Universal Capture (UC) features an easy-to-use interface that lets you start a recording at any time. These recordings, generated on the fly, are called ad hoc recordings.

Create an Ad Hoc Recording Using Universal Capture

To Start a Capture

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 begins. Clicking Record will start the scheduled recording early.

1. Launch Universal Capture.
2. Log in (if not already authenticated).

3. Select the inputs you want to capture.

   You can select any combination of available inputs. Universal Capture will initially preselect inputs based on available devices or Room configuration, and will remember the last inputs selected, except for 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 when capturing a Desktop. See Controlling a Capture for details on additional options during a recording.

   Tip: 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 resume previewing if desired manually.

When the recording is complete, it automatically uploads to the EchoVideo server for 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.

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.

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 in to Universal Capture for your audio device to appear as an input.

Capture Details

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

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, the class name will also be used.
   • Default: Untitled
2. Optionally, fill out the Description and Tags fields.
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: Upcoming scheduled captures limit the Duration field. 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 device type (Pro, Pod, UC: Classroom, or UC: Personal) and the capture type (Live or VOD). For detailed information on quality options, see Universal Capture Recording Quality.

   Tip:: A / D / V, A / V / V, and A / D / D recordings can be processor-intensive. Run tests to ensure your computer and input devices produce output that meets your standards.

5. Select a Publish To location to specify where you want the ad hoc capture published when it finishes. The drop-down list will include your Library and any currently active sections you are enrolled in.

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

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.

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

8. Optionally, select Live Captioning. Live captioning provides real-time, automatically generated text during live content, allowing viewers to read spoken content as it happens, improving accessibility.

   Note: Live Captions are limited to a maximum duration of 4 hours.

Manage 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, such as unplugging or unavailability, and will fall back to a secondary input if available.

Universal Capture: Personal Specifics

Users are not limited to any specific quality options. If you plan 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 recording duration, and no duration field on the Capture Details page shown below. This means there is no progress recording bar at the bottom of the UI, unlike in UC: Classroom. Instead, a timer counts up, displaying the current recording length.

This also means there are no extension options available, as the recording will run until it is stopped. If a recording is not manually stopped or the application is closed, it will continue recording for up to 8 hours (or 4 hours for a Live stream). 

UC: Personal handles device interruptions, where an input device becomes unplugged or unavailable, by falling back to a secondary input, if one is available. However, if the application is closed, the user logs out, or similar events occur, any ongoing recording will be considered complete and uploaded to EchoVideo for processing.

After completing the recording (or after reconnecting to the internet after working offline), if you receive a message indicating that no recording will be uploaded until the computer's time is corrected, this means the computer's time is out of sync with the actual time by several minutes. A computer restart should resolve the issue, or you can open the time settings on the computer and sync with the network time server.