Environment
MiVideo Mediaspace
Issue
The purpose of this guide is to assist Mediaspace admin in configuring their new Mediaspace site.
Resolution
Modules can be configured by KMC admin on the Mediaspace admin backend at yoursite/admin. This is not an exhaustive list of all modules and all configuration available but rather the most common setup. Much of this configuration is completed by ITS-MiVideo after consulting with you and your team.
If you have any questions or would like assistance further customizing your site contact the ITS-MiVideo team through the ITS Service Center.
Outline
MCommunity Groups & Active Directory Groups
KMS Groups
Frontend Site Roles
Channel Entitlements
Channel management on the KMC
Channels & Channel Playlists
Media Ownership
Media Management on the KMC
Adding Media
Custom Metadata
Tags
Navigation
Homepage
Static Pages
Additional Settings
Styling
Players
REACH Captioning
MCommunity groups & Active Directory groups
Mediaspaces on the mivideo.it.umich.edu domain can utilize MCommunity groups for site roles, media ownership/collaboration, and channel membership. Mediaspaces on the med.umich.edu domain can utilize Michigan Medicine (UMHS) active directory (AD) groups.
KMS groups
KMS is the abbreviation for a Kaltura Mediaspace. KMS groups are internal to your Mediaspace and are managed by Kaltura via the Samlgroupsync module. Once MCommunity/AD groups are mapped to KMS groups in the Samlgroupsync module, KMS groups can be used to re-assign media ownership, be added as a collaborator to individual media entries, or as a channel entitlement role for individual channels. All members of the group are given that role. For example, if a Kaltura group is added as a co-editor, all members of the group will have the ability to edit the media entry. If a KMS group is added as a channel manager, all members of the group will have the ability to edit the channel and create channel playlists.
Users should be added/removed from MCommunity/AD groups only. There is no need to manually update users in KMS groups. The next time a new or former member of the M/Community AD groups logs into the site, Kaltura will automatically add/remove the user from the mapped KMS group.
Frontend Site Roles
SSO login
The ITS-MiVideo team configured SSO for the Mediaspace frontend and backend login during initial setup. Only KMC admin can login to the backend. Mediaspaces on the mivideo.it.umich.edu domain will use weblogin. Mediaspaces on the med.umich.edu domain chose to use either a level-1 or level-2 weblogin on the frontend depending on the site's audience.
ITS-MiVideo created a “MiVideo Support Groups Master” MCommunity group or an AD virtual group attribute for your site during initial setup. This group is used when mapping MCommunity/AD groups to site roles. Your unmoderatedAdmin group has already been mapped to the unmoderatedAdmin role. If you need to add additional groups for site roles contact ITS-MiVideo or following the steps in these articles:
The following modules were configured by ITS-MiVideo during the SSO setup.
Auth module
allowAnonymous
- When disabled, the site is locked down behind weblogin (no public access).
- When enabled, the anonymousRole is automatically assigned to every user unless they authenticate by logging into the site.
Saml module
roleAttributes
- There is where MCommunity/AD groups are mapped to specific site roles. For example, an unmoderatedAdmin group would be mapped to the unmoderatedAdmin role.
defaultRole
- When enabled, this is the role authenticated users are given unless they are part of a MCommunity/AD group mapped in roleAttributes. Typically this role is set as viewerRole but can also be privateOnlyRole.
- When disabled, only users within the MCommunity/AD groups mapped in roleAttributes can login to the site.
Channel Entitlements
ITS-MiVideo already configured Samlgroupsync for your unmoderatedAdmins group and can assist with mapping additional groups as needed.
Samlgroupsync module
attributes
- This is where MCommunity/AD groups are mapped to KMS groups. KMS groups can be used for channel entitlement roles and media ownership.
Mapping additional groups:
- Mediaspaces utilizing MCommunity groups.
- Create a new MCommunity group or use an existing one.
- You will need to add your new group as a member of your site’s MiVideo SupportGroupsMaster group. If you don’t know your site’s SupportGroupsMaster group reach out to the ITS-MiVideo team.
- Article: Configuring MCommunity Groups to Work With MiVideo Mediaspace.
- Mediaspaces utilizing AD groups.
- Use an existing AD group or create a new one.
- To create a new AD group place a ticket with HITS.
- You’ll need to know your site’s AD Virtual Group Attribute and ask HITS to associate the AD group with the Mediaspace's virtual group. If you don’t know your site’s AD Virtual Group Attribute reach out to the ITS-MiVideo team.
