Product Updates

We have successfully pushed an update for Software Capture for PC binary to all instances residing in the Canada, Australia, and the European Union (the US zone update will happen next Friday). This update provides our users with the new Microsoft Media Foundation engine, improved compatibility for DirectShow capture cards, improved workflow for profile creation, new architecture for Remote Profile Management, horizontal and vertical orientation for cameras, updating the engine for proctoring, the ability to publish recordings into multiple channels, audio gain adjustments, and other optimizations.

1. New Microsoft DirectShow Engine Bridge for Enhanced Device Compatibility In a previous release, we introduced a Microsoft Media Foundation-based Capture Engine, which takes advantage of advanced GPUs and instruction sets. In this release, we are introducing a DirectShow Capture Engine Bridge, which interconnects with the existing capabilities of Media Foundation, as well as enhancing compatibility with older devices that only have DirectShow device drivers. Our field analysis over the last 12 months indicates that the vast majority of issues with the Software Capture stem from device driver incompatibilities related to DirectShow. We encourage you to test your devices with the latest Software Capture and provide us with any feedback for use in subsequent enhancements and patches.
2. Improved Compatibility for Capture Cards Users who were experiencing issues with certain capture cards (e.g., Magewell, Matrox, etc.), can now switch to the Microsoft DirectShow engine within their configuration settings, for enhanced compatibility.
3. Enhanced Workflow for Profile Creation Profiles can be created and edited without closing the Confidence Monitor. Additionally, users will be pleased to know that a restart of the Software Capture application will no longer be required for profile changes to take effect.
4. New Architecture for Remote Profile Management We have redesigned the underlying architecture of Remote Profile Management for the Software Capture application as a part of our ongoing efforts to provide a more reliable experience to our users. In doing so, we have expanded the remote profile management, which was introduced in the previous release, to include most of the features that would otherwise only be configurable directly from the Software Capture application.
5. Horizontal and Vertical Orientation for Webcams By enabling the new Microsoft Media Foundation engine within Configuration settings, users will be able to adjust the horizontal and vertical orientations for their webcams.
6. New Recording Engine for Proctoring Our proctoring users will be pleased to know that we have implemented the new Microsoft Media Foundation engine, introduced in this release, to our Software Capture proctoring experience. Not only will this allow users to view higher-quality playbacks, but it will also address many issues which resulted in crash reports.
7. Publish Recordings into Multiple Channels Content Creators may now publish recordings to multiple channels simultaneously by taking advantage of our new tree-structured layout. Use the search filter feature to navigate through an organized list of channels and subchannels and select as many locations as desired to add to the publication list. With no limits on how many locations can be selected, Content Creators will be able to reach all desired audiences easily.
8. Adjust Audio Gain from the Software Capture Application We have provided users the ability to adjust the gain of their microphone from within the Software Capture application.
9. Optimization and Bug Fixes We have optimized the performance of the YuJa Software Capture application and made several bug fixes to improve the user experience. Highlighting some of these optimizations and fixes are:
   
   • The Software Capture application will provide feedback when audio and video sources do not match the selected profile’s settings. 
   • Computers will no longer enter sleep mode during a recording.
   • Resolved multiple stability issues for the PowerPoint Add-in. 

We have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Engage Student Response System instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This release provides our users with Blackboard Ultra LTI 1.3 integration, Gradebook integration for Blackboard Ultra and Canvas, an improved UI design for viewing published polls, and overall improvements to the platform.

1. Blackboard Ultra LTI 1.3 Integration for Student Response System Blackboard Ultra admins may integrate YuJa Engage for their institution to allow polls and surveys to be created and published directly to desired courses. Students may then access YuJa Engage, participate in polls and surveys, and have their grades synced to the LMS Gradebook. To learn more about our Blackboard Ultra integration, please visit our support guide on Integrating the YuJa Engage Platform for Blackboard Ultra LTI 1.3.
2. Polls Can Now be Synced with Blackboard Ultra and Canvas Gradebooks YuJa Engage now offers Gradebook synchronization for Blackboard Ultra and Canvas users. Instructors can publish polls directly to courses for students to take within the LMS and then view the results for each student within their LMS Gradebook. To learn more about this feature, please visit our guide for Blackboard Ultra or Canvas Gradebook synchronization.
3. Enhanced User Experience for Published Polls We have updated the UI to provide a modern look for instructors to view published polls results. Instructors can simply select the desired poll and view a list of questions and their corresponding poll results, as well as a Participant Summary.
4. Bug Fixes and Optimizations We have optimized the performance of YuJa Engage and made several bug fixes to improve the user experience. Highlighting some of these optimizations and fixes are:
   
   
   • The Support Center panel in the Creator dashboard now offers additional options to contact tech support.
   • Resolved an issue for users not being able to be added by their phone number.
   • Enhanced the mobile browser responsiveness for Poll participants. 
   • Updated UI responsiveness for images being inserted into Polls.

