The Benefits of Switching to Hardware Encoding for Lecture Capture
Many schools use video content management systems like Panopto or Kaltura for lecture capture, often relying on software encoding. However, by shifting to hardware encoding, schools can gain significant advantages in performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency.
Why Hardware Encoding? Hardware encoders are specifically designed for video recording and streaming, ensuring smoother performance and higher video quality compared to software encoders. With components tailored for video tasks, hardware encoders eliminate issues caused by multi-purpose parts and competing processes in software setups.
Enhanced Quality for Engaged Learning Today’s students, being savvy media consumers, expect high-quality video. To meet this demand and stay competitive, schools need to use professional-grade equipment. This means upgrading from basic setups to include HDMI cameras, professional audio gear, and even multiple camera angles for more dynamic lecture captures.
Understanding Hardware Encoders Hardware encoders are dedicated appliances built specifically for video encoding. They are optimized with carefully selected components and software, making them superior to software encoders that run on general-purpose computers with multiple processes. This specialization leads to better performance, reliability, and ultimately, a more engaging learning experience for students.
Why Hardware Encoders Outperform Software Encoders
Hardware encoders bring significant advantages to educational institutions:
- Superior Performance: Designed specifically for video streaming and recording, hardware encoders allocate more computing power to encoding tasks, unlike software encoders that share resources with other processes. This leads to better performance, especially with multiple video or audio sources.
- Enhanced Flexibility: Hardware encoders support various inputs like USB, HDMI, SDI, and professional audio (XLR), allowing for more versatile and high-quality lecture capture compared to software encoders limited by fewer input options.
For instance, the Pearl Mini system integrates multiple video and audio inputs, enabling seamless capture of lectures in high definition with clear audio.B video signals. They’re also limited to USB or 3.5 mm microphones unless you have a separate audio interface, and can typically only capture audio from a single source.
Superior reliability
You’ve probably seen at least one video of an ill-timed Windows update or system crash during a broadcast or live stream. The same can happen during lecture capture, resulting in a fractured or incomplete recording. Hardware encoders running a non-Windows operating system such as Linux are much less prone to these kinds of interruptions. Adding to their reliability, hardware encoders also need fewer cables and components to do the same job as a custom-built PC – which means fewer points of failure. With this added peace of mind, users can focus more on their lecture and less on the technology capturing it.
Simpler installation and management
The benefits of pairing a hardware encoder with a CMS go beyond the lecture hall. It’s much easier for IT staff to set up and manage a fleet of hardware encoders than it is to update and maintain numerous custom-built PCs with their operating systems, recording software, and capture card setups. Adding to these maintenance woes, all the parts required to turn a PC into a capable video and audio encoder probably come from different manufacturers.
Hardware encoders require occasional firmware upgrades, which you can often install remotely. Computers need frequent updates to the operating system as well as to applications that have nothing to do with streaming and recording but are nevertheless critical (e.g., antivirus programs). Simplifying this process with a hardware encoder frees up IT resources for other projects that are important to your school.
Greater affordability
When it comes to large-scale lecture capture, hardware encoders offer better value at a lower overall cost compared to custom-built PCs. For one thing, opting for a hardware encoder eliminates the expense of operating system and software licenses broad enough to cover every lecture capture PC on campus. Schools that use software with a CMS may also be contracted to update their workstations every two or three years, which can cost a couple grand per unit.
Certain hardware encoders can also capture footage from multiple rooms, lowering capital expenditures for schools eager to equip every classroom with lecture capture technology.
Easier operation
Some hardware encoders include CMS integrations that can greatly simplify lecture capture. For instance, our Pearl Mini and Pearl-2 hardware encoders are fully integrated with Panopto and Kaltura. Users who register Pearl to either platform can create, start, and stop unscheduled events via Pearl’s built-in touch screen, authenticate to the CMS from the touch screen to automatically upload recordings to their folder, and more.
CMS integration can turn a hardware encoder into a hands-off lecture capture solution. Whereas an operator must launch and interact with a software encoder to start or stop a recording or stream, a hardware encoder with CMS integration can trigger these events automatically based on a defined schedule. Combined with automatic file uploading, the result is a far simpler workflow with less administration required after each lecture.