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Use Microsoft Stream to create, stream and caption video

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This guide introduces Microsoft Stream, how it differs from our other services, and how to access and upload videos, as well as add and edit captions and transcripts to videos.

Support for Microsoft Stream is provided by the IT Training team. Please email helpdesk at warwick dot ac dot uk for further assistance.

What is Microsoft Stream?

Stream is a Microsoft Office365 video hosting and sharing platform. Members of the University can upload, view, organise and share videos.

Watch Microsoft's official video to learn more about Stream:

Why should I use Microsoft Stream?

You can use Stream to:

  • Upload and share videos;
  • Watch videos that have been shared with you;
  • Trim the start and end of a video;
  • Generate automatic captions and transcripts.

How is Microsoft Stream different from EchoVideo?

EchoVideo

Microsoft Stream

  • Limited support
  • Upload up to 50GB video files
  • Share via link or embed code
  • Generate automatic captions and transcriptions
  • Trim the start and end of a video

Access Microsoft Stream

In order to access Stream, you will first need to login to your Office365 account.

  1. Open a browser and go to https://www.office.com/launch/stream?auth=2 
  2. Enter your University IT username and password.

Upload or create content in Microsoft Stream

Stream supports the upload of existing video content and the creation of video content using the built-in screen-recording tool.

Upload a video to Microsoft Stream

Existing video content, for example .mp4 files, can be uploaded to Stream and shared with audiences internal to Warwick.

Upload a video with Microsoft StreamLink opens in a new window.

Screen recording with Microsoft Stream

Stream includes a built-in web-browser based screen recording tool. Screen recordings of up to 15 minutes, that include your camera and microphone, can be recorded, reviewed and uploaded to Stream without the need for additional software.

Compatible browsers are detailed here.

Create a screen recording with Microsoft StreamLink opens in a new window.

Where are my videos in Microsoft Stream?

In order to access your video content in Stream:

  1. Navigate to https://www.office.com/launch/stream?auth=2 
  2. Click on 'Created by me'.

Manage permissions in Microsoft Stream

By default, videos and screen recordings are only viewable by the uploader or creator. To share your videos with other people, amend the permissions in Stream. The following permissions are available in Stream. Please consult the Permission and privacy in Microsoft Stream guide for more detail.

  • Owner: Owners can edit, delete and grant viewing permissions on the video.
  • Viewer: Viewers can watch your video.
  • Allow everyone in your company to view this video: Everyone at the University of Warwick will be able to find and watch your video.
  • People: Individuals who you specify will be able to watch your video.
  • My GroupsLink opens in a new window: Refers to existing Microsoft 365 groups which you can select. Microsoft 365 groups are not generated for modules or courses.
  • ChannelsLink opens in a new window: Can be created and used to organise videos. Channels do not provide permissions to view a video.
A Microsoft 365 Group is created when a team in Microsoft Teams is created. Therefore, Teams for modules and courses created via Moodle to Teams synchronisation will have a corresponding Microsoft 365 Group that can be used to share content with specific groups of students.

Enable automatic captions and transcripts

 The University is subject to regulatory requirements to provide accessible video and audio content. For more information on these requirements, please visit the Creating accessible video and audio content guide.

Stream provides the option to automatically generate captions. When captions are generated, an accompanying transcript is also generated. Please note that Stream only supports automatic captions in English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Generate automatic captions and a transcript for your Microsoft Stream videosLink opens in a new window.

Edit the transcript

Where it has not been possible to review the accuracy of transcripts, ensure students know that transcripts have not been human-edited and clearly indicate who they should contact if they have any queries about transcript content.

Automatically generated transcripts are not 100% accurate. The accuracy of transcription will be impacted by several factors including, but not limited to, quality of audio, background noise, intonation, accent and use of technical or specialist language.

Edit the transcript for your video in Microsoft Stream.

To edit a transcript outside of Microsoft Stream, download the file, edit it and reupload it.

Download the transcript and captions

The transcript and captions can be downloaded as a .vtt file for use in other systems. The .vtt file can be 'cleaned', removing the time codes, metadata and extra lines and used as a transcript file.

Download subtitles or captions from Microsoft Stream.

Microsoft Stream transcript VTT file cleanerLink opens in a new window.

Search for content in video transcripts

Transcripts for videos, which you have access to, can be searched to find the exact point in a video where a given word or phrase is mentioned.

Find a spoken word or phrase in Microsoft Stream videos.

Before you make video content in Stream available through Moodle, make sure that you have set up suitable viewing permissions for the video(s). By default, only the uploader or creator of a video has permission to view it.

There are two ways of sharing a video that is hosted in Stream in Moodle: adding a URL resource and embedding the video into a text field.

Share Microsoft Stream videos in Moodle

Before you make video content in Stream available through Moodle, make sure that you have set up suitable viewing permissions for the video(s). By default, only the uploader or creator of a video has permission to view it.

There are two ways of sharing a video that is hosted in Stream in Moodle: adding a URL resource and embedding the video into a text field.

Share with a direct link to the video

  1. Navigate to the video in Stream that you want to share in Moodle.
  2. Click on Share.
  3. Set a Start time if the video is not supposed to start from the beginning.
  4. Click on Copy.
  5. Follow the guide on Creating a URL in MoodleLink opens in a new window.

Embed the video in a text field

  1. Navigate to the video in Stream.
  2. Click on share.
  3. Click on the Embed tab.
  4. Specify:
    • Video size
    • Autoplay: Determines whether the video will play automatically or if the user must click 'Play'.
    • Responsive: Make sure this box is ticked. It ensures the video will resize to the size of the viewer's screen.
    • Show info: Specify the time when the video should start playing from.
  5. Click on Copy.
  6. Navigate to the Moodle space where you want to embed the video.
  7. Ensure editing is switched on.
  8. Navigate to, and edit, the text field where the video will be embedded. For example, a Moodle Page or Book resource.
  9. Click on the HTML button (<> icon) in the toolbar of the text field.
  10. Paste the embed code into the field where you want the video to appear.
  11. Click on Save and display to check whether the video is displayed correctly.

 Due to browser security restrictions, viewing embedded content does not always work. Experiences will differ between browsers and security is likely to be further tightened for browsers in the future. Including a direct link to the video or opening the video in a new window is a more robust setup.

The information on this page relates to Microsoft Stream and was last updated August 2024.

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