Likelihood to Recommend Panopto is great if you have a lot of video content that you need to put in a central repository. It makes it easy to manage who sees it and how it is categorized. The captioning features are also really good too. For folks to view the video, they don't need a Panopto account. You can send them a direct link. If you want to upload videos, however, they will need a Panopto account. If you only have a few videos or care less about usage statistics,
SharePoint may be a better file repository option
Read full review Powtoon is a very capable suite of tools that help a developer create training videos that look way better than they should. I've used it to create fun, attention-getting commercials for new topics, I've used it to enhance what would otherwise be boring step-by-step tutorials, and I've used it to create all manner of "Explainer videos" for all kinds of topics - this is where it EXCELS! In my opinion, its biggest limitations are limits on imported video (max of 90 seconds), which mean that you have to do a lot of extra work to break up and import anything of substantive length. And because it presents your personal library of imported images and audio ONLY sequentially, it's VERY LIMITED in the re-usability of those assets - it's way faster to just import a new instance of an image and audio than to try to find it in your library.
Read full review Pros Simple to use - It really is a click-and-go system. Log in, click on record, and you're set. Flexible - It allows multiple information-rich inputs to be recorded simultaneously (for example, the screen, webcams, microphones, etc.). For some demonstrations, having multiple perspectives/views can be beneficial. The ability to add multiple webcams enhanced the value of some of my recordings. Reliable - This is critical when an unforeseen opportunity arises and you want to capture it visually and with audio. I had multiple experiences where a unique person was available briefly and due to Panopto's reliability, I was able to capture content that would otherwise have been seen by only those physically present at the time. Read full review Powtoon is very easy to use; no previous experience is needed. It has a lot of features (images, backgrounds, videos, sounds, etc.) It automatically saves your work After you have created your video, you can download it to your computer in different resolutions Read full review Cons Panopto doesn't fully support Ultra courses in Blackboard - we can do quizzing, which is very helpful, but we can't do video submissions like an Original course. There is no built-in certificate option for completing a video and its quiz questions, which requires us to use additional systems for tracking and awarding. Analytics are mediocre. The reporting tools are challenging to use and to get clear information on a consistent basis. Quizzing is limited to multiple choice or T/F -- there is no reflection point or open-ended question format. Read full review Comparing it to Vyond, it is more time consuming to make videos. The timeline could be easier to understand. They recently started upcharging to use some scenes. This has made updating some of my videos challenging as the scenes that were included as part of my plan are now an upgrade to use. They don't have a voice over option. I have actually taken some of the videos out of the platform over to Vyond to add voiceover. Some items they have introduced, like turning a powerpoint into a video really don't work. Read full review Usability Needs some work, but I'm sure improvements will come over time
Read full review Support Rating Panopto has been quick to answer any questions, but their rollouts and updates have caused issues where we felt a little blindsided by unexpected changes. Their development cycle is slow and often their promises for future updates have been extremely slow or never come.
Read full review I have never needed the support feature. As I mentioned, everything was intuitive to me however I have taught myself Adobe, Final Cut and
iMovie so most of these programs became intuitive.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Cost wise, unless you have a huge audience, Panopto is better. Both Zoom Meeting and
Kaltura and for more expensive and a smaller program/company may not have the demand to justify them.
Kaltura - is a far superior tool, the UI is much more modern and easier for a novice user to understand, and it makes sharing videos amongst faculty much easier. The LMS integration if far smoother and the recording is much easier and faster (from within the LMS). The analytics are also present in a much cleaner and digestible way. Lastly, the quizzing feature is far more robust.
Zoom - Smoother at streaming and live interactions. Stronger chat feature and supports larger audiences, it can handle over 100 HD webcams at once if needed. It does basic desktop capture and supporting audio-only formats that can easily be converted to Podcast or Soundcloud.
Google Loom - This one is not listed above as it's rather new but its a FREE tool for fast video/desktop/PPT recordings and it's extremely fast and easy to share. That said it's pretty basic as far as any additional features are concerned. Post-production editing is limited to basic timeline trimming.
Read full review Powtoon has the advantage over traditional video editing software in terms of the library of characters and elements that can be easily dragged and dropped onto the canvas. Powtoon is easier to use and has a more intuitive user interface than
Vyond .
Read full review Return on Investment Panopto integrates with our LMS, D2L quite well. It makes the process very simple for our instructors and students to record and watch videos. It does not require any plugins or software to watch videos, as they load up in a web browser. The videos work on mobile and embed easily in courses or on websites. We also enjoy the easy sharing of videos and simplified management in the web portal. Read full review We don't have to spend money on traveling to a location to do an actual live shoot. I'm spending less time on hand animating videos. We used these to create teaser videos for our professional development offerings. I believe because of the captivating graphics, we had a lot more people driven to our site. Read full review ScreenShots