GoCast vs Lecture2Go

GoCast is a self-hosted platform for streaming and recording lectures. Organizations can run it on their own servers, keeping streaming data processing and storage under their control. It can automatically stream auditorium lectures according to schedules, while lecturers can also stream using OBS, Zoom, or other software. Lecturers manage videos through a self-service interface, and course and student enrollment information can be imported from CAMPUSonline. Live streams are recorded automatically, and video-on-demand uploads are supported. Post-processing can detect silence, create searchable transcripts, and generate thumbnails. Live chat lets listeners ask questions and upvote them; lecturers can run polls and mark or hide questions. Course access can be public, limited to enrolled or invited users, or restricted to users logged in with an LRZ ID. GoCast is open source under the MIT license and listed as free. Deployment requires worker or runner servers and shared storage. Its self-streaming guide warns that streams may be unreliable and recordings may be corrupted, and recommends keeping a local copy.

Lecture2Go is the University of Hamburg’s web and self-hosted video portal for watching, listening to, and downloading recorded lectures. Its recording system synchronizes the speaker with the presentation. Viewers do not need accounts; login is reserved for producers. Search covers titles, series, people, keywords, and closed-caption text, with caption results linked to the matching video time. The player supports subtitles, German sign-language translations, and keyboard control, with German and English subtitles when available. Producers may enable MP4, MP4 with German Sign Language, MP3, M4A, and PDF downloads. Protected videos can use password links or embeds in university learning-management systems. Public series expose RSS feeds, and podcasts can link to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Since June 2024, uploaded German and English media receive automatic subtitles using open-source solutions. The software is based on Liferay CE and includes Opencast, Subtitle2Go, Elasticsearch, and Video.js. An open-source version is available to educational institutions.