Objectives
The Streaming Media Service (SMS) currently supports research, outreach, public engagement, collaborative partnerships as well as internal communications and forms a key element of the University’s Digital Presence.
There is a pressing business need to replace the existing platform, built in 2008, as the current software reached the end of its support life in April 2022; additionally, the existing hardware on which it runs is approaching the end of its life.
The SMS will continue to host audio and video content for both external and internal consumption enabling UIS to deliver a modern, high-quality streaming media service to the University while moving the onus for new functionality development and maintenance to a third-party vendor.
- Replace the current SMS platform with a third-party platform that supports the needs identified by service users.
- Ensure continuity of service for content creators and viewers.
- Consolidate the University's existing streaming media presence under a single, easy-to-access service under the new domain, media.cam.
- Decommission the old SMS platform hardware before it fails.
Project status
|
Platform configuration: we are now working with the vendor to customise an instance of the YuJa platform for the University. The timeline for this has regrettably slipped and is currently estimated for October 2022. Service definition: we are developing a service definition and an AUP for the new SMS. The Service Owner and Service Manager have been identified. Content migration planning: the decision has been taken to migrate everything that's on SMS to the new system. Ultimately there will be an annual purge of stale content, starting after one year after launch as we introduce housekeeping rules. |
Scope
The Collegiate University and consumers of its public digital content.
People
| Governance: |
UIS Infrastructure Portfolio |
| Project sponsor: | Prof. Ian Lesley, UIS Director |
| Project lead: | Dr. R Charles |
| Project team: | Dr. Abraham Martin (Technical Lead) Kate Livingstone Steve Ison Anna Halfpenny (comms) |
| Contacts: |
Updates and resources
| 06 March 2023 | Launch date T.B.C. |
| 26 July | The timeline for launch is currently estimated for October 2022. This delay is for custom development by the vendor to map our unique organisational structure, roles and permissions. |
| 01 July 2022 | We are working with the vendor to overcome technical issues remapping user roles and permissions. With one key role type, there is no direct equivalent. This requires investigation with the vendor and is likely to introduce a delay while a solution is implemented. |
| 20 June 2022 |
Streaming Media Service (SMS): please reserve for business critical uploads only |
| 12–20 May 2022 | SMS transcoding was temporarily suspended. |
| March 2022 |
Next-generation Streaming Media Service (SMS) platform announced |
| June 2021 | Obsolete media formats will be removed from the Streaming Media Service |
| February 2021 |
Roadmap and milestones
| Date | Milestone | Status |
|---|---|---|
| T.B.C. | Old SMS platform decommissioned. |  |
| T.B.C. | All data migrated from the SMS service either to the new platform (media.cam) or a suitable long-term archival service. | |
| T.B.C. | Archiving: non-current video must be transitioned to suitable long term archival services. | |
| T.B.C. | Enable additional functionality: video capture integration with Panopto | |
| T.B.C. | Migration window while all data is transferred to YuJa servers. | |
| T.B.C. | Transcoding function removed from old SMS platform; it remains view-only to host content during data migration period. | |
| T.B.C. | Vendor to implement accessibility improvements following compliance audit. | |
| T.B.C. | New streaming media service and public domain (media.cam) launched and used for all new uploads. This has slipped due to the vendor's availability for creating a bespoke solution for replicating the University's permissions model. | |
| May 2022 | Platform configuration (replicate institutional structure from Lookup and implement dynamic sync going forward) and testing. | |
| May 2022 | Service definition and acceptable use policy (clarity re crossover with lecture capture and VLE services). The draft policy is now with the Service Owner for comment. | |
| Mar 2022 | Platform accessibility compliance audit (external auditors). |  |
| Nov 2021 – Mar 2022 | Procurement. | |
| Nov 2021 | Selection of third-party service provider (YuJa selected). | |
| Mar 2021 | Consultation with current SMS users to gather functional and non-functional requirements for new platform (survey and focus groups). | |
Last updated: 6 March 2023