Best practice guidance: library skills videos

Microsoft Stream is part of the Office 365 suite and enables you to:

• Add captions to any videos.
• Host and share any videos so they are then available to the UCL community. These can then be shared or embedded in Moodle or other web platforms.
• Download caption files for uploading with videos to other platforms, e.g. UCL MediaCentral.
• Record screen capture videos.

Microsoft Stream has changed

From June 2022 Microsoft Stream migrated to Sharepoint. Stream Classic still runs alongside the Sharepoint version, but you can no longer upload videos to Stream Classic

What does this mean for me?

• Recordings of MS Teams meetings which would have been automatically saved to Stream Classic will be saved to a folder called 'Recordings' in your OneDrive or to the Sharepoint site of your Team. You will still be able to share the video, and can choose to share it with people outside of UCL, which isn't possible with Stream Classic. Automated captions for Teams meetings are only retained on recordings for 60 days on OneDrive.
• Existing videos and recordings of MS Teams meetings in Stream Classic will remain there until further notice.
• You can embed videos from Stream on Sharepoint into Sway, and can make them visible to people outside of UCL.
• You can use Stream on Sharepoint to generate automated captions for videos but you cannot edit them within Stream on Sharepoint. You can download the transcript file, edit it and re-upload it to Stream on Sharepoint or upload the file with the video to UCL MediaCentral.

Note: Storing videos on OneDrive will have an impact on your OneDrive storage quota. To check your quota from within OneDrive, select the 'Settings' cog in the top right hand corner, click on 'OneDrive settings', 'More settings' and then 'Storage metrics'. Your quota is shown in the top right hand corner.

• Find out more about the change (information from UCL ISD): Microsoft Stream modern experience (Stream on SharePoint)

In Stream on Sharepoint

• Sign in to OneDrive.
• Navigate to the location to which you wish to upload your video to your OneDrive and click on Upload at the top of the screen, then select File and locate the video. Alternatively you can drag and drop the file to the OneDrive location.
• Click on the video name so it starts playing. You can then pause the video.
• To the right of the screen, click on Video settings. 
• Where it says 'Transcript and captions' toggle the slider button to 'On', then click on Generate English. It may take time for the captions to generate, so come back later!

You cannot edit the transcript within Stream on Sharepoint so you will need to download it, edit it in Notepad, and reupload it:

• Under 'Video settings' and 'Transcript and captions', click on the arrow 'Download' button.
• Once downloaded, open the .vtt file in Notepad, edit it as necessary and save it.
• Return to your video in Stream on Sharepoint and click on Video settings, and then Transcript and captions and click on the waste bin 'Delete' button to delete the original captions file. 
• Select Upload and upload your edited captions file.

Alternatively you can then upload your video and the edited captions file to UCL MediaCentral to host the video

In Stream Classic

You can no longer upload videos to Stream Classic, or edit captions for existing videos. You are advised to use Stream on Sharepoint to generate captions for videos.

In Stream on Sharepoint / OneDrive

You can share a link to your video that is stored in Stream on Sharepoint / OneDrive with select individuals, anyone in UCL or anyone with the link.

• Click on the Share arrow button next to the file name. 
• Under 'Send link' or 'Copy link', select who can view the video, e.g. People in UCL with the link or Anyone with the link.
• Click Apply and then copy the link.

Note: UCL has OneDrive for Business, which does not allow you to embed videos in a website or blog, but it does allow you to embed them in Sway:

• Add video and audio files into Sway.

In Stream Classic

As Stream Classic is being phased out, where possible you should use Microsoft Stream on Sharepoint to host your video. 

Only UCL users can view videos that you host in Microsoft Stream Classic and there are no longer options available to allow everyone in UCL to view your video, so it is not clear who might be able to view a video.

• In Microsoft Stream, below the video, click on Share. You can copy the link or copy the embed code. If you embed your video and the user is not logged into Microsoft 365 when viewing that page, the video area will include a link for them to log in. The video will then play with the choice of displaying closed captions.

In Stream on Sharepoint / OneDrive

• Under 'Video settings' and 'Transcript and captions', click on the arrow 'Download' button.
• Once downloaded, open the .vtt file in Notepad, edit it as necessary and save it.

In Stream Classic

It is no longer possible to download a separate captions file for videos in Stream Classic. f you wish to upload the video to MediaCentral, e.g. for embedding in LibGuides or so that guest users of Moodle courses like our LIbrarySkills@UCL Moodle course, and your video is stored in Stream Classic, you should download the video and then upload it to Stream on Sharepoint to generate captions and obtain a captions file.

• In Microsoft Stream Classic, click on the More Actions button below your video, and select Download video.