SinSince its establishment in 1887, NC State University has been committed to providing an advanced and accessible learning environment. This commitment continues with the installation of lecture capture technology in over 300 classrooms, powered by the Epiphan Pearl.
The Challenge: Expanding Lecture Capture Capacity
NC State’s history as a land-grant university emphasizes the importance of accessible education, a principle that continues to drive innovation on campus. Tony Pearson, Senior Associate Director of DELTA, reflects on the evolution from the “Sneaker Net” days of the 1990s, where staff manually collected videotapes, to today’s advanced digital solutions. Although the methods have evolved, the demand for classroom capture has only increased, making modern technology essential to fulfilling the university’s mission of accessibility and innovation.
TThe existing lecture capture system at NC State University was originally designed to support students who couldn’t attend classes in person, such as military personnel abroad, international students, or full-time workers. Initially, only 50 classrooms were equipped for streaming and recording, and it was up to each professor to decide whether to participate.
Over time, student feedback and surveys revealed a growing demand for more recorded courses. Both on-campus and online students saw value in having access to recorded lectures as a supplement to their learning. Faculty members also expressed a strong interest in expanding classroom capture, believing it could enhance student performance.
As Leisa Bolles, Director of Media Production Services (DELTA), noted, “The idea behind classroom capture is not to replace attending your courses, but to serve as another tool in your learning toolkit.”
With increasing demand from students and faculty alike, NC State’s DELTA team embarked on a comprehensive evaluation process to find the best solution. The chosen classroom capture system needed to:
- Integrate seamlessly with their existing AV infrastructure and Panopto content management system (CMS).
- Offer remote operation capabilities.
- Be easy to maintain without requiring additional staff.
- Be cost-effective and fit within the university’s budget.
These requirements guided the selection process to ensure the new system would meet the university’s needs while supporting its commitment to accessible, high-quality education.tive.
The only product that checked all boxes? Epiphan Pearl systems.
The Solution: Pearl Mini Offers Reliable Support Amid High Demand
NC State selected Pearl Mini hardware encoders as the backbone of their lecture capture systems. With its two HDMI, one SDI, and dual professional XLR audio inputs, Pearl Mini was ideal for capturing in-room audio and video. Each classroom setup included a camera, a computer source, and audio from ceiling-mounted microphones.
NC State’s DELTA team was immediately impressed by Pearl Mini’s seamless integration with both existing and new equipment, making it the perfect choice for their needs.
You can plug [a Pearl Mini] into your AV infrastructure and expect it to work. It just works. Once you’ve configured it and had a setup on the network, it just works flawlessly.Ron Bradley, Classroom Technology Manager
After confirming that Pearl Mini would integrate smoothly with existing components, the DELTA team focused on ensuring an effortless user experience. Their goal was to make the technology so unobtrusive that faculty members wouldn’t even notice it. The seamless integration with Panopto CMS made this possible, allowing professors to continue using the familiar “record” function without needing extra training. For those unfamiliar with Panopto, automated control functions were created using Pearl’s compatibility with the Crestron Control Module, enabling recordings to start automatically when classes began. The recordings were then uploaded to NC State’s LMS within minutes after the lecture ended.
While the integration and ease of use were key successes, the challenge of maintaining and monitoring over 300 Pearl devices still remained. This concern was effectively addressed with Epiphan Edge. Built to simplify remote production, Epiphan Edge allowed the DELTA team to manage and monitor all Pearl devices from a centralized web-based admin panel, eliminating the need for physical presence in each classroom. This solution made it easier to maintain the expanded lecture capture system than the previous setup.
My favorite feature of the Pearl is that it works. It integrates into our existing AV infrastructure. And it’s been cost-effective at the scale at which we were trying to increase our capabilities.Leisa Bolles, Director of Media Production Services (DELTA)
The Results: A Dynamic Learning Environment for All
Pearl Mini was built for reliability, and at NC State, it plays a crucial role in supporting over 40,000 students in reaching their academic goals. DELTA relies on Pearl Minis to uphold the university’s 135-year tradition of excellence. Less than a year after adopting Epiphan technology, the results were clear and impactful.
Beyond the Classroom
While the primary focus was on equipping classrooms with advanced capture technology, NC State also enhanced specialty spaces. These setups now enable the recording, streaming, and sharing of special events, meetings, presentations, and more, ensuring that students, faculty, and staff can stay connected with all aspects of university life, regardless of their location.
Student engagement
Students who had long lobbied for an increase in classroom capture are taking advantage of the scaled-up resource. In two semesters with Epiphan supporting the expanded capture, recorded lectures have accumulated over 4 million views. Professors have noted that students rewatch lectures to prepare for assignments and exams. Students are markedly asking more specific and detailed clarifying questions about the material ahead of important evaluations.