BigBlueButton Recordings Management
BigBlueButton (BBB) is a powerful web conferencing system designed for online learning. When using BBB, managing and accessing recordings effectively is crucial for both educators and students. Our managed hosting services offer various configurations to meet clients' needs for recording management and accessibility.
Customizable Recording Options or Configurations
1. Automatic Recording Start
- Configuration: Enable or disable automatic recording for every session.
- Benefit: Ensures all sessions are recorded without manual intervention, providing a complete archive of activities.
2. Forced Recording of All Sessions
- Configuration: Set up sessions to start recording automatically and forcefully.
- Benefit: Guarantees that no session will proceed without being recorded, ideal for compliance and quality assurance purposes.
BigBlueButton Recording Formats
By default, BigBlueButton produces recordings in a presentation format. This format is designed for web playback, consisting of synchronized audio and slides, but it is not downloadable. While this format works well for many clients, there are scenarios where clients require more flexibility with their session recordings.
| Specifications | Presentation(HTML5) | SIngle Video(MP4) |
|---|---|---|
| Live Browser Playback | ||
| Helps Protecting Content | ||
| Offline Download & Playback | ||
| External Backup & Playback | Challenging | Suitable |
| Compressed Size | ||
| Easy to Manage | ||
| Suitable for Longer Retention |
BigBlueButton Recording Presentation Format
Advantages:
- Faster Loading Times: The presentation format uses synchronized audio and slides, which loads faster in a web browser compared to a single video file.
- Content Protection: Since the format does not provide a single video file, it is more challenging for users to download the content, offering a level of protection against unauthorized distribution.
Disadvantages:
- Limited Usability: The format is browser-dependent, making it harder to use in other applications or offline.
- Complexity: The format’s structure can make it more difficult to manage and archive recordings compared to simpler, single-file formats like MP4.
BigBlueButton Recording Video(MP4) Format
Configuration: Process recordings in the Video(MP4) format.
Direct Benefit: Produce a single, downloadable video file compatible with various media players, facilitating easy sharing and offline access.
Additional Benifits: This is more compressed & less in size than other format. Easier & cost effective to retain longer, backup or restore.
Which Format Better Suites Your Needs?
Presentation Format is enabled by default, where as Video format is enabled based on clients request or preference.
1. We recommend to use presentation format if protecting recordings is most important & recording retention is less than a year.
2. Alternatively if users needs Offline Downloading & Playback, Video format is the only option, easily accessible & sharable.
3. Lastly most expensive option would be to process & store both formats, which enable our clients to provide restricted recordings access to users in Presentation Format for a limited duration and also Backup the MP4 Format to External Storage for longer retention & future needs.