- Article: Configuring UMHS AD Groups to Work With MiVideo Mediaspace
Important: Only authenticated users can have channel entitlement. A member with a viewerOnlyRole can be a channel Member but a group member must have a privateOnlyRole or greater site role to publish to the channel (entitlement of Contributor role or higher).
Channel management on the KMC
Channels can be managed on the KMC. For example, you may need to add a new channel manager to a channel in which you are not a manager yourself.
- Login to the KMC.
- Select the Categories tab.
- It is easiest to search for the channel using the channel ID but you can also search by name.
- To add a manager select Entitlements from the left navigation, click the Manage Users link next to Permitted Users, and search by uniqname.
Channels & Channel Playlists
Channel creation
Channels are easiest to create from the Mediaspace frontend. Only certain site roles are able to create channels (see next section). A channel Contributor or higher entitlement can publish content to the channel.
Channels module
This module configures which site roles are able to create which types of channels. Only authenticated users are able to create channels. Unless you want all authenticated users to be able to create channels on your site, it is recommended to use site roles greater than the defaultRole set in the Saml module. For example, if the defaultRole is viewerRole then the roles set in this module should be privateOnlyRole or greater.
Video: How to Configure which user Role can Create a Channel
entriesPageSize
- How many entries appear before clicking “load more”.
pageSize
- How many channels appear before clicking “load more”
channelCreatorRestricted
- Users must have at least this role or greater to create this type of channel. Only authenticated users can create channels.
channelCreatorPrivate
- Users must have at least this role or greater to create this type of channel. Only authenticated users can create channels.
channelCreatorPublic
- Users must have at least this role or greater to create this type of channel. Only authenticated users can create channels.
supportPublicChannel
- Enable if you want to use "public,restricted" channels.
supportPublicOpenChannel
- We don’t use "public, open" type channel. This type of channel allows anyone to view and contribute content.
Channel playlists
Channel playlists are also easiest to create from the Mediaspace frontend. Only channel managers and owners can create channel playlists and add media to playlists.
- Article: Create playlist
- Article: Add media to playlist
- Note: any media added to a playlist not already published to the channel is automatically published to the channel.
- Tip: if media is already published in the channel then any channel manager can add the video to a playlist without having to be the owner or co-publisher of the media.
- Article: Reorder media in playlist
- Article: Edit a playlist
- Article: Remove media from a playlist
- Note: removing media from a playlist does not unpublish the media from the channel.
- Tip: any channel manager can remove media from a playlist even if they are not an owner or co-publisher for the media.
Channel pages
Each channel has a channel page that lists all the media published in the channel and displays playlists associated with the channel. Channel pages can be customized by channel managers and owners.
- The top banner can display a single thumbnail image or a channel carousel. The default is a thumbnail image. If you don’t upload an image then Kaltura will display the thumbnail of your most recently added media item.
- Set a custom image as a thumbnail.
- WIth a carousel you can pick what playlist you want shown (most recent videos, a playlist from the channel, or a private playlist).
- The channel description also appears in the top banner
- Below the top banner are two tabs: Playlists and Media. The Playlists tab will not appear if the channel does not have any playlists or there isn’t any media published in the playlists. Select which tab will appear first.
- On the channel edit page > Theme tab > select from the First tab drop down
- Enable subscription to provide your visitors with a Subscribe button on the channel page. When users subscribe, they get an email notification every time new media is published to the channel. The channel must be "Restricted" to allow users to subscribe.
- Enable moderation on the channel so all videos published to the channel by Contributors have to be approved (by a Moderator or Manager) before they become available. Videos published by Moderators and Managers do not need to be approved.
Media Ownership
ITS-MiVideo already configured Samlgroupsync for your unmoderatedAdmins group and can assist with mapping additional groups.
Samlgroupsync module
attributes
- This is where MCommunity/AD groups are mapped to Kaltura groups. Kaltura groups can be used for media ownership and channel entitlement roles.
Mapping additional groups:
- Mediaspaces utilizing MCommunity groups.
- Create a new MCommunity group or use an existing one.
- You will need to add your new group as a member of your site’s MiVideo SupportGroupsMaster group. If you don’t know your site’s SupportGroupsMaster group reach out to the ITS-MiVideo team.
- Article: Configuring MCommunity Groups to Work With MiVideo Mediaspace.
- Mediaspaces utilizing AD groups.
- Use an existing AD group or create a new one.
- To create a new AD group place a ticket with HITS.
