the session.  
 

Live streaming using the desktop recorder while recording a session  

Live-streaming a video recording: 

  • is not recommended for remote, interactive sessions (such as supervisions) that involve multiple participants speaking. With Panopto, only one person can stream and record audio and video. Although viewers of the live stream can post comments in the video discussion, they cannot share their audio or video. For interactive live sessions, video conferencing tools are more appropriate. 
  • requires a high-speed internet connection. For guidance on internet speed and video quality settings, see Panopto's guidance on choosing the best quality settings.  

Consider your viewers before asking them to join a live stream. Some may be living in a different time zone or have caring responsibilities that make it difficult for them to join the live session. If you encourage viewers to comment on a live streamed video, keep an eye out for comments added later by users who have watched the recording at a later date. 

If you're sharing a Powerpoint or Keynote presentation as part of the video, you need to record your screen in order to include the presentation in the live stream. If you only record the Powerpoint/Keynote, the presentation will only be visible to viewers after the recording has been created and uploaded to Panopto. 

Live streaming means the video is made available to viewers as you record it, in real-time. Although you can edit a video that was live-streamed after it has been saved and uploaded to Panopto, the live-streamed version will be shared "as is". 

It's possible to live stream a video while you are recording it when using the Panopto desktop recorder. This can be useful if you want to make the video available to students immediately and to allow students to post comments while you're recording so that you can respond in the video. Live streaming creates a recording that is uploaded to Panopto. From there it can be edited and published to Moodle in the normal way for students to watch again in their own time. See how to set up a live stream using the desktop recorder.  

Students can watch the live session using [Watch Live] in the Panopto block on the Moodle course. 

 

Live streaming using the Panopto cloud dashboard 

To set up a live stream in advance and then broadcast it you need to:  

Step 1: Set up the recording and enable the Webcast for live streaming in advance from within the Panopto cloud dashboard. 

Step 2: Record the session and broadcast the live stream using the Panopto desktop recorder. The live streaming will automatically start as soon as you start recording the session. 

To set up a live stream in advance, you will need to log in to the Panopto cloud dashboard using https://cambridgelectures.cloud.panopto.eu/ and log in with your Raven account. Alternatively, you can access the dashboard: 

1. By logging into your Moodle course and going to Course settings in the Panopto block. 

2. From within the Desktop recorder, select Manage recordings and then go to Manage my recordings

 

Step 1: Set up a live stream in advance

In order to share a live stream of a video, you need to make the link available to students on your Moodle course. We recommend that you do this in advance so that students have time to prepare: 

  1. Open the Moodle course that you want to share the video in. On the right-hand side, locate the Panopto block and click Course Settings to open the Panopto cloud dashboard. The Settings window for the corresponding course folder in Panopto is displayed. Close the Settings window to view the course folder. 
     

  1. At the top of the page, click the down arrow next to Create and select Webcast.

     
     

     

  1. In the Create Webcast window, enter a title and description for the video. The folder is set to the current course folder by default. Only students enrolled on the Moodle course can view the live stream and recorded video. (Only create a live stream in My Folder to test the functionality; recordings in My Folder are not visible to students.) 
     
     
  1. Click Create. The Settings window for the live stream is displayed. 

  • Set the preview image that will be displayed if students access the link before the live stream starts. This is optional. 

  • If you do not want students to be able to post comments during the live stream, uncheck Allow viewers to post comments. 

     

  1. Copy the Viewer link from the Settings window. This is the link that students will use to access the live stream. The link will not work until you start recording the live stream (see below) and will not work for users that are not enrolled on your Moodle course and logged in. 
     

     

  2. Share the link with your students along with the date and time of the live stream, and any preparation you would like them to do in advance. If students access the link before you start the live stream, they will see a webpage showing the title, description and preview image (if set) until the recording starts. Once the live stream has started, a [Watch Live] link to it will also be provided in the Panopto block on the Moodle course which students can click on to watch the live session.   
  3. If the availability settings for the folder are set to be available when approved by a publisher, ensure that the live stream is approved before your session is due to start otherwise the link will not work (but you will still be able to create a recording). This can be done by anyone with the publisher or creator role for the course folder: from the course folder in Panopto, open the settings for the session and on the Overview page click Approve. The video recorded during the live stream will have to be approved separately before it is available to students (see below). 

     

Step 2: Record and live stream a video

To live stream a video as you record it: 

1. Open the Panopto desktop recorder. 
 

2. From the Folder drop-down list, select the Panopto folder that corresponds to your Moodle course. 
 

3. Click Join Session and select the live stream session that you created earlier (see above). 
 

 

4. Select the sources that you want to record. Note: 
 
Primary Sources: 

  • Video: Select Integrated Webcam as a video camera source.  
  • Audio: By default, it will show the Microphone of the device you are using to record the session. If you do not wish to record the audio, select None. 
  • Quality: The default is Standard. This can be changed to High, Ultra or customised to your requirements. 
  • Capture Computer Audio: Select the option if you would like to include audio from your computer while recording the session. 

Secondary Sources: 

  • If you want to include a Powerpoint/Keynote presentation, ensure that you capture the screen displaying the presentation as well as selecting Capture Powerpoint/Keynote. Students watching the live stream from a browser will be able to see the screen capture. The Powerpoint/Keynote capture will only be available after the live stream has finished and the video has been uploaded to Panopto. It is useful to include the Powerpoint/Keynote capture because Panopto will automatically add chapters based on slide transitions (for slides that contain text) and slide contents can be included in search results. 
  • Students watching the live stream of the video from the Panopto iOS or Android app will only be able to view the primary video source. (The primary video source must be a camera source; it is not possible to make a screen capture or Powerpoint/Keynote presentation the primary source.) Secondary sources can be viewed from the Panopto iOS or Android app when watching the recorded video at a later date. 
  • If you wish to add other secondary sources such as a visualiser, extra webcam etc. click on the Add another video source and select the available source from the dropdown list. 

5. Click the red record button. The recording begins and students enrolled on the Moodle course can watch the video live as you record it. 

6. Students viewing the live stream can post comments during the session (unless you disable this option). These comments are displayed in the Panopto desktop recorder below the preview of secondary sources and are accompanied by a pop-up notification.

There may be a slight delay between your recording and students viewing the content due to latency, so questions and comments may seem a little behind. You can respond to these questions and comments verbally during the session or post replies after the video has been uploaded and published. Comments are visible to everyone with permission to view the video during the live stream and after the recorded video has been published to Moodle. 
 

 

7. Once you have finished, click Stop. The video is uploaded to the course folder in Panopto. Depending on the folder's availability settings, the video will either be available to students via Moodle immediately or will need to be approved before students can view it again. You can edit the video from a live stream session in the same way as a normal video. For more information, see Reviewing, editing and publishing videos