Universal Capture has been designed with an easy-to-use interface, allowing you to create an ad hoc recording or impromptu lecture to supplement your in-class materials.

NOTE: When using Universal Capture with a managed capture device (Pro, Pod, or UC: Classroom), you cannot start an ad hoc capture within five minutes of the next scheduled recording. The scheduled capture requires a "preroll" period before it can begin, and clicking Record will start the upcoming scheduled recording early.

Creating an ad hoc recording using Universal Capture

When creating an ad hoc recording with Universal Capture, you may need to edit the class details or availability after the capture is published. In addition, captures are immediately available to students when published. 

If Universal Capture is launched and a recording is not started, after 20 minutes of inactivity the input previews will stop and you will need to manually resume previewing if desired.

To start a capture

1. Launch Universal Capture.
2. Log in (if not already authenticated).
3. Select the inputs you want to capture.
   

   You can select to capture any combination of available inputs desired. Universal Capture will initially preselect inputs for you based on the available devices or Room configuration and then remember the last inputs chosen, with the exception of Mute. See Capturing System Audio with Universal Capture for more details.

   
4. Preview the inputs on the screen, to be sure they will record properly.
5. Click the pencil icon or title to launch the Capture Details dialog box. See the section below for more information on these options.
6. Click Save to return to the Preview screen after reviewing the Capture Details.
7. Click Record.
   

   A countdown appears after which the capture begins. The Universal Capture window will also minimize itself if you are capturing a Desktop. See Controlling a Capture for details on additional options during a recording.

When the recording is completed it automatically uploads to the Echo360 server to complete processing. You will receive an email notification when processing is finished. Universal Capture recordings are available for viewing and editing while processing. See Working Offline with UC: Personal for information on additional upload options.

Mac Users: Note that if you have manually created an audio source using the Audio MIDI Setup app, you may have to restart your computer or log out and log back into Universal Capture in order for your audio device to appear as an input.

Capture Details

The Capture Details page contains the fields and configuration options as described below the figure.

1. Enter a Title for the capture. This name will be the name of the recording. If you select to publish the capture to a new class, it will also be the name of the class.
   • Default: Untitled
2. Description and Tags are optional fields. Complete them if desired.
   • Default: Blank
3. If applicable, enter a Capture Duration for the capture. You can edit this to be more or less. Also, note that the date/time of the next scheduled capture appears below the Duration box.
   NOT for UC: Personal, see the section below.
   • Default: 1 hour
     
     

     NOTE that the Duration field is limited by upcoming scheduled captures. You will be warned of conflicts and ongoing ad hoc captures will automatically stop to allow any scheduled capture to occur.

4. Select a recording Quality for the capture as desired. The default quality selection depends on the type of device being used (Pro, Pod, UC: Classroom, or UC: Personal) and the type of capture being created (Live or VOD). For detailed information on quality options, see Universal Capture Recording Quality.
   

   BEST PRACTICE: A/D/V, A/V/V, and A/D/D recordings can be processor-intensive. Do test captures to be sure your computer and input devices output a quality that meets your standards.

5. Select a Publish To location, identifying where you want the ad hoc capture to be published when it is finished. The drop-down list will include your Library and any currently active sections you are enrolled in.
   
   • Default: Library

     Your Library is the default publishing location when first using Universal Capture, afterward, it will remember the last Publishing location chosen.

6. If applicable, select a Class option. If you have selected an active course/section to publish to, you will then be able to choose to either create a new class or publish to a pre-existing class. If publishing to a NEW class, the class name will match the title given for the capture.
   • Default: New Class

     Class selection is only available when publishing to an active course/section.

7. Select the Live Stream checkbox to stream the capture live (in real-time) to students.
   • Default: OFF

     You MUST select a section for the capture if live streaming. Saving your Capture Details is disabled when Live streaming is toggled without selecting a publishing location. See Live Streaming with Universal Capture for more details.

Managed Universal Capture Specifics

The default length of an ad hoc recording is 1 hour when using any managed Universal Capture device (Pro, Pod, or UC: Classroom). All ad hoc recordings will start with this default length and countdown the remaining time. You can, however, extend the recording or modify it beforehand using the Capture Details screen. The amount of time by which you can extend is determined by both upcoming scheduled recordings and the overall capture length (maximum 8-hour capture length).

If there is an interruption in the recording such as a power loss, logging out, a device reboot, etc. Universal Capture will continue to attempt to record for the full capture length even if UC: Classroom has been closed. Universal Capture also handles device interruptions where a device could become unplugged or unavailable and will fall back to a secondary input, if available.

Universal Capture Personal Specifics

IMPORTANT: Users are not limited in any way to specific quality options. If you are planning to stream the capture Live, we do NOT recommend selecting Highest Quality; live streaming performance is likely to suffer, particularly for users with lower or shared bandwidth.

In UC: Personal, there is no default length for recordings. This means that there is no recording progress bar at the bottom of the UI like there is in UC: Classroom. Instead, there is a timer that counts up which displays the current recording length. This also means that there are no extension options available. If a recording is not Finished (stopped) and the application is not closed, it will record for the maximum 8-hour capture length for VOD or maximum 4-hour capture length for Live.

Universal Capture: Personal will handle device interruptions where a device could become unplugged or unavailable and will fall back to a secondary input, if available. However, if the application is closed, a user logs out, etc., any ongoing recording will be considered completed and upload to Echo360 for processing.