- You’ll need to know your site’s AD Virtual Group Attribute and ask HITS to associate the AD group with the Mediaspace's virtual group. If you don’t know your site’s AD Virtual Group Attribute reach out to the ITS-MiVideo team.
- Article: Configuring UMHS AD Groups to Work With MiVideo Mediaspace
Important: Only authenticated users can own or be a collaborator for a media item. A member must have a privateOnlyRole or greater site role or will not be able to edit or publish the media entry.
Media management on the KMC
Media can be managed on the KMC. For example, you may need to bulk add a new collaborator to all the media published in a channel.
Video: How to Add Co-Publisher or Co-Editor
- Login to the KMC.
- Select the Categories tab.
- It is easiest to search for the channel using the channel ID but you can also search by name.
- Click the three dots to the right of the name.
- Select View Entries.
- Click the checkbox at the top of the results table to select all media on the page.
- Note: not all media in the channel may be shown on the page. The Show rows dropdown at the bottom right of the page allows you to select how many entries you can view at one time.
- Click the More Actions dropdown that appears above the results.
- Select Add/remove Co-Publishers (or Co-Editors) and then Add Co-Publishers (or Add Co-Editors).
- Type a uniqname or Kaltura group name and Apply to all selected entries.
- If not all media published to the channel is currently shown on the page, click the arrow at the bottom of the page to navigate to the next page of results and repeat from step 6.
Adding Media
Media can be uploaded from both the frontend and from the KMC. Adding media from the frontend has the benefit that media can be added from within a channel which automatically publishes the media into the channel, in addition the interface provides a way to add a title, description, metadata, and collaborators at the time of uploading.
ITS-MiVideo may be able to assist if you have a large number of videos that need to be bulk uploaded.
Custom Metadata
Custom metadata fields can be added to media. Custom metadata is configured on the KMC. Custom metadata is applied at the Mediaspace level so these data fields will be part of every media entry in your site. Just like title, description and tags, you will see these fields when you upload, edit, or view a media item.
Example: the Bentley Historical Library Mediaspace uses several custom metadata fields.
It’s easiest to create custom metadata before beginning to upload media to your site. If you have media already uploaded before creating custom metadata, then existing media will need to be edited to add the custom data values.
1. Create a custom schema profile
Each Mediaspace should only have one schema. Give your schema a descriptive name such as “SSW Mediaspace”. This way it will be easily identifiable in the KMC. If your site already has a schema, modify the existing schema and do not create another schema.
Select Entries for the entity option.
Article: How to Add a Kaltura Custom MetaData Schema (Profile)
Video: How to Create a Custom Metadata Schema
2. Add fields to profile
Create a new custom field for every metadata field you want to add.
Article: How To Add Fields To Custom Metadata Profile
Video: How to Apply a Custom Metadata Schema to your Mediaspace
Type
Each field has a type:
- Text
- Date
- Text select list
- A text select list presents a dropdown list of items. For example, you have three locations: lecture hall 1, lecture hall 2, and lecture hall 3, and want to be able to select a location from the list instead of typing out the full location.
Article: What Fields Can Be Configured In Kaltura Custom Metadata Profiles
Max number of values
- Single - allows you to enter one value
- Unlimited - will allow you to add additional values as needed
This is how it appears on the media page after adding 3 values:
Short description
Add a short description to any field and it will appear on the edit page. You could use the description to indicate when the field should be used for. Here is an example for a required field with a description. The description does not display on the media page.
Searchable
If enabled, this metadata field will appear as a Filter when searching the site.
3. Configure Custom Data module
After creating your schema and custom data fields you will now associate the scheme with your Mediaspace.
Article: Customdata
Custom Data module
Enable the module if it is not already.
profileID
- Select your metadata profile from the dropdown.
requiredFields
- The field must be filled in before the media can be published.
privateFields
- This field is hidden from viewers and only visible to media owners and co-editors.
hiddenFiltersFields
- the data field is not available as a search filter (you can find search filters on your site for example on the channel page by clicking the FIlters button under the search box).
showInSearchResults
- Set for all the custom data, this allows the data to be searchable.
Notes
- If a field is not required and does not contain a value, it won't display on the media page.
- “Appears In” is a field that Kaltura automatically populates for items published to channels.
- There isn’t a limit on the number of characters on a custom metadata field.
Tags
Tags can be used to associate keywords to media items to describe content. New tags can be created on the frontend and in the KMC by typing a keyword into the Tags field on the media edit page. Tags must contain more than 3 characters and can include spaces and special characters.
Tags can also be associated with channels and added on the channel edit page. Channel tags appear as links in the banner on the channel page. Clicking on the tag displays all media on the site tagged with that tag.
