Lecture2Go vs Opencast
Lecture2Go
lecture2go.uni-hamburg.de
Opencast
opencast.orgSide by side
| Figure | Lecture2Go | Opencast |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Lecture Capture Software | 7.3 (#13) | 8.7 (#2) |
| Purpose | Lecture2Go is the central online video portal of the University of Hamburg for watching, listening to and downloading recorded lectures. | Opencast is an open-source video management system for academic institutions, built for automated video capture and distribution at scale. |
Plans
In their own words
Lecture2Go
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.
Opencast
Opencast is a free, open-source video management system for academic institutions, designed to capture and distribute video at scale. Administrators can schedule recordings and live streams, with classroom recording also possible depending on hardware. Opencast Studio captures video in a browser without requiring an Opencast installation. Configurable workflows can generate captions, add branding and thumbnails, and deliver media at chosen resolutions and bitrates. The integrated editor handles multiple streams, subtitles, and cover thumbnails. Fine-grained permissions control viewing and editing; learning platform integrations can provide single sign-on and video delivery. Opencast uses the Paella Player by default, while the separate Tobira portal can keep videos online during Opencast maintenance. Integrations include Brightspace, Canvas, ILIAS, Moodle, Sakai, Stud.IP, BigBlueButton, Zoom recording, Matomo, WordPress, Whisper, and YouTube. It runs on one Linux server or can scale across distributed Linux servers. Demo instances are available to explore the administrative interface and portal.