Streaming – u:stream

Via u:stream, teachers can effortlessly record their courses in selected lecture halls at the University of Vienna or broadcast them live on the internet. Additionally, teachers can upload existing video and audio files to make them available as on-demand stream. Teachers can also use u:stream to cut and edit videos and access the u:stream Studio to record videos in the browser. Teachers decide independently whether they would like to use u:stream for their courses and how they publish recordings.

Students can watch published recordings and videos at any time and place (for instance, on Moodle) or follow courses via livestream. With u:stream Studio they can also make videos themselves.

 News

From winter semester 2024, u:stream will be available in the following rooms:

  • Main Building BIG lecture hall
  • Main Building lecture hall 1
  • Campus of the University of Vienna Seminar room 1 (Hof 1)
  • Campus of the University of Vienna Seminar room 2 (Hof 1)

Technical introductions to the u:stream service took place at the beginning of the semester:

Students

Check the online offer of a course (u:find, Moodle) or ask the teachers

  • whether and how u:stream is used in a course,
  • where the recordings and/or live streams will be made available.

The recordings are not published in a centralised manner.

To watch the recordings and/or live streams you require no additional software and you do not have to register for the service.

With u:stream Studio you can create new videos yourself on your device via the web browser. The source (depending on the selection) is the screen, the camera and/or the microphone of the device or connected hardware, such as an external webcam.

You can find more information on the availability of recordings in the FAQ about u:stream.

Using u:stream in lecture halls

If your course takes place in a lecture hall with u:stream equipment, you as a teacher or tutor can register this course for u:stream. Alternatively, as an employee you can also work with user-defined series.

To do so, log in to the u:stream web interface with your u:account for employees.

If you are active as a teacher or tutor in courses, the available courses will be listed. Select the desired course and register it for u.stream. Alternatively, you can create a new user-defined series for u:stream.

You can register at any time and independently of the lecture hall. More information can be found in the user guides for Registration and Administration.

Until now, u:stream equipment was mainly installed in large, busy lecture halls. The devices are permanently installed. Mobile equipment is not available.

There is no integrated return channel available for the u:stream service. For teaching purposes, you can use the following activities in your Moodle course as a return channel:

The Student Response System is an online tool for live participation that allows students to write comments and actively participate in surveys and quizzes.

Lecture halls with u:stream equipment

  • Boltzmanngasse 5: Christian Doppler Lecture Hall, Lise Meitner Lecture Hall, Ludwig Boltzmann Lecture Hall; Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090 Vienna
  • Campus of the University of Vienna: Lecture Hall A, Lecture Hall B, Lecture Hall C1, Lecture Hall C2, Lecture Hall D, Seminar room 1 (Hof 1), Seminar room 2 (Hof 1), Seminar room 3, Seminar room 4, Seminar room D, Seminar room F, Seminar room G; Spitalgasse 2–4, 1090 Vienna
  • Centre for Translations Studies: Audimax; Gymnasiumstrasse 50, 1190 Vienna
  • Erwin Schrödinger Institute (ESI): Boltzmann Lecture Hall; Boltzmanngasse 9, 1090 Vienna
  • Juridicum: Lecture Hall U10, Lecture Hall U11, Lecture Hall U18; Schottenbastei 10–16, 1010 Vienna
  • Main Building: Audimax, BIG Lecture Hall, Lecture Hall 1, Lecture Hall 2, Lecture Hall 3, Lecture Hall 5, Lecture Hall 6, Lecture Hall 7, Lecture Hall 21, Lecture Hall 31, Lecture Hall 32, Lecture Hall 33, Lecture Hall 41, Lecture Hall 42, Lecture Hall 50; Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna
  • Neues Institutsgebäude (NIG): Lecture Hall I, Lecture Hall II; Universitätsstrasse 7, 1010 Vienna
  • Observatory: Littrow Lecture Hall Astronomy; Türkenschanzstrasse 17, 1180 Vienna
  • Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz: Lecture Hall 1, Lecture Hall 2, Lecture Hall 4, Lecture Hall 6, Lecture Hall 11, Lecture Hall 13, Lecture Hall 14; Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1, 1090 Vienna
  • Rennweg 14: Lecture Hall; Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna
  • UBB: Lecture Hall 1, Lecture Hall 2, Lecture Hall 3, Exercise Room 1.1, Exercise Room 1.2, Exercise Room 1.5, Exercise Room 1.6; Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Wien
  • UZA II: Lecture Hall 2, Lecture Hall 3, Lecture Hall 8, Practical Course Room (2B201); Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna
  • Währinger Strasse 29: Lecture Hall 1; Währinger Strasse 29, 1090 Vienna
  • Währinger Straße 38–42: Joseph Loschmidt Lecture Hall; Carl Auer von Welsbach Lecture Hall; Währinger Strasse 38–42, 1090 Vienna

Creating a recording or live stream in lecture halls


Selecting sources and streaming options

In the lecture hall, select the sources for the recording or the live stream.You can record the presentation, the lecturer or both at the same time. You can also make audio recordings. You can change the selected sources and the camera position during the lecture.

