Help


 
This help section gives advice on how to use the Online Video Service:

Uploading Videos
Viewing Videos
Further Information

 


Uploading Videos

 

Before you upload any videos please be aware of the following:

 

  • The Online Video Service is not to be used for personal or private use.

 

 

  • TV and radio recordings can be requested by staff and students at the university. Recordings are then made available to all staff and students, on and off-campus and within the UK only, by logging in to the Online Video service. DVDs currently in library stock can also be converted to video which is accessed in the same way. For further information and details on how to request recordings, click the appropriate link:

 

 

  • You must always keep the original video file.  Once you upload the file to the Online Video Server it will be compressed.  The system will not keep a copy of the original file.

 

  • The maximum recommended file size is 1.95GB.

 

 

To upload a video:

 

1.  Go to the Online Video Service Upload Site: https://podupload.napier.ac.uk/ 

 

2.  Log in using your Edinburgh Napier University username and password.  The add new media screen will appear.

 

3.  Add the relevant meta data for the video - title, category, description, tags*

 

4.  Click Save

 

5.  You will be prompted to upload your video file (the maximum recommended file size is 1.95GB).  Whilst the video is uploading a progression bar will show the percentage of the file that has been uploaded.

 

6.  Once the whole file has been uploaded the system will begin to extract thumbnails from the video, a "Loading Thumbnails" icon will appear as the thumbnails are extracted.

 

  • If the extraction of thumbnails is successful then 8 random thumbnails will appear on the page.  Select the thumbnail you wish to use to represent the video and click Next.

 

  • If the extraction of thumbnails is not successful then you will be given the option of uploading your own** or alternatively you can select the default thumbnail for the category in which you have uploaded your file to.

 

7.  Click Next.  You will be asked if you would like to upload any associated files.  The following extensions are allowed:  .doc; .docx; .ppt; .pptx; .xls; .xlsx; .pdf; .swf; .jpg; .gif; .htm; .txt; .zip; .mp3.

 

8.  That's it done! Your video has been uploaded to the system.  You will receive an email issuing you with a link to your video once the system has encoded the file for streaming delivery.  Please be patient, this may take some time as the system may have a queue of files that it is working on and may need to encode the file in different formats or at different quality levels dependent on the set up of your system.

 

Videos can be uploaded from a mobile device using Techsmith Fuse.  For further information go to the Camtasia Relay page.

 

 

Please note:  On rare occasions some files will not be encoded by the system and you will be returned with an email to notify you of this.  This can be for a variety of reasons mainly to do with the audio and video codecs contained in your video file not being recognised by the system's encoder.  The event that this happens please inform the IS Service Desk who will advise accordingly:


Email: ISServiceDesk@napier.ac.uk    
Telephone: ext 3000 or (0131) 455 3000 from an external line.

 

To enable users to easily find your content amongst what could potentially be thousands of other videos you are advised to use “tags” to describe your video, for example if creating a video for a lecture within a particular module you could use your name, the module number and lecture title as tags as well as some words describing the video content.  

 

**  Images uploaded for thumbnails must be width: 320 x height: 204 pixels and they must be .jpg type files.

 

Viewing Videos

 
To view videos uploaded to the Online Video Service:
 

1.  From within the Online Video Service, on the "Categories" menu on the left of the page click on the category of video you wish to view.

 

2.  To view a specific video either click on the thumbnail or the video title.   

 

The video window will open and you will have some user controls depending on the way your system has been configured e.g. volume, full screen mode etc.

 

  • To view the video in full screen mode click on the full screen mode button:

           

           

To exit full screen mode press the ESC key on your keyboard.

 

  • To change the quality of the video use the drop down menu to select "High" or "Low" as appropriate.   If the video you are viewing is available in HD, the drop down menu will also contain an HD option.

 

  • You can also copy embed code from the video window which enables you to embed your video in a web page.


  

Further information
 

Further information about the service can be found on the Online Video Service Staff Intranet Page:
Online Video Service Intranet page