Earlier today, we announced the 4.7 release of Panopto’s video platform. In addition to launching the latest version of our software, we’re also excited to announce the availability of new video recording and broadcasting hardware in partnership with Seneca Data and Datapath. The Panopto-Certified Video Capture Appliance brings together DataPath’s high-density HD video capture cards, Seneca Data’s custom-built rackmount PCs, and our own video capture software in a compact, quiet 1U appliance that can be installed and streaming video in a matter of minutes.

A Powerful New Form Factor…

Every day, we get the opportunity to work with businesses and universities around the world who are making video an integral part of their organizational communication and learning — recording and live streaming lectures, broadcasting events and training courses, flipping classrooms and meetings, and sharing knowledge through user-generated video. While the reasons for capturing video often share many similarities among our customers, the logistics of deployment and AV setup, and the resulting hardware needs of the organization, can differ greatly.

For example, a professor flipping their classroom, or a product manager capturing a training presentation for the sales force, typically only needs a laptop and webcam for recording. Similarly, a student recording an assignment for class, or a sales rep on the road recording a insight to share their team, may simply need an iPhone to capture their video.

Large lecture halls, training classrooms, and auditoriums, however, often make use of higher-end video cameras and microphones as well as multiple peripheral devices to capture presentations and events. For some organizations, the device used to capture these inputs may be a custom-built or OEM PC under the podium. For others who use racks to organize and secure their existing AV equipment, a rack-mountable video recording and broadcasting appliance may be preferred. That’s where the Panopto-Certified Video Capture Appliance comes in.

The appliance is a slim, single-unit, rack-mountable PC. It’s got an Intel motherboard and chipset under the hood, a quiet cooling fan, 8GB of dual-channel, high-density DDR3 RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. It comes in three configurations based on the needs of your organization:

• Single-channel HD + SD video input using Datapath’s VisionAV/F capture card
• Dual-channel HD video input using Datapath’s VisionAV/HD capture card
• Quad-channel HD video input using Datapath’s new VisionHD4 capture card

The beauty of the appliance is that it combines the power of high-performance video capture hardware with a Wintel architecture, enabling us to offer a purpose-built device with higher-quality video and more flexible capture options at a lower price point than existing appliances on the market.

…With Panopto Inside

The beauty of software is that it can run on a variety of form factors. For the professor flipping their classroom and the product manager capturing a training presentation, the full power of Panopto is available on their laptop. For the student recording an assignment and the sales rep recording a insight in the field, the convenience of Panopto Mobile is on their iPhone.

And for the businesses and universities who install the new rackmountable appliance in lecture halls, conference rooms and auditoriums, Panopto’s software is there as well.

Every Panopto-Certified Video Capture Appliance comes with a pre-installed, full version of our automated recording software. The software is pre-configured to connect to your organization’s Panopto server. It’s remotely controlled through any web browser, and it provides your presenters with a hands-free video capture experience. For AV teams and IT organizations, the appliance provides the ability to:

• Schedule recordings and live webcasts in advance
• Configure recording devices and quality
• Set recordings and webcasts to recur on a pre-defined schedule
• Monitor video recordings taking place across your organization
• Easily capture multi-track conferences and events

Find out more about our automated capture software in the video below:

All videos that are captured and live streamed using the appliance are automatically published to Panopto’s video content management system, where they are indexed for search using our Smart Search technology, and encoded for on-demand playback on any device.

The turnkey appliance not only saves you time with initial installation, but also with ongoing updates. By default, it receives Panopto software updates automatically, simplifying maintenance and ensuring that you always have the latest capabilities of Panopto’s video platform.

Find Out More
Interested in learning more about the Panopto-Certified Video Capture Appliance? Contact us to request a free trial of Panopto.