We have successfully pushed an update to all Video Conference Platform instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This update provides our users with an increased number of video participants, audio sharing, a profanity filter for live chats, and faster response times for the Video Conference web application.

1. Increased Number of Video Participants to 140 In continuing to enhance the overall collaborative experience, we have increased the number of simultaneous video participants to 140 and dial-in users to eight. We intend to incrementally increase video participants in future updates to attain 200 on-video participants.
2. Share System Audio in a Screen Share As an integral part of sharing, Video Conference sharing now allows Presenters to share their audio source when presenting a screen.
3. Live Chat Profanity Filter To provide a clean and professional experience to our users, the live chat profanity filter will automatically detect and censor inappropriate language during live sessions.  
4. Performance Improvements Owners and presenters will notice faster front-end webapp response times when using the Video Conference application.

We have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Panorama for Digital Accessibility instances residing in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. This minor update provides our users with improvements to our new LTI app and standalone Panorama Portal, released in December. Users can expect enhanced responsiveness in the Panorama Portal, custom role mapping in D2L Brightspace, improved text and language support, and downloadable XLSX reports across the Panorama platform.

1. Increased Responsiveness of the Panorama Portal Users will notice instant UI improvements across the Panorama Portal, which will now automatically fit any screen size and can be manually resized to provide users with a seamless experience.
2. Custom Role Mapping Available For D2L Brightspace Institutions using D2L Brightspace can now add their custom role list for administrators, instructors, and students to standardized system roles. Please note that when custom roles are enabled, default roles are disabled, and changes may take up to 24 hours to be reflected.
3. New Accessible Layout for Institution Settings We have updated the panels for Institution Settings to provide a two-column view for admins to access quickly.
4. Improved UI Text We have standardized all text across the LTI app and the Panorama Portal to provide users with clear information about their institution and courses.
5. Download Content Report Data Admins can now download a summary of their Content Report from the Panorama Portal.
6. All Downloadable Reports are Available in XLSX All reports will be available to download as XLSX files to help admins and instructors identify trends and organize data.
7. Spanish and French Language Support for the Panorama Portal The entirety of the Panorama Portal now has language support for Spanish and French.

We have successfully pushed an update to all YuJa Verity for Test Proctoring instances residing in the US, Canada, and the European Union. This update includes integration for Blackboard Learn Ultra, the ability to exempt students from using YuJa Verity, support for External Tool in Canvas, the option to disable Stop/Reset Recording for the YuJa Verity Recording Panel, and several bug fixes and optimizations.

1. Support for Blackboard Learn Ultra Now Available To ensure exam integrity with test proctoring for our Blackboard users, YuJa Verity is now available for Blackboard Learn Ultra. Instructors can set specific restrictions on individual quizzes, view recordings of testing sessions, detailed reports of suspicious activities, and entire detailed reports for their courses. To learn how to integrate YuJa Verity with your Blackboard Learn Ultra instance, please visit our guide on Integrating YuJa Verity for Test Proctoring into Blackboard Learn Ultra.
2. Exempt Students from Using YuJa Verity Moodle and Canvas instructors can disable YuJa Verity for individual students by accessing the YuJa Verity setting for their quizzes. Future updates will also allow Blackboard instructors to utilize this feature.
3. Disabled Stop Sessions Recording for the YuJa Verity Recording Panel The Stop Session recording feature will no longer be enabled by default for Moodle and Canvas students. Instructors who wish to enable the option may do so by accessing the YuJa Verity settings for their quiz. Future updates will also allow Blackboard instructors to utilize this option.
4. Bug Fixes and Optimizations We have optimized the performance of YuJa Verity and made several bug fixes to improve the user experience. Highlighting some of these optimizations and fixes are:
   
   
   • Resuming a Quiz will track to the same Verity attempt.
   • Improved recordings when retaking a proctored quiz.
   • Proctored results can be organized alphabetically.