Microsoft 365 notification MC400977 (updated August 31) covers the introduction of the Recording video feature in the Stream for SharePoint browser client (Microsoft 365 roadmap item 88522). This is part of the work to replace the old Stream classic browser interface by introducing a new Stream portal. In this instance, the upgrade allows users to create 15-minute videos by recording themselves or their screen.
Users in targeted release tenants should now have this functionality. General availability roll-out is ongoing and should be complete by the end of October.
In passing, it’s worth noting that the beta version of the Stream 2.0 for iOS and Android apps (Figure 1) are available for testing. This version allows users to play videos stored in Stream Classic and Stream for SharePoint. Although, the app doesn’t yet support recording, it’s good to see the ecosystem building out.
Figure 1: Stream for SharePoint (iOS – beta)
Recording a Stream Video
Getting back to the Stream for SharePoint browser client, Microsoft says “Users will now be able to use the new Stream camera to record their webcam, record their screen, add edits (think ink, text, backgrounds, and filters) and upload to their OneDrive. Future iterations of the camera will include more features, such as adding music clips.”
In other words, Stream can use the technologies built into a workstation to record video (webcam) and screen, and then do some basic editing (some applied before recording starts), before storing everything in OneDrive for Business.
To begin, select the big New recording button in the Stream client. This launches a new browser tab ready to record video. Like Teams, Stream supports background effects (referred to as a backdrop), and offers the set of default background images available in Teams along with background blur and the ability to upload an image. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to save a custom background the way you can with Teams, nor does Stream offer the chance to use any custom background images you’ve already uploaded for Teams. As shown in Figure 2, the same green-screen technique is used to place the user in front of the background image. Interestingly, grab handles are available for the user image to allow the user to drag and place their image anywhere on the recording canvas. They can also resize their image to make it larger or smaller as appropriate to the content being recorded.
Figure 2: Setting a backdrop to record a Video in Stream
You can have great fun playing with the effects built into the Stream camera. Anyone who’s accustomed to working with video apps on mobile phones or other platforms will find nothing challenging here. In my case, I limited myself to moving my picture to the bottom right of the backdrop and inserting some text (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Adding text to a Stream recording
When everything’s ready, click the big round record button. Stream starts a three-second countdown (to settle your nerves) and then starts to record. When you’re finished (or come to the end of the 15 minute maximum supported for recordings), hit the stop button. You now have an opportunity to review what Stream captured (Figure 4). If you’re happy to keep the content, click Publish.
Figure 4: Reviewing a Stream recording before publication
If you have an app like OBS VirtualCam or Snap camera that appears as a valid device camera, you can use these devices instead of a standard webcam.
Recording Files
When it publishes a video, Stream writes it into the top-level of the user’s OneDrive for Business account. It would be nice if Stream allowed you to defined a folder to store these recordings. The files are named after the date and time of the recording, so you end up with files like 20220913_203811 (recorded on 13 September, 2022 at 20:38:11). Files have a .wbem extension, indicating that the files are saved in the WebM format.
Updating Recordings
Once stored in OneDrive for Business, you can update the properties of recordings to generate a transcript and captions, add some text to describe what the video is about, and allow or disable comments (Figure 5), or share the recording with other people.
Figure 5: Updating a Stream recording after publication
One thing I do is rename the file to give the recording a title that’s more appropriate to its content. Renaming has a consequence. The Stream client caches information about videos and will continue to display the old file name for a while after the rename happens. Any attempt to access the video at this point will fail because Stream tries to open the file with the old name. However, after a few minutes (or a browser refresh), the cache should catch up with actuality and display the new name.
Relationship with Clipchamp
Microsoft acquired Clipchamp in late 2021. Since then we’ve been waiting to see how Microsoft will make Clipchamp available to Microsoft 365 commercial customers (it’s already included in the Microsoft 365 family and personal plans). It seems reasonable to assume that Microsoft will include Clipchamp Essentials in Office 365 SKUs at some point in the future to allow users to edit the videos they record with Stream (the trim feature available in Stream classic is unavailable for the new Stream) or import from other sources, or indeed stitch segments captured in individual files together to create a longer video.
Stream Continuing to Evolve
Microsoft is making steady progress on the transition to Stream on SharePoint. The new web player is 100% deployed to Office 365 commercial tenants (not yet GCC) to play videos stored in Teams, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business. Being able to record videos is another important part of the puzzle and it’s nice to see that it’s available now.
Keep up to date with developments like the transition from Stream Classic to Stream for SharePoint by subscribing to the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook. Our monthly updates make sure that our subscribers understand the most important changes happening across Office 365.
4 Replies to “Video Recording Feature Now Available for Stream for SharePoint”
Nice post. Seems like the screen recording can only be done in 720p resolution which is a bummer. I have to step down the resolution in my OS to 720p so that the screen recording is readable. Do you encounter the same thing? Do you know when Stream will offer recording in 1080p?
I don’t. However, Microsoft does record Teams meetings in 1080p so it’s certainly within their capability to upgrade the Stream recording feature if they want to.
is there a way to hide the record button in Stream? I’m referring to the “+ New recording” button/drop down menu in the new Stream page!. I found an article about how to disable screen recording for the the entire tenant in Edge or Chrome but nothing about disabling that button in Stream
{"id":null,"mode":"button","open_style":"in_modal","currency_code":"EUR","currency_symbol":"\u20ac","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":100,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cover-141x200.jpg","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Virtual Tip Jar","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for supporting the work of Office 365 for IT Pros!","payment_confirmation_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
Nice post. Seems like the screen recording can only be done in 720p resolution which is a bummer. I have to step down the resolution in my OS to 720p so that the screen recording is readable. Do you encounter the same thing? Do you know when Stream will offer recording in 1080p?
I don’t. However, Microsoft does record Teams meetings in 1080p so it’s certainly within their capability to upgrade the Stream recording feature if they want to.
is there a way to hide the record button in Stream? I’m referring to the “+ New recording” button/drop down menu in the new Stream page!. I found an article about how to disable screen recording for the the entire tenant in Edge or Chrome but nothing about disabling that button in Stream
Not to my knowledge.