Setting Up Opencast Studio

Installation

To add Opencast Studio to your Esup-Pod instance, follow these steps:

Retrieve the Opencast Studio sources using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/elan-ev/opencast-studio/

Create the Opencast Studio with the appropriate configuration for Pod using the following commands:

cd opencast-studio/
export PUBLIC_PATH=/studio
npm install
npm run build:release

A build directory is then generated. Rename this build directory to studio, then copy it to the pod/custom/static/opencast/ directory

mkdir -p pod/custom/static/opencast/studio
cp -r build/* pod/custom/static/opencast/studio

Finally, do not forget to collect your static files for production using the following command:

(django_pod) [userpod@video][/data/www/userpod/django_projects/podv2] python manage.py collectstatic

The generation of Opencast Studio can be done on another server. Pod only needs the build directory, renamed to studio, and placed in the pod/custom/static/opencast subdirectory.

It is essential that the server is configured in HTTPS (and not in HTTP) for Opencast Studio to function.

Configuration and Prerequisites

Configuration

In your custom/settings-local.py, the following parameters concern the use of Opencast Studio:

Property	Description	Default Value
USE_OPENCAST_STUDIO	Enable Opencast Studio recorder	`False`
OPENCAST_FILES_DIR	Working directory for files generated by Opencast Studio (will be accessible in the media)	`"opencast-files"`
ENCODE_STUDIO	Function called to start encoding intermediate studio videos	`"start_encode_studio"`
OPENCAST_DEFAULT_PRESENTER	Parameter to set the default behavior when recording the camera and screen (modifiable by the user). Possible values: `mid`: Same size for screen and camera, `piph`: Pip - camera inside the screen video at the top right, `pipb`: Pip - camera inside the screen video at the bottom right	`"mid"`
FFMPEG_STUDIO_COMMAND	Ffmpeg command used to encode studio videos	see note below

Remember to check the version of ffmpeg used by the encoding server. If it is version 5 or higher, you need to override the FFMPEG_STUDIO_COMMAND parameter in your custom/settings-local.py with:

FFMPEG_STUDIO_COMMAND = (
    " -hide_banner -threads %(nb_threads)s %(input)s %(subtime)s"
    + " -c:a aac -ar 48000 -c:v h264 -profile:v high -pix_fmt yuv420p"
    + " -crf %(crf)s -sc_threshold 0 -force_key_frames"
    + ' "expr:gte(t,n_forced*1)" -max_muxing_queue_size 4000 '
)

By default, encoding uses the -deinterlace option, which has been removed since version 5 of ffmpeg.

Prerequisites

It is also necessary to create, via the administration interface, a new Recorder of type Studio:

Modification of the Recorder

It is essential that this recorder has the recording type Studio; for the publication directory, use opencast-files, or at least the value configured in the OPENCAST_FILES_DIR parameter.

You can perform this creation via the command line if you wish:

(django_pod) [userpod@video][/data/www/userpod/django_projects/podv2] echo "from pod.recorder.models import Recorder; from pod.video.models import Type; type=Type.objects.get(pk=1); rec=Recorder.objects.create(name='Studio', address_ip='127.0.0.1', recording_type='studio', type=type)" | python manage.py shell

Operation

Opencast Studio files are generated in the /media/opencast-files/ directory, and everything is logged in the Pod administration interface.

Indeed, it is possible to find the recordings made by users via the Recorder / Recording module for the defined Studio type recorder:

Modification of the recording