Can you do this? If you are a Student you may want to see if either the Echo360 Library or Universal Capture: Personal downloads have been disabled for students before continuing. The easiest way to know is to enter Echo360 and click the Settings icon (looks like a gear) in the top right corner, then click Downloads. If you do not have a Universal Capture download option, you can stop reading.
Universal Capture is the interface/software used to create Echo360 recordings. You can download Universal Capture from Echo360 onto your personal computer, and generate recordings to share with your classes or groups, or if you are a student, to submit for a homework assignment. This version is called Universal Capture: Personal also referred to as UC: Personal.
The sections below will help get you started with UC: Personal, and include links to articles with more detailed information as needed.
NOTE: Universal Capture is not yet supported on M1 processor Macs, but is expected to be supported soon. When support is added, this note will be removed.
Do you need a password
The first thing you need to do is determine if you need to create a password for Echo360, and whether or not you already have one.
If you sign in to your institution's portal and access either your LMS/VLE or Echo360 through the portal, you probably do not need a separate Echo360 password. This typically indicates that your institution uses what they call "single-sign-on" or "SSO" and logging into the university site provides all the information and authorization you need.
Universal Capture: Personal allows for single-sign-on or SSO logins. You do not need a separate Echo360 password.
If you log directly into an LMS/VLE such as Blackboard, Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle, or Sakai to access Echo360, you WILL need to establish a separate Echo360 password to use with UC: Personal. As an added bonus, this password can also be used for the Echo360 Mobile App.
See Creating an Echo360 Password for more information as needed.
If you log directly into Echo360 via the echo360.org website, you already have an Echo360 password and you don't have to do anything! Except remember your password...
See Changing your Echo360 Password for more information as needed.
To check for or establish an Echo360 password:
- Enter Echo360 in whatever way you normally do. Pay attention to how you do this and see which of the above methods it is.
- Click the Settings icon in the top right corner, as shown below. It looks like a gear.
- Select Account Settings from the menu.
- In the Password section of the page, notice the big blue button.
If it says CREATE PASSWORD, then you do not have a direct login to Echo360. You may not need one if you log into your institution portal to access Echo360. If you log into an LMS/VLE, you will need to establish an Echo360 password to use UC: Personal
If it says CHANGE PASSWORD, then you DO have an Echo360 Password and can use it to log in to Universal Capture: Personal.
Installing Universal Capture Personal
Installing Universal Capture: Personal is quite simple. Download the installer and then run it. That's it!
Universal Capture System Requirements: If you are using a Mac, you must be running at least macOS version 10.15 (Catalina); if you are using a Windows PC, you must be running the 64-bit version of Windows 10. For more details, see Universal Capture Specifications.
To install Universal Capture:
- Enter Echo360 in whatever way you normally do.
- Click the Settings icon in the top right corner. It looks like a gear.
- Select Downloads from the menu.
- From the Universal Capture: Personal area of the Downloads page, select the link to download the installer appropriate for the type of computer/operating system you are running.
- After downloading, double-click the installer file and follow the prompts. Be sure to select local directories for installation or retain the defaults (as opposed to using a network or server drive/location).
For more information on installation, see Install the Universal Capture Desktop Application.
Launching and Using Universal Capture Personal
If you selected to have a shortcut added to the desktop during installation, you can double-click the shortcut to launch Universal Capture: Personal. Otherwise use the following methods:
- On a Mac, open the Applications folder and select Echo360 Capture.
- On Windows 10, you can search for Echo360 Universal Capture or find the application through the Start menu as shown below.
Once you launch the Universal Capture: Personal application, you may be asked to log in. HOW you log in depends on whether your institution uses SSO or you have to establish an Echo360 password.
If you see a login screen that looks like the institution portal login you normally use, enter your institution login like you normally do. If you see an Echo360 login screen, your username is your email address, and your password is the one established as discussed at the top of this page.
After logging in, the UC: Personal screen allows you to set your inputs, set recording details (title, description, where to put the recording when you're done, etc.), and start recording.
The figure below is a Quick Start guide for using the different options on the screen. For more detailed information, see the Universal Capture: Personal section of Start a Recording with Universal Capture and Live Streaming with Universal Capture.
Click the Pencil icon in the top right area of the screen to open the Capture Details box for entering a title, description, tags, publish to location, and whether or not to live stream for the recording.
Click each of the Inputs drop-down lists to identify WHAT you want to record. This can be a built-in or external camera, the desktop display, and the built-in or external microphone. Or any combination of these (though you MUST have audio). If using a Mac, make sure you review how to Allow Access to Inputs in macOS.
Click the big friendly round Record button to begin recording.
Once recording begins, use the Stop & Publish, Pause, and Cancel recording buttons as needed.
Click your name in the top right corner to log out if necessary (recommended if you are using a shared computer).