Then, select the desired streaming option(s). You can choose between: 

  • Recording
  • Web live stream
  • Room2Room live stream

For further information, see the user guide Streaming im Hörsaal starten (Start live streams in the lecture hall, in German).

Tipps

Start a recording and / or live stream. Use the user guide Streaming im Hörsaal starten (Start streaming in the lecture hall, in German).

  • Always use the microphone provided at the relevant lecture hall. If several microphones are available, you are free to choose any one. 
  • If you use a microphone that is mounted on the lectern, do not move too far away from it. 
  • Start and end your recording shortly before and after your lecture. 
  • Repeat questions and contributions by students to ensure that they are audible in the recording. 
  • Use the pause function in case of longer interruptions.
  • Use the cursor of the PC or laptop to make students aware of elements in your presentation. The cursors will be recorded, whereas laser pointers or the like are only visible for students in the lecture hall.
  • If you use the camera, do not move outside the selected frame and do not turn off the lights in the blackboard area.

Creating a recording in the browser

With u:stream Studio you can create new videos on your device via the web browser. The source (depending on the selection) is the screen, the camera and/or the microphone of the device or hardware connected to it, such as an external webcam.

You can download the videos and save them on your own end device, upload them to u:stream and assign them to a u:stream series. The prerequisite is that a u:stream series has already been set up before the recording begins. More information can be found in the user guide Using u:stream Studio.

u:stream Studio can also be accessed via Moodle. For more information, see the user guide Using u:stream Studio via Moodle.

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Uploading videos in u:stream

Via the u:stream administration you can upload existing video and audio files to make them available as on-demand stream. This function of u:stream can be used even if you are not working with u:stream in lecture halls.

For uploading to u:stream, log in to the administration, select the relevant series and there Upload. Then you can select the desired files and upload them to u:stream.

You will find a detailed description in the user guide Using u:stream administration (in German).

Alternatively, you can upload files from Moodle to u:stream. For more information, see the user guide Editing u:stream video in Moodle.

Editing videos

In the u:stream administration you get an overview of all your series and videos. You can also:

  • edit metadata of series and videos
  • upload videos
  • record videos using u:stream Studio
  • edit videos
  • download videos
  • delete videos

You can find more information in the user guide Using u:stream administration (in German).

Many of these functions are also available directly in Moodle. To do this, link a u:stream series to the course in Moodle under u:stream videos. The link also makes it very easy to publish your recordings in the Moodle course.

You can find more information in the user guide Linking u:stream series in Moodle.

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Making a recording or livestream available

Lecturers have several options of making their recordings and livestreams or audios/videos available. It is the lecturer’s responsibility to decide which option they choose.

Publishing a recording or audio/video

The processing of your videos takes a maximum of 24 hours. u:stream will send you an e-mail for each recording or uploaded file after processing is complete.

You will find several options in the e-mail for publishing it:

  • Publishing a series in Moodle: If you record/upload several times in the same series, you can use the u:stream activity in Moodle to publish the entire series. You only set up the publication in Moodle once, the individual recordings of the series are automatically published in the activity during the semester.
  • Publishing a single recording in Moodle: With the u:stream activity, you can publish any individual recording separately in Moodle.
  • Publishing on websites via link: In the e-mail you will receive a link to a player. You can use this link to publish individual recordings on any websites.
  • Embed Code for embedding in webpages: In the e-mail you will also receive an embed code which you can use for embedding a player with the video on websites.

You can find more information on the individual publishing options in the user guide Publishing a recording.

To embed a player with the video from u:stream in a TYPO3 page, use the plugin for TYPO3 pages of the University of Vienna. You can find the link for embedding it also in the e-mail. Information on using the plugin can be found on the intranet pages of the TYPO3 support.

Publishing a live stream

You can choose from two different types of live streams:

  • Web live streams: Broadcast courses via the Internet
  • Room2Room live streams: Broadcast courses from one lecture hall to another

To publish web live streams or Room2Room live streams, please see the user guide Livestream durchführen (Broadcasting a live stream, in German).

 Note

As soon as you make recordings or audio/video files available, students can watch them with a player. Downloads are not offered by default. However, students can generate downloads of the recordings easily with the right software. The ZID cannot prevent this technically.

Access to videos and livestreams of your series can be restricted to students from one or more Moodle courses if required.

Playing a recording or livestream

To play the recordings or livestreams you require no additional software and you do not have to register for the service. A player is being used. For more information, see user guide Wiedergabe (in German). 

u:stream support

Phone number: +43-1-4277-14294, in writing via Servicedesk

Please note that u:stream Support may be unavailable at short notice due to other requests or appointments.


At the beginning of each semester, at least one u:stream information event takes place.

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) offers counselling regarding didactics and copyright for teachers.

 User guides and FAQ

To the u:stream user guides

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