Kaltura Player Upgrade: Timeline and Impacts

Updated on

Upgrade Date: August 1, 2024

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 functionality and security 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 some Kaltura embeds created in MediaSpace to break. Impacted media owners/publishers will need to replace embed codes. The new embed code format is now available in MediaSpace.

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:

Embed Codes Created in MediaSpace and Posted Elsewhere Will Break on August 1, 2024

Unfortunately, the upgrade process will break embed codes that were created in Kaltura MediaSpace and then posted elsewhere. Examples of places where MediaSpace-generated 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.

Updated Embed Codes Are Now Available in MediaSpace

Locating new embed code for a single media recording

  1. Log in to MediaSpace
  2. In My Media, navigate to a recording page that needs a new embed code
    Hint: Enter the recording's unique ID (e.g. 1_qrf2hrm) into the Search My Media field to quickly find the recording's page
  3. On the recording's page, select the Share tab
  4. Select the Embed tab and read the information there
  5. Copy the embed code and paste it into the web page that needs to be updated

Locating new embed code for a MediaSpace playlist

Note: It is not recommended to use MediaSpace playlists in Canvas. For more details, refer to Kaltura Playlists - MediaSpace vs Kaltura in Canvas. 

Steps:

  1. Log in to MediaSpace and go to My Playlists
  2. For the playlist in question, select Share & Embed
  3. Copy the embed code and paste it into the web page that needs to be updated

Finding Embeds That Need To Be Updated

As a Kaltura media owner, you can use Kaltura Analytics to find which of your media will break, and often can “drill-in” to the data to view which specific web page has a Kaltura embed that will break. 

Recommendations:

Contacting Media Owners and Next Steps

Impacted media owners were contacted in late April 2024 so they are aware of the date, and that action will need to be taken before August 1, 2024. OIT will contact impacted media owners again the week of July 8, 2024 with updated information.

As of late April, Kaltura’s v7 player had issues that presented barriers to users of adaptive technologies such as screen readers, so it was not possible to implement the new player widely at the University. The vendor resolved the issues in early June 2024. University staff verified the fixes, which allowed the upgrade plan to proceed after review by the Enterprise Change Approval Board.

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.