This article is intended for University of Maine System (UMS) faculty, staff, and students who use Kaltura to create, share, and view online media.
UMS is upgrading the Kaltura media player from the current V2 player to the new V7 player. The functionality of the new V7 player is the same as that of the current V2 player, but the player interface (where the buttons are located, and how users can interact with the controls) is different. This article will cover the visual differences between the players and show you where to find corresponding functions from V2 to V7.
Detailed Information
Video Player
The V2 player displays all the control buttons before you begin playing a video. The new V7 player displays only a large play button in the center of the video window:
figure 1: The V2 player (left) and V7 player (right) before the user presses play.
After you press play, the control buttons will appear at the bottom of the video window in the new V7 player. Figure 2 shows the controls on both players, numbered by function. The numbered functions are listed and described below the image.
Figure 2: The V2 player (left) and V7 player (right) controls during playback.
- Play/pause
- Seek forward and backward 10s (V7 player only)
- Time indicator
- Volume
- Captions on/off
- Settings: caption style, playback quality, and playback speed
- These settings were separated in the V2 player but have been moved to a single location in the V7 player.
- Picture-in-picture on/off
- Fullscreen
- UMS University homepage
- Video progress bar
- Minimized secondary video
- The dual-screen/picture-in-picture function allows you to play two synchronized videos in one player at one time. The default view is what you see in Figure 2, with the primary video taking up the larger portion of the screen and the secondary video minimized in the bottom right.
- Show screens side by side
- Switch primary and secondary screens
- Show/hide secondary screen
- Search in video
- Selecting the Search/Navigation icon (magnifying glass) displays a search panel in the right of the player window. You can search for keywords from the transcript, chapters, slides, hotspots, or quiz questions to jump to any point in the video where the keyword appears.
- Transcript
- Selecting the Transcript icon displays a scrolling transcript panel in the right of the player window. You can use the search bar to locate keywords within the transcript. The ellipsis icon opens a dropdown menu with options to download or print the transcript.
- NOTE: If you are embedding a video with the V7 player on a website or within Canvas, you will no longer need to create extra space to accommodate the transcript that appears below the V2 player. The Transcript now displays within the video player itself.
- Download
- Selecting the Download icon displays any videos, caption files, and other attachments you can download associated with the media you are viewing.
- NOTE: The controls on both players disappear after a moment during playback, but they return when you hover your mouse over the video.
For a detailed description of the controls in the V7 player, visit the Player Playback Functionality article in the Kaltura Knowledge Center.
Playlist player
The video playlist player has the same features as the video player with the addition of a video carousel on the right side. The V2 and V7 carousels are similar, but the V7 carousel now displays the total playlist run time at the top next to the number of videos in the list.
Figure 3: The V2 playlist player (left) and the V7 playlist player (right).
Quiz Player
The quiz player has the same features as the video player with the addition of quiz questions embedded at specific timestamps. The first major difference between the V2 and V7 players is the appearance of the quiz welcome screen. In the V2 player, you need to press play to see the welcome screen. In the new V7 player, the welcome screen message and pre-test download link are overlaid on the video window before you begin playback.
Figure 4: The Welcome screen on the V2 quiz player after pressing play (left) and on the V7 quiz player before pressing play (right).
The appearance of questions on the timeline is also different. In the new V7 player, question numbers no longer appear directly on the cue points in the timeline. You can see a question number by hovering your mouse pointer over the cue point.
Figure 5: Difference between the V2 (left) and V7 (right) quiz player timelines.
For detailed information on using the V7 quiz player, see the Quiz article in the Kaltura Knowledge Center.
Audio Player
The audio player may look the most different to users switching from the V2 to V7 players. While the V2 audio player closely resembles all other V2 players, the V7 audio player cuts out options that are unnecessary for audio playback, like the video window and full-screen options. The V7 player also adds a scrolling media title feature, which was missing from the V2 player. Both players share the ability to play/pause, adjust speed, and adjust volume.
Figure 6: The V2 audio player (left) and the V7 audio player (right).
Links
For more information, or to test the players in a side-by-side comparison, please visit the V2 to V7 Comparison Tool on Kaltura's Knowledge Base
Environment
- Kaltura
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux
- Browser-based
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Edge
- Safari