Kaltura Player Upgrade on August 1, 2024: Timeline and Impacts
At the University of Minnesota, Kaltura in Canvas and MediaSpace currently use Kaltura’s “v2” (aka “version 2”) player. The vendor’s next-generation player is “v7” (aka “version 7”) and brings a number of improvements. Refer to the Kaltura Player v2 vs Player v7 Comparison page to understand the difference between these player versions.
The v2 to v7 upgrade will occur on August 1, 2024. At that time, many of the University’s Kaltura-hosted recordings will be upgraded to use the new player without issue. However, the upgrade will cause old embed codes created in MediaSpace to break. Impacted media owners/publishers will need to replace embed codes.
Kaltura v2 Players Managed Automatically by the Upgrade
On August 1, 2024, the Kaltura players used for hundreds of thousands of videos and other media in Kaltura in Canvas and MediaSpace will be upgraded to use the newer “v7” player automatically, including:
- Kaltura embeds created with the Add Media Using Kaltura button in the Canvas Rich Content Editor or by adding Kaltura media as an item in a module
- Usage of the Media Gallery and My Media (Kaltura) tools in Canvas
- Kaltura Video Quizzes used in a Canvas assignment
- Usage within MediaSpace channels and media pages set to unlisted
Embed Codes Created in MediaSpace and Posted Elsewhere Will Break on August 1, 2024
Unfortunately, the upgrade process will break old embed codes that were created in Kaltura MediaSpace and then posted elsewhere. After August 1, 2024, those embed codes will not show the intended recording and will show a spinning rainbow-colored progress circle like this instead:
Examples of places where old MediaSpace embed codes have been published include:
- In Canvas, on pages, quiz questions, and other resources
- On public web pages such as it.umn.edu, in Google Sites, etc.
- In web applications such as Qualtrics
People who can edit the above will need to work with the Kaltura media owner, co-publisher, or co-editor to locate embeds that will break, then update the embed codes so they work with the v7 player.
Replacing Old MediaSpace Embed Codes
Old MediaSpace embed codes can point to a single recording or a playlist (the latter is less common). Refer to steps to replace old MediaSpace embed codes for more information.
Finding Embed Codes That Need To Be Updated
As a Kaltura media owner, you can use Kaltura Analytics to find which of your embeds will break, and often can “drill-in” to the data to view which specific web page has a Kaltura embed that will stop functioning on August 1.
Recommendations:
- Use this information to build an inventory of your Kaltura media recording embed codes that need to be updated before the upgrade on August 1, 2024. Then, update embed codes on web pages and systems to which you have access and want to work. For more details, refer to steps for Finding Embeds That Need To Be Updated Before the Kaltura Player Upgrade.
- If you have copied an embed code from MediaSpace and pasted it into Canvas, consider finding those codes and replacing them by using the Add Media Using Kaltura button in the Canvas Rich Content Editor, since those will upgrade to v7 automatically.
Media Owners Were Contacted
Impacted media owners were contacted in late April 2024 and mid-July 2024 so they were aware of the date, and that action will need to be taken before August 1, 2024.
v7 Player Opt-in Process Available Now in Kaltura in Canvas and MediaSpace
To opt-in to using the v7 player in Kaltura in Canvas and MediaSpace, refer to Kaltura v7 Player Opt-In Process at the University of Minnesota.