Opencast vs Viz CaptureCast

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.

Viz CaptureCast is an on-premise, network-based appliance for capturing, composing, streaming and publishing classrooms, meeting rooms and events. It automates recording, live streaming and publishing, including scheduled workflows. Across concurrent room workflows, it can record up to six NDI or NDI|HX inputs, with recording and streaming described at up to 1080/30p. During lectures, it captures presentation slides and text for searchable video and enriched playback. A browser interface and CaptureCast Workflow Wizards configure, manage and control spaces and workflows. Vizrt lists integrations with Kaltura, Panopto and Opencast, and streaming to Vimeo and YouTube. NDI can connect directly with Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Optional CaptureCast Spaces subscriptions start with one space workflow and scale to three concurrent workflows. Vizrt describes the product for educators and corporate teams. It supports Windows, searchable transcripts, multi-camera capture, live streaming, camera tracking, LED-stage, greenscreen and live-compositing workflows. Pricing is on request; a listed USMSRP is $7,995.