Lecture Capture

Panopto Launches Free Tool for Recording and Sharing Presentations

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 05/07/20

Video management company Panopto has launched a free tool to allow teachers and instructors to create and share recordings of their presentations and lectures. Panopto Express also provides a quick way to publish the recordings on YouTube, Google Classroom or Panopto itself. The program works in a browser window and requires no plug-ins, installs or sign-ups. The company emphasized that it doesn't use or access the recordings once they're made.

The program resolves the problem of poorly framed video images, where the speaker appears to be "swimming" in the view or leaning in to be seen. The company said that the software uses an artificial intelligence technology called "smart camera," to automatically center the video frame. It follows the presenter, whether he or she is sitting or standing back from the camera or moving around while speaking.

The company has also announced two new subscription plans for its video management software:

• The free Panopto Basic allows an individual user to share on-demand videos securely. It covers five hours of video storage and 100 hours of streaming per month; and
• Panopto Pro, for $14.99 per month, allows an individual unlimited video streaming, 50 hours of storage and online and e-mail support.

Both versions are currently in beta.

An enterprise edition covers organizations with over 100 users and contains functionality for creating, managing, storing and sharing live and on-demand videos.

All of those editions include searchability, enabling users to find the moment when a particular word is spoken or shown on the screen.

For more information, visit the Panopto site.