Example: the Bentley Historical Library Mediaspace uses tags to organize their collections.
Example: the Clements Library Mediaspace uses tags on this channel page.
Navigation
Once your channels are created, they can be added to the site navigation.
Example: the HR Mediaspace has several menu and submenu items.
Private channels in the navigation will display an “access denied” message when accessed by a user who is not authenticated on the site and does not have a channel entitlement. Restricted channels will display an “access denied” message when accessed by a user who is not authenticated.
Article: Navigation
Video: How to Design Your Mediaspace Site
Note: There isn’t a way to reorder menu items. To add a menu item to the middle of the menu, create a new item and move the values from the above item below and repeat as necessary.
Note: Use allowedGroups to restrict who is able to see the menu item.
Navigation module
type
- Link to a playlist, a specific media entry, or channel. You can also link to slugs (for example, the homepage or custom HTML pages on your site) and external URLs. A label is not a link but rather a label for the submenu.
name
- The title of the menu item as it appears in the navigation.
items
- An item is a menu item in the submenu. Not required.
allowedGroups
- Only users of this Kaltura KMS group will see this menu item.
How to configure specific menu types:
Add a Channel to the navigation
type
name
- The title of the menu item as it appears in the navigation.
channel
- Search by channel ID or name.
Add a Link to the navigation
type
name
- The title of the menu item as it appears in the navigation.
value
sameWindow
- Should the link open in a new browser window or the same window.
Add a Label to the navigation
type
name
- The title of the menu item as it appears in the navigation
Homepage
There are several different ways to configure your site’s homepage.
Article: Home
Video: How to Design Your Mediaspace Site
- Display a single channel
- Display media in a carousel
- Display lists (most recent, most viewed, etc) along with a carousel
- Display a custom HTML page
How to configure specific homepages:
Use a channel as the homepage
Make the channel the first link in the site navigation. The Home module should not be enabled.
Navigation module
type
name
- As it will appear on the navigation.
channel
- Search for or enter the channel ID.
Use a carousel and lists as the homepage
The homepage must be the first link in the site navigation.
Navigation module
type
name
value
Home module
Enable the module if it is not already. Note: you cannot use the home module and have a static page with a slug "home".
carouselEnabled
- yes
- Note: disable the carousel to have only lists on the homepage.
carouselInterval
- The default is 5 seconds.
carouselStyle
- Single Large Image: displays the video thumbnail across the entire screen width.
- Small Image on Blurred Background: displays the video thumbnail blurred across the entire screen width. The media thumbnail appears as a smaller image in the lower right.
- Descriptive Cards: displays the video thumbnails as a stack of cards with the top card overlaying adjacent video cards in the playlist.
- All options have a right and left arrow that will display the previous or next item in the carousel.
carousel
type
- Select a Kaltura preconfigured list or a custom playlist or channel.
- Important: custom playlists and channels need to have a channel type that is visible to your audience. For example, using a private channel on the homepage will prevent anyone who is not a channel member from viewing the channel.
- Tip: to have a single banner that does not rotate use a playlist that only contains one image.
carouselBg
- Set the background color.
lists
Use custom playlists or Kaltura created lists. Lists appear under the carousel on the homepage.
Note: the list will only display the first three media items on the homepage. Viewers will need to click on the list name to view the entire list.
type
- Select a Kaltura preconfigured list or a custom playlist or channel.
- Important: custom playlists and channels need to have a channel type that is visible to your audience. For example, using a private channel on the homepage will prevent anyone who is not a channel member from viewing the channel.
- Tip: click "+ Add lists" to add additional lists.
Use a static HTML page as the homepage
The Home module should not be enabled.
Staticpages module
Enable the module if it is not already. See the next section for more info.
title
pageSlug
- The slug appears at the end of the site URL. For example, "mivideo.it.umich.edu/home".
permission
- Minimum site role to view this page.
content
- Your HTML code.
- Tip: you can use the embed code for videos and playlists to display videos on the homepage.
Navigation module
Make the static page the first link in the site navigation
type
name
- The name of the page as it appears in the navigation.
value
- Enter your slug. For example, “home”.
Static Pages
Custom static HTML pages can be created and linked to from the site navigation.
Article: Staticpages
Article: Add Static HTML Pages to MiVideo Mediaspace
Example: the Library Mediaspace has a custom “About” page.
