Kaltura - Media Retention Process
Note: Despite plans to implement Kaltura Media Repurposing (or Media Retention) in Spring 2022, those plans have been put on hold indefinitely. This KnowledgeBase article refers to a media management process which has not yet been put into place. As of February 2023, Kaltura claims to have a new "media lifecycle tool" in development to replace the former "media repurposing" tool. This article is intended for UW System Kaltura administrators who wish to see the media management plans as they were discussed, but not ultimately implemented.
Begin article:
University of Wisconsin System (except for UW Madison) continues to work with Kaltura to implement an automated "Media Retention" process for identifying unused content, reducing the storage devoted it, and ultimately deleting it. Kaltura videos which aren't played for two years will be stripped of duplicate copies ("flavors") so that they take up less space on the server. Videos which aren't played for four years will be deleted from Kaltura.Why Media Retention?
Kaltura's contract with the University of Wisconsin System requires an automated process for removing unused video content. This process is implemented in an open and transparent way to support Kaltura’s purpose: hosting video content actively used to further the teaching and learning mission of the university.
As of January 2022, the University of Wisconsin System instance of Kaltura hosted over 600,000 videos using hundreds of terabytes of storage. The Media Retention process helps ensure responsible stewardship of allocated storage and confirms that Kaltura stores only media actively supporting teaching and learning.
What Videos Are Included?
The Media Retention process applies to all videos on the UW System instance of Kaltura, regardless of owner, institution, or creation method. This includes video uploaded to Kaltura, created with Kaltura Capture, or imported from external services such as Blackboard Collaborate.
The Media Retention process does not apply to materials hosted outside of the University of Wisconsin’s Kaltura service.
Exempting Media
Campus Kaltura Administrators can exempt certain media from the Media Retention process using the UW System’s custom Kaltura Admin Tool. For more information, see Kaltura Admin Tool – Exempting Videos from Media Retention .
When Do the Media Retention Rules Take Effect?
The Media Retention process began in Spring 2022 and is retroactive. Videos not played since Spring 2020 will have duplicate copies (flavors) removed. Videos not played since Spring 2018 will be deleted.
Media Retention runs as a continuous, daily, automated process.
Media Retention Workflow
Two Years: Removing Flavors
After a Kaltura video goes two years without being played:
- The video owner receives an automated email providing 30 days to play the video.