Panopto System Updates

Summer 2024:

A mandatory upgrade for the Mac version of the Panopto Desktop Recorder (Application) is coming July 19th, 2024. Panopto will require Panopto for Mac clients to be upgraded to version 14.0.0. This upgrade will be available to download from the GU Panopto. Learn how to update the Panopto Desktop Recorder (Application) by follow our guide.

This manadtory upgrade does not involve the Windows PC version of the Panopto Desktop Recorder (Application). The next major Panopto update for Windows PC and Remote Recorder version is tentatively expected to release in Q4 of 2024.

For more information on the mandatory upgrade, see this article on the Panopto support site. For any questions please email the Georgetown Panopto Support team at panopto@georgetown.edu, or call the GU Service Center at 202-687-4949.

Summer 2023:

We will be ending the universal automatic coping of Zoom Cloud recordings into Panopto, and will start to archive and delete unwatched Zoom Cloud recordings that were copied into your Panopto account over a year ago. For more information please see our Summer and Fall 2023 Panopto Changes page.

Spring 2022:

Home Page Improvements

The update will include slight changes to the Panopto home page. Panopto has added support for navigating video carousels on whatever device you maybe using. Also, Panopto videos that appear on the home page will now display the folder name to help identify where they are stored. See our FAQ on Panopto Folders for more information about the different types of folders in Panopto.

Discussion Notifications

All notification settings in Panopto will be reset to their default setting. This is an attempt to ensure you receive email alerts if/when a discussion comment or reply is created within the Panopto playback window. You can change or manage your Panopto notification preferences either via your Georgetown Panopto account settings, or through a link in any email notification you receive.

Learn more about Managing Discussion Notifications.

Reference Copies

When you copy a Panopto video a new icon appears next to the copied video. This icon appears next to the video thumbnail and indicates that it is a “Reference copy” of the original or source video.

Reference copies can have settings that are independent from the original video, and they will be cleared of any viewer-contributed data from previous courses, such as notes, discussions, quiz results, and viewing statistics.

Any edits made to the original video will also be applied to any reference copies. However, reference copies can be “unlinked” from the original video and turned into totally unique versions. This can be accomplished when editing a reference copy– or through the ‘Settings’ page of a video.

The video ‘Settings’ page now includes a tab called ‘References’ that appears when a video has a reference copy. This tab is available on both the original and reference copy versions of the video. The information displayed on this tab will show you the title and folder name (location) the original video. It will also offer you the ability to “unlink” the reference copy from the original video.

Learn more about Reference Video Copies in Panopto.

Audio Descriptions

Audio descriptions provide visually impaired viewers with visual context of what is being presented in a Panopto video. These descriptions will be read out loud during the video’s playback. Audio descriptions can be uploaded (.vtt file type) or manually created in the Panopto editor.

Note: Panopto supports extended audio descriptions. For more information on writing audio descriptions, please visit the W3C: Web Accessibility Initiative’s article, Audio Description of Visual Information .

To use the “automatic import” option you must first create a .vtt file type. The audio descriptions can be written in a regular text editor, such as TextEdit or Notepad. These files can be formatted in the following manner. Note: WEBVTT must be on the first line of the .vtt file. Once complete, open the Panopto editor to upload the file. Please see How to add Audio Descriptions to Panopto Videos for more information.

To manually create audio descriptions, in the Panopto editor, select the Audio Descriptions tab from the left-hand navigation. Select the point in the timeline where you want it to be read. Then, enter the audio description in the textbox that states Enter an audio description and hit enter. Learn more about how to manually create audio descriptions.

Don’t see what you’re looking for or need help?

Check out the Panopto FAQs or Support and Training page to get help.