Staticpages module
Enable the module if it is not already.
title
pageSlug
- The slug appears at the end of the site URL. For example, "mivideo.it.umich.edu/about-us".
permission
- Minimum site role to view this page.
content
Additional Settings
Application module
enableViews
- Tells the number of times the video has been watched.
showCreatedByIndicator
- When enabled shows who created the video on the Media page.
Attachments module
enabled
- Yes if attachments aren’t allowed for media.
Comments module
enabled
- The ability for viewers to add comments to media. After enabling, each media item can have comments turned on or off in the Options tab of the Edit Media page.
Downloadmedia module
enabled
- To configure downloadable versions of the media for viewers to download from the Media page. After enabling, each media item can have downloads enabled/disabled from the Downloads tab of the Edit Media page.
Quiz module
enabled
- If using IVQs (Interactive Video Quizzes).
Styling
ITS-MiVideo has already configured the Maize & Blue styling for your site. However you do have the ability to customize fonts, colors, and add your own CSS. It is recommended to save a backup of your configuration in the admin backend (click “Backup Configuration” under “Server Tools” in the left navigation) before making any changes.
- Set font and colors on the styling page.
- Add styling CSS files (cssupload module).
Article: Styling
Example: the Bentley Historical library uses the Michigan Blue on the navigation bar along with their custom logo.
Note: a new theming module is available for Mediaspaces however due to accessibility issues and missing feature parity, it is not recommended to use the new theme at this time. Contact ITS-MiVideo if you have any questions.
Add a title and footer
A footer is not required but can be customized with HTML. The same footer will appear on all pages on the site. The footer will use the background color as the navigation.
Example: the Library Mediaspace has a simple footer with links.
Video: How to Change the Mediaspace Footer
Application module
title
footer
- Not required but can take HTML code.
Add a custom logo
Video: How to Design Your Mediaspace Site
Header module
logoImageUpload
- Best practice to use a transparent png.
logoAltText
logoLink
- Behavior when user clicks the logo.
Add additional styles
Video: How to Style your Mediaspace Buttons and Background
Article: Styling
Styling module
Click the “here” link where Click here to go to the Styling Page.
Players
Media players are highly customizable. You can select which player buttons are shown, whether the title and transcript widget are shown, and more.
ITS-MiVideo has already configured three players for your site. The default player contains the transcript widget and dual screen enabled (for PIP playback). The edit player does not contain the transcript widget but does contain the download button so owners and co-editors can download the media item. The playlist player is similar to the default player but has playlist controls enabled.
Video: How to Change the Default Player of Mediaspace
Player module
playerID
- The ID associated with the default player. This player has already been created for you by ITS-MiVIdeo.
playerEditID
- The ID associated with the edit player. This player has already been created for you by ITS-MiVIdeo.
PlaylistsPage module
playerID
- The ID associated with the playlist player. This player has already been created for you by ITS-MiVIdeo.
Studio
Players can be edited in the Studios of the KMC. After accessing Studio, select the “Universal Studio” tab to view all the v2 players. Note: further testing for functionality and accessibility is necessary before it is recommended to use the new v7 players (which are located under the “Player Studio” tab).
Players are named after their Mediaspace, for example SEAS Mediaspace EDIT Player. Do not delete any players. Contact ITS-MiVideo if you have any questions or need assistance with modifying your site’s players.
Video: How to use the Look and Feel Tab to customize your player
Article: Universal Studio Information Guide
REACH Captioning
Auto captioning was enabled in MiVideo on 4/22/2024. Machine-generated English captions are automatically ordered for all new video and audio files you add to your My Media library.
Free automatic machine-generated captions and text-alignment have already been configured for your Mediaspace by ITS-MiVideo. Kaltura contracts with Verbit to provide machine captioning.
- Article: Order captions. Auto captioning is in English only. If the majority of the video is spoken in a language other than English, order captions in the spoken language.
- Article: Edit captions. Machine captions are not always accurate. Kaltura has a built-in Captions Editor.
- Article: Text alignment will take a text file transcript and sync with the video to create a new captions file. This is useful if you have a text transcript from another source (such as Zoom), there is a syncing issue, or if you prefer to download and edit the transcript in a word processor (rather than using the Captions Editor).
Other REACH Services
Other REACH services are available through Kaltura for a fee. These services can be ordered through this form which lists the cost per minute.
If your Mediaspace has a need for lots of professional captioning (more than the occasional video which can be ordered via a shortcode) please contact the the ITS Service Center for a consult with the ITS-MiVideo team. Caption profiles can be configured for individual departments which allows the department to purchase a bucket of credits which can then be used to order professional captioning services.
Questions
Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.