Panopto vs. Vzaar

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

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

Needs some work, but I'm sure improvements will come over time

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

• 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.